RING-POSITION AND FREQUENCY OF ADJACENT DISTRIBUTION OF MEIOTIC CHROMOSOMES IN RHOEO SPATHACEA

The morphological sequence of the twelve chromosomes around the ring as worked out by Sax is reaffirmed with slight corrections of the centromere position on three chromosomes: Aa, fA, and Dd. Adjacent distribution was found in 53/120 MI PMC (44.2%). Ring-position analysis was achieved in 34 of the 53. There were 127 chromosomes and 66 arm-pairs involved in adjacent distribution in these 34 MI PMC. Adjacent distributions occurred at random among the twelve chromosome positions and among the twelve arm-pair positions. There were eleven instances among the 66 arm-pairs (16.7%) of adjacent distribution despite free ends due to chiasma failure. Up to four consecutive chromosomes may pass to the same pole. Not all cells with 6–6 distribution are genetically balanced. Distribution of 7–5 occurred in 24/120 AI PMC (20.0%). Another nine (7.5%) in the same sample had one or more lagging chromosomes. At MI, three PMC had 8–4 distribution, but none such were seen at AI.