Ploidy reduction and genome segregation in cultured carrot cell lines. II. Somatic meiosis

Carrot cell lines W1 and W2 express permanently in culture a meiotic-like phenotpe, with apparent pairing and chiasmata formation comparable to meiosis during carrot microsporogenesis. The variant lines also show several variants of division in relation to the presence or absence of cytokinesis, nuclear fusion or spindle disturbance.The meiotic-like divisions can also be found in the abnormal structures, which are regenerated from these spontaneous variant lines. A possible role of the chromosome reducing mechanisms on carrot embryogenesis capacity and somaclonal variability is postulated.