Identification of wheat-barley addition lines with N-banding of chromosomes

The seven chromosomes of barley (Hordeum vulgare) have been identified individually by their distinctive N-banding pattern. Furthermore all of the barley chromosome N-banding patterns were found to be recognizably different from those exhibited by wheat chromosomes, making it possible to identify individual barley chromosomes when present in a wheat background. N-banding has therefore been used to identify the individual barley chromosomes present in (a) reciprocal wheat-barley F₁ hybrids, including some with abnormal chromosome constitution, and (b) a set of wheat-barley addition lines produced in this laboratory. The value of N-banding for detecting translocations between wheat and barley chromosomes and for isolating lines possessing a pair of barley chromosomes substituted for a particular pair of wheat chromosomes is also demonstrated.