A computer simulation of the behavior of reciprocal translocations in autotetraploids.

Reciprocal translocations in autotetraploids create extremely complex cytological and genetic situations. Along with three types of heterozygotes with one, two or three pairs of translocated chromosomes, a large array of aneuploid and unbalanced genotypes can be expected in the F2 and advanced generations. These types arise from gametes formed by adjacent and anomalous disjunctions of multivalents and by numerical non-disjunction of non-cooriented multivalents.To determine the expected patterns of meiotic chromosome pairing configurations in all of these genotypes without the use of a computer program that constructs all possible pairing configurations, and recognizes and sums both the individual meiotic figures (univalents, rod and ring bivalents etc.) and combinations of meiotic figures, would be a very difficult task. The program has been used to construct all the possible meiotic configurations for a large array of normal and translocated genotypes with five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten chromosomes. Several inferences about the behavior of translocated chromosomes in autotetraploid populations have been drawn.