Effect of alien cytoplasm of goatgrass on biological and physiological properties of alloplasmic wheats

Long-term studies of the cytoplasm-nucleus interactions in alloplasmic hybrids with the nucleus of Triticum aestivum functioning in the alien cytoplasm of Aegilops ovata are reviewed. The interaction of heterologous genome and cytoplasm affects the balanced mechanisms of developmental control of the parental forms. The changes are observed at all levels of physiological and morphological processes. Alloplasmic wheats produced by backcrossing represent a novel type of synthetic plant different from the T. aestivum type and are of great interest to breeders. © 2005 Pleiades Publishing, Inc.