Genomic relationships in the Hordeum brevisubulatum complex

Hybridization and cytogenetic studies of the Asiatic species Hordeum brevisubulatum (Trin.) Link s. lat. were carried out. Material from all subspecies were included, viz. ssp. brevisubulatum (2x), ssp. nevskianum (Bowden) Tzvel. (4x), ssp. turkestanicum (Nevski) Tzvel. (4x, 6x), ssp. iranicum Bothmer (6x), and ssp. violaceum (Boiss. &Hohen.) Tzvel. (2x, 4x). Apart from the triploid hybrids, which for cytological reasons were highly sterile, all other combinations had good fertility, indicating a close relationship between the parents. Data from meiotic pairing in the hybrids indicates that the whole complex is of autoploid nature, with one "basic" genome. However, there are several examples of structural rearrangements of chromosomes indicating differentiation of the basic genome, but mainly on the population level.Key words: Hordeum brevisubulatum, intraspecific hybridization, meiosis.