Numerical and structural chromosome aberrations in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) and Arabidopsis thaliana

Numerical and structural chromosome aberrations in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) and Arabidopsis thaliana.

I studied numerical and structural chromosome aberrations in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) and Arabidopsis thaliana. The large genomic changes are important for gene balance control, gene expression and regulation, and may affect the plant’s phenotype. Moreover, chromosome changes, in particular polyploidy, inversions and translocations play a significant role in evolution. In this thesis, several cytogenetic tools are described to study numerical and structural chromosomal aberrations of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytus) and Arabidopsis thaliana. I focus on some of such changes, their origin and implications for genetic, genomic and plant breeding research. The technologies that I used for my study are advanced karyotype analysis based on Fluorescent in situ Hybridization (FISH) with repetitive and single copy sequences as probes, chromosome identification in aneuploids in cauliflower, analysis of meiosis elucidating the cause of meiotic disturbances responsible for aneuploid gametes, and characterization of an inversion using PCR, chromosome painting and immunofluorescence of meiotic proteins.