Gamma fusion between Lycopersicon esulentum (donor) and Nicotiana plumbaginifolia (recipient) and the production of highly asymmetric hybrids

The purpose of asymmetric hybridization is to overcome sexual barriers in widecrosses and to transfer fragments of chromosome, generated by irradiation and containing an uncloned, uncharacterized multigenic trait, from the donor to the recipient partner. Symmetric somatic fusion combines the entired nuclear genome of the receptor and the donor partners, while the transfer and integration of only a fragment of donor genome is required. Therefore, induced asymmetric fusion, i.e. partial transfer of the donor genome following heavy irradiation of the donor partner, may provide a solution to this problem. 6 refs, 1 fig., 1 tab