Meiotic behaviour and pollen fertility in sexual and somatic hybrids of Passiflora species

The meiotic behaviour of three species of passion fruit, P. edulis f. flavicarpa, P. setacea and P. incarnata, and of two interspecific hybrids, P. edulis f. flavicarpa x P. setacea (sexual hybrid) and P. edulis f. flavicarpa + P. incarnata (somatic hybrid), were studied. Chromosomal pairing in the parental species was regular with no abnormalities. Meiotic analysis of the sexual and somatic hybrids revealed the presence of various abnormalities in different phases of microsporogenesis. The sexual hybrid showed more regular meiosis than the somatic hybrid. The presence of multivalents was indicative of meiotic recombination between homologous chromosomes. The abnormalities in the somatic hybrid occurred from the pachytene phase through to the pollen grain stage. The hybrids produced viable pollen as well as aneuploidic pollens that may be useful for genet