Cytogenetics of the Festuca-Lolium Complex Relevance to Breeding [Paperback]

1 The Festuca-Lolium Complex: a Fascinating Group of Grasses.- 1.1 Agronomic Importance.- 1.1.1 Association Between Fungal Infection and Agronomic Traits.- 1.2 Distribution.- 1.3 Genetic Systems and Strategy for Germplasm Collection and Preservation.- 1.3.1 Level of Hetero- or Homozygosity and Sampling.- 1.3.2 Preservation of Germplasm.- 2 Taxonomic Treatments.- 2.1 General Considerations.- 2.2 Taxonomic Value of Epidermal Patterns and Leaf Sections.- 2.3 Limitations Imposed by Natural Introgression.- 2.4 The Lolium-Festuca-Vulpia Complex.- 2.5 Lolium L.- 2.5.1 Salient Generic Features.- 2.5.2 The Outbreeding and Inbreeding Species.- 2.5.3 Crosses Between Outbreeders and Inbreeders: Possible Evolutionary Trends.- 2.5.4 Two Important Ryegrasses.- 2.5.5 Systematic Mutations and Their Taxonomic Implications.- 2.5.6 Vegetative Proliferation in Inflorescences: a Reproductive and Taxonomic Anomaly.- 2.6 Festuca L.- 2.6.1 Salient Generic Features.- 2.6.2 Classification into Sections.- 2.7 Festuca arundinacea, a Compilospecies.- 2.8 Cytotaxonomic Affinities: Phylogenetic Considerations in the Festuca-Vulpia-Lolium Complex.- 3 Karyotypes and Species Evolution and Divergence.- 3.1 Karyotypic Features and Taxonomy.- 3.2 General Techniques of Studying Somatic Chromosomes.- 3.2.1 Conventional Staining.- 3.2.2 General Karyotypic Features of Lolium Species.- 3.2.3 General Karyotypic Features of Festuca Species.- 3.2.4 Giemsa Staining.- 3.2.4.1 Lolium L.- 3.2.4.2 Festuca L.- 3.3 Chromosome Size Variation Among Diploids and Polyploids.- 3.4 Evolution by Increase in Chromosome Numbers.- 3.5 Evolution by Changes in DNA Content.- 3.5.1 Lolium L.- 3.5.2 Festuca L.- 3.6 DNA Content and Growth Habit.- 3.7 Constitutive Heterochromatin.- 3.8 Nucleolar Organizer Activity.- 4 Meiosis in Diploid and Polyploid Species.- 4.1 General Technique of Studying Meiosis.- 4.2 Meiosis in Diploids.- 4.3 Diploid-Like Meiosis in Polyploids.- 4.3.1 Genetic Control of Diploid-Like Meiosis and Disomic Inherital3‡