Striking differences in the distribution and pattern of C- and Q-bands between the American and oriental genera of Maydeae have been noted. Both the C- and Q-bands depicted a similar pattern on the chromosomes.

Among the races of maize studied, Nal-Tel showed 16 C-bands followed by Celaya (14), Sikkim Primitive-18 (12) and Palomero Toluqueno (3), while Guatemalan teosinte showed 16 bands and Mexican teosinte 14 bands.

In Coix, only the cultivated form of Coix lacryma-jobi showed 22 terminal bands (Fig. 1), while other Coix species did not yield any distinct band. Trilobachne was a typical genus which manifested minute centromeric bands in all chromosomes (Fig. 2). Chionachne did not reveal any distinct band, except for a few dark patches.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

V. V. Shenoy, J. K. S. Sachan and K. R. Sarkar

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