Interploidy hybridization

Interploidy hybridization is a term to describe a hybridization (or manual cross) between two different individuals of different ploidy levels. Individuals resulting from this type of hybridization are called interploidy hybrids.{{cite book|last1=Chen|first1=edited by Z. Jeffrey|last2=Birchler|first2=James A.|title=Polyploid and hybrid genomics|date=2013|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|location=Ames, Iowa|isbn=978-0-470-96037-0}} This phenomenon is often observed in plants. Interploidy hybridizations in angiosperms often cause abnormal seed development, leading to reduced seed size or seed abortion. This reproductive bottle neck leads to a phenomenon called triploid block.{{cite journal|last1=Schatlowski|first1=N.|last2=Kohler|first2=C.|title=Tearing down barriers: understanding the molecular mechanisms of interploidy hybridization|journal=Journal of Experimental Botany|date=26 October 2012|volume=63|issue=17|pages=6059–6067|doi=10.1093/jxb/ers288|pmid=23105129|doi-access=free}} In agriculture, development of new plant cultivars, utilizing interploidy hybrids, is usually preceded by interspecific cross between two closely related species with different ploidy levels.