Thanks very much, Maurice, for taking the time to lay all that out. At least now I have some sense of what is going on. I have to assume that FCM must offer some advantage of traditional chromosome counting - easier or faster?
If one had a plant and was unsure of its ploidy and wanted to know, then a FCM test might indicate ploidy, but the reliability of that determination would be subject to question unless the tester A) followed the specific protocols you quoted above, or B) confirmed through chromosome counting. Is that fair?
If tet conversions have some tendency to throw odd ploidys, that would provide at least one explanation for the fertility problems users of conversions sometimes report. I assume these problems be avoided by waiting for the next generation?
It's all interesting. I appreciate your willingness to share your scientific expertise on these things.
Rob
