CYTOGENETIC EFFECTS OF 2,4-D AND AMITROLE IN RELATION TO NUCLEAR VOLUME AND DNA CONTENT IN SOME HIGHER PLANTS

Abstract

The cytological effects of 2,4-D and amitrole were studied for 12 species (Tradescantia clone 02, Allium cepa, Vicia faba, Triticum aestivum, T. dicoccum, Hordeum vulgare, Secale cereale, Centaurea jacea, Cirsium vulgare, Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, Plantago major and Erigeron canadensis). Ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) was used as a positive control. The cytological abnormalities induced in root-tip cells by both 2,4-D and amitrole included chromosome bridges, fragments, lagging chromosomes, and chromatin bodies; 2,4-D also induced chromosome contraction, and C-mitoses. Studies following seed treatments of Hordeum vulgare on M2 seedlings showed that 2,4-D and EMS induced albina mutants. Interphase nuclear volumes of the various species were measured from root-tip meristems. Nuclear DNA values were determined cytophotometrically for seven species. The relative DNA values were found to be positively correlated with nuclear volumes. The lack of any clear relationship between the number of cytological abnormalities induced by the chemicals and the nuclear and interphase chromosome volumes of the plants probably reflects a lack of synchrony of the treated cell population.