Cytogenetics of Lolium perenne

Abstract

A number of diploid inbred lines of Lolium perenne were treated with colchicine at the early seedling stage to induce chromosome doubling. In each inbred line the colchicine-treated undoubled diploids were kept as controls, as well as the normal untreated diploids. Comparisons of vegetative growth and development, involving the three treatments within each line, revealed that colchicine treatment of seedlings has long-lasting effects upon plant growth and development independent of chromosome doubling, and that for certain characteristics the effects of chromosome doubling are confounded with other effects of the treatment used to produce tetraploids. This colchicine induced variation in the diploids is transmitted through the seed generations in at least one of the inbred lines. The variation appears to be non-random and also shows a strong genotypic component. In so far as the effects of chromosome doubling could be determined, they showed the usual gigas response but were again strongly influenced by genotype.