Effects of sodium acetate and sodium chloride on EMS-induced chlorophyll mutations in barley

Abstract

Sodium acetate solutions to which sodium chloride was added, and acetate or chloride alone have been used as pre-, simultaneous, and post-treatment of dry and pre-soaked seeds of barley to study their effect on the types and frequencies of ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS)-induced chlorophyll mutations in spring barley, variety Elsa, and winter barley, varieties 436 35 and Ager. Application of acetate/chloride on dry seeds before or simultaneously with EMS both resulted in the frequency of chimeral plants with chlorophyll-deficient sectors in M 1 and chlorophyll mutants in M 2 approximately being halved as compared with the controls (EMS treatment alone). An opposite effect was observed after simultaneous treatment with acetate/ chloride and EMS (pH 4.5 and pH 7.0) and application of acetate/chloride after EMS treatment of pre-soaked seeds. In this case the mutagen sensitivity, i.e. the frequency of chimeral plants with induced chlorophyll-deficient sectors in M 1 and of chlorophyll mutants in M 2, was approximately doubled as compared with the control. Separate application of both acetate or chloride as a simultaneous treatment with EMS resulted also in an increase in the chlorophyll mutation frequency as compared with EMS treatment alone. Based on these results some aspects of the acetate/chloride effect are briefly discussed.