Laboratory Techniques for Determining Ploidy Levels

Abstract

The determination of ploidy levels is essential for breeding asexually propagated and polyploid crops that may have ploidy chimeras in their tissues or have several polyploid series. This presentation will discuss a laboratory for teaching students how to determine ploidy levels in different plant tissues using different techniques. The different methods for ploidy determination include root tip squashes, pollen mother cell squashes, pollen grain size and germinal pore counts, stomata size and density determination, and gross morphology. After completing these laboratory experiments, students will be able 1) to initiate a study of ploidy determination, 2) to determine the correct course of action in determining ploidy level, and 3) to recognize the various steps required to determine ploidy level in plants.