Chromosomal studies of polyploidization in Pisum sativumL. induced by colchicine

Abstract

Polyploidy is an important element in flowering plant evolution and ecology. Understanding the type and degree of morphological differentiation among ploidy levels within a species may aid in better understanding how polyploidy affects biodiversity. Polyploidy can occur naturally as unreduced gametes develop, or it can be caused artificially by doubling the number of chromosomes in somatic cells. Polyploidy is induced synthetically with the aid of mitotic inhibitors when natural polyploid plants are unavailable. Colchicine is a widely used mitotic inhibitor for the induction of polyploidy in plants during their cell division by inhibiting the chromosome segregation.

In order to explore the possibilities of producing polyploidy Pisum sativum.L., the diploid seedlings of this variety was treated with four concentrations of aqueous colchicine (0.1, 0.2, and 0.3%) using soaking method for 9 and 18 hrs duration times. For detection of induced polyploidy, a wide array of chromosomal consequences and DNA were studied and investigated for up to 4 plants at each treatmenFollowing colchicine treatment, changes occur in the MI; there is a significant increase 18 h  after treatment with  0. 3 and 0.2 colchicine to reach 45.8%  and 25.4%, respectively, and the differences were  highly significant compared  to the control values 7. 8%.