AN ANALYSIS OF SEED DEVELOPMENT IN PISUM-SATIVUM L .12. INVITRO MANIPULATION OF EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT USING XENOBIOTIC COMPOUNDS

Pea embryos have been treated with xenobiotic substances to manipulate specific cellular events. Taxol was able to induce condensation of chromatin in endoreduplicated nuclei, resulting in cells with either normal or increased numbers of chromosomes at all stages of the mitotic cycle. Application of the synthetic auxin, 2,4-D allowed a proportion of dividing cells to be retained throughout the culture period. However, this did not alter the range of different nuclear DNA levels when compared with embryos grown in the absence of the auxin. The effect of applying aphidicolin produced the most dramatic alteration in cellular behavior by limiting the increase in DNA levels. This resulted in some cells of 4 C DNA level containing vicilin. These results are discussed in the light of previous findings, when it was suggested that the onset of storage protein deposition is linked to the cessation of mitosis and subsequent cell expansion rather than to elevated cellular DNA levels as once thought. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.