The nuclear DNA mass variability in embryo root cells of sugarbeet

Maletskaya, Ekaterina I.
Maletskaya, Sophia S.

¹Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Department of Russian Academy of Science, av. Lavrentyeva 10, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia

Sugar Tech 1(2):p 30-36, June 1999. | DOI: 10.1007/BF02945157

Cytophotometrical study was conducted on the nuclear DNA mass variability in the embryo root cells of two inbred lines of sugar beet, with different tendency to the agamospermic mode of seed reproduction. An average DNA mass in nuclei of the line SOAN-41 (which has a tendency to agamospermy) was more than 2.5 times larger than the one of the line SOAN-210 (which has a tendency to gamospermy). Higher values of the DNA mass in the cells' nuclei of the line SOAN-41 correlate with the disturbances of DNA distribution during the mitotic divisions. For the line SOAN-41 in telophase the daughter nuclei had different DNA mass in 80% cases, while there were only about 20% of such differences for the line SOAN-210. The results obtained do not contradict the known correlation and mutual dependence of the ploidy level of cells' genome and the plants' tendency to the apomictic mode of seed reproduction (agamospermy).