SELECTION PRESSURE IN CELL POPULATIONS OF VICIA HAJASTANA CULTURED IN VITRO

Abstract
Tissue cultures from mature seeds of Vicia hajastana Grossh (2n = 10) were maintained in liquid B5 medium with 4.5 × 10−6 M 2,4-D. Initially the cultures had a very low frequency of diploid cells, which increased to 91.7% after 295 days in culture, indicating a strong selection for diploid cells. Chromosomes with changed morphology were observed and anaphase analysis showed various abnormalities. The frequency distribution of different chromosomes of the genome in aneuploid cells was nonrandom.