Abstract
Synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins during initiation of vegetative buds from explants of Cichorium intybus cultivated in vitro.Explants of 6 mm diameter and 2 mm thickness from roots of Cichorium intybus L. (var. WitIoof cv. “Zoom”), grown in vitro in the presence of kinetin (l0–6M), produced only buds. By comparing the histological events and the biochemical modifications which occurred during the neoformation of buds, it is possible to distinguish two distinct phases. The first phase starts immediately after the excision of the explants and continues for 30 h, when the mitotic index is at its highest. This corresponds to a phase of cellular activation, which is characterized by early synthesis of RNA, permitting the synthesis of proteins necessary for duplication of DNA and cell divisions. The second period starts after 30 h and ends after approximately 72 h of culture, at which time the first bud meristematic nodules were detected. This is a preparatory phase for organogenesis and above all related to synthesis of RNA and proteins.