The Effects of the Gamma Isomer of Benzene Hexachloride (Hexachlorocyclohexane) on Plant Growth and on Mitosis

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Abstract
Three experiments have been carried out on the effects of the gamma isomer of benzene hexachloride (hexachlorocyclohexane), applied in the form of a china clay dust containing appropriate amounts of the pure compound. The first experiment showed that root-growth of cress was unaffected by gamma-BHC, but that in wheat, growth was significantly reduced. The effect of the compound on mitosis in rye was shown by the second erperiment to resemble that of colchicine and other mitotic poisons in inducing polycentric mitosis or polyploidy by inhibiting spindle action and in causing enlarged nuclei of irregular shape which contained increased amounts of nucleolar material. In the third experiment the threshold concentrations for root-growth inhibition and for the production of abnormal cytological effects were found to be the same. It is considered that the growth-regulatory and mitotic effects of gamma-BHC are causally related.