The Response to Colchicine of Meristems of Roots ofVicia Faba

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Abstract
The effect of colchicine on the meristems of roots of Vicia faba has been investigated with special reference to the behavior of those advanced lateral root primordia which would normally emerge as lateral roots within 48 hours of water recovery of root systems treated with colchicine for 1 to 3 hours. The observations made do not support DAVIDSON'S (1965) view that these primordia (Type II in his classification) are resistant to colchicine and that their resistance is confined to a particular stage in their growth. It has been shown that Type II primordia respond to the C-mitotic effect of colchicine as all other meristems of the root system do, provided that the drug is allowed to penetrate the primordium and develop its effect for the necessary duration.