Gemmae-Cup Production in Marchantia polymorpha and Its Response to Calcium Deficiency and Supply of Other Nutrients

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Abstract
As in previous expts. M. polymorpha responded to the absence of K, Ca, NO3, or PO4 ions in the nutrient soln. with glass cloth as the substrate. Omission of K results in narrow, tan-colored plants. Absence of Ca is followed by almost immediate death of the growing tips and eventually the whole plant except for localized regeneration. With no NO3 or PO4, ventral, scales, rhizoids, and cells of the lower epidermis redden. Light green dorsal side, infrequent dichotomy, and low gemmae-cup number characterize NO3 deficiency. Without PO4 plants become dark green dorsally, produce many gemmae cups and develop as rosettes. When Ca is limited to 0.3 millimols per 1. of soln., many plant apices die after several weeks of apparently healthy development. Tips of plants from such cultures which show no gross evidences of injury possess cells which enlarge rapidly and develop large vacuoles prematurely. Necrosis begins in the more nearly mature cells and continues until the entire tip is dead. On high nitrate levels and with the usual supply of the 6 common ions, the [male] clone is characterized by many gemmae cups, narrow thallus, and incurved margins; the [female] clone by few cups, and thalli that are broad and plane. Optimum vegetative development as measured by dry-wt. accumulation was evident in certain regions of the nutrient triangles and suggests that the following approx. concs. may be used in growing Marchantia: K 0.0012, Ca 0.0007, Mg 0.0014. NO3 0.0034. PO4 0.0004, and SO4 0.0008 mols per liter.

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