Abstract
Change in chromosome size in root tip meristems of rye and Allium cepa are induced by growing the plants in solutions differing in phosphorus content. The chromosomes are 50% larger by volume in a “high” phosphate as compared with a “no” phosphate solution. Alteration of other elements supplied in culture also induces change in the size of chromosomes. — The size variation is a reflection of change in the chromosome dry mass. In part at least this change in mass is attributable to alteration in the amount of protein. The DNA component of the chromosomes remains unchanged. — A consistent pattern of change in chromosome size, quite independent of that induced by varying the culture solution, is related to age and development. For example, the root tip chromosomes double in size during the first three weeks of growth in rye seedlings. Thereafter the size decreases. As with the induced chromosome changes the protein content alters, the DNA amount remains constant. — Variation in the “non-permanent” component of the chromosomes in meristems appears to be closely correlated with the rate of cell metabolism.
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Bennett, M.D., Rees, H. Induced and developmental variation in chromosomes of meristematic cells. Chromosoma 27, 226–244 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00326147
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00326147