APB & SABRAO 2009 ABSTRACT
Tetraploid induction of Hyoscyamus muticus using colchicine treatment
Shahriari Ahmadi F1, Dehghan E1, Farsi M1, Azizi M2
1
Ferdowsi University, College of Agriculture, Department of Biotechnology and Plant
Breeding, P.O.Box 91775-1163, Mashhad, Iran fshahria@yahoo.com.au
2
Ferdowsi University, College of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, P.O.Box 91775-1163,
Mashhad, Iran
Egyptian Henbane (Hyoscyamus muticus) is one of the most important medicinal plants of
Solanaceae family. The tip meristem of diploid plants (2n= 2x=28) were treated with 0.2%
colchicine solution for 24 h and Flow cytometry was used to determine the DNA ploidy level of
different tissues of individual plants. Morphological characters such as size and thickness of leaf,
flower, seed, epidermis and guard cells, as well as number of chloroplast in guard cells were
considered as other parameters for identifying putative tetraploid plants determination. It is
noticeable that results of Flow cytometry and morphological characters confirmed each other.
Although tetraploidy were induced using this technique, however, mixoploid plants were also
observed in Egyptian Henbane plants. The results from this study indicate that colchicine
treatment can efficiently be used to improve Hyoscyamus muticus for commercial application of
its vegetative organs in medicinal usage.