THE USE OF ORYZALIN AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR COLCHICINE IN IN-VITRO CHROMOSOME DOUBLING OF LILIUM AND NERINE

Colchicine has been used for doubling the number of chromosomes of many crop plants over a period of more than 50 years.
This natural alkaloid with an antimitotic activity, obtained from the wild Colchicum autumnale, however, is very toxic for human beings and also shows undesirable mutagenic activity on plants.
An other compound with mitosis inhibiting activity is oryzalin (4-(dipropylamino)-3,5-dinitro-benzene-sulfonamide) which is developed as a herbicide.
Oryzalin is tested as an alternative for colchicine in experiments with Lilium and Nerine conducted for mitotic polyploidization of sterile interspecific F1-hybrids in order to restore fertility.
In vitro treatment with oryzalin in concentrations varying from 0.001%–0.01% appeared to be less inhibiting for the regeneration and resulted in a higher number of polyploid plants than treatments with colchicine of which a tenfold higher concentration was needed.
Therefore oryzalin can be considered as a preferable alternative for the very toxic colchicine.

VI International Symposium on Flower Bulbs

Jaap M. van Tuyl, B. Meijer, Maria P. van Diën

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1992.325.88