Doubling of chromosomes induced by Gloriosine isolated from Gloriosa superba, Linn.

Abstract

The usefulness of colchicine as a chemical in doubling chromosomes in plants was first reported by Blakeslee, who obtained polyploids in Datura stramonium by treating its seeds with this alkaloid. Since then, colchicine has been extensively used for inducing polyploidy in many species of plants. In announcing an Indian source for colchicine, Parthasarathy reported that, if fresh extract of tubers of Gloriosa superba is applied to maize seed before sowing, the developing roots show tetraploid sectors. This confirmed the polyploidizing influence of the alkaloid colchicine present in these tubers, the isolation of which had been reported by Clewer, Green and Tutin in 1915.