Influence of postwash time on the mutagenic effects of ethylmethanesulphonate (EMS) in barley seeds

Abstract

Barley seeds were presoaked in water for 17 hours and given a treatment with ethylmethanesulphonate (EMS). After treatment the seed samples were washed in running tap water for 4 and 20 hours. Chlorophyll mutations were analysed in the M2 generation and a higher mutation frequency was found in the seeds that had been given a short postwash than in those given a long postwash. Chromosome aberrations were analysed in the first mitotic cycle in the embryo shoot tip. The frequencies of acentric fragments in anaphase cells were not influenced by the duration of postwash. When seeds were redried and stored for 7 days before germination a considerable storage effect was found. The frequency of chromosome aberrations was doubled and the chlorophyll mutation frequency increased several times.