and In Vitro for Early Detection of Somaclonal Variation

Copyright © 2013 Jamilah Syafawati Yaacob et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The present study deals with the cytological investigations on themeristematic root cells of carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus Linn.) grown in vivo and in vitro. Cellular parameters including the mitotic index (MI), chromosome count, ploidy level (nuclear DNA content), mean cell and nuclear areas, and cell doubling time (Cdt) were determined from the 2mm root tip segments of this species. The MI value decreased when cells were transferred from in vivo to in vitro conditions, perhaps due to early adaptations of the cells to the in vitro environment. The mean chromosome number was generally stable (