The effect of mimosine on plant development

Date

3-1981

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Biology

College

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Liwayway M. Engle

Abstract

ABSTRACT GARCIA, NINA HERRERA, University of the Philip-pines at Los Banos, March, 1981. The Effect of Mimosine on Plant Development. Adviser: Dr. Liwayway M. Engle. Mimosine significantly affected the increase in length of the roots and shoots and the number of secondary roots formed in mungbean, ipil-ipil and wingedbean seedlings after treatment for twenty four hours. Mimosine inhibited the elongation of the roots and shoots and the formation of secondary roots in the three legumes. Ipil-ipil was found to be the least susceptible species to mimosine treatment, being not significantly affected by treatment concentration of 0.05 percent. Cytological observations of the control and mimosine treated organs provided the basis for these observations. Mitotic index determination revealed decreased mitotic rate with increasing treatment concentra-tion. The decrease in the mitotic rate was attributed to the inhibition of the interphase stage of the cell cycle possibly the G1 stage. Marked cellular abnormalities in mimosine treated root and shoot tips were also observed. Likewise, mimosine inhibited the growth and initiation of flowering and pod/fruit production of six-week old mungbean ipil-ipil and wingedbean plants. A measure of growth rate (K-value) was computed for each treatment per plant species. Inhibition of growth in mimosine treated plants was attributed to the inhibition of cell division in the meristematic shoot tips of the plant. The inhibitory action of mimosine in the initiation of flowering and pod/ fruit development was attributed to inhibition of cell division in the plant axils or to the inhibition of the chemical signal responsible for floral organogenesis in the shoot apex or to both. Further experiments along this line were highly recommended.

Language

English

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

Call Number

Thesis

Document Type

Thesis

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