The Identification of a Suitable Irradication Dosage for Mutation Induction in Zamioculcas Zamiifolia (lodd.) and the Polyploidization of Z. Zamiifolia and Marsdenia Floribunda

Abstract

Radiation mutation has been successfully used to create a great variety of ornamental crop cultivars by supplementing existing germplasm and improving existing cultivars, and chemical mutagens such as colchicine and oryzalin have been used to create new plant cultivars by doubling the chromosome number of the treated plant material to produce tetraploids. The main objective of this thesis research was to develop protocols to create tetraploid plants of Zamioculcas zamiifolia (Lodd.) Engl., an important foliage plant, and Marsdenia jloribunda (Brongn.), an important lei flower plant, and to determine the LD50 of ZZ leaflets. ZZ leaflets and M floribunda seeds were treated with colchicine at various concentrations and durations in order to induce ploidy changes and regenerate polyploids. Five ZZ tetraploids and one M. floribunda tetraploid were produced using colchicine. A tissue culture protocol was also developed for the oryzalin treatment of ZZ callus for the in vitro polyploidy induction of ZZ. The LD50 of ZZ leaflets irradiated with x-rays was calculated as 20±1 Gy. A ZZ germplasm collection was also initiated to provide ZZ plant material for use in future breeding studies.