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MORPHOGENETIC STUDIES ON THE FERN TODEA BARBARA. III. EXPERIMENTAL EMBRYOLOGY
Author(s) -
DeMaggio A. E.,
Wetmore R. H.
Publication year - 1961
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1961.tb11681.x
Subject(s) - biology , sporophyte , fern , botany , human fertilization , gametophyte , embryo , embryology , ploidy , anatomy , pollen , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , gene
D e M aggio , A ugustus E. (Rutgers · The State U., Coll. of Pharmacy, Newark, N. J.), and R alph H. W etmore . Morphogenetic studies on the fern Todea barbara. III. Experimental embryology . Amer. Jour. Bot. 48(7): 551–565. Illus. 1961.—A study of the various stages in the life history of the fern Todea barbara (L.) Moore has shown that young embryos can be removed from the surrounding prothallial tissue, within which they normally develop, and successfully grown in culture. It was possible, therefore, to investigate the manner in which the embryo develops when it is freed from the restraint of surrounding cells. Embryos excised 20 days after fertilization could be grown to mature sporophytes in a liquid culture containing mineral salts and sugar. Younger embryos, excised 17 days after fertilization, required the addition of whole coconut milk or a mixture of sorbitol and inositol, components of the “neutral” fraction of coconut milk, to complete their development. Embryos excised prior to the appearance of the first division wall, 4–5 days after fertilization, did not develop into the usual, 3‐dimensional, diploid or sporophytic plant. Instead they become irregular, rather 2‐dimensional, thalloid structures, remarkably similar to the early haploid or gametophytic plant. These findings are considered in relation to the environmental conditions of growth with particular reference to nutritional and physical factors.