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CHROMOSOME MUTATIONS IN A FERN POPULATION GROWING IN A POLLUTED ENVIRONMENT: A BIOASSAY FOR MUTAGENS IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS
Author(s) -
Klekowski Edward J.,
Berger Bernard B.
Publication year - 1976
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.1537-2197.1976.tb11807.x
Subject(s) - biology , fern , meiosis , chromosome , population , chromosomal translocation , genetics , botany , gene , demography , sociology
A population of royal ferns, Osmunda regalis , which is periodically submersed by the waters of the Millers River was found to have a very high frequency of chromosome mutations. The Millers River is located in western Massachusetts and is heavily polluted with industrial wastes. Approximately 43 % of meiotic samples collected in 1973 from the Millers River population were heterozygous for mutations such as paracentric inversions or reciprocal translocations, whereas less than 1 % of meiotic samples from nearby non‐polluted control populations were such heterozygotes. Cytological analysis within royal fern clones indicate that practically all of the chromosome mutations were post‐zygotically induced and that at least 64 % were induced since 1969. In the course of this study over 26,000 spore mother cells were analyzed for chromosome aberrations.