DISTRIBUTION OF ENDOGENOUS GIBBERELLINS IN DWARF AND GIANT OFF-TYPES BANANA (MUSA AAA, CVGRAND NAIN) PLANTS FROM IN-VITRO PROPAGATION

GA(3) and GA(20) were quantified in leaf extracts from true-to-type an d somaclonal variants (dwarf and giant) of Musa AAA cv. 'Grand nain' b y GC-MS-SIM after purification on reverse- and normal-phase HPLC and d etection by ELISA with GA(3) antibodies and by a dwarf rice bioassay. GA(3) concentration in dwarf plants was 811 ng g(-1) dry weight. For n ormal and giant plants, the endogeneous GA(3) levels were respectively 3.6 and 4.6 times higher. The GA(20) concentration in the giant plant was 68 ng g(-1) of dry weight. This concentration was, respectively, 4.6 and 7.3 times higher than those of normal and dwarf plants. These results suggest that the somaclonal variations affecting banana plant height are associated with modifications in GA metabolism.