SOMATIC HYBRIDS OF HIGHER-PLANTS OBTAINED FROM AMIPROPHOSMETHYL-RESISTANT MUTANT NICOTINIANA-PLUMBAGINIFOLIA

Interspecific and intertribal somatic hybrids were obtained to study t he composition and function of microtubules in hybrid plants. The amip rophosmethyl-resistant mutant Nicotiana plumbaginifolia L. was used as donor; canamycin-resistant mutants N. sylvestris L. and Atropa bellad onna served as recipients. Cytogenetic analysis confirmed the hybrid n ature of the clones selected. Immunoflourescent analysis showed that c onstitutions of mitotic spindles in regenerating protoplast, isolated from the hybrid NpAb-107 and the mutant N. plunbaginifolia, show no ch ange after a 2-hour treatment with 5 mu M of amiprophosmethyl; in A. b elladonna, the division spindle is completely destroyed under these co nditions. Tubulin was isolated from the hybrid NpAb-107 and separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis. The results showed that NpAb-107 h as the beta-tubulin isoform specific for N. plumbaginifolia in additio n to all isoforms of A. belladonna.