CYTOKININS IN NORWAY SPRUCE SEEDLINGS AND FOREST SOIL POLLUTION

Cytokinins can correlate with pollution damage in spruce trees and als o with different strains and species of their mycorrhizal symbionts. I n our study, Norway spruce seedlings were grown in vitro on sterilized or nonsterile soil substrates from two differently polluted forest re search plots. Cytokinins in needles were analysed by a combined HPLC-E LISA method. Differences were found predominantly in the isopentenylad enine-types of cytokinins. These were elevated in seedlings, grown on polluted soils in comparison to those grown on soils from the unpollut ed plot, as well as in seedlings grown on nonsterile substrates in com parison to those grown on,sterile soil substrates. A possible explanat ion might be a change of metabolism in the roots due to pollution stre ss or/and a change in the mycorrhizosphere organisms. Norway spruce se edlings as tester organisms for soil pollution are discussed.