5-AZACYTIDINE AND GAMMA-RAYS PARTIALLY SUBSTITUTE FOR COLD TREATMENT IN VERNALIZING WINTER-WHEAT

5-Azacytidine, a known demethylating agent, and gamma rays, a presumed one, partially substituted for the cold requirement for flowering of winter wheat. That partial substitution was confirmed only when plants were grown from seed that had developed under non-vernalizing conditi ons. The results are compatible with the hypothesis that a component o f the vernalization requirement is conditioned by methylation of a gen e or genes promoting flowering.