GENOME REARRANGEMENTS IN CELL-CULTURE OF RAUWOLFIA-SERPENTINA - DIVERSE PATTERN OF GENOME VARIATIONS

By means of restriction analysis and blot hybridization a comparative study of the genomes of intact plants and cultured cells of Crepis cap illaris , and cultured cells and intact plants - representatives of di fferent Rauwolfia species was performed. It was shown that long-term c ultivation of plant cells in vitro is accompanied by genome rearrangem ents, the range of which exceeds interspecific variability. Genome var iations in populations of cultured cells are diverse, they affect diff erent sequences and involve amplifications, decrease in copy number, a nd other types of genome rearrangements that lead to the appearance of a polymorphism of restriction fragment length.