THE EFFECT OF IONIZING IRRADIATION ON THE TISSUE-CULTURE OF CORONILLA-VARIA

Long-term callus cultures of crownvetch (Coronilla varia L.) grown on the Murashige and Skoog's medium with 2,4-D (1 mg l-1) and cultures of somatic embryos cultivated on the same basic medium but with IAA (1.0 mg l-1) were exposed to ionizing irradiation. The irradiation caused a growth inhibition excepting the lowest dose of 2.5 Gy. The highest d ose of 160 Gy induced browning of the culture but this colour change w as not lethal. The amount of ''giant cells'' present in both cultures was dependent on the dose of irradiation.