AMPHIDIPLOIDS BETWEEN CYCLAMEN-PERSICUM MILL AND C-HEDERIFOLIUM AITONINDUCED THROUGH COLCHICINE TREATMENT OF OVULES IN-VITRO AND PLANTS

Hybrids of C. persicum diploid and C. hederifolium were synthesized fo r interspecific cross-breeding,but were found to be completely sterile from the previous paper. Thus, in vitro colchicine treatment applied to hybrid ovules (C. persicum diploid X C. hederifolium) and colchicin e treatment applied to the mature hybrids (C. persicum diploid X C. he derifolium or C. hederifolium X C. persicum diploid) were used to prod uced fertile amphidiploids. Many fertile plants were derived from in v itro culture of the ovules treated with 0.05% colchicine for 10 and 15 days throughout embryogenic callus formation and several of the ferti le plants were detected to be amphidiploids with a chromosome number o f 2 n=82. On the other hand,hybrids were derived from in vitro culture of the ovules without colchicine treatment throughout germination and they were sterile plants with a chromosome number of 2 n=41. Viable s eeds were barely produced from the mature hybrids of C. hederifolium X C. persicum diploid which were treated with 0.5 % colchicine using tr agacanth gum by self-pollination and the flowering plants developed fr om the seeds were amphidiploids with a chromosome number of 2 n=82. Al though each of the amphidiploids induced by the two methods and the hy brids exhibited the characteristics of the parents, the amphidiploids showed larger flowers and peduncles than the hybrids and grew vigorous ly. They showed high pollen fertility and yielded viable seeds by self -pollination.