THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUTATIONAL WITCHES’ BROOMSINS COTCHPINE (PINUSSYLVESTRIS)M.S. YAMBUROV, A.S. PROKOPYEV, T.P. ASTAFUROVA AND S.V. PONKRATYEVAAbstract The study of eight mutational witchesÂ’ brooms in Scotch Pine showed that originally they evolved from latent buds which were dormant for several years. The study of the xylem anatomy showed that witchesÂ’ brooms, compared to a normal part of the tree crown, are characterized by the following tendency: a higher number of tracheids are laid in the tree-ring, length of the tracheids decreases, though diameter of the tracheids, lumen area and cell wall thickness increase. The higher the density (the intensity of branching) of witchesÂ’ brooms, the stronger difference is pronounced in the xylem characteristics typical for normal condition and at the presence of witchesÂ’ brooms. The authors offer hypothesis that the mutation affects the polar transport or the auxin receptivity processes, discussing the possibility of the existence of a particular morphogenetic program in the genotype of coniferous trees. This program can be activated by the occurrence of mutations and make the branching pattern more complex. It is assumed that the existence of such morphogenetic program allows considering the witchesÂ’ broom mutation phenomenon as an atavism of conifers.
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