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Application of the disk method to cultured plant cells. I. Inhibition zones

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Abstract

When paper disks carrying small volumes of highly concentrated drugs were placed on the suface of the medium in plant cell culture plates, diffusion of the drugs led to a circular area of non-dividing cells (an inhibition zone) around the disks. Out of 63 drugs tested 37 were inhibitory and 15 of these produced a clear inhibition zone.

Drug concentrations could be estimated by measuring the inhibition zone diameter. Cell growth and drug diffusion were analysed and the influence of several variables on inhibition zone formation studied. Inhibition zones occured with cultures of Zea mays, Acer pseudoplatanus, Daucus carota and Hyoscyamus muticus and protoplast-derived cells of Rosa. Possible applications of the method in plant cell genetics and physiology are discussed.

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Abbreviations

ETH:

L-ethionine

MMC:

methylmercury chloride

NAA:

l-naphthaleneacetic acid

BAP:

6-benzylaminopurine

PCV:

Packed cell volume

PE:

Plating efficiency

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Strauss, A., King, P.J. Application of the disk method to cultured plant cells. I. Inhibition zones. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 3, 111–122 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00033732

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00033732

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