Morphological and histological differences in the development of dwarf mutants of sexual and somatic origin in diverse woody taxa

Abstract

Morphological and histological observations were made on eight dwarf mutants arising either as seedlings from sexual reproduction or from somatic bud mutations (witches'-brooms in the crowns of normal trees). The most predominate morphological trait contributing to the expression of dwarfism in all taxa was the reduction of final internode lengths along the shoot axis. In taxa of sexual origin, with the exception of Prunus, there was a consistent reduction in the number of preformed leaves contained in the winter buds. In addition, in two taxa (Liquidambar and Tsuga) there was an almost complete absence of neoformed leaves and sylleptic branches on current year shoots. Conversely, in mutants of somatic origin there was no apparent reduction in the number of preformed leaves. Genetic dwarfness in this group resulted solely from decreases in final internode length. Significant differences in the cellular basis of dwarfism between mutants of different genetic origins are clearly evident. In dwarf trees arising from sexual reproduction, reduction in final internode length is attributed predominately to inhibition of mitotic activity in developing internodes resulting in highly significant decreases in final cell number, and not cell length. In mutants of somatic origin, the reduction in length of mature internodes results from a decrease in final cell length, rather than a decrease in cell number. Physiological mechanisms associated with the genetic expression of these morphogenetic differences are suggested.