Cell division and ribonucleic acid metabolism in a plant tissue culture system: written for Gunning Victoria Jubilee Prize in Botany, 1967

Abstract

This paper reports studies on cell division. Cell division is one of the fundamental processes in growth, but its study in the intact organism is made more complex by the simultaneous occurrence of other processes. The first part of this paper deals with the development of a simple system facilitating the study of cell division in higher plait tissue in partial isolation from obscuring processes. The second part reports the results of preliminary observations on the ribonucleic acid metabolism of the tissue.The development of a plant tissue culture system exhibiting a high degree of division in a synchronous manner is described. A potent effect of light in inhibiting cell division in the system is described.. . Preliminary results are presented regarding the kinetics of RNA labelling, and the production of normal and plastid ribosomal RNA. It is suggested that the two processes are under different controls.