Effect of Colchicine Dose and Treatment Duration on Morphophysiological Characteristics of Bride Rose Poppy (Papaver Fugax Poir.) Using Different Explants

In this study, in order to determine the best method of polyploidy induction in bride rose poppy (Papaver fugax Poir.), a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications and three factors including different colchicine concentrations (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5%), different treatments duration (12, 24 and 48 h) and explant type (seeds, seedlings and terminal buds) were investigated in Mohaghegh Ardabili University in 2017-2018. In addition to morphological and stomatal evaluations, flow cytometry technique confirmed the increasing of DNA content in some of the treated plants. The results showed that, the treatment of terminal buds with 0.05% or 0.1% colchicine for 48 h, due to the highest percentage of survival (44.4%) and tetraploidy induction (18.9%), is the best method for production of tetraploid plants. The assessment of autopolyploidy effects on some of the studied traits revealed that, average internode length, plant height and stomata cells density in tetraploid plants decreased, while, leaf size and thickness, capsule size, number of leaves and dry weight of plants, stomata cell size, chlorophyll, protein and carbohydrate content and activity of catalase and peroxidase antioxidant enzymes increased. However, there was no significant change in the polyphenol oxidase activity as a result of tetraploidy induction. In addition, enhanced morphine content and declined codeine content in tetraploid plants were observed in this study. In conclusion, with regards to effective role of colchicine in tetraploidy induction along with morphological characteristics and metabolic process changes of bride rose poppy plants, the results can be used in breeding programs of this medicinal plant.