Experimental studies on the shoot apex of Helianthus annuus: the effect of surgical bisection on quiescent cells in the apex

Abstract

When the shoot apex of Helianthus annuus cv. Peredovic is bisected surgically, two new apices are regenerated, each of which, 3 weeks after the operation, contains a quiescent central zone similar to that of the original apex. The operation destroys some cells of the original zone and stimulates others to become active in DNA synthesis. Regenerating apices, supplied with [H3] thymidine and autoradiographed at the end of the 2nd day after the operation, reveal no evidence of a quiescent zone. Evidence for the establishment of quiescence appears by the end of the 3rd day and becomes clearer on the 4th and 5th days after the operation. There is no evidence that the residual zone cells play any particular role in regeneration. It is suggested that quiescence in regard to DNA synthesis and mitosis appears sooner than the cytological features associated with quiescence in the sunflower shoot apex.