ISSN 2756-3413
African Journal of Virology Research ISSN 3421-7347 Vol. 8 (6), pp. 001-004, June, 2014. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Mitotic index studies on edible cocoyams (Xanthosoma and Colocasia spp.)
Ekanem, A.M. and Osuji, J.O.*
Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, University of Port Harcourt, P.M.B. 5323, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
Accepted 12 March, 2014
Abstract
Mitotic index studies were carried out on three cultivars of Xanthosoma and four cultivars of Colocasia. Young healthy roots (about 15 mm) were collected at 2 hourly intervals from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm. Root tips were fixed in 1:3 ethanol : acetic acid for 24 h and stored in 70% ethanol prior to squashing in FLP orcein. Microscopic counts showed that the dynamics of mitosis varied slightly between the two groups of cultivars. The peak of metaphase remained between 12:00 noon and 2:00 pm for most of cultivars but one (NCY 00Sa), which had its metaphase rising to a peak between 2:00 and 4:00 pm. This suggests that the best time to harvest root samples for optimum metaphase is immediately before 12:00 noon.
Key words: Chromosomes, cocoyam, mitotic division, metaphase, young healthy root tips.