BACKGROUND: Celosia argentea is a widely recognized plant for its ornamental qualities and therapeutic uses in traditional medicine. As demand for such multipurpose plants grows, enhancing its phenotypic and physiological traits could further expand its commercial potential. Polyploidization, particularly through chemical treatments like oryzalin, offers a method to induce genetic variation and potentially improve desirable traits in plants. RESULTS: Tetraploid (2n = 4×= 36) nodal segments of C. argentea were treated with oryzalin under in vitro conditions, resulting in successful induction of octoploidy (2n = 8×= 72). Flow cytometry and chromosome counting confirmed polyploidization, with the highest induction rate achieved using 40 µM oryzalin for 24 h. Comparative analyses between octoploid and tetraploid plants revealed significant differences in morphological traits, including increased stem and leaf thickness, larger leaf area, inflorescence characteristics and more compact growth in the octoploids. Additionally, octoploids exhibited enhanced chlorophyll content and altered photosynthetic characteristics, along with notable changes in stomatal size and density. Ploidy stability was maintained across generations, ensuring the heritability of the induced traits. CONCLUSIONS: In vitro polyploidization in C. argentea led to significant phenotypic and physiological improvements, demonstrating its potential for application in ornamental horticulture and plant breeding. This research contributes to the understanding of the impact of in vitro polyploidization on plant development, offering insights for the commercial cultivation and enhancement of C. argentea. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.

• Klíčová slova
• Chromosome doubling, Cockscomb, Crop improvement, Offspring stability, Oryzalin, Polyploid induction, Polyploidization,
• MeSH
• Celosia * genetika   MeSH
• chlorofyl metabolismus   MeSH
• dinitrobenzeny farmakologie   MeSH
• fenotyp MeSH
• fotosyntéza * MeSH
• listy rostlin genetika   růst a vývoj   fyziologie   MeSH
• polyploidie * MeSH
• sulfanilamidy MeSH
• tetraploidie * MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• srovnávací studie MeSH
• Názvy látek
• chlorofyl MeSH
• dinitrobenzeny MeSH
• oryzalin MeSH Prohlížeč
• sulfanilamidy MeSH

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Understanding the direct consequences of polyploidization is necessary for assessing the evolutionary significance of this mode of speciation. Previous studies have not studied the degree of between-population variation that occurs due to these effects. Although it is assumed that the effects of the substances that create synthetic polyploids disappear in second-generation synthetic polyploids, this has not been tested. METHODS: The direct consequences of polyploidization were assessed and separated from the effects of subsequent evolution in Vicia cracca , a naturally occurring species with diploid and autotetraploid cytotypes. Synthetic tetraploids were created from diploids of four mixed-ploidy populations. Performance of natural diploids and tetraploids was compared with that of synthetic tetraploids. Diploid offspring of the synthetic tetraploid mothers were also included in the comparison. In this way, the effects of colchicine application in the maternal generation on offspring performance could be compared independently of the effects of polyploidization. KEY RESULTS: The sizes of seeds and stomata were primarily affected by cytotype, while plant performance differed between natural and synthetic polyploids. Most performance traits were also determined by colchicine application to the mothers, and most of these results were largely population specific. CONCLUSIONS: Because the consequences of colchicine application are still apparent in the second generation of the plants, at least the third-generation polyploids should be considered in future comparisons. The specificities of the colchicine-treated plants may also be caused by strong selection pressures during the creation of synthetic polyploids. This could be tested by comparing the initial sizes of plants that survived the colchicine treatments with those of plants that did not. High variation between populations also suggests that different polyploids follow different evolutionary trajectories, and this should be considered when studying the effects of polyploidization.

• Klíčová slova
• Anti-mitotic agent, Fabaceae, common garden experiment, flow cytometry, individual growth rate, neopolyploid, reproductive fitness, trait evolution,
• MeSH
• diploidie MeSH
• kolchicin farmakologie   MeSH
• molekulární evoluce MeSH
• polyploidie * MeSH
• tetraploidie MeSH
• vikev účinky léků   genetika   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• kolchicin MeSH

Vicia cracca diploids and autotetraploids are highly parapatric in Europe; tetraploids reside in western and northern part, whereas diploids occupy much drier south-eastern part. They meet together in a Central European contact zone. This distribution pattern raised questions about a transformative effect of polyploidization on plant performance and environmental tolerances. We investigated plant survival, growth, and seed production in two water regimes in a common garden experiment using seeds collected from five localities in the Central European contact zone where diploids and tetraploids occur in sympatry. Obtained data imply that tetraploids of V. cracca are not generally superior in performance to diploids. Significantly larger seeds from tetraploid mother plants collected in the field were not correlated with greater stature of the seedlings. Nonetheless, tetraploids might have a potential to out-compete diploids in the long run due to the tetraploids' ability of greater growth which manifested in the second year of cultivation. Considering the response of diploids and tetraploids to water supply, drought stressed tetraploids but not diploids produced a higher proportion of aborted seeds than watered ones, which implies that tetraploids are more drought susceptible than diploids. On the other hand, decreased plant height in drought stresses tetraploids, which simultaneously increased total seed production, may suggest that tetraploids have a greater ability to avoid local extinction under unfavourable conditions by enhancing biomass allocation into production of seeds at the cost of lower growth. The significant interaction between ploidy level and locality in several traits suggests possible polyfyletic origin of tetraploids and the necessity to clarify the history of the tetraploids in Europe.

• Klíčová slova
• Drought stress, Polyploid, Seed production, Seed weight, Sympatric, Vegetative growth,
• MeSH
• biomasa MeSH
• diploidie MeSH
• ploidie MeSH
• semena rostlinná genetika   růst a vývoj   MeSH
• semenáček genetika   růst a vývoj   MeSH
• sympatrie MeSH
• tetraploidie MeSH
• vikev genetika   růst a vývoj   MeSH
• zahrady MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa MeSH