GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS OF BRYOPHYTE CELL CULTURES

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  Growth behaviors of suspension cultured cells of Marchantia paleacea var. diptera, Reboulia hemisphaerica, Barbula unguiculata, Hedwigia ciliata, Sphagnum imbricatum, and Anthoceros punctatus were compared with those of other plants. Some unusual properties of bryophyte cells in relation to photosynthesis and nitrogen assimilation were found. In the light, all of the cultures were highly chlorophyllous. From their behavior in the dark, these cultures can be divided into three groups: no cell growth, active growth with high chlorophyll content, and active growth with a greatly reduced level of chlorophyll. Photosynthetic O₂ evolving activity was detected in either light-grown or dark-grown cells of the latter two groups if they are transferred to light.

  In relation to nitrogen assimilation in bryophyte cells, three prominent features were found: most did not grow in Murashige and Skoog's medium, which is used for cell culture of various species of higher plants. Some did not grow in the medium containing nitrate as the sole nitrogen source. Nitrate reductase (NaR) of some bryophytes used NADPH as the sole electron donor. This type of NaR has not been reported in other green plants but in fungi.