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Thomas R. Warne and
Leslie G. Hickok.
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 C-Fern Web Manual - Spore Mutagenesis

  Hermaphroditic and male C-Fern gametophytes
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X-ray

Materials:

  • X-ray machine

Procedures:

1. Soak spores for 24 h prior to sterilization and irradiation.

2. Sterilize using standard methods and place sterile spore suspension in a glass petri dish. Place dish inside plastic sandwich bag.

3. Irradiate spores with 25,000 Roentgens or about 555 Roentgens min-1 for 45 min. After irradiation sow spores as usual.

Under these conditions, spore germination at 10 days following sowing is about 80%; a screen with 10-5 M flurodeoxyuridine gives a mutant frequency of 2 X 10-5.