Culture and morphoogenetic response of a lethal, chlorophyll-deficient mutant of tobacco to hormones, amino acids and sucrose.

This report describes the culture of Su/Su, Su/su and su/su tissue in vitro. High levels of auxin and low levels of cytokinin increase growth of the cells. The cells do not need exogenous amino acids for rapid growth and the chlorophyll deficiency cannot be overcome by amino acids. Reduced levels of auxin and sucrose enhance differentiation, whereas cysteine in the autoclaved medium inhibits differentiation. The Su chlorophyll mutant of tobacco provides a marker for in vitro studies on photosynthesis and photorespiration, chloroplast genetics and cell fusion techniques.