MEGHNA GARG, ANUBHUTI SHARMA*, SANJAY JAMBHULKAR, SHOORVIR SINGH, ANUKOOL VAISHNAV AND P. K. RAI
Biochemistry Department, ICAR-Directorate of Rapeseed Mustard Research, Sewar, Bharatpur-321 303 (Rajasthan),
India
*(e-mail: Anubhuti.Sharma@icar.gov.in; Mobile: 97724 29768)
(Received: December 26, 2022; Accepted: February 11, 2023)
ABSTRACT
PM 21 variety of Indian mustard i.e. Brassica juncea was irradiated with different doses of gamma rays along with combination of different concentrations of Ethyl Methane Sulfonate (EMS). To study the effectiveness of the mutagenic agents, different types of chlorophyll mutations i.e. albina, chlorina, xantha, virdis and albovirdis were isolated from the progenies. The experiment with 1500 Gy+0.75% EMS treatment had highest mutation frequency, while 1000 Gy+0.25% EMS treatment had the lowest mutation frequency. Overall, 1500 Gy of gamma rays dose had the highest mutagenic effect on plants generating maximum spectra of chlorophyll mutations. The antioxidant activity also improved in the viable mutants. Results from chlorophyll mutations and biochemical analysis suggested that gamma rays in combination with EMS treatment can be successfully used to generate variability in the germplasm of B. juncea.
Key words : Chlorophyll mutations, Indian mustard, gamma rays, EMS