A major difficulty in cytogenetic studies of plant species from "cerrado" is the low metaphasic index in root tip cells. Cell cycle synchronization, by using hydroxyurea (HU), has been successfully used in order to obtain high mitotic and metaphasic index in several species. The goal of this work was to optimize conditions for efficient synchronization of Dipteryx alata root tip meristematic cells. Different levels of hydroxyurea (0, 1.25, 2.50, 5.00, and 10.00 mM), periods of treatment (10, 15, and 20 h) and periods of cell cycle recovery (5 and 10 h) were tested. Best results were achieved by treating 10-mm long roots with 3.5 mM hydroxyurea, for 20 h and incubating for 5 h in distilled water. The amount of cells dividing was five folds increased, compared to that of the control treatment, reaching an index value of 45%. Whereas for metaphase cells, the index value of 23% was 10 times higher. Therefore, such strategy was efficient to obtain high chromosome amounts for cytogenetic analysis of baru.
Cell cycle synchronization; metaphasic index; mitotic index; Dipteryx alata; hydroxyurea; baru
