ABSTRACT
Koelreuteria bipinnata Franch. is a tall tree species of the genus Koelreuteria Laxm. (family Sapindaceae), valued for landscaping, ecological restoration, and industrial production. However, no studies on new variety breeding have been reported, and excellent germplasm resources remain scarce, indicating substantial potential for cultivar development. For the first time in this study, seeds and shoot tips of seedlings were treated with colchicine (0.05%–0.2%) and Ethyl Methanesulfonate (EMS, 0.4%–1.5%). A combination of multiple indicators, including flow cytometry, stomatal observation, leaf color parameters, chlorophyll fluorescence, and antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase, SOD; peroxidase, POD; catalase, CAT), was employed to systematically analyze the mutagenic effects. Additionally, mutant plants and the optimal mutagenesis treatment combination were successfully screened out. The main results are presented as follows:
(1) Effects of Mutagen Treatments on Seed Germination and Plant Growth: Both mutagens significantly inhibited the seed germination and plant growth of Koelreuteria bipinnata, though they exhibited distinct modes of action. At the same treatment duration, the germination rate, hypocotyl–radicle length, morphological variation rate, and tetraploid induction rate of K. bipinnata seeds all declined with increasing colchicine concentration, whereas the hypocotyl swelling rate generally followed an initial increase followed by a decrease. Based on comprehensive evaluation of germination rate, seedling survival rate, and variation rate, the optimal mutagenic combination was 0.05% colchicine for 6 h for seed treatment and 0.2% colchicine for 12 h for shoot tip treatment. Moreover, when seedlings absorbed excessive amounts of the agent, they failed to differentiate normal root systems and true leaves. Under the same treatment duration with EMS, the germination rate of K. bipinnata seeds decreased gradually with increasing concentration. Regression analysis yielded semi-lethal concentrations (LC₅₀) of 0.73%, 0.48%, and 0.21% for 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h soaking treatments, respectively. The optimal mutagenic combination was 0.6% EMS for 12 h, which primarily induced variations in leaf shape, leaf color, and plant architecture; however, most of these variations were unstable, with only the pale-green variegated mutant exhibiting stable expression. Furthermore, with increasing treatment concentration and prolonged exposure time, the plant height, ground diameter, crown width, and leaf number of the mutagen-treated plants were all significantly lower than those of the controls, displaying a dwarfing trend in plant architecture.
(2) Mutation Types and Cytological Characteristics: Flow cytometry detected two ploidy types in the colchicine-induced population, namely diploids and tetraploids. The fluorescence intensity peak of tetraploids (12.7 × 10⁴) was approximately twice that of diploids (6.4 × 10⁴). Compared with the untreated original diploids (controls), the tetraploids exhibited a 28.41% increase in stomatal length and a 46.60% increase in stomatal width, along with a significant decrease in stomatal density, as well as characteristics including enlarged leaf area, deepened leaf color, increased and thickened leaf trichomes, and dwarfed plant architecture. EMS treatment primarily induced three major types of variations—leaf shape, leaf color, and plant architecture—among which the leaf shape variation rate was the highest; however, most variations gradually disappeared with plant growth, and only the pale-green variegated plants exhibited stable expression.
(3) Physiological Response Mechanisms: The colchicine-induced tetraploids and the EMS-induced pale-green variegated mutants exhibited significantly opposite trends in physiological responses. Compared with the diploid controls, the tetraploid plants showed significant increases (P < 0.05) in chlorophyll content, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, soluble sugar (SS) content, soluble protein (SP) content, and the activities of enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT), whereas malondialdehyde (MDA) content and relative electrical conductivity were both significantly decreased, indicating that polyploidization enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and membrane lipid stability. In contrast, all the above physiological indicators in the EMS-induced pale-green variegated mutants were significantly lower than those of the control plants, reflecting an overall decline in metabolic synthesis and antioxidant defense capacity.
(4) The mutagenic effects of the two agents differed significantly: colchicine is suitable for creating novel tetraploid germplasm with high photosynthetic efficiency and enhanced stress resistance, and is applicable to the cultivar improvement of K. bipinnata; EMS mutagenesis can enrich ornamental traits such as leaf shape and leaf color, but requires subsequent research to overcome the physiological weakening of the mutant plants.
This study fills the gap in mutation breeding research on K. bipinnata and provides a theoretical basis and foundational materials for the differentiated application of these two mutagens.
Keywords: Koelreuteria bipinnata; Colchicine; Ethyl Methanesulfonate(EMS); Mutation breeding; Tetraploid; Mutant screening; Physiological response.