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Abstract
Researches on alkylating chemicals mutagens (method of treatment with diethyl sulfate. — The problem of the treatment of seeds with alkylating agents, belonging to the categories of alkylsuphonic and sulphuric esters, was investigated from a chemical and methodological viewpoint.
After a determination of the hydrolisis constants and of the activation energies of some compounds, diethylsulphate, undergoing hydrolisis most rapidly and — consequently — being the least appropriate for use in solution, was chosen for treatment of durum wheat seeds (cv. « Cappelli »). Using treatments of different durations with solutions of different concentrations under several temperature conditions, the amounts of diethylsulphate and of ethylsulfuric acid (one of the hydrolisis products) absorbed per seed in each treatment were calculated. In addition, the effect of the two fractions on seed germinability was studied.
Since the threshold value of the germination inhibiting effect of ethylsulfuric acid was fixed at 8.10−8 moles absorbed per seed, treatments could be found which allowed absorption of increasing doses of the ester by keeping absorption of the acid below the toxicity threshold. This was attained by varying properly the conditions of treatment (dose, duration and temperature). It could be demonstrated that, at identical amounts of ester absorbed per seed, an identical effect of germination took place, indipendently of type of treatment.
The need for an accurate measurement of the absorbed dose in studies on dose-effect relations with chemical mutagens is stressed.