title: Effect of aflatoxin on germination and growth of lettuce.
abstract: The relative susceptibility of 30 cultivars of lettuce to inhibition by aflatoxin was studied. Seed germination was not inhibited by concentrations as high as 1,000 mug/ml in cultivar Imperial 44 or by 100 mug/ml in the remaining cultivars. Hypocotyl elongation was inhibited by 46 to 68% at a concentration of 100 mug of aflatoxin per ml. Seedlings exposed to aflatoxin did not become chlorotic. The similarity between the morphological reaction of plants to coumarin and aflatoxin suggests a common mode of action, but further studies of the physiological basis for the inhibitory reactions induced by these compounds will be necessary before such conclusions will be valid.
mesh_terms: D000348:Aflatoxins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000362:Agar; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000378:metabolism; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000096:biosynthesis; D003374:Coumarins / Q000494:pharmacology; D010945:Plants, Edible / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D012639:Seeds / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D014675:Vegetables
chemical_list: D000348:Aflatoxins; D003374:Coumarins; D002734:Chlorophyll; D000362:Agar