ABSTRACT
The study of the seed progeny with different levels of the genetic stability of Rhododendron Ledebour (Rhododendron ledebourii Pojark.) was made. The micropreparations were examined according to following cytogenetic characteristics: mitotic activity, an indicator which is the mitotic index—a ratio of the number of dividing cells to the total number of cells counted, the percentage of cells in stages of mitosis, the level of mitosis pathologies, the level of cells with persistent nucleoli at metaphase and anaphase of mitosis, and the surface area of single nucleoli. The seedlings with high levels of mitosis pathologies were regarded as the mutable group, and with low pathologies were regarded with the low-mutable group. The seed progeny of the mutable group shows a decrease in mitotic activity, but an increase of the mitosis pathologies level, which indicates a high cytogenetic instability. The same parameters reveal the stability of maternal plants producing mutable and low-mutable seed progeny. The cytogenetic method may be used for identification of the seed progeny as the mode of separation the parental plants producing seed progeny with a high level of stability of the genetic material. These investigations may be appropriate for the assessment of the seed quality according to cytogenetic characteristics in parties with unknown origin.
