| Summary: | Plant systems in use for the detection of environmental mutagens appear capable of detecting all types of genetic effects which can be studied in animals. The study of somatic mosaicism, however, is better developed in plants than in higher animals. A case is presented here which shows the ability of plant systems in analyzing a host of genetic end points, including chromosome aberrations like deletions, somatic crossing over, numerical inequality, gene conversion, paramutations and point mutations. The systems in general use utilize certain varieties of Tradescantia, Glycine max, Nicotiana tabacum, Antirrhinum majus, Petunia hybrida, and Arabidopsis thaliana. Heterozygous plants or their homozygous counterparts with gene markers affecting chlorophyll development or anthocyanin in floral parts are exploited in these studies.
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