Length of meristematic and fully elongated root cells related to haploid DNA content

Abstract

The lengths of meristematic (l_m) and fully-elongated cells (l_e) were measured in the roots of 118 monocot and dicot species of herbaceous plants from 20 angiosperm families. The results were analyzed using the data on haploid DNA content (C_val) for the same species from the website (http://data.kew.org/cvalues). The distribution range of l_m, l_e, and C_val was wider in monocot plants compared to dicots. Values of l_m and l_e in monocot and l_m in dicot species correlated positively with C_val. Dependence of l_m and l_e on C_val was similar in diploid and polyploid species, both monocots and dicots. The average length of root cells differed less than the root length.