Potato Germplasm Enhancement Laboratory

Obihiro Univerisity of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine
West 2-11, Inada, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan

Ploidy estimation by stomata observation

  1. Collect a mature leaf.

  2. Peel off the surface cell layer from undersurface of the leaf using a pair of tweezers.

  3. Place the cell layer on a slide glass, and stain with a drop of 2% silver nitrate solution.

  4. After staining for 1 minute, cover with a cover slip.

  5. Count the number of chloroplast grains in a guard cell of a stoma under a microscope.

Note: Approximate number of chloroplast grains in one guard cell is,
    2x ··· 2-4
    3x ··· 5-6
    4x ··· 8-12
(slightly varied depending on species and cultivars)