Identifying Tissue Sap Toxicity In Certain Plantain Species By Bioindication

Toxic substances influence vitally important processes in plants. Studying plant reactions to environmental pollution is one of important objectives. Among pollutants accumulated in P. major L. and P. media L. plants, a group of heavy metals (As, Cr, Cu, M., Ni, Pb, Sr, Zn) was separated. Each species with its genotypic differences and specific degree of flexibility reacts to environmental exposure differently. Bioindication at tissue and cell levels is based on close process limits of biotic and physiological reactions. Its advantage is high sensitivity to disruptions, which allows identifying small concentrations of pollutants. Bioindication at these specific levels enables early identification of environmental disruptions. The work examined root meristem mitosis of Allium cepa L. The laboratory test recorded the frequency of abnormal and normal mitoses in the cells of onion root meristems (Allium cepa L.) given that the onion was treated with extracts of different concentrations (0.5...5wt.%) of Plantago major L. and Plantago media L. growing in the anthropogenic areas of Tobolsk city (Tyumen region, Russian Federation).