Effects of oxybarbiturates on fern spore germination and gametophyte development

By Bannon, M.E. - Kordan, H.A. - Sheffield, E.

Spores from the ferns Pteridium aquilinum and Anemia phyllitidis were germinated on solid Moore's medium, supplemented with the three oxybarbiturates, namely, barbital, amobarbital and secobarbital, under white light. The severity of the adverse action of these neuroactive agents on spore germination, and in most instances, on subsequent gametophyte development, was secobarbital > amobarbital > barbital. A. phyllitidis was, on the whole, more sensitive than P. aquilinum to the adverse effects exerted by the three oxybarbiturates on spore germination and subsequent gametophyte development.