Breeding of Vegetable, Spice and Tuber crops (2+1)

Chemical mutagens

• The number of chemical mutagens is numerous and continuously increasing. But for mutation inductin in cultivated plants only a few are readily very useful and most of them belong to the special class of alkylating agents such as, ethyl methane sulhonate (EMS), diethyl sulfate (dES), ethyleneimine (EI), ethyl nitroso urethane (ENU), ethyl nitroso urea (ENH), and methyl nitroso urea (MNH).

Group of mutagen	Name of chemical	Mode of action
Alkylating agents	Ethyl methane sulphonate Methyl methane sulphonate Ethyl ethane sulphonate	AT GC transitions Transitions GC AT transitions
Base analogues	5 bromo uracil 2 amino purine	AT GC transitions GC AT transitions
Acridine dyes	Acriflavin, proflavin	Deletion and addition
Others	Nitrous acid Hydroxylamine Sodium azide	AT GC transitions GC AT transitions Transitions