Metabolism of 6-benzyladenine by leaf explants of Lachenalia during adventitious bud formation

A combination of 1 mg l − 1 benzyladenine and 0.1 mg l − 1 naphthaleneacetic acid brought about extensive adventitious bud formation on Lachenalia leaf explants. The plant material itself did not contain detectable levels of endogenous cytokinins either prior to or during in vitro culture. The benzyladenine applied to the leaf explants was taken up and rapidly metabolized. The major metabolite was biologically active and co-chromatographed with ribosylbenzyladenine. With time, a second unknown biologically active metabolite was formed. Very little of the applied benzyladenine was converted to glucosides.