A model of mutant selection in plant suspension cultures.

In plant cell suspension cultures, the fastest growing cell type will eventually dominate the culture. This selection process is often proposed as the mechanism by which cultures become habituated to stressful conditions. Equations which model the selection hypothesis predict a sinusoidal transition from sensitive to tolerant cells. Culture growth during the habituation process as predicted by this model closely matches the habituation of tobacco cells to NaCl as described by Nabors, Daniels, Nadolny, and Brown (1975). The equations can also be used to estimate a theoretical mutation rate from experimental results.