  Geophysical and geochemical anomalies may have a mutagenic effect on plants
growing in active fault zones being the factors of evolutionary transformation
of plant populations. To test this assumption we evaluated the mutation
activity of a Lonicera caerulea natural population in one of the active fault
zones in the Altai Mountains. We derived principal cytogenetic indices (i.e.,
mitotic, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase indices as well as
proportion and range of abnormal mitoses) for meristematic cells of Lonicera
caerulea seedlings. We found that the local geological and geophysical
environment (i.e., mineralogical composition of rocks and anomalies of the
magnetic field) increases the mitotic activity and the number of abnormal
mitoses in the meristematic cells. The results may help to clarify the role of
environmental conditions of tectonically active regions in microevolutionary
processes.
