Alisher Touraev, Brian P. Forster, S.Mohan Jain. 2008. Advances in Haploid Production in Higher Plants. Springer Science & Business Media,Pp.348. ISBN140208854X, 9781402088544
Colchicine inhibits microtubule polymerization by binding to tubulin, one of the main constituents of microtubules. Availability of tubulin is essential to mitosis, so colchicine effectively functions as a "mitotic poison" or spindle poison.
The mitosis-inhibiting function of colchicine has been of great use in the study of cellular genetics. To see the chromosomes of a cell under a light microscope, it is important that they be viewed near the point in the cell cycle in which they are most dense. This occurs near the middle of mitosis (specifically metaphase), so mitosis must be stopped before it completes.
A new configuration for carmine is proposed, as well as possible changes to carminic acid and carmine molecules as a result of decomposition caused by heating. Each of the major classes of carmine-based stains is described as are possible mechanisms of attachment to specific substrates. Glycogen binds carmine through hydrogen bonding, and it is here that carmine decomposed by heat could have the greatest detrimental impact. Nuclei and chromosomes are stained via coordination bonds, perhaps supplemented by hydrogen bonds. Finally, acidic mucins react ionically with carmine. Specificity in the latter case may be due to unique polymeric carmine molecules that form in the presence of aluminum chloride (Dapson, 2009).
Acetocarmine is a non-specific nuclear stain which simply binds the chromosomes and gives colour to them. However, specific nuclear stain (e.g. feulgen) reacts with chromosomes to give them the colour. Acetocarmine is a dye obtained from insects.
Colchicine is a mitotic poisoner which arrest the spindle action during cell division as a result of which cells become polyploid. Colchicine is an alkaloid obtained from the tubers of plant Colchicum luteum is used to induce polyploidy in plants.