North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Mark Lee" <markl@nytec.com>]

I would be interested in digging up a copy of that paper.  Can you please
tell us where it is published.
-Mark Lee, Seattle

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of Joe and Ellen
Hecksel
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2003 1:43 PM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Selective Cuttings



> mIEKAL wrote
>
> My understanding is YES you can make a selective cuttings...


I saw an academic paper out of University of Minnesota where researchers
took Burbank Russet potato meristems.  They used enzymes to dissolve the
lump to the individual cell level.  They then grew plantlets out of each
cell.

They saw wide variation in each plant with regard to potato shape,
blight resistance, etc.  They postulated that complex plants, especially
older ones, are really mosaics of cells.  They only appear uniform when
viewed from a macroscopic distance...just like most high elevation shots
of crowds look similar, regardless of the team's colors.

The researches also suggested that this might be a good way to select
disease resistance without going through sexual propagation.  Their
thinking being that you were less likely to lose quality in the fruit/tuber.

Figs were one of the first fruits domesticated.  I suppose some of the
clones might be several thousand years old.  That is a long time for UV
and background radiation to meddle with the DNA and create the "mosaic"
described the the U. Minn researchers.



_______________________________________________
nafex mailing list
nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

To unsubscribe, go to the bottom of this page (also can be used to change
other email options):
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex

File attachments are NOT stripped by this list
TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES!
Please do not send binary files.
Use plain text ONLY in emails!

Message archives are here:
https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/nafex

NAFEX web site:   http://www.nafex.org/