> Miller isn't the only one making a similar claim. I believe St. > Lawrence does also. >
> Raising in a colder climate is not going to change the basic genetics. > That requires changing the genetic combinations (genotype) generation
> to generation combined with selection.
This is true
> The one thing growing in a cold
> climate does is to provide the stress that helps identify which clones
> are most vulnerable. In the absence of genetic mutations, naturally a
> very slow process, it can only weed out the weakest but not increase
> the strongest. Where the plant is grown is not going to make a
> difference
This may not be true. In animals, including humans, there is good
evidence that the behavior and environment of an individual has an
effect on the phenotype, or characteristics of the offspring. For
example, the eating behavior of a person can have an effect on their
offspring's propensity for obesity, an effect independent of genetics. Google "epigenetics". This is a relatively new field of study in
biology, and it would not be surprising if more examples are found. It's not much of a stretch to suppose a similar effect occurs in
vegetatively propagated plants.
Alex
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