Cross breeding and pollen target

[jono]

I'm hoping someone can answer this fairly obvious, yet possibly complicated question.

When crossing two plants, is there a rule about which one's traits are expressed more strongly in regard to which gets the pollen? Or, put in other terms, does which plan receives the pollen have any impact on the subsequent seeds and pollen? I'm aware there are all kinds of other interactions, dominant and recessive genes, etc. but it seems like which plant gets the pollen might have some impact on the offspring as well.

If you take plant A and pollinate it with pollen from plant B, then next year reverse the one which gets the pollen from the same two plants (A,B) will the offspring pretty much come out looking the same or will the one carrying the seed pod (and therefore possibly offering more "of itself") express more strongly?


Thanks,
Jon

[LJA]

Jon, that's a great question.

On some crosses, which parent carried the capsule and which contributed the pollen makes a huge difference in the quality of the progeny and what particular traits get expressed. On other crosses, it makes absolutely no difference at all. It's really easy to think that mixing genes is like mixing colors; combine yellow and blue and you'll get green. Obviously genetics isn't like that; combine yellow and blue with yellow as the pod parent and you might get a blue field with yellow spots; make blue the pod parent and you may still get a blue field with yellow spots. Or, you may get a dull, overwhelming "bronze" because something recessive in both parents just became dominant by simply making blue the capsule-carrier.

It just depends on what particular plants you're crossing, and unless the cross has already been made, there's really no way to tell beforehand what's going to happen or if there'll be any difference until someone just tries it and sees. To complicate matters, different *clones* of the same parents can also express very differently. I wish I could give you specific examples to illustrate but I'm drawing a blank right now. I'll post back when something "orchidaceously concrete" comes to mind....

[Jmoney]

plastids and mitochondria are inherited from the pod parent, so "they", whoever that may be, suggest that color may be influenced more by the pod parent. some also say, anecdotally, that the pod parent may contribute more towards other characteristics as well. i don't think any of that has good concrete evidence behind it, just the so-called "breeder's touch" or whatever.

[jono]

Thanks for the information, I'll try to find more research and post it if I find it. I'm trying to carry the shape of the flower from one and intermingle that with the other. If this is the gold, should the shape I want to carry be the pollen donator or the pod parent if you happen to know?

Obviously, I don't have much experience with this and don't even know the proper terms, so I'm sure I'll be happy if the thing works at all, but having a better idea of what I'm doing is always helpful . Let me know if you have any experience with preserving the shape somewhat and which should be what.

Thanks,
Jon

[Jmoney]

I don't think the inheritance of shape is cut and dry. Certain species will be more dominant for shape, irrespective of pod or pollen status. You could always try the cross both ways and then see how they bloom out...

[LJA]

Jon, if you're crossing something new, it's going to be 99% trial and error--and be prepared to wait 5 years to find out the first of your results. Even if you're remaking something that's already been done, just using different cultivars of the same grex can lead to unexpected outcomes, despite however much research you put in.

Look to see how the grexes you're trying to breed performed in other crosses: that will at least give you some idea--not definitive, by any means--of what dominant traits a certain parent usually passes down. In Cattleya breeding, for instance, B. nodosa almost always passes its flower's shape, regardless of which plant carried the capsule. So when you make your cross, have each parent carry a pod from the pollen of the other and see if there was any difference.

I wish things were more cut and dried, but unfortunately, they're just not. Be that as it may, some of the most sought-after hybrids were created when someone said, "I wonder what happens if..." and they just went ahead and worked the old toothpick.

[kingiefreak]

someone once told me years ago....pod carries colour..pollen carries size,shape and vigour.....may work ???

[MeDeL]

someone once told me years ago....pod carries colour..pollen carries size,shape and vigour.....may work ???

our neigbors are not scientists but someone also told me that plants unlike animals, don't move. Hence to improve the genetic pool in their habitat, it is usually the father (pod parent) passes most of its characteristics to the next generation.

to animals, it is the mother who passes most of its characteristics as a reward for nurturing the young alone. though it is not usually the case but mostly it is. well of course it is not backed up by scientific evidence, they had just noticed through years of experience