FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Self-Pollination or Cross-Pollination?

Which produces more genetic variation in offspring? Based on your experience and any other source..

I'm not sure if this is a simple question but I suspected VFTs may be different to other organisms somehow..

Cross pollination, hands down. Selfing doesn't even always produce viable offspring, and almost all of the time selfed seed is weaker.

SerMuncherIV wrote:Cross pollination, hands down. Selfing doesn't even always produce viable offspring, and almost all of the time selfed seed is weaker.

But if you're trying to produce more copies of a cultivar, the only way to do so is by cloning (propagation and tissue culture). Otherwise the offspring are just classified as "seed-grown Venus Flytraps" with special characteristics.

Exactly. Genetics with VFTs are exactly the same as genetics with any other plants. Cross pollinating will always result in more genetic variability, since you enhance the gene pool, and cultivars can only preserve their genetic integrity through cloning. For example, if I crossed two B52s, the resulting cross would NOT be considered a B52 - you would call it a "B52 x B52". If I selfed a B52 and got viable seed (unlikely), same story - it still would not be considered a B52. Recombination during gamete formation guarantees that the genes will be mixed up, resulting in different phenotypes even if the seed came only from one parent and its one set of chromosomes.

SerMuncherIV wrote:Recombination during gamete formation guarantees that the genes will be mixed up, resulting in different phenotypes even if the seed came only from one parent and its one set of chromosomes...

...which is how new cultivars are made.

I love how everything connects. It makes me feel so very satisfied inside.

SerMuncherIV wrote:I love how everything connects. It makes me feel so very satisfied inside.

Same here. Good answers.

Wow,I didnt know there was alot of confusing paths on pollination

Anymal911 wrote:

SerMuncherIV wrote:Cross pollination, hands down. Selfing doesn't even always produce viable offspring, and almost all of the time selfed seed is weaker.

But if you're trying to produce more copies of a cultivar, the only way to do so is by cloning (propagation and tissue culture). Otherwise the offspring are just classified as "seed-grown Venus Flytraps" with special characteristics.

Selfing doesn't make clones. The only way to make clones is to literally grow new plants from pieces of the original plant. (Propagation is for cloning AND all other forms of multiplying plants which includes breeding. It simply means to increase the number of plants. You have to say 'Propagate by cloning' or 'Propagate by tissue culture' or 'propagate by crossbreeding' but you can't say 'clone by propagation').

Tissue cultures can mutate, so new cultivars don't always have to be seed-grown.

katya_dog1 wrote:

SerMuncherIV wrote:I love how everything connects. It makes me feel so very satisfied inside.

Same here. Good answers.

Sameeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Jellybean1 wrote:Wow,I didnt know there was alot of confusing paths on pollination

Remind me to post a link to a great article later.