Quote:
Originally Posted by nicollas
Do you know any commercial hybrid that is (presumably) an interspecific cross ? I've heard suppositions about Sungold but are there any other ?
thanks
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Most modern hybrids are developed by using two breeding lines and up to 4 parental inputs can be used in each line, so up to 8 parental inputstota.
The earlier hybrids such as Big boy, Better boy, Ramapo, etc., were bred using just two parents, both open pollinated so no individual genes used as would be true for the more modern hybrids.
To give just one example, as far as I know modern red cherries have a gene(s) from Solanum pimpinellifolium that codes for the flat truss seen with so many of them.
When volunteers of Sungold F1 come up those plants often are red fruited, and same when F2 seeds are saved from F1 fruits. I don't know how that happens b'c Sungold F1 does have the typical flat truss but in some way in the construction of the F1 hybrid the genes from S. Pimpinellifolium are suppressed so that the fruits are not red.
Perhaps someone with more genetic knowledge than me will come along and either confirm most of what I've said, add to it or disagree with some of what I've said.
Finally, there are genetic inputs for certain soilborne diseases that come from species as well, but just gene(s), not the entire genome as in one parent.
Carolyn