Do Tomatoes Adapt to Your Garden.... - Page 2

greggf · November 16, 2007

bcday -

Interesting news - thanks!!

=gregg=

**carolyn137** · November 16, 2007

I did check out the link you gave bc, but the study was done with the American Bellflower, not tomatoes.

Doubting Carolyn here isn't ASAP going to translate what happens with a native wildflower to tomatoes but it does make sense to me that wildflowers that reseed near the mother plant do well. That's why we get colonies of wildflowers in one area for those varieties that don't spread by root extensions.

It would have been even better if some real data were presented for her Bellflower conclusions b'c I'm not so sure I understand what it means when a bellflower PERFORMS 3 1/2 times better when near the maternal plant.

Does that translate out to increased fruit production for a tomato? I'm doubtful.

Someone here can do the same experiement with tomatoes, but it would mean not disturbing plants at the end of the season and looking at volunteers from those same plants and then you've already got some genetic selection going on since you can't control which fall dropped seeds will germinate.

But interesting in terms of the American Bellflower although I'd still like to know HOW it performs better.

Raymondo · November 17, 2007

Makes sense to me that a stable inbreeder like a tomato wouldn't change that much from one generation to the next, crossing and mutations excepted. For such plants, I think any improvements selected for are probably selections of mutations that have occured. From what I understand, mutations occur reasonably often but most are not noteworthy. Just my 2 cents' worth.

dice · November 17, 2007

It would need a mechanism for modifying the genes
in the seeds it produced based on some feedback
mechanism that correlates to current environmental
influences, probably those alleles that control quantitative
chemical processes that are triggered on day length,
temperature, moisture over a life cycle from seed to
seed, etc.

Seems unlikely at first glance, but we do not know
that plants universally lack any such genetic
self-modification mechanisms, so it is possible.
It is certainly not beyond the capacity of genetics
to encode such mechanisms.

Needs more study.

November 16, 2007	#17
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	I did check out the link you gave bc, but the study was done with the American Bellflower, not tomatoes. Doubting Carolyn here isn't ASAP going to translate what happens with a native wildflower to tomatoes but it does make sense to me that wildflowers that reseed near the mother plant do well. That's why we get colonies of wildflowers in one area for those varieties that don't spread by root extensions. It would have been even better if some real data were presented for her Bellflower conclusions b'c I'm not so sure I understand what it means when a bellflower PERFORMS 3 1/2 times better when near the maternal plant. Does that translate out to increased fruit production for a tomato? I'm doubtful. Someone here can do the same experiement with tomatoes, but it would mean not disturbing plants at the end of the season and looking at volunteers from those same plants and then you've already got some genetic selection going on since you can't control which fall dropped seeds will germinate. But interesting in terms of the American Bellflower although I'd still like to know HOW it performs better. __________________ Carolyn

November 17, 2007	#18
Raymondo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Saumarez Ponds, NSW, Australia Posts: 946	Makes sense to me that a stable inbreeder like a tomato wouldn't change that much from one generation to the next, crossing and mutations excepted. For such plants, I think any improvements selected for are probably selections of mutations that have occured. From what I understand, mutations occur reasonably often but most are not noteworthy. Just my 2 cents' worth. __________________ Ray

November 17, 2007	#19
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	It would need a mechanism for modifying the genes in the seeds it produced based on some feedback mechanism that correlates to current environmental influences, probably those alleles that control quantitative chemical processes that are triggered on day length, temperature, moisture over a life cycle from seed to seed, etc. Seems unlikely at first glance, but we do not know that plants universally lack any such genetic self-modification mechanisms, so it is possible. It is certainly not beyond the capacity of genetics to encode such mechanisms. Needs more study. __________________ -- alias

November 16, 2007	#16
greggf Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Boonville, NY Posts: 419	bcday - Interesting news - thanks!! =gregg=