Variegated
Variegated
Variegated plants are characterized by distinctive patterns of green and white on the plant tissues that typically contain relatively uniform distribution of chlorophyll in Standard Wisconsin Fast Plants®.
The variegated phenotype is thought to be the result of a mutation in the chloroplast DNA. The mutation causes cells and tissues to lack chlorophyll, so they appear white. The variegation can range from large patches of white to fine, white mottling amid mostly green.
Inheritance of the variegated trait is cytoplasmic: The genetic information for the variegated phenotype is carried in the chloroplast DNA and is not part of the DNA in the cell nucleus. Thus, the genetic information for variegation is transmitted only through the egg cell, not the pollen.
Genetic Designation: Var
Investigations
- Maternal (cytoplasmic) inheritance
- Photosynthesis
