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#clonal selection

3 public questions tagged with this topic.

Plant Breeding 3

A limitation of clonal selection is:

Vegetatively propagated clones maintain narrow genetic base because all individuals within variety are genetically identical, carrying same chromosomes and alleles fixed by mitosis. Uniformity, while commercially desirable, creates vulnerability to evolving pathogen races, insect biotypes, and environmental extremes, leading to boom-bust cycles such as potato late blight in Ireland. Lack of sexual recombination restricts generation of new variability for adaptation, slows response to climate change, and limited buffering through genotype mixtures reduces ecological resilience. Seed storage and

Ref: Esnault et al. Challenges of clonal crops; FAO report on clonal genetic vulnerability

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Plant Breeding 3

An advantage of clonal selection is:

Since clonal propagation involves mitotic division copying entire genome without meiosis, heterozygous advantage, epistatic interactions, and allelic combinations that produce superior performance are perpetuated unchanged across commercial plantations. Once elite genotype is identified from seedling population or mutation screening, it can be multiplied rapidly via cuttings, grafts, or in vitro micropropagation to produce millions of identical plants within year, bypassing slow seed multiplication and avoiding segregation that would break favorable gene complexes. This captures non-additive g

Ref: Bradshaw JE. Potato clonal selection advantages. Acquaah Chapter 18 – fixing heterozygous genotype

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Plant Breeding 3

Clonal selection is applicable to:

Clonal selection targets crops propagated vegetatively where genotype is conserved intact through mitosis without meiosis or segregation. Examples include potato propagated via tubers, sugarcane via stem cuttings, banana via suckers, sweet potato via vine cuttings, and fruit trees via grafting and budding. These species are highly heterozygous, often polyploid, and suffer severe inbreeding depression if selfed, making seed propagation undesirable and genetically unstable. Superior clone arises via natural mutation, introduction, or hybridization followed by segregation in seedling population w

Ref: Acquaah Chapter 18 Vegetatively propagated crops. Hartman & Kester Plant Propagation – clonal selection principles

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