Genetics[edit]aaa
Main article: Plant genetics
A Punnett square depicting a cross between two pea plants heterozygous for purple (B) and white (b) blossoms
Inheritance in plants follows the same fundamental principles of genetics as in other multicellular organisms. Gregor Mendel discovered the genetic laws of inheritance by studying inherited traits such as shape in Pisum sativum (peas). What Mendel learned from studying plants has had far reaching benefits outside of botany. Similarly, "jumping genes" were discovered by Barbara McClintockwhile she was [104] studying maize. Nevertheless there are some distinctive genetic differences between plants and other organisms. Species boundaries in plants may be weaker than in animals, and cross species hybrids are often possible. A familiar example is peppermint, Mentha piperita, a sterile hybrid between Mentha [105] aquatica and spearmint, Mentha spicata. The many cultivated varieties of wheat are the result of multiple inter- and intra-specific crosses between wild species and their [106] hybrids. Angiosperms with monoecious flowers often have self-incompatibility mechanisms that operate between the pollen and stigma so that the pollen either fails to reach the stigma or fails [107] to germinate and produce malegametes. This is one of several methods used by plants to [108] promoteoutcrossing. In many land plants the male and female gametes are produced by separate individuals. These species are said to be dioecious when referring to vascular [109] plant sporophytes and dioicous when referring to bryophyte gametophytes. Unlike in higher animals, where parthenogenesis is rare, asexual reproduction may occur in plants by several different mechanisms. The formation of stem tubers in potato is one example. Particularly in arctic or alpine habitats, where opportunities for fertilisation of flowers by animals are rare, plantlets or bulbs, may develop instead of flowers, replacing sexual reproduction withasexual reproduction and giving rise to clonal populations genetically identical to the parent. This is one of several types ofapomixis that occur in plants. Apomixis can also happen in a seed, producing a seed that contains an [110] embryo genetically identical to the parent. Most sexually reproducing organisms are diploid, with paired chromosomes, but doubling of their chromosome number may occur due to errors in cytokinesis. This can occur early in development to
produce an autopolyploid or partly autopolyploid organism, or during normal processes of cellular differentiation to produce some cell types that are polyploid (endopolyploidy), or during gameteformation. An allopolyploid plant may result from a hybridisation event between two different species. Both autopolyploid and allopolyploid plants can often reproduce normally, but may be unable to cross-breed successfully with the parent population because there is a mismatch in chromosome numbers. These plants that are reproductively isolated from the parent species but live within the same geographical area, [111] may be sufficiently successful to form a new species. Some otherwise sterile plant polyploids can still [111] reproduce vegetatively or by seed apomixis, forming clonal populations of identical individuals. Durum wheat is a fertile tetraploid allopolyploid, while bread wheat is a fertile hexaploid. The commercial banana is an example of a sterile, seedless triploid hybrid. Common dandelion is a triploid that produces viable seeds by apomictic seed. As in other eukaryotes, the inheritance of endosymbiotic organelles like mitochondria and chloroplasts in plants is non-Mendelian. Chloroplasts are inherited through the male parent in gymnosperms but often [112] through the female parent in flowering plants.
