Variability of expression of cyanogenesis in white clover (Trifolium repens L.)

Abstract

The pattern of inheritance of the polymorphism of cyanogenesis in white clover, i.e., of two independent loci with a pair of alleles at each locus, is shown to be too simple. Several phenotypes can coexist at the same time in the same plant, without showing any detectable pattern in space or time. A study of the inheritance of this intra-individual heterogeneity showed that homogeneity is dominant over heterogeneity and that the heterogeneity of a plant increases with the number of its heterogeneous parents. The ecological and evolutionary significance of the phenotypic heterogeneity is discussed. © 1987, The Genetical Society of Great Britain.