New flower shapes in Linum grandiflorum Desf. and their inheritance

Abstract

The inbred lines of Linum grandiflorum that differ in the shape of a flower, F1 and F2 population derived from the crosses involving the inbreds were used to study flower shape inheritance pattern. Some lines had shortened petals and in the shape of a flower resembled wild carnations. Another line was distinguished by the strongly involute edges of the petals which gave the flower a stellate shape. F1 plants from the cross between carnation-flowered and stellate-flowered plants with wild type lines (non-shortened petals, non-stellate flower) and also among themselves had wild type of flower shape. The F2 showed a 15 : 1 ratio of normal-petalled (wild type) and shortened-petalled plants indicating the control of the carnation shape of flower (“cnf” = carnation flower) by two uniquely acting genes. Stellate shape of flower (“st” = stellate flower) in crosses with nonstellate lines was inherited as monogenic recessive trait showing in F2 a 3 : 1 ratio of non-stellate and stellate plants. Stellate and carnation shapes of a flower were determined by different genetic systems and inherited independently. In the case where the parents of the F1 hybrids differed not only in the shape of the flower, but also in its color, the independent inheritance of the genes determining the carnation type of the flower and the three-locus system responsible for its coloring was established. Independent inheritance of the stellate flower gene and Si-locus, the recessive allele of which lightens the color of the petals and the spot in the center of the flower was also shown.