Genetics: Crosses between flowering plants

Peony flowers range in color from white to red and can also include yellow. While there are 25-40 different species of peonies, it can be difficult to trace an individual peony to a specific species simply based on the flower phenotype. Therefore, in order to understand the genetic and physical characteristics of the peony flower, plants of known genotype and phenotype were crossed. The resulting peonies in the first filial (F1) generation were then repeatedly crossed with each other until a group of 522 offspring in the second filial (F2) generation were grown. The phenotypic distribution of petal color for the F2 generation is summarized in Table 1.

Table 1 Distribution of F2 generation peony petal color phenotype

Peonies share similarities with camellias, a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Theaceae family and primarily found in eastern and southern Asia. The camellia genus comprises 100-250 described species, exhibiting a color palette akin to that of peonies. To gain insights into the genetics of camellias, the peony study was replicated, replacing peonies with camellias. The F2 generation phenotypes resulting from the camellia flower crosses are outlined in Table 2.

Table 2 Distribution of F2 generation camellia petal color phenotype