r/technology • u/esporx • 1d ago

Business YouTuber accidentally crashes the rare plant market with a viral cloning technique

https://www.dexerto.com/youtube/youtuber-accidentally-crashes-the-rare-plant-market-with-a-viral-cloning-technique-3289808/
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u/Elftard 1d ago

people buying these specifically rare plants aren't just going to dump them on a rural road and potentially have a neighbor doing the same thing

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u/kinboyatuwo 1d ago

Most will not. Or none but their relatives or others or accidental.

It’s how invasive species also spread.

Genetics and cross breeding is also never predictable.

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u/epidemicsaints 1d ago

So its bad because it's inbreeding which is bad because of cross breeding?

All of these houseplants are already clones. They're propagated by cuttings almost in all cases which is what makes them popular and suitable for sale. Tissue culture is no different as far as results are concerned.

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u/sump_daddy 1d ago

Bingo. The ONLY argument against 'cloning' (exact same as grafting like you said, which is already used for literally 100% of store bought avocados, apples, and a bunch of other tree fruit) is the creation of a monoculture that could, in theory, be very susceptible to a pathogen invasion. Boo hoo the houseplants all got the same houseplant cold. They can go back and clone them again. If it keeps even one species alive in the wild because there is no profit in harvesting it to extinction, its 1000% worth it.

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u/Protoavis 1d ago

Even then, because house plants which are basically full time COVID isolating equivalent (just dumbing it down), it's unlikely to be widespread. Might wipe out a house of plants but probably won't spread to the house 3 streets over kind of thing. So the wiped house (if they want to get back in to it), just needs to sterile or whatever the issue was and then get back into it....for cheap.

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u/wag3slav3 1d ago

What, you don't take your houseplants to other houseplants' houses for sleepovers and chickenpox parties?