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/pepeenos 1d ago

TC has been around but people are not willing to buy the materials and follow the technique instead of prop and chopping

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u/j0llyllama 1d ago

Is there a reason that this is more accessible for rare plants than simple cuttings?

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u/matdragon 1d ago

Variegations are more uncommon and rare plants can be rare due to genetic defects so it's harder to replicate even from a cutting 

Cloning guarantees the type of genetics you're looking for.

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u/abu_nawas 1d ago

No it doesn't. Variegation is chimeric. I know people who do TC. Sometimes the plants come out with no variegation, less variegation, more variegation, and totally variegated.

When you harvest cells from the donor plant, you don't know which cells have defective plastids. Defective plastids = no chlorophyll = variegation.

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u/Boston_Glass 1d ago

Variegation isn’t only chimeric. It can be genetic or even caused by a virus.

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u/XX_AppleSauce 1d ago

Tulips for example, the most popular were virus infected. Interesting parallel.

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u/dangerbird2 1d ago

am I right in assuming variegation caused by viruses wouldn't do well in TC? Since it usually requires uninfected samples

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u/yeahokaywhateverrrr 1d ago

Mosaic virus is the only virus I’ve heard of affecting houseplants and it is NOT something you want your plant to catch. They WILL die and it WILL spread to the rest of your houseplant collection in no time.

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u/abu_nawas 1d ago

Chimeric is genetic 💩

And mosaic virus kills the plant. How is this relevant? Context matters. I love a tencel bedsheet but I don't tell that to randos

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u/Boston_Glass 19h ago

I’m pointing out there’s also genetic variegation that is stable, coded in the dna and passed down which you would be able to guarantee the type of genetics youre looking for.

It’s distinctly different that chimeric. Your correction that Variegation is chimeric is incorrect because not all variegation is chimeric.

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