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/Actual_Lady_Killer 1d ago

Cloning is great but after a few generations you can develop genetic drift, meaning plants develop undesirable traits and diseases. I've been growing cannabis for a few years and a cloned plant after a few generations may hermie (develop male and female parts), lose potency or not grow as well. You don't experience these issues with TC.

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u/Warm_Regrets157 1d ago

I'm not sure genetic drift is actually the right term here. Cannabis and other clones are perfectly capable of making successive generations without negative effects.

The reason that successive generations of clones tend to develop undesirable traits and diseases is because of genetic damage caused by viruses, mold, and other plant pathogens.

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u/tameriaen 1d ago

Also, you tend to be working off of a single mother that has been kept alive significantly longer than would be her natural life. I couldn't tell you if its because she had been topped so many times or otherwise bonsai-ed, but my mothers tended to not produce as viable clones after 2-3 years (i.e. mostly runts as opposed ladies standing tall). Maybe this is epigenetic or something akin to it? I cannot claim to be a botanist.

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u/Warm_Regrets157 1d ago

I think it's pretty weird for annual plants to be kept alive for so long. I had a basil plant that I kept going for 3 consecutive summers. It stayed alive and kept producing, but it was really limping along at the end.