Question

A pollen from green branch fertilizes an ovum of pale type in Mirabilis jalapa. What shall be the progeny?

• A. Green
• B. Variegated
• C. Pale
• D. All the above

Answer 1

The correct option is C Pale

The mechanism of inheritance in Mirabilis jalapa was worked out by Correns, who stated that the flower and branch color inheritance is not through the nucleus, but through the plastids.

The phenotype of the progeny depends from which part of the plant the seed is obtained. If a seed is obtained from a flower on a green branch, the progeny would always produce a green branch. Again a seed obtained from the same plant, but from a variegated branch would produce offspring with variegated green and pale branches. The same is true for flowers also. In these inheritances, the source of the pollen does not seem to have any effect on the phenotype of the progeny. The mechanism of inheritance is as follows- The color of the branch and flowers depend on specific plastids.

So, the correct answer is 'Pale'.