GM Plants

[dean]

Today I met up with another user and we chatted about plants amongst other things
It came up that some Cryptocorynes have not produced any new plantlets they just stay a certain size and just replace existing leaves so never increase in mass

Have the producers found a way to stop them propagating in our aquariums ?

From a business point of view, if it was possible then it would be a bit silly not to go down that route


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[dean]

Who has plants that have not reproduced


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[Maf 2500]

I seriously doubt that any company or individual would find it economically viable to genetically modify a Cryptocoryne so that it did not produce plantlets. There is not a large enough market that it would justify the upfront costs. One large field of wheat or soybean likely has more individual plants than Tropica sells per annum of all crypts of all species.

I have heard there are some rare crypts that do not reproduce plantlets, or do so only rarely, but these are said to be wild collected species.

 

[ElleDee]

I highly doubt it. There are genetic, environmental, and genetic x environmental (that is, an interaction between the two factors) reasons for the differences observed, but considering how little serious breeding work has been done in the hobby, I would be shocked if anyone had even thought to select for a trait like reduced runners. As for preventing vegetative propagation generally, I'm not sure a way to do that that wouldn't also impact producers profoundly also.

In other ornamental species, releasing clumping cultivars of plants that aggressively spread is definitely a thing. Unless something is a ground cover, people want their plants to stay where they are told. Sterility is also a desirable trait, both from an intellectual property protection standpoint and because it curbs invasiveness/weediness, but that only affects pollen/seed generation.

I seriously doubt that any company or individual would find it economically viable to genetically modify a Cryptocoryne so that it did not produce plantlets.

You would not need to genetically modify anything to do this. Just regular ol' crossing and selection would probably do it. That's still expensive, so the rest of your point stands.

 

[plantnoobdude]

I have heard there are some rare crypts that do not reproduce plantlets, or do so only rarely, but these are said to be wild collected species.

I think @Hufsa has some.

 

[Hufsa]

Cryptocoryne striolata is one such crypt that very rarely if at all reproduces by runners. They must be propagated by seed. Most specimens offered in trade are wild collected. It is difficult to keep, before anyone runs out to try to source some I would advise them not to bother.

Time to take off your tinfoil hats 😉
If these are common crypts the OP is talking about, I would assume the setup the crypts are finding themselves in are such that the plant thinks the wisest move is to keep growing the mother plant rather than reproducing. Just like plants in the wild take signals from nutrient, temperature and light period changes to time flowering etc for maximum survival of seeds.
For example, @Wookii has two tanks. In one the frogbit grows into huge massive beautiful plants, but few daughter plants. In another of his tanks the frogbit stays much smaller but produces numerous plantlets constantly.

If you want your crypts to propagate I would suggest you change their conditions until they find propagation to be beneficial.
Now as to what conditions that is, I haven't a clue 😉

 

[Maf 2500]

You would not need to genetically modify anything to do this. Just regular ol' crossing and selection would probably do it. That's still expensive, so the rest of your point stands.

Totally agree. I only mentioned GM because it was referenced in the thread title.

 

[ElleDee]

Totally agree. I only mentioned GM because it was referenced in the thread title

Gotcha. And really, some people consider many conventional plant breeding techniques to fall under a broader "genetically modified" umbrella, though think we both mean transgenic, or possibly genome edited as well. Both are similarly unattainable for the hobby.

 

[mort]

I know some crypts are completely new to the hobby but you also have to consider that some aren't grown commercially because they just don't thrive in that environment and it's because of this, and the rare crypt movement making them available more widely, that they haven't been cultivated more widely before.

I don't see much economical sense in selling species that don't do well. The average plant farm want species that grow and sell quickly, freeing up space and generating profit. I don't think they are worried about being outsold by hobbyists moving plants on and they would rather have species that they can quickly reproduce than go to the extra expense and effort to propagate in other ways. Lots of nurseries build up massive stocks of new species/cultivars before opening them to the market and make a premium to begin with before lowering the price.