Re: Spoon Article

 I would agree with Don that there is probably already pigment in the
iris flower which would be perceived as red to the eye. It's just not
expressed on the parts of the flower we desire. A method of how to
transfer that pigment to other area's is unclear. 

 Inbreeding would be a good way to isolate the varieties with the most
red pigment generation. I remember Don also wrote an article about
selfing which was very interesting, As I remember one would self an
iris and then its progeny in an ever expanding circle... 

  Because mutations are rare and usually fatal or undesirable, it seems
likely that almost all of the traits we enjoy today were embedded
within the genomes of the original Ancestors. Inbreeding to bring out
those traits (such as red) could be very fruitfull. Getting those
traits back onto a modern flower with good growth habits is the real
hard work... This is where the gene transfer project may have an
advantage.

  My understanding about the genetic coding for pigments is that even
though the pigment molecules may only differ by a single atom, the
genetic changes required to build this molecule with a single change
are staggering...


Chad Schroter
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