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Re: Exactly Identical Genes

------ "Smithhisler, Paul" <Paul.Smithhisler@dnr.state.oh.us> wrote:
> Here's a question for you... do seeds ever split into > identical twins?  Is this even possible?
 

I don't know the answer to this but a week ago I would have said probably not.  Now I'm quite sure I really don't know.  When I was cleaning the seeds out of my 831 yesterday, I found two individual seeds wrapped in a single transparent shell casing.  They looked like twin seeds that had formed in a single womb.  Since identical twins develop from a single fertilized egg, why shouldn't the same mechanism exist in plants?

I really don't know why not.  These two seeds were hanging from a single thread - like they were sharing an umbilical cord.  Below is a fuzzy picture of them.


Like two peas in a pod - identical twin seeds??

It is not very visible in this picture but these two seeds share the transparent casing  that is usually shrink wrapped around each individual seed.

I may try planting these two seeds.... just to find out.

vince
 
 

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