General pollination questions

[katzenhai2]

Hello,

I have a general question about pollination:
For example if I put the pollen of another Paphiopedilum onto a Paph. lowii, e.g. say (for an extreme example) from a Paph. canhii, would the result be fundamentally different than if I put the pollen of Paph. lowii onto a Paph. canhii? Would the plant in the first example be larger than in the second?

Would the plant be more likely to emphasize genes from the 'mother' that carries the seed or does it not matter? I haven't made any hybrids yet only selfings so far. My P. lowii is still flowering and I have some pollen from various other Paphs and asking myself if that would be a good idea... and if so in which 'direction'.

 

[Tony]

It is generally thought that the pod parent carries slightly more influence because the seedlings inherit mitochondrial and plastid genomes entirely from the mother plant.

 

[Stefan Neher]

Hello,

I have a general question about pollination:
For example if I put the pollen of another Paphiopedilum onto a Paph. lowii, e.g. say (for an extreme example) from a Paph. canhii, would the result be fundamentally different than if I put the pollen of Paph. lowii onto a Paph. canhii? Would the plant in the first example be larger than in the second?

Would the plant be more likely to emphasize genes from the 'mother' that carries the seed or does it not matter? I haven't made any hybrids yet only selfings so far. My P. lowii is still flowering and I have some pollen from various other Paphs and asking myself if that would be a good idea... and if so in which 'direction'.

Adding to what the first commentor already said: There are different traits that have the potential to be inherited by pollen donors vs. pollen acceptors, but nothing is ever so straightforward with genetics, especially orchids.

For example: I have a Myrmecavola hybrid that, when not flowering, exhibits every trait of only one parent. Even upon flowering, the flowers themselves take on the shape and fragrance of that same parent, and it is only in the behavior/habit of the inflorescence and the patterning on the flowers that there is any suggestion of mixed heritage.

 

[CarlG]

One of the things that happens is that if the parents are quite different genetically, there are only a few viable genetic combinations, so you don't get a broad spectrum of traits in the offspring. If the parents are quite similar, then most combinations are viable, so you can get a broader spectrum in the offspring.

For what it's worth, this is something I learned many years ago, and I could have corrupted my memory. Also, I can't cite any references, so feel free to ignore this if you think it makes no sense.

 

[katzenhai2]

One of the things that happens is that if the parents are quite different genetically, there are only a few viable genetic combinations, so you don't get a broad spectrum of traits in the offspring. If the parents are quite similar, then most combinations are viable, so you can get a broader spectrum in the offspring.
[...]

That's an interesting thought because I was expecting the exact opposite if they are so different.

 

[Jmoney]

FWIW there may be other characteristics inherited differently. someone (I forget who) told me the parvi x roths crosses bloom much easier if the parvi is the pod. I do not know firsthand if that is true. Many others have also reported the old roths were much harder to bloom than newer ones, and that was the reason behind the "shy" blooming in older crosses. your results may vary?