Has anyone used Epigenetics in Rose breeding?
In humans, scientists showed that conditions such as famine or food scarcity at key times in the parents’ lives affect their children, and grandchildren and further down the line. For the father, the key time is just before puberty, and for the mother the key time is while she herself is in the womb.
I wonder if Epigenetics is ever applied to plants, and specifically Roses? What would be the key times that the new seeds are affected by their parents’ living conditions? Maybe for the mother Rose that key time is when she herself was a developing seed? Or in the case of roses from cuttings, when the original plant was herself a developing seed? For the father rose, some time during development of the flower which gave the pollen?
I am just curious about the Porphyrin rings, which contain a metal ion that gives a certain colour, such as Copper giving blue. It seems some Anthocyanins can form molecules with Porphyrins? I noticed that Miracle Grow is blue from the copper it contains, and I did wonder if that copper affects the colours of plants?