Thanks for the info on the Svejda article, Liz.
I went back and retrieved part of a thread from rec.gardens.roses posted in December of 1994 (Did I mention I’ve been wondering about M-DNA for years?):
Me – “I was wondering whether or not (mitochondrial DNA) might make a difference in winter hardiness . . . The Osborne book on Hardy Roses explained a phenomenon where the cells supercool themselves by loosing most of the water contained in the cell, thereby preventing ice crystals from forming and rupturing the cell wall. Is there any possibility that the mitochondria could be related to this function?”
Marily Young – "Hmmmm… very interesting question… hmmmm! Since the mitochondrial DNA functions in controlling the cell metabolism, and… since the metabolic processes control the amount of water retained in the cells… and that, in turn, affects the damage due to freezing… (due to the formation of ice crystals, as you mentioned). Do we want to trace the “mitochondrial family trees” to research winter
hardiness? VERY interesting question! I wonder if there’s anybody out there “listening” who’s looking for a thesis topic…??? "
Thanks to the tree feature built into Help Me Find, research into possibly inherited traits from DNA may be manageable, at least as far as building a hypothesis is concerned. For instance, Carefree Beauty has Prairie Princess for a seed parent, and Carefree Wonder has Prairie Princess for a pollen parent.
Carefree Beauty (CB) should carry the mitochondrial DNA from r. wichuraiana in the background of Applejack (follow just the seed parents back on the tree). Carefree Wonder (CW) should carry DNA from the grandiflora Carrousel through Prairie Princess (PP). Unfortunately, I don’t know the mitochondrial roses prior to Carrousel since the seed parent is listed as “seedling”. I thought I read an article on Buck’s roses, perhaps in an OLD RHA newsletter, that explained his reason for choosing Carrousel for a parent. Perhaps Buck also knew the background of the female parent. Does anyone here know it?
I grow CB, but not CW. Does anyone have several years of experience and observations on growing both? How about experience with CB compared to PP?
Liz, I’ll find that article and read it. Thanks!
Cathy