Are all clones within a cultivar the same age?

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I have found by a brief online search that reproduction by obligatory parthenogenesis has been described for a variety of animal species, especially arthropods, but I didn't find any examples in plants. This reproduction is basically a natural example of cloning that reflects on this discussion of the age of a lineage that propagates this way. It seems to me the debate is one of semantics and the meaning of age rather than whether obligatory parhenogenesis implies immortality on the species.

You are confusing the issue by applying mammalian and or animal model reproduction to plant systems. Plant are not animals. Propagating a plant via cuttings or other tissue propagation method is NOT analogous to parthenogenesis. It is simple mitosis. Normal cell division. It does not have the formation of nondisjunctured gametes involved in parthenogenesis.

 

[Javaman4373]

I guess I was just thinking of apomictic parthenogenesis.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

I guess I was just thinking of apomictic parthenogenesis.

YES! Thank you! That was on the tip of my tongue.

Now....I want to get back to bending branches instead of my mind!

 

[Crazy Diamond]

If you make a cutting from a 1000 year old tree but the branch is 1 year old; the cutting will have 1 year not 1000, pretty simple

 

[Javaman4373]

The confusion here arises from attributing age to the organism in one sense, or contributing age to the genome.(disregarding mutation and genetic drift). So if you propagate an organism by cloning for n generations every unit 1 in time, the last generation is age 1 for the organism and age n for the genome you started with.

 

[Leprous Garden]

Seems worth remembering that, for us adults, no cells in our body have existed since we were born (so far as I understand). Animal vs. plant and all that, but a reflection on the idea of age more than biology. Are plants individuals? And especially, are cloned plants individuals? Now there's a question.

 

[Javaman4373]

Seems worth remembering that, for us adults, no cells in our body have existed since we were born (so far as I understand). Animal vs. plant and all that, but a reflection on the idea of age more than biology. Are plants individuals? And especially, are cloned plants individuals? Now there's a question.

Although I am no expert on development, I think there are many cells in humans present at birth that continue throughout life. Some of the neurons for example, and oocytes too. You might consider an identical twin as a clone of the other twin and I am sure they think of themselves as individuals, as do others. As for plants, If I sever an aspen shoot from a parent plant and transplant it, I would consider it an individual. Just saying.

 

[Leprous Garden]

Although I am no expert on development, I think there are many cells in humans present at birth that continue throughout life. Some of the neurons for example, and oocytes too. You might consider an identical twin as a clone of the other twin and I am sure they think of themselves as individuals, as do others. As for plants, If I sever an aspen shoot from a parent plant and transplant it, I would consider it an individual. Just saying.

I don't know about beyond but I guess eggs are an exception to my rule. Still, the bat majority of cells last for only a few years.