Date: Sun, 3 May 1998 10:23:02 -0700 From: "Capestany" <dr.cap@erols.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1479$foo@default> Subject: VFT's and Evolution
Yesterday I bought my first all red VFT's at Meadowview Biological
Research Station after Robert Gibson's slide show presentation (mostly on
Australian and south African Drosera, not much on Nepenthes which are my
favorite, but very nice pictures and interesting info nonetheless), and upon
inspecting them I found a flower scape which set off a whole train of
thoughts on evolution. To my understanding there have only been a few
"all-red" VFT's and the rest have been clones of them. Obviously the redness
trait in VFT's is recessive, while the normal green genetic trait is
dominant.
So I started thinking about Darwin and others who suggested sexual and
geographical isolation was a major cause of evolution. I'm wondering if
anyone out there knows if all the red VFT's came from the same geographical
area? Anyways, this could be another "evolution-in-action" science story. I
think it would be interesting if someone with the space and money tried
speeding up the course of evolution by making red VFT's and green VFT's
separate species through selective breeding, genetic engineering or whatever
else worked. Probably the ultimate goal would be to have mutated the red VFT
to an extent where when crossed with a green one there would be no
offspring, and self-pollinated or cross-pollinated red VFT's ALWAYS produced
red VFT seeds.
I'd love to hear from anyone who could share information on this topic
or who is already undertaking the project I so roughly explained, I think I
might just go out and buy some more red VFT's and do some genetic
experiments myself. Any help/tips/info would be greatly appreciated...
thanks in advance.
dr.cap
Alexandria Virginia
USA
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