CHLOROPHYLL-DEFICIENT CELL LINES WHICH ARE GENETICALLY UNCHARACTERIZED CAN BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR USE AS PHENOTYPIC MARKERS IN DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIES

When African violet leaf explants are cultured in vitro, buds and shoots develop directly from the upper leaf surfaces. Three developmentally different African violet chimeras were cultured, and in each case adventitious shoots that developed into plants had the parent chimera pattern. A multicellular origin of the adventitious buds accounts for these results.