I have read about the “Moon Cactus”. Many times red, yellow and light green cactus would come up from cactus seeds. These would soon die for lack of chlorophyll.
Then someone realized that you could graft this colored cactus before they died to a normal cactus rootstock.
I have had some albino citrus seedlings come up with the regular citrus seedlings. So I tried grafting it to a normal rootstock. My first one was a cleft graft. It didn’t take. (pic #1)


Then I did an approach graft with an albino sudachi and a normal sudachi. At first the albino started to wilt but then revived and turned green. (pic #2 the “albino” is on the left.)


Now the “albino” side is green and doing well. (pic #3 the “albino” is on the left.)


Well this wasn’t what I was shooting for. But, it brings up some questions.
1. If I separated them now would the “albino”side turn white again?
2. If I cut off the normal side above the graft and left the normal root connected would the “albino” side stay green?
3. If I let them grow for a few years, could the albino side produce “white” or variegated leaves?
Terry

Intresting Terry. The few I have had come up did not get big enough to try to graft, but your results sure blow what I thought caused Albino plants out of the water!

Skeeter,
These albino sudachi only grew about an inch and a half before they started to wilt. That's twice as big as other citrus albinos that I've had sprout.
I thought using an approach graft would lessen the stress on the albino.
Obviously there is more going on here than I know about. Maybe someone else has an idea or knows the answer.
Terry

I cannot answer the first two questions, but the answer to the third one is NO. Variegation is a total different thing.

I personally tried every thing you said (and many other things) but all my "green grafts" fell. Now that I read "Citrus genetics, breeding and biotechnology" (I. Khan) I know why and see how you have been lucky.
The secret is that "green micro graft" can only succeed when graft and rootstock are in a certain state (age) that lasts only few days for each.
Not easy to manage...
What is done is to keep the rootstocks in the frige at the right "age" waiting to be grafted when the scion is ready.

I was very interested to do what you did because, theoretically all nucellars embryos or self-pollinated embryos coming from that tree will die by lack of chlorophyll, naturally selecting the seeds issued of cross pollination.
Very interesting!

I don't think letting them grow further will cause variegation. Here is how variegation comes about. Plastids which are in the tree's leaf contain genes that contribute to the development of the chloroplasts (the green color in leaves). These genes are passed from generation to generation by duplication and division of the plastids (their inheritance is distinct from that of nuclear genes). Since egg cells contribute plastids to the zygote while pollen cells usually do not, only the maternal parent has a part to play in plastid inheritance. Effects on the chloroplast genes are especially noted in the inheritance of variegated color patterns in the leaves of the tree. Here the egg cell contains both normal plastids and plastids that cannot develop into green chloroplasts because of defective genes. Some cells in the embryo have only the defective plastids. These cells divide further to produce the distinctive white or yellow patches on the leaves and stem of a variegated tree. - Millet

What I read about variegation doesn't correspond with what you say.
Variegation is not a sexual mutation but a somatic mutation. This fact permits the coexistence of two kinds of cells in the same plant.
It cannot be inherited because new plant start from one cell (I make it simple). This cell will be either normal or albinos. It cannot be variegated.
In an other post I wrote where to find explanations about this.

Sylvain, I got my explanation on the causes of variegation from the college text book "Botany - A Introduction To Plant Biology". The book was published by the University of California, @ Davis California. Authors : Rost, Barbour, Thornton, Weier and Stocking. The book was used to teach the Beginning Botany class.. - Millet

Niether somatic or zygotic mutation controlling variegation explains the fact that the albino graft turned green. That must mean something comming from the rootstock is overiding the mutation--wherever it is coming from. That is the surprise to me.

Well, I have seen variegated plants give way to a limb that is all white. I guess from what you're saying that is just extreme variegation.
So my 4th question would be what can I do with it now. Would there be a course of action that would be educational? Maybe answer a question or two.
Would letting it mature and see what the fruit is like or what the seed grow into tell us anything? Should I try to approach graft another one and if it works the same then separate them and see if it has any noticeable differences from the first one?

Terry

I have a variegated citrus of unknown variety, that was given to me through Donnie in Florida, a couple years back. The tree fell off the bench and broke off the top. This spring, new growth started and all the new growth is pure green. So the top of the tree is green and the bottom is variegated. - Millet

-Millet, . I didn't say University of California is a bad university. I said what I read is different of what you read.
Anyway my informations come from "Citrus industry" also written by the University of California. )
http://lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol2/Chapter2_5.htm#chimeras
Here it is not an introduction to plant biology, it is only speaking of citrus.

-Skeeter, I agree with you, in that case it must exist a moving factor.

-Terry, Yes variegation and white limb of variegated plants shows that in that case there is no "moving factor" that can correct the "albinosiness" of the white parts.
The only conclusion we can make is that it exists at least two type of albinosiness.
For the future, myself I would keep your graft as it is, to make it grow.
Later, you can try to root a scion . It might loose its chlorophyll and die. If not, it means that the albino scion has inherited the factor from the rootstock and has become definitely normal.It seems odd but it is not. There are parts of the DNA that are very "movy" and can go from the DNA of one cell to the one of an other cell giving natural "genetically modified organisms". We thing that these segments have inherited headers and tails of old virus.
Indeed you can wait for the fruits and experiment on what I said earlier (selection of cross-pollination). But it would take years!

I think this is very interesting. I agree with Sylvain about growing it out a bit and then rooting a piece. If it stays green, then as Sylvain said there may be either some moving parts of DNA or there is some permanent change in the DNA that was there--like the expression of something or some part of the DNA turned on or off.

If it reverts to white, that means there is something coming from the rootstock that is controlling the ability of the plant to make chlorophyll.

Forgive my lack of knowledge in this area, but could it be as simple as the seed had a defect (mutation) that lacked chlorophyl, but not the ability to manage or maintain chlorophyl if it became available to the plant? Similar to a person being born with a defective organ. All the support system is in place for that organ, so if one is introduced, the person is able to manage and maintain the function of that organ, independant of any future involvement of the donor. I know this is a bad example, but hopefully it demonstrates my question. It hasn't changed the DNA, but only injected something absent from the system that now allows the process to work properly. Sylvain's suggestion for the rooted cutting would be very interesting, but I don't know if it would prove moving parts or changes in DNA. It may only be an "injection" of something absent from the system, a system that is capable of handling and maintaining it, but through damage or mutation, did not have the source for it. Does this make any sense? Barbara

If the problem is a mutation (somatic or zygotic) in the plasmids as mentioned earlier, then no. But if the real problem is a lack of some component needed to make chlorophyll that the roots of the original albino plant did not supply (not likely, but say the inability of the roots to supply Mg), then no change in DNA would be needed, however, I believe the other possibility I mentioned--turning on or off some expression of a part of the DNA is something that happens all the time. For example, that is why we stop growing--the part of the DNA that directs growth is turned off. For animals like crabs that regenerate a limb, the DNA is turned back on.

At the lab where I worked, there were microbiologist working on turning on or off parts of the DNA in microbes by feeding them specific chemicals--once the part of the DNA needed to process that chemical was turned on, anything that they had spliced into that section was turned on--otherwise that section just sat there doing nothing.

I would guess the fact that an apparent albino seedling, that begun producing chlorophyll upon being grafted to a normal rootstock, is a fact that must be well known in the long and intensive history of citrus botany and research.. If such a researcher was to see this thread he would be able to explain the circumstances. This process must also be in written in research literature. However, Terry your findings are quite unusual, and indeed interesting. This is a thread that should be renewed with additional information as your tree grows and matures. - Millet

I had an albino in my Rough Lemon seedlings. So, I approach grafted it as I had the albino sudachi the year earlier.
When I tried to take off the grafting wrapping I accidentally separated the two seedlings.
After 3 or 4 months the Albino seedling is still green.
I learned from raising reptiles that there are several phases or degrees of albinism.
Sometimes a sport of a plant will be albino. So. I’m guessing that this is a completely different situation. Maybe all it needed was a transfusion of chlorophyll.
Terry




As with the albino shdachi the albino Rough lemon turned green.


After being separated for 3 or 4 months the Albino seedling is still green.