In natural populations of the common morning glory, Ipomoea purpurea, white flower polymorphisms influence pollinator behavior and, as a consequence, white-flowering plants have increased rates of self-fertilization. The present study provides evidence for a second locus that determines white flowers. We report the linkage relationships of this locus with three other loci that codetermine flower hue and color intensity. In addition, we show that the phenotypes of various multilocus genotypic combinations of this gene with the other floral pigment genes exhibit intra- and intergenic interactions. Interestingly, this new locus is affected by a mutator system that causes high rates of mutation for some alleles. In addition, this gene has pleiotropic effects on pigmentation in stem tissue and other tissues.
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Epperson et al. (1988) studied this question.