Shoot Apical Meristems and Mutation: Fixation of Selectively Neutral Cell Genotypes

Shoot apical meristems are interpreted as either structured, that is having a permanent set of apical initials, or stochastic, having apical initials which represent “... momentary representatives of the continuous meristematic residue at the apex of the relevant layer or zone” (Newman, 1965). The two main parameters of stochastic growth are the average number of apical initials (α) and the number of mitotic cycles ( r ) of the initials and their daughter cells prior to the random selection of subsequent initials. Mathematical analysis and computer simulation studies of stochastic growth have shown that if one starts with 1 mutant initial and α‐1 nonmutant initials, eventually a mosaic plant results. The frequency of shoot apices composed of mutant cells is 1/α and the frequency of shoot apices composed of only nonmutant cells is (1 – α)/α. These asymptotics are only attained after considerable growth, thus mericlinal chimeras can persist for many nodes and give the appearance that a permanent set of initials is present.