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imagine (mander.xyz)

submitted 2 weeks ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] TheGiantKorean@lemmy.world -4 points 2 weeks ago

That's treated with a chemical to keep it from making seeds.

[-] The_v@lemmy.world 15 points 2 weeks ago

Not even close.

Seedless watermelons are a triploid. These are hybrid between a tetraploid female and a diplod male. The plant has three copies of every chromosome and is unable to produce fertile gametes aka completely sterile.

Fruit formation is triggered by fertile diploid pollen (planted in the field In a 4:1 ratio). The fruit then continues to grow without embryo formation in the fruit seeds (pips).

[-] ICastFist@programming.dev 4 points 2 weeks ago

So, the same applies to seedless grapes?

[-] TheGiantKorean@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago

They're often treated with hormones.

I sort of misspoke with regard to watermelons -

Seedless watermelons are created by crossing a regular watermelon with 22 chromosomes with one that's been chemically treated to have 44 chromosomes. The resulting hybrid has 33 chromosomes, making it sterile and seedless.

[-] dondelelcaro@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

This is a bit misleading. You only need to treat the first generation of 2n watermelon with colchicine (which inhibits the movement of chromosomes during metaphase) to produce a 4n watermelon. Once you have a 4n watermelon, subsequent generations do not require colchicine treatment.