Chloroplast capture
Chloroplast capture is an evolutionary process through which inter-species hybridization and subsequent backcrosses yield a plant with new genetic combination of nuclear and chloroplast genomes. For instance:
- 1) species A's pollen hybridizes to species B's ovule, yielding the 1st hybrid with chloroplast genome b and nuclear genome A and B ;
- 2) species A's pollen hybridizes to F1's ovule, yielding the 2nd hybrid with chloroplast genome b and nuclear genome A and B ;
- 3) species A's pollen again backcrosses to F2's ovule, yielding the 3rd hybrid with chloroplast genome b and nuclear genome A and B ;
- 4) after further backcross generations, a plant is obtained with the new genetic combination.
Known cases of chloroplast capture
Gymnosperm
- Juniperus
- ''Pinus''
Angiosperm
- Quercus
- Ruppia
- ''Heuchera''