Genetic relationships among three chlorophyll-deficient mutants in peanut, Arachis hypogaea L.

The genetic relationships of three chlorophyll-deficient mutant peanuts, lutescens (lu), aureus (au), and virescent (v) were studied under field and greenhouse conditions. The F1 plants from crosses between these mutants produced phenotypically normal green. In F2, aureus X virescent segregated 675 normal green : 225 virescent : 45 aureus : 15 virescent aureus : 64 seedling lethal, and lutescens X virescent segregated 45 normal green : 15 virescent : 3 lutescens : 1 seedling lethal. (Lutescens peanuts were seedling lethal in the field.) As previously reported, the F2 of aureus X lutescens gave 225 normal green : 15 aureus :15 lutescens : 1 seedling lethal. The three chlorophyll-deficient factors (au, lu, and v) show independent inheritance. The recessive combinations from the parental types between aureus and virescent and between aureus and lutescens would produce plants with a combination of their respective parental characteristics, but the recessive combination between lutescens and virescent was nearly albino. The v-au and lu-au seedlings have a longer life span than the v-lu seedling has. The genotypes for the three mutants are tentatively identified as lutescens VV Au 1 Au 1 Au 2 Au 2 lu 1 lu 1 lu 2 lu 2 L 1 L 1 L 2 L 2, aureus VV au1au1 au2au2 Lu1Lu1 Lu2Lu2 L1L1 l2l2, and virescent vv Au1Au1 Au2Au2 lu1lu1 Lu2Lu2 l1l1 L2L2.