Further support for tetrasomic inheritance in alfalfa was shown from genetic studies of a chlorophyll-deficient seedling character. The character was determined by a single recessive gene for which the symbol Viridis-1 or v1is proposed. At the mature-plant stage, low and intermediate classes for chlorophyll production were observed. Histological examination and chlorophyll analyses confirmed this classification. The low-chlorophyll-producing class was characterized by a lack of plastids in the leaf blades although some plastids occurred in mesophyll tissue around the midrib. The intermediate chlorophyll-deficient class was characterized by yellowish-green leaf blades, associated with colorless palisade cells that overlay a single continuous layer of mesophyll cells in which the plastids were well developed.
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