I’ve read that for animals, say, a cloned mammal the DNA of the original host is the same used for the clone, so it’s already aged and degraded from time. I grow many plants, and so I regularly make clones via cuttings and divisions. So I wonder why the new individuals can have the same vigor as it’s parent plant? Does DNA not degrade in plants? I’ve also read that inbreeding can occur in plants. On a side note, about the super massive tree structure Pando, that Aspen forest from only like 1 tree I think. It’s estimated to be 80,000 years old and is technically a single individual, as every stem (tree) comes from the same roots and has the same DNA. Meaning at some point a long time ago a single seed made 1 tree which eventually became a forest occupying over 100 acres. How does DNA replicate so many times over in plants with no issues? Is it because the differences between plant and animal cells? I don’t know a lot about these things, just a random thought I had. Any explanation would be appreciated 🙂
In: Biology
Plants are in general evolutionarily closer to having duplication as a legitimate reproduction strategy. Some plants straight up reproduce by sending out suckers and growing new plants from them, and those plants can be easily and simply divided.
It’s not impossible to fix damage caused to DNA by replication, it simply isn’t done in animals, because dying off to make room for a new generation with new combinations of genes and mutations means that a species is more adaptible to changing environments and can therefore migrate faster and survive disasters better than a species that can’t. Typically adaptability isn’t a strong selector for species that don’t move with simple environmental concerns, which means purposeful die off is a waste of resources.
Importantly telemere damage doesn’t occur for some types of stem cells, otherwise all species would eventually die off. The same process just happens longer in an individuals life in plants.
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