Gene frequency of polyembryonic traits governed by dominant and recessive autosomal alleles in fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook F.)

Abstract

The gene frequency of multiple embryos in fluted pumpkin was examined. The results revealed clear evidence of existence of polyembryonic traits in the crop, irrespective of the shape of the pods that enclose the seeds. The frequencies of the S allele (polyembryony) and s allele (monoembryony) were 0.6 and 0.4 respectively. The derived zygotic frequencies were 0.36 for the homozygous dominant (SS); 0.48 for the heterozygous (Ss) and 0.16 for the homozygous recessive (ss). These summed up to 0.84 for the multiple embryonic traits and 0.16 for the single embryos