Zinc tolerance and hyperaccumulation are genetically independent characters

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Abstract
The hyperaccumulation of metals by a rare class of plants is a fascinating and little understood phenomenon. No genetic analysis has been possible since no intraspecific variation is known for this character. Here, we report on crosses between the zinc–hyperaccumulating and –tolerant species Arabidopsis halleri and the non–hyperaccumulating, non–tolerant species Arabidopsis petraea. The F2 segregates for both characters and it appears that the two characters are genetically independent. The data for tolerance are consistent with a single major gene for this character (although the number of genes for hyperaccumulation cannot be determined) but is probably not very large.