Bonsai trees are imazing-I have seen Bonsai maples with perfectly formed leaves-but only 1/4" long! Similary, bonsai pines will eventually form miniature cones… so, does the process alter the plant’s DNA? Wil seed from bonsai trees give rise to miniature seedlings?
No.
Bonsai treatment does cause the tree to react by producing smaller leaves and other more compact features, but the offspring of a bonsai tree, grown under normal conditions, will be normal.
Short answer: nope.
Slightly longer answer: The only way to alter DNA is by mutation, which is usually a “mistake” when DNA is being copied during cell division. Making a bonsai tree no more alters its DNA than, say, amputating your hand alters yours. The idea that changes in external form change genetic material died out quite a while ago, with Lamarck.
Mangetout covered it. I had a smartalecky response: The DNA is altered only if the bonsai-ing is done with a 1920s style death ray.
Not unless getting a goofy haircut alters your DNA…
Wow. This thread has nothing at all to do with weapons, the past, space technology or anything close. I would have thought it was safe from dumb ass Death Ray in-jokes. Guess not.
You forgot I burning your tree and When come back, bring mutated DNA. :rolleyes:
Dude, you’ve been a member for 6-1/2 years. Certainly you know by now that nothing is safe from that damn Death Ray joke 
Yea. I guess I thought that there had to at least be something related to the 20s, weapons, lasers, or the like.
God its never funny, but when its brought up in a thread about trimming trees fercrissake… that just makes it unbearable.
YES!@!!
Just like when you cut off mice tails for many generations, they begin to get shorter.
:rolleyes: Nothing against the OP but didn’t Darwin do this experiment?
Wel, from what I understand, “Bonsaing” is the process of damaging a tree, untill it begins to produce tiny leaves in response to the harsh environment. If you were to plant a bonsai tree outside, would it revert to a normal size tree after a while? If it stays tiny, would that not be a sign that something has been permanently altered?
If that’s true, I’ll shut my fucking mouth.
Wait…
I can see that small leaves would be a natural response… but not as a matter of course… right?
I’m sorry, I’ll shut my “fucking mouth” regardless.
(guess my BAC… we’ll start the bidding at .012)
Of course it doesn’t affect the DNA. Period.
But you made me curious that perhaps the rest of the plant makes small leaves even certain limbs get sufficient nutrition? I highly doubt it
That’s what it took me three posts to say.
While it’s not a modification to the DNA exactly, Scientific American had a recent article about food that you eat causing certain molecules to attach to the DNA and turning genes on or off which ultimately changed the offspring. Some of these get passed on for multiple generations.
No kidding.
We should prune them from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
Interesting. I hadn’t read that. Would you happen to have a link?
The question has already been answered-- no, the DNA is not affected. You can reduce the size of pretty much any orgnanism by limitting its nutrients, but that doesn’t affect its DNA. Bonsai trees require constant maintenance, including pruning, to keep them small. If the DNA were altered, the bonsai tree growers wouldn’t have to mess with all the care for the next generation.
It’s quite possible that if a bonsai specimen (tree or shrub) was transplanted into a large pot or into the ground that it would remain considerably smaller than a normally grown specimen of the same species. That’s not because of an alteration in DNA, but a permanent consequence of its being stunted at a critical period in its growth.
There are a number of ornamental plants about which you are warned to avoid root-binding in order to get a healthy plant of good size (for example, Eucalyptus trees). A key factor in getting bonsai specimens to remain undersized is the small shallow container as well as root pruning, so while you can get amazing-looking specimens they are in effect on constant life support - and unlikely to thrive normally if allowed more space and nutrients.
For what it’s worth, my apologies for the use of the “death ray” catch phrase. My joke, lame as it was, was on the point that bonsai is a physical, arboricultural process, and that DNA would only be altered by radiation (or, presumably, certain toxic chemicals). So it wasn’t totally off the point, although it was a pretty lame use of a catchphrase.
What kind of treatments are there that reduce leaf size Bonsai trees are kept small by pruning the branches and roots and by using small containers, but I wouldn’t think these processes change the size of individual leaves.