Radiation Causes Evolution of New Plants

Science Journal Spring 2007 | Feature Story | Genetically Modified Foods: "Another way to make seedless fruits is by using radiation to cause mutations. The Rio Red, a popular red grapefruit, was created by exposing grapefruit buds to thermal neutron radiation at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1968. Other notable successes of mutation breeding include Creso, the most popular variety of durum wheat used for making pasta in Italy; Calrose 76, a high-yielding California rice; Golden Promise barley, a fine-quality malt used in specialty beers; and some 200 varieties of bread wheat grown around the world."

Radiation has been used to increase this rate of mutation in crops. The interesting question is -- are the mutations introduced by radiation truly "random" or are there structures and mechanisms that have evolved to control how radiation affects rate and type of mutation? If those structures do exist, then changes in the environment can directly change the rate of "stable" mutation. Mutation may not be entirely "random" after all, but instead a response to environmental change by an intricately evolved mechanism.