(University of the Western Cape, 2018) du Preez, Marlene Geraldine; Pugh, David
The 'Bon Rouge' pear cultivar was developed from a bud mutation on a 'Bon
Chretien' pear tree. The latter is characterised by green fruit skin and leaves,
while 'Bon Rouge' is characterised by red leaves and red fruit skin as a result of
the production of anthocyanin and other pigments. Branch forming buds on 'Bon
Rouge' trees often revert to the parent phenotype producing green leaves and fruit
skin. The occurrence of both phenotypes on the same tree presents a unique
model to study gene expression associated with anthocyanin production in a
similar genetic background under the same set of environmental condition.