Million to one apple is half red, half green

A fruit grower was left stunned when he found a golden delicious apple on his tree split exactly half green, half red down the middle. The fruit's coloring is thought to be caused by a random genetic mutation at odds of more than a million to one.

Experts believe that the odds of finding an apple with such a perfect line between the green and the red are more than a million to one. In such cases, the red side usually tastes sweeter than the green side – because it has seen more sunshine during its growth.

Scientists note that this is known as a chimera where one of the first two cells has developed differently giving rise to one half of the apple being different. It is unlikely to be a stable mutation but it is worth checking next year to see if it recurs. There are instances of some striped apples and pears where the mutation remains stable.

Original article here.

Side note: This is the 300th post to the blog!