Arvind Kumar

In plant biology, both periclinal and mericlinal chimeras are types of genetic mosaics where a plant has tissues with different genetic makeup. However, they differ in the way these tissues are arranged. Periclinal chimeras have a full cell layer with a different genotype than the underlying layers, while mericlinal chimeras have only a portion of a cell layer with a different genotype.

The most stable type of chimera is the periclinal chimera. In periclinal chimeras, a mutation affects an entire layer of cells in the meristem, creating a uniform, genetically distinct layer. This type of chimera is more stable than mericlinal or sectorial chimeras, which are more prone to variation due to their localized mutations.

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