How can a single natural mutation create a new plant variety?

In the context of plant breeding, a single natural mutation can lead to a new variety by introducing a novel genetic variation into a population. While traditional plant breeding often relies on hybridization or selective breeding to combine existing traits, a spontaneous mutation creates a new allele at a specific site on a chromosome.1

If this mutation results in a trait that is economically or aesthetically desirable, breeders can isolate and propagate the individual plant carrying the new genotype. Because some traits are determined by a single gene, a mutation affecting such a trait can be highly heritable. If the mutation is dominant, its frequency can be increased within a population over the course of a single generation through controlled mating or selection. By repeatedly selecting for this specific trait among the progeny, breeders can stabilize the new characteristic, eventually establishing it as a distinct cultivar or variety.12