For clovers to produce four leaves, Pennetti said, it takes a combination of genes and environment, but the precise interplay of those two and other factors is still unsolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nA decade ago, UGA researcher Wayne Parrott<\/a> and his research team identified the genetic markers<\/a> associated with the four-leaf trait in white clover (Trifolium repens<\/em>), a prevalent species in yards across the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Parrott, a Distinguished Research Professor in crop and soil sciences<\/a>, also found the location of other genes that can add red coloring<\/a> to white clover\u2019s leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But even with markers that could be associated with the four-leaf clover trait, it isn\u2019t exactly easy to \u201cmake your own luck.\u201d The four-leaf trait doesn\u2019t always show up when expected, even if the genes are present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a really tough trait to do,\u201d Parrott said. \u201cIf daylight or temperatures aren\u2019t right, you won\u2019t see it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But at other times, five, six, or as many as eight leaves will show up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pennetti\u2019s longtime fascination with clover started while playing little league in Long Island, New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy parents really wanted me to be good at baseball,\u201d Pennetti recalled. \u201cI wasn\u2019t. I am not built for sports.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So coaches sent him to the outfield, where he would be less of a defensive liability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo one was hitting there,\u201d he said. \u201cI had nothing to do. I was just standing around looking for four-leaf clovers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But he wasn\u2019t having any luck at that either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eventually, as a high schooler waiting for the bus, he finally spotted a pair of four-leaf clovers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And he wanted more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s around the time he learned about Parrott\u2019s research concerning multifoliate clover genetic markers at the University of Georgia. Pennetti reached out for advice from Parrott, who in turn gave him pointers on plant breeding over Skype.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pennetti has been breeding clover ever since. That passion eventually brought him down to Georgia to pursue his doctorate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While his research focuses on creating better turfgrasses for the consumer market, he remains committed to white clover. He tends to a variety of ornamental clover plants at a UGA greenhouse that have been bred for decorative shapes and leaf markings; some even grow pink flowers<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finding a four-leaf clover isn\u2019t easy, but one UGA doctoral student is on a mission to research, find, and breed this mysterious plant. Pennetti\u2019s personal line of clover, bred from some of the first plants he discovered nine years ago, grow in his basement under an LED lamp. As a side hustle, he preserves and sells four-leaf clovers on Etsy for people who want them as novelties or wedding gifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne guy last year ordered $300 worth of clovers just to give out at a senior living community for St. Patrick\u2019s Day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gene-editing technology has opened the door for all sorts of advances in crop sciences\u2014not to mention the fight against deadly diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBecoming a four-leaf clover breeder<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Could four-leaf clovers be genetically engineered?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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