Same genes, different regulation. Buds don't have their own gene program — they reuse the trunk's program with modifier genes that change depth, scale, and angle. A small regulatory change produces a dramatically different organism, just like wild mustard → broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, kale.
The Mustard Plant Principle: In v1-v3, buds had 9 independent genes — a separate developmental program. Here, buds share the trunk's 9 genes and are modified by just 5 regulatory genes: depthMod (how deep the bud grows), scaleMod (how large), angleMod (rotational offset), flipMod (mirror the program), and suppressGene (silence one trunk gene in the bud). Total: 16 genes (vs 20+ in earlier prototypes). Fewer genes, but stronger facilitated variation — mutate the trunk, and buds change with it because they're derived from the same program.