Transcript Gamble Arabidopsis Project Pictures

Pictures of Arabidopsis
Domestication Project
Life Sciences for a Global Community
Kay Gamble
Plants in CO2 Chamber
Plants grown in chamber
One of two trays that sprouted
Plants in CO2 Chamber
Tray with no sprouts (odd)
CO 2 Chamber
Plants in the CO2
Chamber
The students planted
3 trays of seeds and
placed them in the
CO2 Chamber for the
duration of this
generation. They had
bigger, softer leaves
and bolted much later
than the plants under
the plant lights. We
lost one tray to
neglect and one never
sprouted.
Plants under grow lights
Notice some seeds had not
germinated
Plants vary in size
Plants under grow lights
More views showing
differences in plant size
Front plants are crowded yet
larger than others
Plants under grow lights
First bolt of this generation
Picture taken 3-19-2010
Plants under the grow lights
The only plant that has bolted
Close up of wonder plant!
Still only one plant producing seed
This photo and the one on the
right are of the same plant
This “wonder plant” kept
producing seed
Birds-eye view of all the plants
Circled plants were grown in the CO2 Chamber – They were the last
to bolt.
Evidence of Diversity
• The Arabidopsis project gave my students an
opportunity to see diversity among individuals
played out in the classroom.
• Their frustration with their plants not
sprouting or bolting at the same time as the
“Wonder Plant” lead to better understanding
of environmental pressures helped along by
questions from me.
Wonder Plant
This plant bolted
a full two weeks
before any other
plant and
continued to
make flowers
and seed for
several weeks
much to the
delight of its
owners!
Reasoning
• The plants which grew well , especially the
one which bolted first and pumped out
thousands of seed, were well suited for the
environment in the classroom.
• Would those same plants have done as well
out in the meadows of Romania?
• What about the plant early to bolt? What
would have happened if the weather had
changed suddenly. Could it have survived and
been the most successful in other
environments?
• The later sprouting and bolting plants may
have been more successful in other
circumstances.
• The CO2 chamber plants grew differently than
those under the grow lights in the classroom.
They had softer bigger leaves. Why?
• While they grew bigger leaves they bolted
later. In fact they were the last to bolt.
• We discussed humidity as a factor in leaf size
and thickness.
Comparison of CO2 Chamber with
Grow Lights in Room
Softer, thinner, larger leaves
of plants grown in CO2
Chamber
Thinner but thicker leaves of
plants grown under lights
CO2 Chamber vs Grow Lights
• Plants grown in the CO2 Chamber gave the
students more opportunities to see the
differences the environment can elicit from
organisms.
• The best hypothesis was determined to be
due to humidity not CO2.
• Experimental design to test the hypothesis
were discussed but not carried out.