A Matter of Selection

1.) Which part (anatomy) or characteristic of the Brassica oleracea plants seems to exhibit the most variation (greatest number of different forms)? Which part or characteristic of the Brassica oleracea plants seems to show the greatest range of variation (biggest difference between one extreme and its opposite)? Use and include data collected from multiple measurements to support your answer. The part of the plant that I thought seemed to exhibit the most variation between all of the Brassicas were the leaves. I thought that the leaves were the most different because they all were different shapes, sizes, and feels. For example, the cauliflower felt very powdery when I touched it, and I didn't get that powdery texture when I touched the other leaves of the other Brassicas. The cauliflower's leaves were also very long compared to the other Brassicas. Then the savoy cabbage had a very different kind of leaf from the other plants. The savoy cabbage had a really crinkly feeling when I touched it. Their leaves were also really wide and long. The average length of the leaf was 6 inches long and they were 5 inches wide. The only other plant that shared the crinkly feel was the dino cabbage, but their leaves were in a weird thin shape. The plant leaf that seemed to show the greatest variation was the kohlrabi. The kohlrabi had the most different color from all the plants. They had a very matte green color, and they also had a very matte purple color in some parts of the plant. Then their plant shape was also very strange. Their leaves fanned out, and also had little ribs and folds, and grew out in all directions.

Savoy Cabbage

Kohlrabi

Dino Cabbage

Cauliflower

2.) Using the terms that follow, explain why you think there is so much variability in the domestic forms of Brassica oleracea: traits, selective breeding, artificial selection, genes, descent with modification, natural variations, mutations. I think that they're is a lot of different traits in the domestic form of the Brassica oleracea for a few reasons. One the reasons being that since when something is sexually reproduced it always gets traits of both parents, and never just one. Another of the reasons being that artificial selection has played a big part in the domestication of Brassicas. Scientists have been able to pick which genes that the plants need in order to get the most out of their plants. Selective breeding also has caused a lot of change to the Brassica because the plants can sexually reproduce with much healthier and stronger plants. This can really affect the outcome of a plant because it can make the genes of the plant much better. Natural variation also plays a huge part in the domestication of Brassicas. It does because natural variation are mutations that randomly take place during sex cell division. This can really change the plant because it can affect the genes that the plant can pass down. Descent with modification is pretty simple, but still very important. It is the passing of traits from parents to offspring.

3.) Which part (anatomy) of the Brassica oleracea plants seems to be most consistently the same in all of the examples in our garden, regardless of how extreme the differences between other parts of the same plants may be? Why do think this is so? Again, use and include data collected from multiple measurements to support your answer. The part of the Brassica oleracea that was the most consistent between all the Brassicas was that the stem of all the plants were all similar. I think that this part of the Brassica is similar because it is one of the most important parts of a plant. Without the stem the plant wouldn't be able to grow because the stem helps the plant get all the nutrients it needs. It does this by sucking up all the water through the roots and transferring it through the stem. I studied all of the different types of brassicas' in the garden, and I also took some pictures. What I noticed is that all of the brassica plants had strong and sturdy stems. They were all bulky and they all had a lot of girth to them.  I think that they are sturdy because the stem is in the ground. This means that it has to be strong, and be able to withstand things trying to pull it out. Things such as animals that might want to eat it and strong winds that might cause the plant to be pulled out.

Kohlrabi

Dino Cabbage

Savoy Cabbage

4.) What would plant breeders have to do in order to get the body part or characteristic you described above (in your response to question #3) to become much different than it is presently? I think that plant breeders would have to go through a long process to change the Brassica's unique stem. I think that they'll have to find a plant that has a very thin and small stem, and a similar reproductive system. They then can get these two plants to sexually reproduce another plant with the hopes that the plant acquired the small stem genes. They can also put some of the brassicas in an enviroment where they would need to have a small and fragile stem. This process might take a really long time though. They can also genetically engineer the plant to have these small stem genes, but this could also take awhile because no one will be sure if it'll work.

Anthers and Stigmas and Styles, Oh My!

These are Brassica Oleracea they are considered a perfect flowers. They are called perfect flowers because they have both male and female parts. Since the Brassica Oleracea is a perfect flower it means that it can sexually reproduce by itself. Since this happens, it means that it is much easier for new plants of this species to grow. In other species plants the male and female parts would usually located in other flowers of that plant, and others the male and female parts are in other plants. This makes reproduction much harder.

This is the stamen of the Brassica Oleracea. The stamen in a plant is basically the male reproductive anatomy the long stalk is called the filament. The stalk comes out of the base of the flower, and the filament ends with an elf shoe like looking thing. This thing is called the anther. Without the anther the plant wouldn't be able to make pollen grains. Pollen grains are the plants male gametes, and pollen is the equivalent of sperm cells.

This is the female reproductive anatomy of the Brassica Oleracea. This part of the plant is called the carpel. Just like the stamen the carpel also has a stalk as well, but this stalk instead is called the style. At the tip of the carpel's style is the super sticky stigma. Since the stigma is super sticky it makes it super easy for it to collect pollen from the anther.


This is a picture of Brassica Oleracea that has been stripped all the way down the ovary and the ovule. The ovary is the big green thing in the picture. The little green orb is called an ovule. An ovule is an immature and an unfertilized Brassica Oleracea seed, and they are located in the Brassica Oleracea's ovary.

This is a picture of the Brassica Oleracea's pollen. The pollen is the plants male gametes cells. Without these male gamete cells there wouldn't be any reproduction, and without reproduction no plants would be able to grow.

Student Blog Post Assignment #7: Anthers and Stigmas and Styles, Oh My!


These images show that fertilization is underway. The stigma is the receptive tip of the female part of the flower. After pollen lands there, it germinates and forms a pollen tube which grows down through the style to reach the ovary.

Each pollen tube that reaches the ovary delivers one male gamete to fertilize an egg cell and one to fertilize the polar nuclei. In a single ovule, this results in the formation of one seed. Once the embryo and endosperm form, the seed undergoes cell division and growth. This usually takes about 40 to 60 days.

The plant cabbage is growing rapidly and cell division is happening to the plant to have it grow. Every time a plant divides it divides into two daughter cells which keeps plants and life grow to the fullest. The plant is in a good environmental place where the plant gets nitrogen and photosynthesis in use. Without photosynthesis plants cant live and other species won't survive. Cellular respiration is used when the plant takes in nutrition and lets out waste and keeps all the good stuff in.

Plant first starts off with transcription which mRNA was copied from DNA. Both mRNA and DNA are nucleic acids and that helps send information in the plant.  It is created by using ribosomes which is a protein that is founded in cytoplasm of living cells.  

How Does Your Garden Grow?

1. My plant has grown a lot since we planted it. Its leaves have expanded tremendously since the last time I saw it, which was about a month ago. The leaves are much more wide and thicker. There also happens to be more green and yellow in the leaves now too. The main reason behind this growth is cell division (mitosis), photosynthesis, and cellular respiration. Mitosis caused the plant to make more identical cells. As more cells were created, the plant started to grow more and more. Photosynthesis also causes plants to grow. It does because it basically is their way of making food and energy. Without photosynthesis plants wouldn't be able to grow, and would just die off. Plants need to have cellular respiration because it is their way of making adenosine triphosphate which is also known as ATP.  ATP helps transfer energy into waste. Without these three important things plants wouldn't be able to grow.
2. Our plant would be able to make these two enzymes pretty quickly if signals were sent to the nucleus. The first step is that there is going to be a process called transcription. This process is going to then change DNA into mRNA. mRNA is basically a nucleic acid that helps transfer and translate information to parts of the plant.Then the mRNA is given to the plants ribosomes. The ribosomes then translate the information that it was given in order to make polypeptides. Next, the endoplasmic reticulum helps finish the process by sorting and processing the PEPC and the Rubisco. These two proteins lastly end up in the golgi appartus where they get ready to be transported throughout the plant.

Max's Seed Story

What I learned:

Max's group got Kale for their Brassica Oleracea seed plant. What Max learned was that his germinated seeds grew faster than the none germinated seeds, and that you can plant seeds in different places instead of soil.

What surprised or amazed you?:

What amazed Max was that all the plants grew at such a fast pace. He had never really grew anything before besides tomatoes and sunflowers. This was a long time ago, he was around 5 years old. Since he never really planted all of this was pretty new. He thought that you needed soil and constant sunlight to grow plants. In this project we didn't have any soil and we kept the seeds in a dark cupboard. He also was surprised that you can plant seeds in a paper towel. Overall, he enjoyed the experience and it was very educational.

Makayla Bush

Ariel's seed story

I have not learned a thing from this project because i switched from 6th period to 5th period with almost no knowledge.Nothing amazed happened because i have been in agriculture in 5th grade and 8th.The only thing that made me think was the cycles i just had a basic knowledge of the plant cycle.

It has given me more info about a plants cycle and therefor changing the train of thought on that subject.