Biosite Blog Post Gabriella Lasserre

Going into biosite, I was unsure of what to expect. I had never done training to teach other students like it before. When I came to the first meeting, we had a fun activity where we analyzed different parts of trees and nature specimen. It was really interesting to learn that a lot of the things we were observing, even the little things, all contributed to our environment in the main picture of things. This was  really eye-opening to know some of the harmful things that are endangering our environment and wildlife. Human activity plays a big role in that, and our environment would be so much cleaner if we took the steps to actually nurture out plants and animals. Little things like recycling, picking up after eating, and not leaving the faucet on all help so much in keeping the environment healthy and tidy. I got to understand this by working with my group on teaching the students about watersheds. My group was Vivian and Jessica, and I absolutely enjoyed being able to have this teaching experience with them. They were really collaborative and great with keeping the students intrigued and related to them and what they were learning often in the lessons. The groups of kids we taught were all very respectful and cooperative, which my group and I really appreciated as teachers. They asked questions and let us know if they weren't quite grasping a certain concept in the lesson. It was important that they communicated things like this to us so we could give them a more informative and memorable instruction. My favorite part of the watershed lesson was when we sprayed the model watersheds we drew and watched the runoff water mix with the marker on the paper. The kids got really excited and were laughing and having fun with us. If I had the opportunity to teach more kids in biosite again, I would love to take up the offer. Not only did I learn valuable teaching skills, but I also learned how to communicate in ways that different types of learners would understand. In addition, I acquired knowledge in how we can keep the environment we are in safe and in exceptional shape. Overall, biosite taught me valuable things about nature and the science of it around me and how to communicate about it to others, no matter the age of the audience.

Blog Post #8

Blog Post #8

    We've noticed that the leaves' phenotype in the Brassica oleracea plants has a big variation. In color and shape. Some are round and others have a squiggly form. Some look fern green and others look like emerald green.  The round ones are shaped like an oval. Nice and smooth, and they consist of one color more or so. While the other leaves are pointy and squiggly with a purple outside.

During our further examination, we found that the Leaves have the same size despite all of the different features. This might of happened by the plants knowing what the perfect size to release CO2 and form into something else when ready. For instance, the average of all the leaves on the collards are 8 cm wide and 10 cm long, the Broccoli is 7.5 cm wide and 11 cm long, and on the cabbage are 9 cm wide and 9 cm long.

If a farmer wanted to change the size of the leaves you would have to plant it in a different way, like not in the same ecosystem or water it differently. This also can be genetically engineered to come out different but you may make a different plant when doing so. There is so much natural variations in these plants because we have domesticated them. By doing that, we changed the ecosystem that they grow in and changed how they got water and everything. That is called artificial selection. The mutations help the plants be more filling when we eat them. We use selective breeding to choose which traits we want to keep and which ones we don't. Meaning that we tend to pic the thicker ones than the dry scrawny ones. 

Blog Post 8

Blog Post 8: A Matter of Selection by Gabriella Lasserre 

We analyzed many different brassica oleracea in the garden when we were doing the story of the seed projects. I noticed that the anatomy of the plants that had the most variation was probably the leaves. They diversitized in the shape of the leaves. Some were shorter and fatter, while others were long, slim, and lanky. Some of the leaves even measured a few inches longer than others. Most of the leaves didn't have a very smooth and clean-cut look to them. They seemed quite jagged and bumpy to the touch.

I think the cause of all the genetic variability in the plants happens for a few reasons. the gene pool is randomly sorted to give genes just out of chance to the plants. There is also the allele frequency. which is also by chance. You really don't know where or when a gene will show up in a certain plant, and whether or not it could possibly result as a genetic mutation.

After taking measurements of the plants in our garden, we discovered that the brussell sprouts were 3 feet tall, the kohlrabi was 1 ft. 2 in. tall, the cauliflower was 11 in. tall, the kale was 2 ft. 7 in. tall, the cabbage was 10 in. tall, and our brassica oleracea, the tallest in the planter box at 3 ft. 1 in. I think some of the reason why some plants grew taller and bigger than others was the fact that they were engaging in competition, competing for things like nutrients, food, water, sunlight, ect. Some of the plants just naturally had larger buds on them and were predicted to take up a larger space as the normally do.

I think the leaves were very consistent in staying the same for all of the plants in the garden. When we analyzed them, a lot of them stayed really healthy and hydrated throughout the year, and the plants that didn't survive just had their leaves all died out and brown in the end.

I think plant breeders would ave to mix very vast leaves of different plants together because they are all very similar in the sense of how they look and feel, and even taste. Breeders would definitely have to experiment with different types of plants and analyze the gene pools to see which plants had what alleles so they could randomize to result in a different looking plant, or possibly even a new species.

Being able to see our plants mature throughout the seasons and see their growth was a really cool experience. I think students will really like the idea of being able to care for and study these interesting plants in the years to come. We got to understand the environment they lived in more and factors that helped out the plants and ones that didn't so much.

Flower Dissections

Angiosperms have to go through the procedure of pollination before being able to do any type of reproducing. Pollination happens with the male sex organs of the flower, on the anther which is connected to the end of the stamen. The pollen is then moved to the female sex organs of the plant. Pollen is transported by birds and insects like bees when they get the get what they need out of the flower. Wind is also a factor in pollination. So, the pollen will get to the pistil in the female sex organs, and will end at the stigma at the end of the pistil. The stigma then moves the pollen down a tube which is called the style which no goes down to the ovary.  Angiosperms contain both female and male sex organs on the same plant, so the same flower does not need anything else to undergo the process of sexual reproduction.

These images are the sections of the broccoli plant taken apart and was examined under a microscope. You are able to see where the organs are of the flower.

Fertilization #7

In flowering plants like Brassica oleracea, plants can self-pollinate or cross-pollinate, although cross-pollinating often produces better results. Plants have both male and female reproductive parts. Fertilization starts when pollen grains are spread from the anthers either by wind, or a bee or pollinator picking it up. Then, the pollen grains land on the stigma of the same type of plant and each grain of pollen sends out a tiny tube. The tube grows through the style and into the ovary and attaches to one of the ovules. The ovules then become fertilized seeds.

This is a close up view of the petals of the flower. They are often brightly colored to attract pollinators to them so that the plant can reproduce.

This is a picture of the anthers of the flower. This is the top part of the male reproductive organ, called the stamen. The anthers are where pollen is stored.

This is a close up of the female reproductive organ of the plant, called the carpel. The tip of the carpel is sticky to catch pollen. It is called the stigma. The stigma is connected to the ovary with a tube called a style.

This is a picture of the ovary with ovules coming out of it. The ovules are what becomes a seed after fertilization takes place.

Flower #7

Angiosperms have to go through the procedure of pollination before being able to do any type of reproducing. Pollination happens with the male sex organs of the flower, on the anther which is connected to the end of the stamen. The pollen is then moved to the female sex organs of the plant. Pollen is transported by birds and insects like bees when they get the get what they need out of the flower. Wind is also a factor in pollination. So, the pollen will get to the pistil in the female sex organs, and will end at the stigma at the end of the pistil. The stigma then moves the pollen down a tube which is called the style which no goes down to the ovary.  Angiosperms contain both female and male sex organs on the same plant, so the same flower does not need anything else to undergo the process of sexual reproduction.

These images are the sections of the broccoli plant taken apart and was examined under a microscope. You are able to see where the organs are of the flower.

 Blog Post 7

          Angiosperms first have to go through the process of pollination before being able to reproduce. Pollination occurs on the male sex organs of the flower, on the anther which is on the end of the stamen. The pollen is then transferred to the female sex organs of the flower. Pollen is typically transported by birds and insects like bees when they get the nectar out of the flower. Wind is also a helping factor in pollination. So, the pollen will arrive at the pistil in the female sex organs, and will be left at the stigma at the end of the pistil. The stigma then takes the pollen down a tube called the style which goes down to the ovary.  Angiosperms contain both female and male sex organs on the same flower, so the same flower does not need anything else to undergo the process of sexual reproduction.

These images are the parts of the broccoli flower taken apart and examined closely under a microscope. You are able to tell where the sex organs are of the flower when viewed in the microscopic lens.

This is the carpel of the flower. The carpel is where everything going on in the female reproductive system of a flower occurs. The carpel contains the stigma, style, ovary, and ovule, which basically means the carpel is the female reproductive system of the flower.

This is the anther of the brassica oleracea. This is very important on the flower because it is what produces pollen in order to get pollinators to come to it. The pollen comes from the male reproductive system of the flower. 

This is a view of a petal of the flower examined under the microscope. The petals typically have peculiar shapes and are very colorful in hue in order to enthral pollinators. 

This is the ovary in the female reproductive system of the flower. If you look closely at the small bead-like little balls coming out of it, you will notice that these are the ovules. These develop into seeds upon fertilization.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Our plant has grown a lot since we last saw it. Some of the plants even started flowering. There are many processes that go into our plants growing. The process by which biomass is added is called cell division. Cell division is how cells reproduce so that organisms can grow. Cell division starts off with interphase, which is when the cell performs its normal duties. Then, the cell starts to go into mitosis. The first step of mitosis, prophase, is when the chromosomes start to condense, spindle fibers emerge from the centrosomes, and the nuclear membrane breaks down. This step is the longest out of the process of mitosis. Next is metaphase. The chromosomes line up at the center of the cell and each sister chromatid is attached to a spindle fiber. In anaphase, sister chromatids are pulled apart and spindle fibers elongate the cell. Telophase is when the chromosomes reach opposite ends and the nuclear membrane starts to reform around them. Cytokinesis is when the two daughter cells split apart. Cell division happens the most on the tips of the roots of a plant because that’s where the plant is growing the most. Photosynthesis is how plants create their own food. Plants need sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. There are two different cycles, one that requires light and one that doesn’t. Photosynthesis happens in the chloroplast of a plant. Photosynthesis produces oxygen and glucose, which can be used for cellular respiration. Cellular respiration uses oxygen to break down glucose into water and carbon dioxide. ATP captures the energy produced in this process. In eukaryotic cells like our plant’s cells, cellular respiration happens in the mitochondria of a cell. The mitochondria helps produce the power for a cell. All of these processes help the plant in different ways. Cell division helps the plant grow, photosynthesis allows the plant to have cellular respiration without consuming food, and cellular respiration creates energy for the cell.

If a cell needed to make more PKG or Rubisco, it sends a signal to the nucleus that it needs more. Both of theses are enzymes, which are a type of protein. Proteins are made of amino acid chains. In order to make these chains, DNA strands need to be transcripted into messenger RNA (mRNA) by RNA polymerase. Next, a ribosome reads the mRNA in sets of three, or codons, then translates it into amino acids. There are 64 possibilities for codons, including a start and stop codon. The amino acid chain then folds into an enzyme with a specific function.

How does your garden grow! JT

Our Broccoli has gotten extremely larger from the last time we looked at it. It doesn't just put out more and more mass.  So what exactly does it do?  Well each of the cells go through mitosis.  Mitosis is where a cell divides and creates basically a replica of itself.  A cell first goes through interphase where the cell duplicates its organelles and copies its DNA.  DNA is a pretty important thing in cells because it is what makes the plant different than any other plant. The DNA is copied through a semi-conservative replication.  The process involves a couple enzymes and it occurs in the nucleus. The helicase unwinds the double helix and the DNA polymerase adds new nucleotides and copies the DNA.  It is semi-conservative because one strand is copied backwards and the other one is copied normal.  This is the longest phase by far.  After interphase prophase happens.  Prophase consists of the chromosomes condensing and the nucleus disappearing.  Microtubles are also formed.  Next, metaphase begins.  In metaphase the chromosomes line up and prepare to be split.  Then, anaphasae occurs and the chromosomes move to opposite sides of the cell.  Finally telophase takes place.  The chromosomes reach opposite walls and the cell begins to divide.  Cytokenisis finishes it off and there is 2 new cells.  Seems like a lot just for growth, but there are tons of cells constantly at work doing this and growing the plan or repairing it.  For example, our plant has lots of holes from bugs eating it away and the holes will slowly form again because mitosis is happening.  Also at the tips of the leaves the plant will be growing as well.

Enzymes are a crucial part of any living organism's life.  Plants use a vast amount of enzymes, but where do they get them?  If a cell is told a specific enzyme is needed, then it will begin protein synthesis, because enzymes are proteins.  Protein synthesis occurs in the nucleus and ribosomes.  Before anything happens the cell must create mRNA.  This is made during transcription when a copy of the DNA is created.  The mRNA has 3 letter sequences on it that are codons and they are codes for amino acids.  After the mRNA is made it is sent to the ribosomes to begin translation.  Translation is where the ribosome reads each codon using an anticodon and creates the correct amino acid.  Once it is complete you are left with a new protein which if was asked for would be an enzyme.

When I went out to the garden to check on my broccoli plant, the results were surprising. My team's broccoli plant had become the biggest plant in comparison to all the other team;s plants in the planter box. I looked even closer at the plant and took notice it was sprouting broccoli buds. They were pretty big, too when compared to the buds on everyone else's plant buds. I figure it will take some time for the broccoli buds to fully sprout, but if we keep an eye on them and make sure they are getting the resources they need, they will be fully grown soon enough.
I feel as though the broccoi plant may need to be moved to a arger planter box with more space in the near future however. It is starting to tower over the other plants. It may enagage in competition with the other plants for resources and make the other plants malnourished.
The rubisco enzyme catalyzes the carbon fixing step at the beginning of the Calvin cycle. This allows the plant to revive sunlight, water, and nutrients through photosynthesis. This also works with enzyme CEPC for the plant.
Overall, our plant has been thriving despite the competition and other limiting factors around it. I predict our plant will soon have full heads of broccoli ready to be harvested and tasted.