Coleus Lab Report PDF

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Coleus Lab Report write up...

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5/30/12

Coleus Lab Report 1) Cuttings (along with a synthetic auxin) can form new plants by allowing the growth of adventitious root structures. These roots structures allow for the uptake of nutrients necessary for the plant to grow. The cutting is capable of becoming a separate full-grown plant because the apical meristem is still intact. 2) Most of the leaves were removed in order to place priority on root growth and less on photosynthesis/water loss. 3) The changes seen in both the Coleus cutting and seeds were pretty phenomenal. The Coleus cutting seemed almost stagnant (growth-wise) during the first couple of weeks but quickly began to show signs of growth. The height didn’t change nearly as much as the size of the leaves. The roots began to come in strong within 2 weeks. The seeds sprouted and although lacked height, made up for it in leaf size. The surface area of the leaves was surprisingly large. 4) Technically, you are not creating a “new” plant. The plants age is still inherently tied to the originally plant that the cutting was pulled from. Depending on the age of the “mother” plant, the cutting could be in fact, a few years old. Although the growth itself is new, the plant is not. It is simply able to sustain life by taking root. 5) Benefits of asexual propagation include: Direct replication of specific genes/traits of a desired plant, ease of planting as we are not as reliant on germination rates. Benefits of sexual propagation: seed can be stored and grown whenever, the new plants could produce more seed than you could in fact cut from a single plant. 6) At the beginning of the quarter we set thresholds for observing the coleus cuttings. However, these thresholds would be neither appropriate or beneficial in a long term study. These are simply a reference point to determine growth while the coleus cutting is in a young and semi-fragile state. Once the plant has set root and signs of strong growth are present, these thresholds will no longer be relevant. 7) Leaves are formed at the shoot apical meristem. They undergo cell division and lay out as a thin and flexible structure (leaf blade) capable of light capture. Once removed they do not have the capability of re-growing, they are unable to undergo morphogenesis and the necessary developmental stages needed to form a new leaf structure.

8) Graphs a) and b) located on the back page. �

5/30/12

A) Growth rates in height seemed relatively subtle while leaf development seemed much more prevalent.

B) Coleus leaves seemed to come in slowly over the course of the quarter but did show signs of substantial growth. The seedlings showed signs of more leaf growth in term of sheer numbers....