WHAT CAUSES VARIATION IN PLANTS?

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Abstract

This experiment aimed to replicate the findings from Mendel’s work by obtaining the 3:1 ratio of

traits in the F2 generation of Brassica plants, where the trait being observed is stem color. The

F1 generation of Brassica plants exhibited purple stems, leading to the conclusion that the purple

stem trait is dominant over the green stem trait. No results were obtained for the F2 generation,

but it was expected that the results would be approximated by the 3:1 ratio. Verification that the

results do not deviate from Mendel’s model can be done through the calculation of chi-square

goodness of fit.
 Introduction

How a characteristic or a trait is passed from parent to progeny has baffled people for the

longest time. It wasn’t until the 1860’s when Gregor Mendel introduced a theory which explains

how traits are passed from parents to offspring. It was previously thought that the traits of a

given generation of offspring arise from the blending of the traits of the parents, akin to that of

blending paint or bloodlines. However, Gregor Mendel supported the notion of particulate

hypothesis, where it is proposed that parents pass on discrete heritable units, now known as

genes. The particulate hypothesis supports the idea that traits reappear after several generations

(Reece, 2011).

Gregor Mendel introduced this particulate model of heredity by studying garden peas,

and performing monohybrid crosses between these plants. Garden peas were chosen in the study

as the plant has many varieties and has several distinct heritable traits. Furthermore, garden peas’

mating can be controlled to either proceed to cross or self-pollination. In Mendel’s experiment,

he chose true-breeding varieties, which showed the same trait throughout many generations. In

order to control breeding and to promote cross-pollination, he cut out the anthers of one variety,

and then he cut out the pistil of the other variety. These plants then cross-fertilized and created

hybrid offspring. In this discussion, Mendel’s observation on flower color is discussed (Reese,

2011).

In Mendel’s experiment on determining flower color, he first crossed true-breeding

purple and white-flowered garden peas. The resulting progeny are what are known as hybrids

and all had purple flowers. These resulting progeny were called the F1 generation and were

allowed to self-fertilize. It was found later on that the offspring of this F1 generation, now called
the F2 generation, exhibited a 3:1 ratio between those having purple color and those having

white flowers. From these findings, Mendel called the purple color of the flower the dominant

trait, and the white color the recessive trait. Mendel’s F2 results further disproved the notion of

the blending hypothesis of inheritance as the white trait appeared in the F2 generation, without

any evidence of dilution (Reese, 2011).

In this paper, the results on an experiment regarding the variation of plant characteristics

are discussed. The experiment aimed to find as to whether Mendel’s work can be replicated

through the observance of the 3:1 ratio, as originally shown by Mendel. In this experiment, the

Brassica plant was used, which is a fast-growing plant. The Brassica plant can exhibit one of

two types of stems: either a yellow-green stem or a purple stem. This is the trait observed in the

experiment. The hypothesis is that the replicated findings agree with Mendel’s work and thus

supports the particulate hypothesis of heredity.

Materials and Methods

Initial observations were first made in two sets of plants, which were labeled as either

plant A or plant B. These were then designated as the parent generation in the experiment. The

seeds of the F1 generation arising from plant A and plant B were then planted in accordance with

the instructions in the laboratory manual. These seeds were labeled plant C. A Styrofoam

container was half-filled with damp soil and four fertilizer pellets were placed on each corner.

Afterwards, the container was filled fully with soil, and two seeds of plant C were placed on each

corner. The seeds were then covered with a bit of soil. The container was labeled accordingly

and was observed after a week (Laboratory Manual).

Results
 Plants A and B both exhibited differing traits as observed through their stem colors. Plant

A had purple/red stem, while plant B had a green stem. It was the offspring of these two true-

breeding parent generation that were planted and observed.

After a week of being planted, new plants were observed, all of which had purple stem

color. This was consistent with the F1 generation result of Mendel, where a single trait is

observed in the offspring of two true-breeding parents. It can then be said that the dominant trait

is the purple stem, as all of the offspring in the F1 generation exhibited this trait.

Discussion

Perhaps the best way to verify Mendel’s theory of particulate heredity was to perform

experimentation up to the F2 generation, but such a case did not happen. Instead, a discussion on

the expected results in the F2 generation is presented.

In order to proceed with an experiment to generate the F2 generation, manual pollination

of the plants could have been done. This process is done by manually acquiring pollens from a

set of F1 plants using a swab, and then manually swabbing the stick to another set of F1 plants,

promoting cross-fertilization. A few days after manual pollination, unopened buds and shoots

must be cut in order to avoid uncontrolled pollination. The seeds formed by the F1 generation

should then be harvested and planted, as outlined in the methodology section of this paper.

The expected result in the planting of the F2 generation is that the traits exhibited by this

generation can be approximated by the ratio proposed by Mendel. That is, the F2 generation is

expected to have three times as many purple-stemmed Brassica plants as compared to green-

stemmed Brassica plants. Some deviations may be observed due to the presence of self-

pollination. In order to verify this result, a chi-square test must be done to test the goodness of fit
of the obtained data and the expected result, which is the 3:1 ratio obtained by Mendel

(Laboratory Manual).

The hypothesis which was followed throughout the experiment was that the findings from

this experiment would successfully replicate Mendel’s work and thus support the particulate

hypothesis. Unfortunately, the hypothesis was not attained as no results for the F2 generation

were obtained. However, the first generation of offspring (F1 generation) was observed to follow

the results obtained by Mendel, though the result of the F1 generation does not prove the

particulate hypothesis. The results from the F2 generation would be the best determinant to the

particulate hypothesis of Mendel.

 References

Reece, J. B., & Campbell, N. A. (2011). Campbell Biology (9th ed.). Pearson Learning Solutions.

Laboratory Manual