Blog 9: Intro to Genetics Experiment

Olivia, Lucia, and I have decided to do our genetics experiment using fast plants. We chose this model organism because fast plants are easy to use while carrying out an experiment, and we designed a good experiment that we feel confident about. From preliminary research, we have decided to plant Wisconsin Fast Plants Purple Stem (Hairy seed, high anthocyanin expression) in our lab. We are unsure of exactly how many we are going to plant right now, but we do know that we want to have four different groups. Our variable that revolves around our experiment in Phosphorus. After doing research, we concluded that Phosphorus is the element that makes Wisconsin Fast Plants Purple Stem have purple stems. Therefore, our hypothesis is that the more Phosphorus in the soil that the fast plants are growing in, the more purple the stems will be. We are going to control the Phosphorus quantities by using a fertilizer that is 14-14-14 (NPK: 14% Nitrogen, 14% Phosphorus, 14% Potassium). We will put three fertilizer "seeds" in each plant and add more Phosphorus in different amounts. We are in the process of ordering raw Phosphorus and will measure it by weight before adding it in with the soil and 14-14-14 fertilizer. We are unsure of what form the raw Phosphorus is going to come in so that is why we are going to measure it by weight, whether it is a solid or liquid. The four groups I mentioned above will include a: Neutral group (only fertilizer- no added Phosphorus), minimal added Phosphorus, medium added Phosphorus, and large amount of added Phosphorus. As we go into more depth of experiment design, we may add or alter the groups of fast plants we are going to test. I'm hoping that we will be able to see a distinct difference between the plants that get more Phosphorus. More details and progress to come soon!