Effects of ethyl methane sulfonate and caffeine on the
Exactly when humans unraveled the great secret of managed growth and changed from collecting seeds of wild plants for food, to placing seeds in the soil and tending to their growth cannot be accurately determined. However, it is known that along with this shift from the hunter-gatherer society to agriculture based society, began the origins of manipulation of plants in order to produce variations in plants. Spontaneous mutations and subsequent recombination through hybridization followed by natural selection have provided the sources of genetic variability that have and are directing plant evolution (Stoskopf, 1995). The International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization studies during the 1970’s and 1980’s of induced plant mutations led to the development of new varieties of wheat, barely and apples (Micke, 1985). Today, new techniques are continually being discovered and utilized in order to produce new and improved plants. One way to induce mutations in species of plants is to chemically treat seeds, buds, roots and dormant cuttings in a solution of chemical mutagen (Stoskopf et al., 1995). The most commonly used chemical mutagen, ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS),
Several leaves were removed from Saintpaulia plants and surface sterilized in order to reduce any chance of bacterial or fungal contamination of the medium or culture. Surface sterilization was accomplished by using a solution of 0.5% (v/v) sodium hypochlorite. This concentration was obtained by mixing one part household bleach (5.25% NaOCl) to nine parts sterile water. To this solution a few drops of detergent, Twene, were added to increase the surface contact between the leaves and the bleach and increase the effectiveness of the sterilization. The leaves were completely submersed in this solution for five minutes and were then rinsed with three exchanges of sterile water in order to remove the remaining disinfectant present on the leaves. Using the same method that was used for the EMS treatment, approximately 25 leaf fragments were also treated with a 2% (v/v) caffeine solution. Again, these fragments soaked for approximately one and a half hours, and were washed three times in sterile water. A solution of both the 0.2% EMS and 2.0% caffeine was also created and the leaf fragments were treated as outlined above. Finally, a control was run in which the leaf fragments were soaked only in sterile water. After just one week of observation, it became apparent that the surface sterilization techniques used were not effective. Bacterial contamination and tissue death was noticed on many of our tissue cultures, including our control plates. After discussion and thought, we decided that one possible reason for such wide spread con
Some topics in this essay:
MATERIALS METHODS,
Agriculture Organization,
DNA Thorpe,
RESULTS DISCUSSION,
INTRODUCITON Exactly,
Clorox Bleach®,
Supply Company,
Skoog MS,
Caffeine EMS,
EMS EMS,
leaf fragments,
sterile water,
tissue cultures,
tissue cultures sterilized,
cultures sterilized,
clorox bleach®,
surface sterilization,
follow-up experiment,
bleach solution,
ems caffeine,
fragments soaked,
sterile water five,
generated follow-up experiment,
washed times sterile,
times sterile water,
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Approximate Word count = 1042
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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