A Matter of Selection Kylee Bourbon

1. Which part (anatomy) or characteristic of the Brassica oleracea plants seems to exhibit the most variation (greatest number of different forms)? Which part or characteristic of the Brassica oleracea plants seems to show the greatest range of variation (biggest difference between one extreme and its opposite)? Use and include data collected from multiple measurements to support your answer.

The biggest difference I notice in the garden is the texture and appearance of the plant leaves. Some are smooth and light green and some are dark green with deep ridges. Though some may look similar from far away, they have differences when looked closely at. Take into consideration the following plants. 

From the outside, these plant leaves may look very similar, but when looked at closely, you can see they are two different colors. The top one is a darker forest green and the bottom is a much lighter green. 

The texture of these plants are also very different. For example, 

this kale plant has very roughy and bumpy leaves,

while this plant has very smooth leaves. These pictures show the many differences in the leaves of the brassica oleracea plants in our garden. 

2. Which part (anatomy) of the Brassica oleracea plants seems to be most consistently the same in all of the examples in our garden, regardless of how extreme the differences between other parts of the same plants may be? Why do think this is so? Again, use and include data collected from multiple measurements to support your answer.

While observing the plants, I notice a couple of similarities. The most common characteristic I notice is the length of the plant leaves. Each leaf is between 11 inches to 1 foot and 3 inches. Below is a picture of 5 plants we looked at next to ruler to show how similar in size they are. I think they are all similar in leaf size because they all were planted around the same time and have all received around the same amount of water and sunlight. 

3. Using the terms that follow, explain why you think there is so much variability in the domestic forms of Brassica oleracea: traits, selective breeding, artificial selection, genes, descent with modification, natural variations, mutation

The differences in the brassica oleracea plants is due to many different things. One is selective breeding, also known as artificial selection. This is organisms choosing to breed with certain organisms, often based on their qualities. And because of this, many organisms are bred certain ways, creating diversity. Many traits of the plants are passed down from their parents, which is called descent with modification. Another reason for the variability is natural variations, which are mutations that happen randomly during sex cell division. Because of all these variables, all plants have different genes, which causes them to be different from each other.

4.What would plant breeders have to do in order to get the body part or characteristic you described above (in your response to question #3) to become much different than it is presently?

In order to change a characteristic of a plant, a breeder would have to change it's DNA, by inserting a change into the genetic code of a seedling.