blog post 8

       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 part of the plant that I thought seemed to show the most variation between all of the Brassicas were the leaves. I thought this because all the brassica leaves were different in size, shape and the way it felt. The leaves on the Brassica were very wide and big compared to the rest of the plants in the garden. The size of one brassica leaf was 5inchs long and 6inches wide.

      2 .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, mutations

I think there are so may variation between the Brassica plant and the other plants in the garden.One the reasons being that since when something is sexually reproduced it always gets traits of both parents. Artificial selection play a big part in this plants life. scientist have been able to pick genes in the plant and modify it into something better. Selective breeding also can change the outcome, by sexual reproducing with other plants it can get new genes that help it adapt to the environment. Natural variations are very important because its mutations that randomly happen during sex cell division. this affects the plant because it can change the genes that get passed on, which could do good things for the plant but at the same time do bad things. descent with modification is passing of traits parents to offspring.

       3.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.

I think the traits the Brassica oleracea plants all have in common are the stem that leads ton leaf. I believe this because the data I collected and what I saw was that most every stem was long and slender and shared the same little details. I think there the same because stems are the one thing that doesn't need to change much when it comes to adapting to the environment. 

        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?

I think plant breeders would have to change the way the stem grows. To go in more detail I would say you would have to find a way to bracket the stem so it would grow shorter than the normal long lenght of the stem. To change the slender of the stem you would need to come up with some formula to make the stems grow thicker because i really don't know how you would make it thicker without using some sort of biotic.

Blog Post #8 A Matter of Selection

1) When we looked at the Brassica Oleracea, we noticed that there was a great variety in the anatomy and all of the leaves appeared to be different. The biggest different was the shape of the plant's leaves ; some were more rounded and curved while others had smaller, sickle shaped leaves. The kale plant had the most unusual leaves, which were shaped with very odd edges. Another inconsistency between plants was a waxy coating on the leaves, most likely to let water roll right off the leaves.  Some plants had this coating while others didn't.

2) I believe there is so much variation because way back in the beginning, the original plant's traits were far different from traits it has inherited over time. Through descent with modification, the plants reached a point where their genes and traits were desirable for humans to try to selectively breed the plants. A combination of artificial selection, natural variation, and mutations in the plant's genetic code have all lead to the creation of variety between the Brassica Oleracea plants.

3) A common part of the plant's anatomy is the size of the different parts of the plants. Each plant had leaves around 14 to 16 inches long, probably because they plants all descended from a common ancestor plant with leaves around that size range.

4) A breeder would need to take gametes from two different plants and put the different pollen on each of the plants to see if any of the plants produce fertile offspring. If one of the plants has fertile offspring, that plant will be used to breed with in the future, as the traits of the plant are desirable and it is capable of reproducing.

Blog Post #8 A Matter of Selection

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.

          When we looked at the Brassica Oleracea we noticed that the anatomy of the plants varied a ton. But all of the leaves seemed to be very different. The biggest difference was the shape of the leaves. Some were round while other plants had a small, sickle-shaped ones.  The plant with the most unique leaves was the kale, which had odd, unnatural edges.  Another thing we noticed was that some of the plants have an almost waxy coating on their leaves. Presumably to repel water.

2. 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, mutations

          I think that there is so much variability because in the beginning, the original plants traits were very different from the traits now. Through descent with modification, they reached a point where their genes were desirable enough for people to try and selectively breed them. This artificial selection, along with natural variations and unnoticeable mutations since then, has caused all of the different types.

3. 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.

         One of the things on the plant that has common anatomy is the size of the plants.  Each leaf had a length of about 14--16 inches.  I think they are close in the same size because the plants have a common ancestor with that size of leaves.

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?

         The breeder could take gametes from 2 different plants and put the different pollens on each plant and see if any of the plants have a fertile offspring. If one of them has a fertile one, that one will be used to breed with in the future, given its traits are desireable enough

A matter of selection Marco

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.

          When I was observing the Brassica oleracea I noticed that the anatomy of the plants varied them most on the leafs of the plant.  The biggest difference was the shape of the leafs some were round while other plants had a little curve in the leaves.  The plant with the most different leafs was the kale it was sorta wrinkly and the edges looked like they had been cut up.  The texture was also very different in all the plants some were rubberlike while others were sorta soft like but all them had a protective layer  on it which repealed water.

2. 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, mutations

          There is so much variation in the plants because only some of the traits get passed down to the plants offs spring so no two plants will be exactly the same.  There is also selective breeding and the plants can breed with the healthiest plant so then their off spring have a high chance of serving.  The plants also use artificial selection because the plants breed with each other.  Each plant has different genes so then it is possible for them to survive.  The plants also have different variations from natural variations and this is because the plant gets traits from the mother and the father.  Finally the plant uses mutations to help the plants live longer.

3. 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.

One of the things on the plant that has common anatomy is the size of the plants.  Each leave was about 11-15 inches.  I think they are close in the same size because the plants may have a common ancestor that passes the leaf size trait down.

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?

The plant breeder could take pollen from 2 different plants and put the different pollens on each plant and see if any of the plants have a fertile off spring and if one of them has a fertilize off spring keep Breading utile you can bead the plants

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. 

Student Blog Post Assignment #7

Flowering plants reproduce differently than animals. They reproduce through pollination, which involves the transfer of male gametes and female ovules. After pollination, the ovules grow to seeds within a fruit.

This is a picture of our brassica. Below are some close up pictures of some of the different parts of the plant.

This picture shows the anther with a stigma on it. The anther is basically the male reproductive system of a plant and it holds pollen/sperm cells and the stigma is the female reproductive system. Pollen is spread by bees that touch the pollen.

This is a picture of the stigma. On the plant, the stigma is where the germination of pollen grains occurs. Along with the style, and ovary, the stigma is also part of another one of the flower's structures called the pistil.

This is the ovule.  Each ovule is attached to a stalk that holds it. A small opening in the integuments (outer protective layer) at the apex of the ovule allows the pollen tube to enter and inject its sperm nuclei into the embryo sac (a large ovular cell in which fertilization and development occur).

This is a closer view of the pollen grain

Blog Post #7

Here is a picture of the brassica we used. Below are close up pictures of different parts of the plant.

This is a picture of the anther with a stigma on it. The anther is the male reproductive system and it holds pollen/sperm cells and the stigma is the female reproductive system. The anther helps pollinate by rubbing its pollen on bees that have landed on the plant.

This part of the flower is called the stigma. On the plant, the stigma is the site where germination of pollen grains occur. Along with the style and ovary, the stigma is also part of another one of the flower's structures called the pistil.

This part is the ovule.  Each ovule is attached by its base to the stalk that holds it. A small opening in the integuments at the apex of the ovule allows the pollen tube to enter and discharge its sperm nuclei into the embryo sac, a large ovular cell in which fertilization and development can occur.

This picture shows the pollen grains close up.