A Matter of Selection - Jessica Serrano

1A. Which part (anatomy) or characteristic of the Brassica oleracea plants seems to exhibit the most variation (greatest number of different forms)?  

   

    The parts of the Brassica oleracea plants that seem to exhibit the most variation are the leaves. While exploring the garden with my classmate,  I noticed that every leaf on the a plant was different, it had different textures,sizes,  appearances, and colors.

1B. 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 that showed the greatest range of variation was the leaves of each plant. The plants below include kale,collard,cabbage, and the variation of plants that we could find in the garden.  The plants with the longest leaves were Plants 1 and 2. Meanwhile the ones with the smallest leaves were Plant 4 and our cabbage plant. All the data collected is shown below in the following chart.

Leaf
Width	16 cm	14 cm	10 cm	1.5 cm	8 cm	14 cm	8 cm	14 cm	8 cm
Length	19 cm	24 cm	14 cm	6 cm	6 cm	9 cm	22 cm	19 cm	11 cm
Edge	Ruffled	Ragged	Ragged	Spiked	Smooth	Ragged	Ragged	Ragged	Ragged
Texture	Bumpy	Bumpy	Bumpy	Smooth	Smooth	Smooth	Smooth/bumpy (mix)	Smooth/bumpy (mix)	Smooth/ bumpy (mix)

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

    Brassica oleracea is a family or group  of a variation of  plants but every plant is a little different from the rest in the family. All of these plants have genes. Genes contain DNA which makes everyone different and unique. Anything that is living has genes. Genes create traits that are charastics for a plant. Such as what texture the plant will be, how it will taste,how tall it will be, and the color of the plant. All of these plants have different genes but they all came from the same ancestor they might all be different because of selective breeding, artificial selection,  descent with modification and mutations. Mutations are a change in the DNA of a plant, it can delete a chromosome or add one which contain DNA. Mutations can be harmless or harmful and can cause a dramatic change in a plant.  Artificial selection is when humans choose which traits to add to a plant. Humans experiment with breeding different plants together and having an outcome that they would like. They control the DNA and the plant. It also could have been affected by descent with modification, which is the passing on traits to offspring. All in all, the plants in are garden are all different in their own way but they are still all part of the same family.

    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.

   

    In the anatomy of the Brassica Oleracea, the plants that seemed to be mostly the same at the stems of the plants. I think that the stem of a plant is such a stable and sturdy part of a plant that it will continue to get longer as the plant begins to grow more and more. It is like the foundation of the plant.  The lengths of the plants seemed to be different but the widths were on average the same. The width of the stem for the brussels sprouts was 1cm and it was also the same for the colliards. They were different in the veins and textures of the leaves.Some had very clear veins throughout the leaves meanwhile other didn’t.

 

                   The stems of Plants 3 and 4 .

The textures and veins of the leaves of these two plants.

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?

    Plant breeders can do many things in order to get different results. One thing they can do is to give the plants a stable amount of water and sunlight everyday. This must be done consistently that way the plants are able to grow. Plant breeders can also do the complete opposite of taking care of the plants. They can isolate the plant which will eventually cause it to die and that is the complete opposite of how our plants are in the garden. Another method is one many farmers and food companies do , although it isn’t the healthiest for the plant. Sometimes plants get little holes in their leaves which shows that insects and animals are eating the plant. Spraying the plants with pesticides will get rid of the insects and will make the plant look different than how it is now. However these chemicals can be dangerous and can lead to food poisoning.