The Plant and the Insect

The plant chosen by Scott to use in this experiment was Arabidopsis thaliana. Scott had the normal (wild-type) version of this plant and a mutant version called jar1.

Quiz

Question

Why did Scott choose the plant Arabidopsis thaliana for use in the study?

A. It has relatively few genes—approximately 25,000.

Sorry, your answer is not fully correct. It is true that Arabidopsis does have relatively few genes—approximately 25,000; however, it also can grow to flower and produce up to 5,000 seeds in just six weeks, it is small in size, and it can be grown easily in a growth chamber. All of these attributes makes Arabidopsis a good plant with which to work.

B. It can grow to flower and produce up to 5,000 seed in just six weeks.

C. It is small in size and can be grown easily in a growth chamber.

D. All of the above.

Good job! Scott chose Arabidopsis thaliana for use in the study because it has relatively few genes—approximately 25,000; it also can grow to flower and produce up to 5,000 seed in just six weeks; and it is small in size and can be grown easily in a growth chamber. All of these attributes makes Arabidopsis a good plant with which to work.

E. None of the above.

Looks Good! Good job! Scott chose Arabidopsis thaliana for use in the study because it has relatively few genes—approximately 25,000; it also can grow to flower and produce up to 5,000 seed in just six weeks; and it is small in size and can be grown easily in a growth chamber. All of these attributes makes Arabidopsis a good plant with which to work.

Figure 1. *Aerial view of four healthy young Arabidopsis thaliana plants growing in a pot.* Photo credit: Scott Dworak

Quiz

Question

Figure 1 is an image of four Arabidopsis plants that are five weeks old. They have been living in short days, which maximizes leaf growth. Based on what you learned from Scott, which of the following is correct?

A. These plants must be wild-type plants.

Sorry. Your answer is not fully correct. These plants could be either wild-type plants or jar1 mutants. Because both wild-type and jar1 have the same phenotype, they look, grow, and develop otherwise the same. The mutation in the JAR1 gene does not affect its phenotype, making the wild-type and jar1 mutants appear physically indistinguishable.

B. These plants must be jar1 mutants because they are not flowering.

C. These plants must be jar1 mutants because their single-gene mutation makes them look like mutants.

D. These plants could be either wild-type plants or jar1 mutants.

Good job! Both wild-type and jar1 plants have the same phenotype, meaning they look, grow, and develop otherwise the same, making them physically indistinguishable. The mutation in the jar1 gene does not affect its phenotype.

Looks Good! Good job! Both wild-type and jar1 plants have the same phenotype, meaning they look, grow, and develop otherwise the same, making them physically indistinguishable. The mutation in the jar1 gene does not affect its phenotype.

Figure 2. Cabbage looper (*Trichoplusia ni*). Photo credit: Adam Hays

The insect Scott chose for his experiment was the cabbage looper (Trichoplusia ni) (Fig. 2) which is an insect that feeds on many kinds of plants, including Arabidopsis. This insect is commonly used in science research and can be ordered as a ‘research supply’ by scientists such as Scott and Dr. Staswick. The cabbage loopers are hungry herbivores. Their feeding success on wild-type (normal) Arabidopsis and the jar1 mutant could thus be measured in a short-term experiment.

Can you identify why this UNL plant biology team predict that the gene altered in the jar1 mutant would have an influence on herbivore feeding?

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