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Data Collection
Spring 2015
Use this sheet to record observations and data throughout the life cycle of your
Setaria plants. Check your plants daily the first two weeks, and at least once a week
after that and record what you observe.
Environmental Data:
Before you begin planting, record some information about the environmental
conditions of your classroom.
Average Room Temperature (record air temperature in degrees Centigrade with
the provided thermometer):
Average Room Humidity (%):
Type of Lighting Used:
Light Intensity at Soil Level (in lux):
Photoperiod:
How many hours a day the lights were on:
How many hours a day the lights were off:
Lights turn on at:
Lights turn off at:
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Why do you think it is important to record this information while you are
conducting your study?
If any drastic changes in your classroom environment take place, take notes on this as
well.
Planting Information:
Setaria Family:
What percentage of seeds germinated?
HINT:
the number of seeds that germinated
the number of seeds planted
X100
Describe your watering schedule.
Describe your fertilizing schedule.
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Record These Important Dates:
Wild Type A10.1
Event
Date
Mutant Family: _________________
Days After
Planting
Date
Days After
Planting
Planting
Can See Green
Plantlets Above
Soil Line
First Panicle
Appears
Plants Mature &
Begin Senesce
Bag Plants
Stop Watering
Collect Seeds
Observations of Setaria Growth and Development: include these in
your team’s lab notebook or journal.
Before you begin observing your plants, look at the appendices to see what data you will be entering in
the website at the end of the semester. Make sure you collect your data in a way that will allow you to
answer these questions.
1. Observe your plants daily for the first two weeks, then weekly after that.
Each time you observe your plants, record any mutant phenotypes observed.
Not all plants in your mutant family tray will display a mutant phenotype, so
observe each plant carefully. Some phenotypes will be apparent right after
the seeds germinate, and others may not be apparent until much later in the
plant’s life cycle. Refer to the following key to use the two or three letter
codes for mutant phenotypes on your data collection sheet. You can use the
“Plant Data Collection Sheet” to record these observations.
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Codes for Mutant Phenotypes
Category
Color
Size
Other
Code
Name
Description
AB
Albino
All parts of the plant lack any pigment and appear white
PG
Pale Green
Leaf blades are a pale green color, paler than the green of wild
type leaf blades
YL
Yellow Leaf
Leaf blades are yellow in color
YS
Yellow Stripe
Leaf
Leaf blades are green with yellow stripes
TL
Tiger Leaf
Leaf blade has yellow bands
YTD
Yellow Tie Dye
Leaf blades are green, but have random spots of yellow all over
SM
Small
Plant is shorter than the average wild type plant
TP
Tall Plant
Plant is taller than the average wild type plant
LPF
Late Panicle
Formation
Plant forms panicles later than wild type plants
PSP
Partial Sterile
Panicle
A portion of the panicle does not contain seeds
BSY
Bushy
Plant has more tillers than wild type plants and appears bushy
FP
Fat Panicle
Panicles on the plant are wider than the panicles on wild type
plants
NAL
Narrow Leaf
Leaf blades are more narrow than leaf blades on wild type
plants
NL
Necrotic Leaf
Most leaf blades are brown and appear dead (this does not
apply to a plant with one or two dead leaf blades)
NS
Necrotic Spotty
Most leaf blades have brown, dead spots (If this is scattered on
all plants it may be due to pest damage)
Twisted Leaf
Leaf blades appear twisted and knotted
SL
Scalloped Leaf
Portion of the leaf blade has a scalloped edge
WL
Weeping Leaf
NT
No tiller
TWL
Leaf blades curl downwards
No tillers
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Category
Seed
Code
Name
Description
SMSD
Small seed size
Seeds are much smaller in size than wild type
LGSD
Large seed size
Seeds are larger in size than wild type
FWSD
Fewer seeds
Seeds per plant are very few in number compared to wild type
Numerous
MNYSD seeds
Majority of
seeds tan
TNSD
colored
Seeds are a
TNBLK mixture of tan
SD
and black
Seeds per plant are very many in number compared to wild
type
Majority of seeds are tan colored (unfilled)
Half of the seeds are tan colored, half are black-gray colored
2. Each week, measure the height of your plants in centimeters (cm). Plant
height should be measured from the soil to the tallest point of the plant.
When you have several data points, plot this data on a graph to see how
much your plant has grown over time (growth rate). Compare the height of
mutant plants to wild type plants.
3. Count the number of tillers coming from the base of each plant every week.
Create a graph showing the number of tillers present over time.
Look at your classroom dataset. Is the number of tillers different between
plants? If they all have about the same number of tillers, then calculate an
average number of tillers produced per plant when mature. Does this differ
between plants displaying mutant phenotypes and wild type plants?
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4. How many days did it take your wild type plants to flower? To produce its
first panicle? Mutant plants?
5. Can you see any flowering occurring in the florets (use a dissecting
microscope or hand lens)? If so, draw and describe the flower.
6. How many panicles develop per plant? Does this vary across all your plants?
Create a graph showing the relationship between the height of the plant (on
x-axis) and the number of panicles (on y-axis). Describe this relationship.
7. Do the same type of data analysis by creating a graph showing the
relationship between the number of panicles (x-axis) and the number of
tillers (y-axis). Describe this relationship.
8. When are actual seeds evident in the panicles? How does the panicle change
over time? Describe what you observe.
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9. When you harvest all the seed from each panicle on your plant, what do the
seeds look like when spread out on a piece of white paper? Are the seeds
viable & filled (black-gray) or empty (white-tan)? Estimate the percentage of
seeds that are filled, and the percentage of seeds that are empty. (Hint:Take a
random sample of 100 seeds, and count the number of them that look viable.)
10. After seed harvest, compare total numbers of seed per plant from your
mutant plants with wild type plants; For each mutant plant, record whether
the total number of seeds are less, the same or more than the wild type.
11. Gather seeds from your mutant plant and examine their sizes, compared with
seed from a wild type plant; are they smaller, the same size as wild type or
larger? Record your observations (NOTE: Don’t mix up seeds from different
plants!)
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The following appendices are examples of the data entry forms that appear on the
website. You will be entering your data on the website at the end of the semester, so
make sure you collect the appropriate data to be able to answer the following
questions.
Appendix A: DATA ENTRY- MUTANT PLANTS
Submit this form for every plant that displays a mutant phenotype.
Mutant Family(required)
00671
01239
01266
01271
01267
School(required)
Plant Number (1-17)(required)
Did this plant display delayed germination?(required)
No, it germinated within 2 days of the other plants in the family.
Yes, it germinated more than 2 days after the other plants in the family.
Mutant Phenotype- Color(required)
AB
PG
YL
YS
YTD
Not Applicable
Age of plant (in days) when the color phenotype was first observed.
Mutant Phenotype- Size(required)
SM
TP
Not Applicable
Mutant Phenotype- Other: List (using 2-3 letter abbreviations) any other phenotypes
observed (i.e. LPF, BSY, FP, NAL, NL, NS).
Age of plant at death (in days), if earlier than other plants in family (due to natural
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causes, likely mutant phenotype; not because you did not care for it)
Did this plant survive to produce seeds? (required)
Yes
No
Notes
Are the plant’s seeds smaller, same size as wild type, or larger in size? (required)
Smaller
Same size as wild type seed
Larger
Are the plant’s total number of seeds very few, same as wild type or more numerous?
(required)
Very few
Same number as wild type
More numerous
Are most of the plant’s seeds viable & filled (black-gray colored) or empty (white-tan), or
mixed? (required)
Majority black or grey colored
Half are black or grey colored and half tan colored
Majority tan colored
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Appendix B: DATA ENTRY- MUTANT FAMILY SUMMARY
Submit this form summarizing the data for a mutant family. This form should be
submitted once for each tray of mutant plants planted.
Mutant Family(required)
00671
01239
01266
01271
01267
School(required)
Number of plants (out of 17) that germinated.(required)
Germination Rate (%)(required)
Mutant phenotypes observed & the percentage of plants that displayed a mutant
phenotype or combination of mutant phenotypes. (Example: 30% TP, 20% PG, 15% PG &
SM)(required)
How many days after planting did you observe plants above the soil line?
How many days after planting did you observe the first panicle?
How many days after planting did your plants begin to mature and senesce?
How many days after planting did you bag your plants?
How many days after planting did you collect seeds?
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Appendix C: DATA ENTRY- ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
The environmental data should be recorded once per classroom. Take an average of
your readings across the experiment. If you saw a wide range of values, you can also
report a range (for example, if your classroom was colder at the beginning of the
experiment, but warmed up as the semester progressed, you can report that).
School(required)
Room Temperature (C)(required)
Humidity(required)
Light Intensity at Soil Level (Lux)(required)
Photoperiod (hours lights ON)
Describe your watering schedule
Describe your fertilizing schedule
Notes (Any unusual observations? i.e. power outages, temperature swings, pests)
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