James Madison University
BIO 480 Webposter
Abstract
Rubisco protein makes up 40-80% of those found in leaf tissue and plays an important role in the photosynthetic pathway. In this study, we aim to understand how the Rubisco large subunit (RBCL) expression changes in plants. We hypothesized that in the leaves and stems of a Chrysanthemum x morifolium plant that is just beginning to bud, a low amount of RBCL DNA will be observed; in a plant that is growing some flowers, which are enlarging, levels of the protein and DNA will be great, and in a plant which has already bloomed and is beginning to degrade, levels of RBCL DNA will be about half the maximum. To test this hypothesis, the following experiments were performed: protein extraction, Western Blot with antibody detection, DNA extraction, real-time PCR, and agarose gel electrophoresis. The results for these tests were inconclusive since no bands were clearly observed on the SDS-PAGE stained gel or Western blot for protein analysis, or on the agarose gel for analysis of DNA. The protein concentrations may have been incorrectly determined since they were calculated from the extreme end of of a standard curve and thus skewed further experiments. Based on the results, we were unable to either accept or reject our hypothesis.