Introduction
Materials & Methods Results Discussion Literature Cited
A current trend on the market is organic crops, which are different from inorganic crops primarily on how they are grown. With the varying substances these plants are exposed to, it can be theorized that the plant internal functions, such as the Calvin cycle, may be altered. A comparison of Rubisco protein and plastid content in inorganic versus organic crops will be analyzed to determine if there is an alteration. Traditional crops are provided with external sources of nutrients via soil alteration primarily through chemical means. Typically, nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium are used in order to promote plant growth and provided in excess. Contrarily, organic crops are nourished through the soil by non-chemical methods such as crop rotation and natural compost.
A comparison of Rubisco levels and plastid content will be made between organic and inorganic products of two variable species. A comparison between inorganic leaves and organic leaves is to be made intraspecies using Allium fistulosum and Lactuca sativa. An assessment of the effects of how plants are raised is relevant to farmers and consumers and may be used to optimize overall crop yield. Rubisco is significant in that it enables inorganic carbon to enter a plant to be utilized for energy during light independent photosynthesis. If Rubisco levels are elevated then a plant is able to grow more efficiently and may result in an increase in food supply for consumers.
According
to Gegner and Kuepper, inorganic species contain higher levels of Rubisco based on fertilization methods. Therefore, it is predicted that higher
levels of Rubisco would be obtained from leaves of inorganic A.
fistulosum and L. sativa versus their organic counterparts.
Contrarily if the leaves obtained from the inorganic samples contain
equal amounts of Rubisco in comparison with the organic samples, it would
indicate that the method of growth has no effect on Rubisco levels.
In reference to Kiyohara, plastids contain DNA encoding the Rubisco protein. It is understood that plastid content increases the potential for cellular differentiation into chloroplasts containing stroma that encapsulate the Rubisco protein. It is therefore hypothesized that the traditional leaves of A. fistulosum and L. sativa will contain higher traces of plastids than their complements resulting in elevated levels of Rubisco. If said correlation fails to exist, neither sample would contain a higher level of plastids than the other. Since it is expected that the inorganic plants will contain higher levels of plastid DNA, it is also believed that more Rubisco protein will be transcribed in these samples.
Acrylamide
gel electrophoresis will first be utilized to separate Rubisco from other
proteins that may be present in the organic and inorganic samples. Subsequently,
the proteins will be transferred from the gel onto a nitrocellulose membrane.
Antibodies will then be used in order to quantify the amount of Rubisco present
in the samples. Finally, a DNA extraction will be performed to determine the
plastid content within inorganic versus organic leaves of the variable samples. Higher
levels of plastids are expected to be observed in inorganic samples when
compared to their organic counterparts.