BIOL 114: The Effect of Herbivory Insects on Arabidopsis thaliana Growth and Development
Location
Turner Gymnasium
Access Type
Campus Access Only
Presentation Type
Printed poster
Entry Number
19
Start Date
4-16-2026 12:00 PM
End Date
4-16-2026 1:15 PM
School
School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department
Biology
Keywords
Arabidopsis
Abstract
In 2024, the United States produced ~14.9 billion bushels of corn. However, invertebrates like insects, mites, and slugs reduced crop yields by 4% in 2024. Spider mites are herbivorous insects that damage leaf structure which can lead to decreased fecundity. This study was conducted with the goal to mimic the damage done by spider mites on the leaves of a wild type and mutant Arabidopsis thaliana. To mimic the miniscule bites of a spider mite colony, 400 X-Fine sandpaper was used on the surface of two leaves per plant. This treatment was applied once a week for two weeks. The responses produced by the mutant gene and wild type were monitored by measuring the maximum rosette diameter, number of leaves, and bolt height. Based on the data, we noticed an increase in the number of leaves of experimental Aradiposis thaliana. However, the increase in wild type was one percentile more than mutant type, indicating that the mutant experimental Arabidopsis thaliana indicated less resistance to the physical damage or the stress. This was also evident in diameter size, which increased after the physical damage; the wildtype experimental plants had a two percentile increase, but the mutant had one percentile of increase in diameter. Finally, bolt height decreased in experimental plants; the experimental mutant had a slightly greater decrease in bolt height. Thus, these values show that physical damage on the leaves of two types of Arabidopsis had different effects which may be useful for agricultural insect resistance purposes.
Primary Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Erin Friedman
Primary Faculty Mentor(s) Department
Biology
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BIOL 114: The Effect of Herbivory Insects on Arabidopsis thaliana Growth and Development
Turner Gymnasium
In 2024, the United States produced ~14.9 billion bushels of corn. However, invertebrates like insects, mites, and slugs reduced crop yields by 4% in 2024. Spider mites are herbivorous insects that damage leaf structure which can lead to decreased fecundity. This study was conducted with the goal to mimic the damage done by spider mites on the leaves of a wild type and mutant Arabidopsis thaliana. To mimic the miniscule bites of a spider mite colony, 400 X-Fine sandpaper was used on the surface of two leaves per plant. This treatment was applied once a week for two weeks. The responses produced by the mutant gene and wild type were monitored by measuring the maximum rosette diameter, number of leaves, and bolt height. Based on the data, we noticed an increase in the number of leaves of experimental Aradiposis thaliana. However, the increase in wild type was one percentile more than mutant type, indicating that the mutant experimental Arabidopsis thaliana indicated less resistance to the physical damage or the stress. This was also evident in diameter size, which increased after the physical damage; the wildtype experimental plants had a two percentile increase, but the mutant had one percentile of increase in diameter. Finally, bolt height decreased in experimental plants; the experimental mutant had a slightly greater decrease in bolt height. Thus, these values show that physical damage on the leaves of two types of Arabidopsis had different effects which may be useful for agricultural insect resistance purposes.