BIOL 114: The effect of blue light on Arabidopsis thaliana growth and development.
Location
Turner Gymnasium
Access Type
Campus Access Only
Presentation Type
Printed poster
Entry Number
8
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
Studies have shown that blue light exposure can positively influence plants’ vegetative growth, photosynthesis production, and root health. However, we hypothesised that the ability of a plant to maintain typical growth under varying light conditions may depend on its specific genotype. This study investigated the growth response of the 25026 gene mutation in Arabidopsis thaliana compared to wild-type plants under both white and blue light conditions. This experiment is important to understand the impact of this specific mutation on genetic factors versus typical wild type growth factors that can contribute to plant resilience in varied light environments. To evaluate these effects, growth measurements and light measurements were collected for both plant types in white light, representing a typical environment, and blue light, representing a stressed environment, while maintaining a constant number of plants per plot. Results indicated that the growth of wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana was consistently greater than that of the 25026 mutant in both light environments. Although the artificial light used was insufficient, these findings suggest that regardless of the light spectrum, the 25026 mutation impairs plant development. This highlights the role of this gene in normal growth and environmental adaptation.
Primary Faculty Mentor(s)
Kari Benson
Primary Faculty Mentor(s) Department
Biology
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BIOL 114: The effect of blue light on Arabidopsis thaliana growth and development.
Turner Gymnasium
Studies have shown that blue light exposure can positively influence plants’ vegetative growth, photosynthesis production, and root health. However, we hypothesised that the ability of a plant to maintain typical growth under varying light conditions may depend on its specific genotype. This study investigated the growth response of the 25026 gene mutation in Arabidopsis thaliana compared to wild-type plants under both white and blue light conditions. This experiment is important to understand the impact of this specific mutation on genetic factors versus typical wild type growth factors that can contribute to plant resilience in varied light environments. To evaluate these effects, growth measurements and light measurements were collected for both plant types in white light, representing a typical environment, and blue light, representing a stressed environment, while maintaining a constant number of plants per plot. Results indicated that the growth of wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana was consistently greater than that of the 25026 mutant in both light environments. Although the artificial light used was insufficient, these findings suggest that regardless of the light spectrum, the 25026 mutation impairs plant development. This highlights the role of this gene in normal growth and environmental adaptation.