Arabidopsis thaliana
Null Hypothesis:
The addition of 300 milligrams of urea will have an equal effect on both wild-type Arabidopsis and mutants with the AAP6 gene disabled.
Hypothesis:
If we add 300 milligrams (.50 millimoles) of urea per 1.5 liter (1500 milliliters) of water into a solution given to that group of plants, and give that solution to plants with a disabled AAP6 gene, then the mutant plants with added urea will have the greatest bolt size and Rosette width. This will be followed by the non mutant plant with urea, the non mutant without urea, and finally the mutant without urea.
Explanation of Variables and Background History
Urea fertilizer is a type of nitrogen-based fertilizer made up of 46% nitrogen or 46-0-0. Urea fertilizer is made by spraying a solution of the fertilizer onto a "prilling tower" with a vibrating shower head (Finch, 2014). As droplets fall against a stream of cold air they become round, solid objects measuring 1-3 mm in diameter (Finch, 2014). Urea is commonly used for aerial top-dressing, in soil urea changes to ammonium carbonate. It works most effective and efficient when used on soil with adequate moisture content (Finch, 2014). Urea is a valuable source of nutrition in arabidopsis but it is unable to directly take in urea without hydrolyzing it to ammonium by urease, a plant-produced enzyme (International Plant Nutrition Institution et al., n.d. Once converted into ammonium, urea is converted into glutamate and various organic compounds within the plant (International Plant Nutrition Institution et al., n.d.). However when urea is used in large amounts the amount of ammonium carbonate can cause short-term harmful high levels of pH in a plant. We are using urea because of the high amounts of nitrogen help promote photosynthesis and leaf growth in plants. Because it does not have phosphorus or potassium it allows the bloom of the plant to grow quickly and lush compared to other fertilizers.
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