Blog Post 3: 6/1/26

Science Jargon - Abstract

In recent years, a marked decrease in the diversity of pollinator species has been observed. This is concerning as both wild and domesticated plants rely heavily on pollination to reproduce and fruit. Biologists cite several different reasons for this decline, but a prominent cause is the loss of foraging grounds. Human development decreases the amount of flowers available, and insects are unable to gather enough food for the colony. This experiment analyzed the PAP1-D gene mutation in Arabidopsis thaliana and the effect it had on pollen production. Prior research has indicated that a mutation of this gene causes the plant to produce higher amounts of lignin, a protein necessary for forming pollen producing structures. The hypothesis for this study was that the mutation would lead to increased pollen because previous research has connected this specific mutation to increased amounts of vital plant proteins. While modified plants had slightly more pollen on average, the data yielded a p value of 0.1428 and was not statistically significant. Further research is needed to determine whether the mutation increases pollen amounts and could be implemented to help bolster pollinator populations.

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I'd like to thank my teachers - Mrs. Dobos for buying me King Soopers flowers, and Mr. Mcbride for always trying his best to understand my sciency junk. I'd also like to thank my expert mentors, Mrs. Wills and Mrs. Petri, for all their help on designing and executing my project. Finally, the person that deserves the most thanks is Sophie Trotter, who helped me carry my plant trays to my car.