1st Student's Major
Biological Sciences
1st Student's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Students' Professional Biography
Chad Larson grew up in Worthington, MN and graduated from Worthington High School in May of 2001. He started attending Minnesota State University-Mankato in the Fall of 2002. He is currently majoring in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Medical Technology with a minor in Chemistry.
Mentor's Name
Alison Mahoney
Mentor's Email Address
alison.mahoney@mnsu.edu
Mentor's Department
Biological Sciences
Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Abstract
New plant species develop when diploid plants (having two sets of chromosomes) spontaneously double their chromosomes and the resulting tetraploids (having four sets of chromosomes) are no longer able to back cross to diploid members of the population. The North American plant species Packera paupercula (balsam-leafed ragwort), is widespread and morphologically diverse. An isolated group of populations from the chalky soils of west-central Alabama was recently named Packera paupercula variety gypsophila (the chalk-loving balsam ragwort). The variety’s large diameter pollen grains suggest it may be tetraploid. This project attempts the first chromosome count for the variety by examining cells undergoing meiosis in the anthers (male sex organs) of flower buds. A “squash” is performed by dissecting out, staining, and pressing the anthers between a slide and cover slip and viewing the result with a microscope. If variety gypsophila is tetraploid, it may merit recognition as a new species.
Recommended Citation
Larson, Chad
(2003)
"Chromosome Counts for Packera paupercula Variety Gypsophila,"
Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato: Vol. 3, Article 4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56816/2378-6949.1173
Available at:
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/jur/vol3/iss1/4
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License