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566 Chapter 17 NEL

Plant Cloning Technology

In 1958, Fredrick Stewart created great excitement in the scientific world when he revealed

that he had produced a plant from a single carrot cell (Figure 3). Today, this technique

miniInvestigation Cloning from a Plant Cutting

In some plants, asexual reproduction is accomplished naturally

when a portion of the plant, such as a stem or leaf, breaks off

and develops roots at the base of the broken portion. It is

possible for the broken part to become a new plant. This activity

is an example of artificial propagation.

Materials: coleus plant, scissors, goggles, gloves, fungicide,

flower pot, potting soil, apron

The fungicide is poisonous. Review the MSDS

before beginning this investigation. Any spills on

the skin, in the eyes, or on clothing should be

washed immediately with cold water. Report any

spills to your teacher.

step 1 step 2 step 3 Figure 2

• Perform the following steps as shown in Figure 2.
  
  
  1. Using scissors, carefully cut off the tips of three coleus
     stems. Cut on an angle. Include several leaves on each
     stem.
  
  
  2. Remove a few leaves from the bottom. Put on splash
     goggles, and wear gloves and/or use tongs to immerse the
     stem in fungicide.
  
  
  3. Plant the cuttings in soil.
  
  
  
  


• Record each cutting’s initial height and number of leaves.
  Take these measurements every week for two months.


• Describe the new plants each time.
  (a) What evidence suggests that coleus can regenerate parts
  of the plant that were lost?
  (b) Without removing the plant from the pot, how can you
  demonstrate that the roots from the cutting are growing?

single cell extracted

from carrot

carrot clone

Figure 3
Fredrick Stewart was able to grow a
clone from a single cell of a carrot
plant. This allowed production of
many identical individuals from a
sexually reproducing species. This
was the first application of
knowledge of mitosis in generating
clones.