Brassica
genetics for the classroom
Mutant Library
Wild-type
Seedling
Albino
Altered Cotyedon Shape
Long Hypocotyl
Multicotyledon
Striped Cotyledons
Plant Shape
Bushy
Dwarf
Dwarf-like
No Bolt
Short
Stem Color
Albino Stem
Flower Shape
Apetala
Trumpet Shaped Petals
Flower Color
Yellow
Leaf Color
Yellow green
Glossy
Pale
Veriagated
White Tip
Leaf Shape
Wrinkly
Bumpy
Curly
Altered Leaf Shape
Other
Male Sterile
Late Flowering
Lesion Mimic
The principal investigators for this project are:
Richard M. Amasino and Thomas Osborn.
Copyright 2002
University of Wisconsin
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Wisconsin rapid cycling Brassica oleracea mutagenesis
Plants are a cost effective, easy and exciting way to bring genetics and developmental biology into the classroom, and to provide students a hands-on opportunity to learn these areas.
Brassica oleracea is a species that comes in many forms. Cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower are all varieties of Brassica oleracea. Another variety is a small, hearty, fast-growing plant. Our goal is to bring genetics to life in the classroom with this fast-growing variety. In order to create plants that are interesting for students to study, eight thousand of these fast-growing Brassica oleracea plants were mutagenized with EMS, a chemical that causes base changes in the plant's DNA. The resulting population was screened for plants that looked visibly different from their parents. Some of these changes include different colored flowers, different colored leaves, dwarfed plants, plants that lack petals, and plants that have an overall different shape. A few of the changes are illustrated below; the original plant part, or wild-type, is shown on the left while the mutant is shown on the right.
This work has been funded by the United States Department of Agriculture