Gibberellic Acid and its Effect

on the Growth of Dwarf Pea Plants:

Dwarf Peas Quest for New Heights through Hormone Use






















Group Three






Biology 100
Professor Steven G. Brumbaugh, M.S.
Section A, Tuesday 10:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
November 17, 2009


Abstract (Not needed)
This paper is a report on our experiment surrounding gibberellic acid, and the
question as to whether or not it plays a large role in the growth of pea plants. The
experiment was conducted over a period of nine days of observation and data
collecting, followed by a review and analysis of the results. After observing the data that
was collected, we came to a conclusion regarding the effects of the gibberellic acid on
the experimental group, versus the de-ionized water sprayed on the control group.


Introduction
Gibberellic acid is a naturally occurring plant hormone that stimulates and
regulates plant growth. Known as GA
3
, this hormone promotes cell division and
elongation, resulting in a taller plant.
i
Originally discovered by the Japanese as being
derived from the fungus Gibberella fujikuroi
ii
, it has since been cultivated and
concentrated into a liquid
iii
, which is often used in agriculture to regulate plant growth in
order to get as much crop return as possible.
In this experiment, we set out to discover whether or not this acid has an effect
on the growth of a pea plant. We are conducting this using an experimental set-up, in
which we will have two subjects, one being the experimental group sprayed with
gibberellic acid, and the other being the control group sprayed with de-ionized water. At
the end of the five days of observation, we will review the results and come to a
conclusion.
The pea plant was chosen because of its quick sprouting, as well as its
connection with other important biological experiments, such as those of Gregor
Mendel, based on the hybridization of plants. It has been discovered that the tall pea
plants that Mendel used in his experiments had GA
3
. The short plants had a mutation,
GA
1
, which caused growth at
1
/
20
of the normal speed, resulting in dwarfism.
iv
This
discovery that pea plants are susceptible to tests with gibberellic acid sets the stage for
our experiment and this plant we have chosen to conduct it with.
We are operating under the hypothesis that if gibberellic acid is a growth
hormone which regulates plant growth, then we expect the height of the experimental
group to be higher than that of the control group at the end of our experiment.
Results from this study may confirm the importance of this hormone, which could
lead to a rise in demand from those who may have their own garden, or from farmers
who may want to expand their output within a shorter amount of time.

Materials and Methods
We began by placing 20 seeds in a plastic cup, with tap water being added until
the water level was about 2 cm above the level of the pea seeds. The cup was labeled
with our group number and date, and placed in a dark cupboard in the biology lab. The
peas were allowed to soak for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, the seeds were taken from the cupboard in the lab to the
greenhouse upstairs. Two flowerpots were prepared by placing a moist paper towel at
the bottom of both containers, then filling the containers full with vermiculite. The
vermiculite was moistened with tap water and ten seeds were placed onto the surface of
the vermiculite in each pot. The seeds were covered with additional vermiculite to the
brim of each pot, as additional tap water was added to moisten the vermiculite. Each
pot was labeled with our group number and date. One pot was labeled as our control,
and the other was labeled as our experiment. Both pots were placed side-by-side in the
greenhouse, checked each day, and the vermiculite was kept moist with tap water.
Seven days after planting, the seedlings in each pot were taller than 20-30 mm.
The measurements were taken by measuring the distance from the vermiculite surface
to the tip of the shoot apex. All seedlings in both pots were measured. The heights
measured for each pot were recorded as our initial measurements.

The hormonal treatment of the experimental plants was done by taken the pot
outside of the greenhouse. Gibberelic acid was sprayed onto the seedlings using a
hand atomizer obtained from the refrigerator at the back of the lab room. The
experimental seedlings were sprayed until droplets of the gibberelic acid spray formed
on the leaves and shoot apexes. The gibberelic acid spray was controlled and did not
runoff onto the vermiculite. This was the only time gibberelic acid was applied to our
experiment group.
The control seedlings were sprayed also sprayed outside, this time with the
deionized water atomizer in the same way the experimental group was sprayed with the
gibberelic acid.
Both groups were measured five times over the next eight days. The vermiculite
in both pots was kept uniformly moist and water was not sprayed water over the plants
themselves.
After the fifth height measurements, the inter-node length (Figure 2) and the stem
diameter 10 mm up from the vermiculite was measured on each plant in both groups.
The number of leaves produced was also recorded for each plant in both the
experimental and control groups.
At the end of the experiment, the pots were emptied onto the screen which Is
found covering the used vermiculite container in the greenhouse. The labels were
removed, and the pots washed out and returned to the shelf. The root structures on the
plants from each group were photographed and lengths were recorded (Figure 4).




Results
Our data table with raw numbers is located in Appendix A. On the first day of
measurements, dated October 21, 2009, both the experimental group and the control
group were at the same height at an average of 32 millimeters (mm) tall. At this point in
time the experimental and control groups were sprayed with gibberellic acid and de-
ionized water, respectively. As Figure 1 illustrates, two days later the measurements
revealed a substantial difference beginning to emerge between the two pea plant
groups. After a two-day weekend, measurements were resumed on the pea plants on
October 26, 2009 and continued for three more days thereafter.
In the days following the spraying of the two substances, the experiment group
began pulling ahead of the control group, and over the next few days they both
continued growth at a steady rate. While on the fourth and fifth day the control group
remained the same height, the experiment group continued to grow approximately 4mm
average. At the end of the five days in which the plants were measured, dated October
29, 2009, the plants sprayed with gibberellic acid were 37.5% taller than those which
were sprayed with de-ionized water.




Figure 1 Average Daily Height Compares the average daily growth rate, over the experiment period,
after the control plants were sprayed with de-ionized water and experiment plants were sprayed with
gibberelic acid.

The internodes (Figure 2) were also measured, revealing that the experimental
group had a substantially greater difference between the two sets of leaves than that of
the control group, by 9mm (Figure 3). The experimental group also had four more
leaves than the control group, by a count of eighteen to fourteen (Figure 3). The
diameter of the stems found just above the surface was also measured, but no variation
was found.



Figure 2 Internode The internode length is the space between two sets of leaves.


Figure 3 Average Final Height, Internode Length, Stem Diameter, and Number of Leaves Compares the final
height, internode length, stem diameter, and number of leaves of the experiment and control groups. The
experimental group lengths exceed the control group in all areas except stem diameter, which is equal.

The final major variation noticed in the results was the incredible difference in
root length between the two groups. While there was not a long enough measuring
device on hand, there is no doubt that the roots of the experimental group reached a
length at least three-fold longer than that of the control group (Figure 4).


Figure 4 Root Structures of the Control and Experiment Group It was noted during our research that one of the
effects of gibberelic acid on plant development is rapid root growth. This effect is evident in these photos.


Discussion

The results that are presented in the above section show many different areas in
which the experimental group has out-grown the control group. The most obvious
difference we noticed was the variation in height between the groups (Figures 1, 3).
Gibberellic acid, as explained in the introduction, is a hormone found in plants which is
partially responsible for growth. While the difference in pea plant height is a good
indicator of growth difference, we were not able to completely rest our conclusion on the
one factor of height. Our measurements were conducted by the same person over the
five recording days, ensuring as accurate a comparison as possible.
After making all the measurements, we dusted off the vermiculite and saw the
most impressive divergence between the two groups. The root system in a plant is its
primary source of soaking up water, which is necessary for plant growth
v
. As Figure 4
reveals, the root system of the experimental plants were far more complex and lengthy
than the root systems of the control group. The difference leads us to conclude that the
gibberellic acid had a massive effect on the growth of the roots, thereby allowing the
plant to soak up more water, resulting in its ability to grow at a faster rate. The root
system allowed the experimental plant to grow more leaves, as well as grow taller and
contain longer internodes (Figure 3).
We compared our results with the pea lab report titled The Effects of Gibberellic
Acid on the Growth of Pea Plants or Funny Boy: Springtime for the Producers. The
experiment was conducted in the same manner, with ten measurements made over the
course of two weeks. Their conclusion remained the same as ours, that the gibberellic
acid indeed played a part in the growth of the pea plants height.
vi

Because there was only one control made in this experiment (the spraying of the
substances), it would be premature to make a scientific fact surrounding these findings.
In repeating the experiment, we could control more factors which would allow for more
accurate results and would either concretely affirm or reject the hypothesis that
gibberellic acid plays a role in the growth of pea plants. Such controls could be the
amount of gibberellic acid and de-ionized water that was sprayed on the plants,
respectively, or making sure the plants had the exact amount of sunlight exposure, or
even the concentration of minerals found in the specific bits of vermiculite used in each
pot, or the exact age and condition of the peas used. While the first two would be
reasonable fixes in our experiment, the latter two would require a more educated
biologist to conduct the experiment again.
Surprises which we had not prepared for include the difference in root lengths,
which helps explain the growth, and the lack of variation between the diameters of the
stems. Further experiments with more controls would be helpful in determining if there
are any other factors besides gibberellic acid which were present that we were unable
to observe. Likewise, continually spraying the gibberellic acid on the plant could reveal if
there are any detrimental effects that might occur out of a continuous growth in height
but a lack of expansion in the stem.
In our hypothesis, we set out to determine whether or not we could reasonably
state that gibberellic acid had an effect on the growth of pea plants. After conducting the
experiment and observing the stated results, we conclude that gibberellic acid does,
indeed, have an effect on the growth of pea plants height as we initially hypothesized.


Appendix A:
Data Table




Literature Cited

i
United States Environmental Protection Agency (1995) , R.E.D. Facts: Gibberellic Acid,
http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:93S_gLaCt5YJ:www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/factsheets/4110fact.pdf+gibberellic+acid&hl=en&gl=
us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjlFu5XFEIyZ1pI5edDRDZtPfBzbmVMTL5utji6XrCzUeVdQ5j4VBHe7Fao2NdLaAO22o-BaxVHXtMvj7ort04XdACbq8nNX-
mfpuIkl2JIhZ0u-rXqPl8HEDsMuRoS8BgnJNWT&sig=AFQjCNFXqQjSsdbaGU2QkqVv-B3Ys7pPSg Retrieved 2009-11-12

ii
B B Stowe, and T Yamaki (June 1957), The History and Physiological Action of the Gibberellins, Annual Review of Plant Physiology Vol. 8: 181-
216
iii
S Fennimore and M Foley (1998), Genetic and physiological evidence for the role of gibberellic acid in the germination of dormant Avena
fatua seeds Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol 49, 89-94
iv
Blaine Friedlander (September 1997), Pea Plant Stem Growth Gene Cloned http://news.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-2/Pea-Plant-Stem-
Growth-Gene-Cloned-15300-2/ (Retrieved 2009-11-14)

v
Science.Jrank.org (2009) Root System-Types of Roots, Importance of Roots http://science.jrank.org/pages/5924/Root-System.html (Retrieved
2009-11-15)

vi
Section C Biology 100 (August 2008), The Effects of Gibberellic Acid on the Growth of Pea Plants or Funny Boy: Springtime for the Producers

Brumbaugh, Steven G. (Spring, 2009). Laboratory 4: Pea Lab. Biology 100 Laboratory Manual. pp. 49-53.