BIOL 114 The effect of Wind on Arabidopsis thaliana growth and development.

Climate change is a pressing threat that has many serious implications for the prosperity and survival of global plant species, including plants that are crucial for human development, such as crops, timber, and fibers. One effect of climate change on plants that has gone relatively under-researched is the effects of increasing global wind speeds on plants. To address this gap in knowledge, we developed an experiment to determine the effects of exposure to wind on the growth of Arabidopsis plants with separate genotypes in order to develop both an understanding of the effects of increased wind speed, and the response and resistance of different genotypes to wind. Four groups of Arabidopsis plants were planted, a wild-type control, a wild-type experimental, and mutant control, and a mutant experimental. The experimental groups were exposed to wind speeds of ~15 mph for one hour a day, while the control was not exposed to wind. Results showed that overall, wild-type Arabidopsis plants grew lagre rosettes with more leaves than mutant specimen. Additionally, wild-type plants were much more likely to survive than mutant plants. Overall, plants exposed to wind grew more leaves and wider rosettes than those not exposed to wind, but found no significant difference between wild-type and mutant resistance to wind. These results support the hypothesis that increased global wind speeds will have a positive effect on plant growth.