BIOL 114: The effect of minerals found in manure on Arabidopsis thaliana growth and development

Farmers all over the United States are known to use cow manure, with close to 8 percent of the planted acres having manure as fertilizer. The effect of manure on plants is known to increase growth, as manure contains organic material as well as minerals. The minerals being nitrate (NO3-), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulfur (s), magnesium (Mg), and calcium (Ca). Nitrate specifically is known to have a role in the expression of a number of genes. Because of this, we decided to measure the effect, if any, of the manure on the expression of the mutant and non mutant plants. The soil used for the control groups is the recommended soil for the Arabidopsis thaliana plant. The soil used for the manure group is soil mixed with cow manure and seeded appropriately for both wild type and mutant control groups. The conditions used are: light for 16 hours, 8 hours dark, watering all plants three times a week from the bottom and plastic cover. This study has shown that the mineral in cow manure was beneficial for Arabidopsis thaliana growth.