Biol114: The Effect of acidic pH Arabidopsis thaliana Growth and Development

Acidic water, such as acid rain, can have adverse effects on the growth of plants. While a pH of ~7.0 is optimal for growth, plants are often exposed to abnormal pH conditions. The object of this experiment is to evaluate the impact of 4.0 pH water, which is more acidic than acid rain, on Arabidopsis thaliana (both wild type and mutant-16284). Experimental groups received pH-adjusted water (pH = 4), and we measured leaf growth and plant diameter over time. We saw a significant difference between wild-type and mutant plants under experimental conditions, demonstrating that our genetic mutant of A. thaliana may exhibit a protective phenotype under acidic conditions.