ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION MICROVIEWER LAB

Here is what you needed! Sorry it's a big blog but it will help to complete the lab.

Today in class we used the microviewers to look into the world of asexual reproduction among a variety of organisms.
As a class you did not finish the lab within the time given as it was a long lab. Here are the last few areas that you will need to fulfill the assignment for the written portion of the lab. All students were to complete the drawings and labels for each organism during class time.

#5. SPORULATION – BREAD MOLD (10x)

Molds do not contain chlorophyll to help make their own food so they must depend on outside sources for food. One particular mold loves baked goods for it’s nourishment, so it has been called “bread-mold”.

Growth begins when a spore falls onto a piece of bread. With the right conditions the spore grows quickly developing a mycelium consisting of many white, branching threads of living protoplasm. The slide shows these structures penetrating the bread. These threads digest and absorb food for the organism.

In the meantime other threads grow upwards for reproductive purposes. These are called hyphae (hy-fa). Atop of each hypha is a ball shaped sporangium (spore-case). This darkens in colour as it ripens. This ripe spore-case cracks open and spores are released. Spores are carried by winds until they fall on a favourable spot. Then the cycle begins again

#6 SPORULATION – FERN (300x)

Ferns also produce spores. “S” shows several sporangium stained-purple.
When conditions are right the spores are released. However, these spores do not turn into a fully developed fern like the one that produced it. Instead, it grows into a tiny, green, heart shaped leaf which is the sexual phase in the life of a fern. For further information on how a fern plant sexual reproduces please refer to pg 70-71 of textbook.

#7 REGENERATION – PLANARIAN (5x)

This small planarian, a flatworm, was cut into two pieces, both lived. This is a picture of them 8 days later. Notice the head part, on the left, is growing a new tail. The original tail part, on the right, already has new eye spots, showing that a new head is developing. Regrowth of missing parts is called regeneration. In one more weeks time we would be able to see two fully developed planarians.

#8 VEGETATIVE PROPORGATION PICK-A-BACK PLANT. (-50%X)

One month priory to the picture you drew this large leaf was cut from a plant, and placed in the soil with the leaf stalk buried. During this time the plant created a new root structure which allowed it to be a completely individual, independent plant. The plant was able to do so by using non-reproductive parts (stem, roots).