Photo by V. Miller
March 1, 2006
Cloning a Sweet Plant
Cloning of Somatic Embryos in Stevia, a Low-Calorie Sweetener
Shireen Dhir, 14, Kathleen, Ga.
Finalist, Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge, 2005
Project background: Shireen read about a natural sweetener called stevia, which is 300 times as sweet as sugar but safe for people with diabetes. Stevia is extracted from a plant that is hard to propagate. Because of this, it's difficult to grow large quantities of the herb for commercial sale. Shireen wanted to explore large-scale propagation methods for stevia. She decided to try cloning.
Tactics and results: Last year, Shireen successfully cultured stevia cuttings using various solutions of growth factors. Her goal was to develop a method of tissue culturing that would produce somatic plant embryos. She would place these embryos in a growing medium and try to produce artificial seeds. Shireen found that the growth factor TDZ produced the highest amount of new growth (24 new shoots per cutting). She also discovered that glucose solution produced more shoots than sucrose did.
 |
| Photo by V. Miller |
Shireen was successful in making the artificial stevia seeds. Her next goal is to determine whether these seeds can be stored and transported for planting.
2004 DCYSC Project: How Can You Propagate Stevia by Using the Method of Tissue Culture?
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20050302/ScienceFairZone.asp .
Read the latest science fair news
Get a science fair tip
Browse a list of science fair topics
Talk Back:
Do you have any comments about this ScienceFairZone? Send them
to us using the form below.
|
SNK RSS Feed 
