Comparing Vitamin B6 Concentrations in High Light Plants and Shade Tolerant Plants

Thumbnail Image

Files

Kirtley_Comparing_Vitamin_B6_Concentrations_in_High_Light_Plants_and_Shade_Tolerant_Plants.pdf (900.1 KB)
Can’t use the file because of accessibility barriers? Contact us with the title of the item, permanent link, and specifics of your accommodation need.

Date

2020-04-24

Authors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Permanent Link

https://hdl.handle.net/2022/25395

Abstract

Vitamin B6 is an important co-factor in over 100 enzymatic reactions in the cell. One function of vitamin B6 is to neutralize reactive oxygen species. These can lead to cell damage at high concentration and tend to accumulate more quickly in high light. We hypothesize that high light plants will possess greater concentrations of vitamin B6 than shade tolerant plants. We collected plants from high light and shaded environments and are performing yeast assays to determine vitamin B6 content from plant extracts. We will compare the average vitamin B6 concentrations between high light plants and shade tolerant plants.

Description

Overview: The purpose of this project was to determine if there is a significant difference in vitamin B6 concentrations between plants adapted for growth in high light conditions and those adapted for growth in shade or low-light conditions. Vitamin B6 is an important co-factor which contributes to over 100 enzymatic reactions in cells. One interesting function of vitamin B6 is its ability to quench reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are oxygen containing molecules which are chemically reactive. When ROS levels rise to extreme levels a cell experiences oxidative stress, a state in which ROS cause cell damage. Since exposure to high-intensity light leads to the creation of more ROS and vitamin B6 helps to neutralize ROS, we expect to find higher concentrations of vitamin B6 in high light plants. We are currently in the process of performing yeast assays to determine vitamin B6 content. Assays have been completed for two sample groups, which we compare in this project. Conclusion and Analysis: Statistical analysis indicated that there is not a significant between the two sample groups. Both sample groups were taken from high-light species of plants. In the future, we will continue to assay additional samples, including those that are from shade tolerant plants. This will provide more meaningful data which we can use to support or refute our hypothesis.

Keywords

Citation

Journal

DOI

Link(s) to data and video for this item

Relation

Rights

Type

Presentation

Collections

2020 IU Southeast Student Conference