Mitotic Activity and Cell Respiration. (B4-5)

The onion root has served as a model system for the study of mitosis, cell elongation, and cell differentiation in plants. In this experiment, students examine various segments of onion roots for cytological differences and then correlate their cytological findings with different respiration rates in the root segments. The exercise provides practical experience with tissue fixing, staining and slide making procedures, and introduces students to the concepts of cell division, the cell cycle, and differentiation in plant systems.