The Effect of Anthocyanin on Wild Type and Non-Purple Hairless Brassica rapa

Brassica rapa is a small flowering plant that is often used in classroom experiments due to its small size, low-maintenance growing conditions, and quick life cycle. Several mutant lines have been bred and briefly described, although not much is known about the actual genetic changes and therefore all the downstream effects of that mutation. Nine different mutant lines of Brassica rapa were grown to more carefully identify the phenotypes affected by the mutations. Wild type and non-purple hairless Brassica rapa were grown over 6 weeks and were measured. This experiment aimed to determine the effect of anthocyanin in Brassica rapa, specifically, whether or not it reduces plant stress. Data collected from the experiment showed that although there were clear signs of plant stress, there was not a significant change in plant growth in the absence of anthocyanin. The experiment was limited by the use of a color scale to measure anthocyanin levels rather than an exact calculation of anthocyanin. This experiment has provided further insight into the importance of anthocyanin in plants such as Brassica rapa, and whether or not it is necessary for plant vitality