1) Major Experiment: DNA Isolation

Aim
To isolate DNA from plant materials such as spinach, green peas, papaya and any
other available plant material.

Necessary Materials & Apparatus

 Any available plant materials
 Mortar and pestle
 Test tubes
 Beakers
 Ethanol
 Spool
 Enzymes (Cellulase, ribonuclease, lipases, protease)

Procedure
 Take the available plant material and grind it in the mortar.
 Treat the material with cellulase to break down the cell wall of the plant cells.
 Next, treat it with protease to hydrolyze the peptide bonds of proteins in the plant
material. In other words, the enzyme removes the histone proteins which are intertwined
with the DNA.
 Dissolve RNA with ribonuclease
 Use lipase to dissolve lipids.
 Add chilled ethanol to enable the precipitation of the DNA. It essentially increases DNA
concentration.
 Use spooling to extract the precipitated DNA. Spooling involves winding the fine threads
of DNA on to a reel.

Observation
The DNA appears as white precipitates of fine thread on the spool.

2) Minor Experiment: Population Density

Aim
To study the plant population density by the quadrant method.
Materials Required
 Nail.
 Thread
 Hammer

Procedure
1. Select a site for the study and hammer the nails on the site without harming the
vegetation.
2. Fix four nails in the form of a square.
3. Each end of the nail is tied with the help of a thread making a 1m*1m quadrant.
4. Nine more similar quadrants are made at the site of the study.
5. The number of individuals of species A present in the first quadrant is counted and the
data is recorded in the table.
6. The number of individuals of species A in other quadrants is also counted and the data is
recorded in the table.
7. Similarly, count the number of individuals of species B and C present in all the quadrants
and record the data in the table.
8. The density of the plant population is then calculated by the following equation:
Density=Total number of individuals of the species in all sampling units(S)Total number of sampli
ng units studied(Q)
D = S/Q

Observations
Plant Number of individuals in each Total number of Total number of Density
Species quadrant individuals (S) quadrants (Q) (D)=S/Q

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X

Conclusion
The population density is the highest for species ____and the lowest for species
____. The density value is expressed as the number of individuals per unit area.
Aim
To study the plant population frequency by the quadrant method.

Materials Required
 Cotton/Nylon thread
 4 nails
 Hammer

Procedure
1. Select the site of study and make a quadrant of 1m*1m using the nails and the thread.
2. Fix the nails with the help of a hammer without destroying the vegetation.
3. Make nine similar quadrants at the site of study.
4. The plant species for the study should be selected.
5. Observe the species in the first quadrant and mark them as species A.
6. Check the presence of species A in all the quadrants and record the observations in the
table.
7. Similarly, record the number of species B and C in all the quadrants and mention them in
the table.
8. Determine the frequency of plant population by the formula:

Percentage frequency= (No. of sampling units in which species occur)/(Total

number of sampling units used in the study)*100

Observations
Plant Quadrants employed in the No. of quadrants in which Percentage
Species study species are present (N) Frequency

(F)=N/Q*100
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
A
B
C

Conclusion
The plant population frequency is the highest in species C and the least in species A.
It shows how many times a plant species is present in the provided number of
sample quadrats.
 3) Slide Preparation: Study of Pollen Germination

Aim
To study pollen germination on a slide.

Necessary Materials & Apparatus

Freshly plucked seasonal flowers, beaker, boric acid, sucrose, microscope and
cavity slide.

Procedure
The first step involves the preparation of a nutrient solution. This is done by
dissolving 10g of sucrose as well as 10mg of boric acid in 100ml of water.

Pour a few drops of this solution onto the cavity slide. Then, use a brush or fingers to
gently dust a few pollen grains from the stamen of mature flowers.

Let the slide set for 5 mins. Then, use the microscope to view the slides in 30-minute
intervals.

Observation
The pollen grains will germinate when submerged in the nutrient-rich medium. This is
characterized by the enlargement of the vegetative/tube cell. It emerges through one
of the germ pores, eventually forming a pollen tube. The generative cell nucleus
grows into the pollen tube and makes two male gametes (sperm nuclei). The male
gamete is either spherical or lenticular in outline.

Precautions
 Ensure that the flowers are freshly picked
 The observation slide should be a cavity slide, meaning that it has a depression in the
centre.

4) Spotting
 1) Flowers Pollinated By Birds:
1) The flowers pollinated by birds are strong and are adapted to allow the birds to stay
near the flowers without their wings getting entangled in them.
2) The flowers are tubular and curved that facilitates nectar-sucking by birds.
3) The flowers are odourless and bright-coloured that attracts the birds.

2) T.S. of Testes
 The testes comprise several seminiferous tubules embedded in the interstitial tissues.
 Thick fibrous tissues called tunica albuginea cover the testes.
 It comprises different types of cells from the outside to the lunar in the manner given
below:

Spermatogonia → Spermatocytes → Spermatids → Spermatozoa (sperms)

 Sertoli cells are located between the germinal cells.

 The Leydig cells that produce testosterone are present in the interstitial tissues.

3) T.S. of Ovary
 An ovary is a germinal epithelium bounded by a solid structure covered by a thick layer of
fibrous tissue known as tunica albuginea.
  It consists of an inner medulla and an outer cortex.
 The medulla comprises several round or oval bodies known as ovarian follicles.
 Follicle development takes place in the following stages:

1°follicle → 2°follicle → 3°follicle → Graffian follicle → Corpus luteum

 Cortex comprises corpus luteum along with mature follicles.

4) T.S. of Mammalian Blastula

Blastula appears as a sphere with a cavity known as blastocoel. An outer layer of
blastomeres known as trophoblasts is observed. One end of the blastula shows a cellular
mass adhered to the trophoblast. This is known as the inner cell mass.

5) X-Linked Recessive Traits- Colour Blindness

In such type of traits, the mutant allele is recessive to the wild type allele. The
features of X-linked recessive traits include:

1. This is expressed only by homozygous females but homozygous and hemizygous males.
2. If the female is the carrier, about half the sons are affected. If the female is homozygous,
50% of the daughters and 100% of the sons can be affected. That is why the male
population is the most affected.

6) Ascaris
Phylum: Aschelminthes

Class: Nematoda

Type: Ascaris lumbricoides

Ascaris exhibits the following characteristic features:

1. It has a long, cylindrical and unsegmented body.

2. The male and female organisms are separate.
 3. It bears a mouth at the anterior end surrounded by three lips.
4. There is an excretory pore on the ventral surface slightly behind the anterior end.
5. A pair of penial spicules is present in the male worms close to the cloacal opening.
6. The female genitals are present at about one-third distance from the anterior end.

Ascariasis is the disease caused by Ascaris lumbricoides or roundworm.

7) Meiosis on onion bud cell

Diakinesis: The condensation of chromosomes stops at this stage and the chiasmata is
clearly visible under an electron microscope. The nucleolus and the nuclear envelop
disappear at this stage and the centrosome moves to the equator.

8) Flashcard models showing examples of homologous and

analogous organs.
9) Controlled pollination – emasculation,
tagging and bagging
Emasculation is the process of artificial hybridization in which the stamens from
the female flowers are removed from bisexual flowers in order to prevent self-
fertilization. This process is carried out long before the anthers mature. Removal
of anther from the bisexual flowers before the anthers mature is known as
emasculation. The emasculated flower is then bagged to prevent any unwanted
pollination.

This process helps in the production of flowers with desired characteristics. For
this, it is essential to have knowledge of the flower structure, fertilization,
physiology of flowers and fertilization.