Plant Physiology

Plant Physiology (Biology 327) - Dr. Stephen G. Saupe; College of St. Benedict/ St. John's University; Biology Department; Collegeville, MN 56321; (320) 363 - 2782; (320) 363 - 3202, fax; ssaupe@csbsju.edu

Plant Physiology Movie Page

The movies on this page were created by students in Plant Physiology using the inexpensive QuickCam Pro digital video camera, PC version. To create the early movies (2000), the movies images were saved in a file series and then converted to avi movie format by AviConstructor. Later movies (post 2001) were edited with JASC Animation Studio Click here for more details. Unless otherwise indicated, files are in .avi format.

Mucor Growth (1631 KB) - by Ken Graeve, Steven McGreevy & Mesa Ulwelling (10 May, 2000). This movie depicts the growth of a dung fungus, Mucor sp., toward a light source (coming from the left side of the screen). The fungus is growing on horse dung placed in a plastic film can with several holes.
Tendril Movement (9856 KB)- by Chris Condon, Kelly Deutsch & Brian Rose (10 May, 2000)
Pea tendrils after mechanical stimulation are seen in this movie. Note the plant in the background appear to be "searching" for a support.
Apical Hook Opening (2036 KB)- by Kristi Kubista, Sarah Lundberg & Sara Merdan (12 May, 2000)
This movie shows the response of etiolated sunflowers and mustard seedlings to being placed in the light.
Mold Growth (3622 KB) - by Callie Danner, Nick Dufault & John Skretvedt (15 May, 2000)
The growth of Penicillium notatum on orange slices is shown in this movie. One slice (lower left quadrant) was not inoculated with fungus. The other slices were pretreated with water (lower right quadrant), 10% sodium bicarbonate (upper left), or 10% sodium carbonate (upper right) and then inoculated with P. notatum.
Apical Dominace in Roots (582 KB) - by Miranda Morgel, John Mason & Rob Spitzley (15 May, 2000). This movie shows the response of the maize roots to decapitation. The seedling on the left was the control. The terminal section of the seedling in the middle was cut off. The seedling on the right was treated with lanolin containing auxin.
Dandelion Gravitropism (2463 KB) - Zack Jorgensen, Hope Philips & John Sandberg (15 May, 2000). The gravitropic response of decapitated dandelion scapes is depicted in this movie. There's also a "surprise" ending.
Dandelion Response on a Clinostat (2053 KB) - Matthew Bauer, Brian Connelly, Joseph Smith (May 2001) - The gravitropic response of a stationary, horizontal dandelion scape is compared to one that is rotated on a homemade clinostat
Gravitropism in Turnip Seedlings (2230 KB; .mov format) - Gina Lux & Zach Faber (March 2002). This video shows the germination of turnip seedlings. After 3 days the dish was turned to observe the gravitational response.
Sunflowers & Phototropism (913 KB) - Tim Daniels, Ryan Poindexter & Jeremy Steil (15 May, 2000). The response of sunflowers to light is shown in this movie. The seedling on the right is exposed to unidirectional light from the right. The seedling on the left is exposed to light from above. Circumnatation movements are particularly evident in this movie.
Radish Circumnutations (4170 KB) - Renee Johnson & Alex Mettler (May 2001). This movie shows the nutation movements of radishes.
Greening of Cucumber Cotyledons (463 MB) - Aaron Casey, Taryn Good & Debra Simmons (May 2001). The effect of benzyl adenine (BA), a cytokinin, on the greening of dark-grown cucumbers is shown. Cotyledons were treated with 10^-5M BA (two dishes in the middle) and 10^-3M BA (dishes to the left) and compared with the control (right).
Responses of Etiolated Sunflower Seedlings to Light (1185 KB) - Josh Amaris, Beth Meierhofer & Jenny Stephenson (Mar 2002). This movie depicts the response of etiolated sunflower seedlings after being placed in continuous light. Nutational movements are especially pronounced.
Nyctinastic Response of the Silk Tree (2083 MB) - Adam Briggle & Curt Coudron, (May 2001).
Sleep Movements in a Legume (1791 KB; .mov format) - Brian Deering & Mia Peterson (March 2002). Greenhouse-grown plants were placed in continuous light. The diurnal opening/closing of the leaflets (nyctinasty) is clearing observed.
Anthesis in Rapid Cycling Brassica rapa (3015 MB) - Debra Simmons & Joseph Smith (May 2001). This movie shows the opening of a flower bud in B. rapa.
Slime Mold Growth (7248 KB) & More Slime Mold Growth (3838 KB) - These movies were made by students in Biol306 - Plant Diversity (Dr. W. Lamberts)
Sensitive Plant Movements (2045 KB) - Janel Zwers & Jesse Timm (March 2002). This movie shows the unfolding of a sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica) after it had been mechanically stimulated. To see a short movie of the stimulation process, click here.
Acid Growth Response in Maize Roots (180 KB) - Shenique Albury & Becky Guza (March 2002) - A maize seedling is placed in agar containing an acid indicator (bromocresol purple). Areas of acid excretion are yellow.
Response of Etiolated Radish Seedlings to Solutions of Varying Water Potential (1504 KB) - Nick Bancks & James Wollock (Mar 2002). Etiolated radish seedlings were placed in sodium chloride solutions of varying water potential (-1.5 MPa, -0.15 MPa, -0.015 MPa, water, from left to right). Seedlings wilted most rapidly in the more negative solutions.
Idioblasts in Diffenbachia (movie 1, movie 2). These movie show raphides being "shot" from an idioblast in Diffenbachia. These images were made with a Nikon 4500 digital camera, Fall 2003, by SG Saupe. These files are huge (about 9 MB each).
The Effect of a 24 Hour Light Period on the Circadian Rhythm of Albizzia julibrissin (Silk Tree) - by Erika Nunnik & Josh Suckow
The Effect of different colored lights on radish (Raphanus sativa) growth and bending - by Brenda Kuechle & Danielle Jeske
The Effect of temperature on gravitropism in oat (Avena sativa) coleoptiles - by David Blomdahl & Dayna Logering