Plant Tissue Culturing Problem Scenario 3A

Problem Scenario Overview  Challenged with designing a plant manufacturing system capable of producing food by means of tissue culturing.

System Requirements  Limited space (approx 2’x1’x1’)  Light source  Automated temp. control, light exposure, nutrients.  Allow for increase in plant size  Sealed sterile environment, allowing for manipulation of plants and tools

Biological Information  Boston fern or “Nepholepis exaltata” was chosen for this problem scenario because it is a variety that is easy to culture, thus making it appropriate for learning tissue culturing techniques.

Organism Selection  May be based on any number of criteria, depending on the reasons for culturing  may include the plants ability to provide food  profit from sale of the plant  preservation of an endangered or threatened species  selection may also be based on the ability of the plant to be cultured, and/or the intended +method of culturing

Life Requirements of System  Need to address:  Temp  Light  Air/CO2  Water/Humidity  Nutrients/pH  Sterile environment

Technical Information  This system will accommodate all the environmental requirements of this organism because:  clean room by definition had a low level of environmental pollutants, such as dust, airborne microbes, aerosol particles and chemical vapors.  Our system supplies nutrients, a sterile environment and enough physical space to develop.

Impacts of Tissue Culturing (pros and cons)  Pros Clean plants of infection and quickly regenerate Produce in absence of seeds Conserve rare/endangered species Reproduce stress tolerant strains  Cons Too many of a narrow genetic strain may limit gene pool of natural population Threatens traditional faming techniques Expensive/equipment intensive Some varieties are difficult to culture

Computer Control Opportunities  Some potential mechanism that could be used to monitor, run, and maintain the system would be:  *Differential pressure gage  * ThermoHygrometer (temp & humidity)  *Air velocity monitor  *pH meter  *Light sensor