Blog Post #6 (Noah)

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Our plant has grown greatly over the past few weeks. This is due to cell division, which is what the term ‘growth’ represents in it’s raw form. Mitosis is a form of cell division in which the cells divide into two different identical cells. If the cells didn’t double themselves, then growth would not occur, and the plant would forever be a seed. The more mitosis occurs, the larger the biomass of the plant is, and it happens a lot. The more cells, the greater the biomass. After all, biomass is just the mass of the organism itself. Photosynthesis gives our plant the ability to create food for itself, and the cells need food to divide. Energy and nutrients allow for our plant’s cells to divide and make the plant itself grow. Through a process known as cellular respiration, the plant converts glucose, or sugar, to ATP, which is what cells use as energy.

If the nucleus received a signal to produce more PEPC and Rubisco (two important enzymes used in photosynthesis), it would alert the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER). The RER produces proteins, and because enzymes are made of protein, the RER will synthesize the enzymes the plant needs. The nucleus sends the signal to the RER, and it knows what to do. Once it’s done creating the enzymes, it sends them off to wherever they need to go. These enzymes are specifically used in photosynthesis, and if more are created, the plant will possibly grow at a quicker rate.