The effect of different temperatures on the integrity of the plasma membrane of red beetroots (Beta vulgarism) by measuring the amount of beautician pigment released. Abstract Plasma membranes of organisms are only able to maintain their integrity within a small range of chemical and physical conditions; exposure outside of these ranges damages the chemical composition, leading to an increase in membrane permeability. The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the effects of temperature on the permeability of the cell membranes of beetroots (Beta vulgarism).
We subjected beetroots to 7 different temperatures and looked at he amount of pigment released by measuring the amount of light absorbed using spectrophotometer. Our results found that the -ICC, ICC, ICC, and ICC groups yielded similar and relatively high levels of beautician in solution; 1. Mann В± 0. 370 1. Mann В± 0. 213, 1. Mann В± 0. 419 and 1. Mann В± 0. 330 respectively leading us to conclude that if humanity is to continue cultivating beets as a major food source we need to develop a way to better protect them from the temperature extremes.
Introduction The beet is the cultivated form of the plant Beta vulgarism of the Accompanied Emily (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011). Four separate types are cultivated for four distinctive purposes. The garden beet or beetroot is cultivated and consumed as a garden vegetable. While the sugar beet is grown as a major source of sugar. The manage-hurler is used as feed for livestock and leaf beat or Swiss chard may also be eaten or used as a seasoning (Encyclopedia Britannica 2011).
The plasma membrane is the boundary that separates a living cell from its environment (Race et al. 2011). A cells’ plasma membrane is a thin film, approximately 8 manometers thick that functions as the gatekeeper, controlling raffia in and out of the cell (Race et al. 2011). It is this constant regulation that is essential to a cells internal homeostasis and in turn its survival. Selective permeability in membranes allows some substances to cross more easily than others (Brooks 1945).
It is this ability of the cell to differentiate in its chemical interactions with its environment that is fundamental to life (Leave, et al, 2006). Furthermore it is the plasma membrane that makes this selectivity possible (Race et al. 2011). The objective of this study is to investigate whether exposure to a variety of imperative extremes will damage and or denature the chemical composition of the red beet (Beta vulgarism), plasma membrane resulting in an increase in permeability.
We examined the tissue around the beets storage root for the effects of a steady increase in temperature by the measuring the release of beautician into solution. Beautician is the red-purple pigment of Beta vulgarism that is confined to the root’s plasma membrane and storage vacuoles (Model et al, 2002), (Sutra et al, 2005). The pigment is not released unless the membrane is disrupted (Encyclopedia Britannica 2011 The concentration of beautician leased into solution allows for membrane damage to be visualized, and an absorbency measurement to be calculated using spectrophotometer.
We hypothesize that an increase in temperature will damage the chemical composition of the cell membranes. Furthermore, we predict that the highest concentration of beautician released into solution will directly correlate to the highest temperature beta vulgarism is exposed to, thus representing the most damage. Methods A red beet root (beta vulgarism) purchased from a local market in Victoria British Columbia was washed thoroughly, and then 6 cylinders of the root approximately centimeter in diameter were obtained via cork boring.
Each of the 6 cylinders was cut to a uniform length of 3. 0 centimeters. The cylindrical pieces were placed in a 250-millimeter beaker and rinsed under continuously running tap water for 5 minutes to be cleaned. Next one frozen cylinder previously prepared by the laboratory was thawed. The frozen cylinder was measured to ensure 3. 0 centimeters in length. Each rinsed Beta vulgarism cylinder was placed in a large test tube containing 10 ml of 20th and subsequently placed at the test temperature.
The test temperatures used were, previously frozen, refrigerator, mom temperature, and 4 water baths one at ICC, ICC, ICC and ICC The Beta vulgarism tissue was extracted with large forceps at the end of the 15- minute incubation period, and the tissues were discarded into the compost. In order to evenly distribute the concentration of beautician in solution, the civets where swirled for 10-15 seconds. The concentration of beautician released into solution was analyzed by a Spec-Fernier Specter Visa Plus spectrophotometer using Logger Pro 3. 8. 4 software.
The spectrophotometer was read at 475 manometers because the beautician pigments absorb light at a avalanche of 475 manometers as shown in previous studies. A blank was used for calibration of the spectrophotometer by filling a cavetti % full with distilled water. The blank was used between every sample measurement taken with the spectrophotometer. This experiment was repeated 5 more times and means and standard deviation for each trial were calculated using Microsoft Excel 2009. Results Our results show the ICC, ICC, and ICC degree groups all yielded relatively similar and low levels of beautician in solution; 0. NM В± 0. 012, 0. Mann В± 0. 045 and 0. Mann В± 0. 088 respectively. While the -ICC, ICC, ICC, and ICC groups yielded similar and relatively high levels of beautician in solution; 1. Mann В± 0. 370 1. Mann В± 0. 213, 1. Mann В± 0. 419 and 1. Mann В± 0. 330 respectively. The trend appears that when the beetroot is exposed to both hot and cold temperature extremes, the cell membrane destabilize and a consistent measurable amount of beautician between 1. Mann and 1. Mann is released into solution. Discussion A cell membrane’s main function is one of structure and containment.
Plasma membranes are only able to maintain their integrity within a small range of Heimlich and physical conditions; exposure outside of these ranges damages and or denatures the chemical composition of the plasma membrane leading to an increase in membrane permeability (Saved et. Al. , 2008). The effects of different temperatures on the integrity of the plasma membrane of red beetroots (Beta vulgarism) were investigated and it was found that exposure to extremes in temperature had the greatest affect the integrity of the plasma membrane because those samples on average demonstrated the highest measured absorbency of light at Mann.
The high absorbency correlates with a gig concentration of the pigment beautician in solution. Furthermore it can be extrapolated that a high concentration of beautician in solution is directly related to the amount of damage to the plasma membrane because the pigment is not released from the storage vacuoles unless the membrane is disrupted (Encyclopedia Britannica 2011). The structure of the membranes are made up of a phosphoric billable, each phosphoric consists of a hydrophobic tail and a hydrophilic head.
The head is a phosphate group while the tails are strands of fatty acids, these fatty acid tails may have a double bond within their hydrocarbon chain making them unsaturated, if there is more than one double bond, the fatty acid is described as polyunsaturated; if there is only one it is monounsaturated. The more double bonds present the more like a liquid the lipid becomes, as it is has a higher fluidity (Race et al. 2011). This means that it is easier to break them and so it is easier to melt these tails than a saturated tail.
The beetroot lipids have an optimum temperature at which they remain stable (transition temperature), this was just above ICC and once this temperature had been breached the lipids simply melted (Mueller & Mud, 1982). The increase in temperature caused an increase in kinetic energy leading to an increase in fluidity resulting in weaknesses to form in the membrane, as the kinetic energy was further multiplied this further weakened the membrane leading to perforations along the membrane structure causing a tilt in the diffusion gradient, enabling the leakage of beautician.
The presence of the glycoside, globetrotting and membrane proteins would have also had an effect on the results; as they all cease to function at higher temperatures and as they all give structural advantages to the membrane their joss would weaken the structure significantly (Race et al. 2011). The glycoside and globetrotting would break down and so the hydrogen bonds formed with the external solution would be gone, with this the proteins would denature at a certain optimum temperature and become useless. Thus, allowing greater release of beautician from the cell.
While at -ICC the beautician would have crystallized and ruptured the membrane when the cylinder was thawed. The collected data supported the hypothesis, and the evidence showed no evidence of systematic error. The only erroneous result was recorded during trial ; the ICC sample yielded a measured absorbency of only 0. 670 significantly below the average of 1. 457. This result could be explained by an incomplete incubation period at the intended temperature or by a failure to evenly distribute the concentration of beautician in solution upon removal from the water bath.
The spectrophotometer was calibrated prior to measuring all samples, using a blank cavetti filled 3/4 full with distilled water. There was no evidence of large amounts of random error because the standard deviations were very low, and the results from the experiment showed to be reliable based on what is known bout plasma membranes and their lipid billable. The lipid billable contains a phosphate hydrophilic head and fatty acid hydrophobic tails that face towards each other to maintain homeostasis within a cell by preventing water and polar ions from crossing the membrane (Race et al. 011 The hydrophobic interactions of the lipid billable cause polar molecules to be less likely to cross the membrane. The Fluid Mosaic Model points to movement of the components that make up the plasma membrane, and this happens so the membrane can adjust in order to maintain its integrity (Race et al. 2011), (Saved et. Al. 2008). Jeopardizing the integrity of the plasma membrane can be fatal to the cell because it maintains the necessary physical and chemical conditions for survival within the cell, and the results obtained in this experiment support this conclusion.
The molecular polarity and size could be investigated using other chemical and physical interactions to further explain how they affect membranes permeability. If the results of those two experiments both prove that the plasma membrane’s integrity must be maintained for survival then a better understanding of the form and function of the membrane will be obtained. Understanding the function and form of the plasma membrane is essential to the understanding of how a cell survives.
