Page 248 - Plant Canada 2024 Proceeding

PLANT CANADA 2024

[P89] TEACHING SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATION AND VISUAL COMMUNICATION USING BOTANICAL
DRAWINGS. Miranda J. Meents . Biological Sciences Department, Simon Fraser University, 8888
1 1
University Drive, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 1S6
Correspondence to: mmeents@sfu.ca

OBSERVATION & COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Observation and communication skills are an important
part of undergraduate education in biology. In lab courses especially, close observation of plant
specimens by eye or using dissecting or compound microscopes is an important tool in student
development of a solid understanding of anatomy and diversity. Careful observation can be guided by
student preparation of sketches and drawings of specimens. Drawing activities can also contribute to
development of effective visual communication skills that are widely transferrable to other contexts. This
approach is an especially good fit for plant biology courses because botanical drawing preparation has a
long history both in the study plants and for recording and communicating this knowledge.
TEACHING USING BOTANICAL DRAWING: In a third-year Plant Biology course (including lecture and
lab) I use botanical drawings as a framework to guide student learning of plant anatomy and to expand
their toolkit of observation and visual communication skills. This approach has 4 key components. (1)
WEEKLY GOAL SETTING & PRACTICE: Each week in lab students make their own goals for what
observation or drawing skills the want to work on, complete a drawing activity related to the topic of the
lab, and then receive one-on-one feedback on their goals and drawing from the teaching team. (2) FINAL
BOTANICAL DRAWING: At the end of the term the students choose one weekly activity to recreate as a
full-colour, large botanical drawing. They also submit draft images and sketches to document their
process and an Artist Statement discussing their work. (3) PUBLIC SHOWCASE: All the botanical
drawings are celebrated in a public showcase at the end of the term, including food, drinks, and voting on
the best drawing. (4) REFLECTIONS: Students supplement their weekly goal setting and reflections with
a mid-semester check-in, and a final reflection on their learning and skill-development progress.
RESULTS: This approach is now a highlight of the course! We notice a marked improvement in the
quality of students’ observation and visual communication skills. The students corroborate this in their
feedback, but also report that these activities and assignments improve their understanding of plant
biology, that the goal-directed and feedback-focused approach to skill development is highly effective,
and that they developed a deeper appreciation for plants as a result.

[P90] SKINNY MAIZE - DRIVING ZEA MAYS GENOME CONTRACTION THROUGH CAS9 DELETION
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1
OF HIGH COPY NUMBER LTR ELEMENTS. Mark A. A. Minow , Ankush Sangra , and Robert J.
Schmitz . Davison Life Sciences Complex, University of Georgia, Genetics, 120 E Green St, Athens, GA,
1 1
USA, 30602
Correspondence to: mam34190@uga.edu

Eukaryotic genomes are replete with repetitive, parasitic transposable elements (TEs) that serve little
known benefit to their hosts. The Zea mays (maize) genome is ~85% TE-derived, with most maize TE
sequence originating from Long Terminal Repeat (LTR) retrotransposons; the four most prolific LTR TE
families alone encompass ~0.52 Giga-bases or ~23.7% of the genome. These high copy number LTR
TEs retain family-level sequence conservation, providing an opportunity to use a limited number of
CRISPR guide RNAs (gRNAs) to elicit largescale genome-wide TE deletion. From the four most prolific
maize LTR TE families, we generated consensus sequences from which we extracted all possible
CRISPR gRNA sequences and found all the complementary sites in the genome. These TE-derived
gRNAs had up to 65,755 targets in the reference. A selection of these gRNAs will be combined with
pollen specific SpCAS9 expression to trigger rounds of widespread TE deletion. By editing in the male
gametophyte, lethal edits will be screened out in pollen and seed populations (n ~10 and ~10 per plant,
2
6
respectively). Moreover, pollen-specific editing facilitates choosing between more deletions, by crossing
with male flowers, or pausing edits, by using the female ear. The LTR targets largely exist between
genes, allowing edits at different, but linked, TEs to also delete the intervening genic sequences. Through
repeated rounds of deletion, we will gradually diminish LTR TE copy number and remove non-lethal
genes. Beyond investigating potential TE-to-gene regulatory interactions, this deletion scheme will reveal
which genes and regulatory sequences can be lost without losing viability, providing insights into the
‘minimal’ maize genome.

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