The Effect of L-Theanine and Vitamin B12 in C. Elegans Exposed to A Neonicotinoid Pesticide Environment
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
11th Grade
Presentation Topic
Environmental Science
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Oral Presentation Award
4th Place
Abstract
Bee colony collapse disorder has been on the radar of scientists for many years because the bee population continues to decrease year after year with no obvious reason for the decline. Scientists have speculated for these causes and have come up with one main culprit: neonicotinoid pesticides. Neonicotinoid pesticides cause neurological functions to fail and in high dosages, cause death. Their chemical structure is similar to nicotine which are known harmful substances to all living species. These pesticides are introduced to the system by farmers spraying them onto the flowers that the bees land on to start their pollination process. To mimic these effects, C. elegans were used as model species to exhibit the effects of the pesticide and hopefully be the recipient of chemical treatments. To best show the effects of the pesticide and the treatments, the mortality rate of the C. elegans was recorded. It was hypothesized that the control group of just pesticide-exposed C. elegans would have the highest mortality rate while the L-theanine treatment group would have the lowest mortality rate. The results indicated that the control group had the highest chance of surviving at around 27% while the vitamin B-12 had a low chance of surviving at around 8%. The hypothesis was not supported because the L-theanine group had a mere 12% of survival. Based on the results, the treatments actually harmed the nematodes and the control group displayed the highest survival rate. A one-way ANOVA was conducted at a confidence level of α=0.01 to test the significance of the survival rate between the three groups demonstrated that the data was significant at p< .001.
Recommended Citation
Lee, Christian, "The Effect of L-Theanine and Vitamin B12 in C. Elegans Exposed to A Neonicotinoid Pesticide Environment" (2019). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 213.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2019/all/213
Location
Founders Hall 213 C
Start Date
3-30-2019 9:00 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Group Project
No
The Effect of L-Theanine and Vitamin B12 in C. Elegans Exposed to A Neonicotinoid Pesticide Environment
Founders Hall 213 C
Bee colony collapse disorder has been on the radar of scientists for many years because the bee population continues to decrease year after year with no obvious reason for the decline. Scientists have speculated for these causes and have come up with one main culprit: neonicotinoid pesticides. Neonicotinoid pesticides cause neurological functions to fail and in high dosages, cause death. Their chemical structure is similar to nicotine which are known harmful substances to all living species. These pesticides are introduced to the system by farmers spraying them onto the flowers that the bees land on to start their pollination process. To mimic these effects, C. elegans were used as model species to exhibit the effects of the pesticide and hopefully be the recipient of chemical treatments. To best show the effects of the pesticide and the treatments, the mortality rate of the C. elegans was recorded. It was hypothesized that the control group of just pesticide-exposed C. elegans would have the highest mortality rate while the L-theanine treatment group would have the lowest mortality rate. The results indicated that the control group had the highest chance of surviving at around 27% while the vitamin B-12 had a low chance of surviving at around 8%. The hypothesis was not supported because the L-theanine group had a mere 12% of survival. Based on the results, the treatments actually harmed the nematodes and the control group displayed the highest survival rate. A one-way ANOVA was conducted at a confidence level of α=0.01 to test the significance of the survival rate between the three groups demonstrated that the data was significant at p< .001.