Practical Research for the Understanding of the Evolution of Plants through the Qualitative Analysis of Photosynthetic Pigments

Abstract

In order to allow students to understand the systematics and evolution of plants, the qualitative analysis of fat-soluble photosynthetic pigments by the procedure of thin-layer chromatography was carried out in a senior high school biology class. The materials used in the class were Oscillatoria sp. (Cyanophyta), dried “Nori” Porphyra sp. (Rhodophyta), Undaria pinnatifida (Phaeophyta), Spirogyra sp. (Chlorophyta), and Conocephalum conicum (Bryophyta). Through practical teaching, the students seemed to understand 1) the similarity and diversity of photosynthetic pigments among plant divisionsin Prokaryota and Eukaryota and 2) the course of plant evolution fromgreenalgae to terrestrial plants.