In my last post, I left a question hanging: where is the line between the separate clone entities and one connected organism. Well, after some digging I have found another species that clones in much the same fashion: Populus tremuloides, the Quaking Aspen. Not only has it exhibited the same cloning adaptation, an example of it also happens to be THE WORLD'S LARGEST LIVING ORGANISM! According to the US Forest Service, Pando (as the grove is known), covers roughly 106 acres, weighs in at an estimated 13 million pounds and consists of over 40,000 individual trees that are, you guessed it, CLONES! These clones sprout form the root system in much the same manner as my little old Palo Verde.

"Pando" courtesy of USFS

This will definitely help me in laying out the proof of cloning (along with good DNA testing results, of course). I am currently trying to track down a couple of peer reviewed journal entries that relate experimental data with the aspen in much the same fashion as I am beginning to do with the Palo Verde. Unfortunately I have only been able to read through the abstracts as of yet and i want the data. A little time and effort and I should be able to find similar research. 

As far as my experimentation goes, today I conducted my first DNA extraction from one of the many samples I have collected. Next week I should have some gel results that will show wether or not I was successful at extraction. I will leave explaining the method of extraction for next week's post where I will fully explain the entire process from extraction to running the gels.