Observation of somatic cell division using green onion(Allium fistulosum L.).

Observation of somatic cell division is conducted in junior high school science classes as part of the majortheme of“the continuity of life”.Students prepare slides using familiar plants and observe the stages in whichcells divide. Although methods currently exist in textbooks(usually using onion sprout), it is considered oneof the most difficult experiments in the science course. Many science teachers feel unconfident makingstudents do this experiment. This is due to the difficulty and many steps required for making slides, and thedifficulty in finding dividing cells.In this paper,we report a simple method using roots of green onion growingin water.