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Plant Sciences

Brigham Young University

Cheatgrass

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Of Fire, Mammals, And Rain: Mechanisms Of Plant Invasions, Tara Boyce Bishop Jul 2019

Of Fire, Mammals, And Rain: Mechanisms Of Plant Invasions, Tara Boyce Bishop

Theses and Dissertations

Biological invasions are driving environmental state changes on a global scale. Exotic plant species must be successful at passing several abiotic and biotic filters to establish and disrupt the native plant community assembly. Understanding where exotic plants are on a regional scale and being able to characterize how exotic plants are generally interacting with their environment is crucial information for exotic species management (chapter 1). In the western United States human-related activities are augmenting the spread of exotic plant species by increasing the ignitions of wildfire. Wildfire can lead to nutrient pulses through the removal of intact native communities and …


Evaluating Fungal Pathogen Inoculum Loads In Field Seed Banks, Taryn Lori Williamson Apr 2019

Evaluating Fungal Pathogen Inoculum Loads In Field Seed Banks, Taryn Lori Williamson

Theses and Dissertations

Quantification of soilborne pathogen inoculum loads is important in both agricultural and wildland settings. Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) methods using SYBR Green chemistry have been shown to be useful for quantifying fungal inoculum loads in environmental samples. The purpose of this study was to develop a method to quantify fungal pathogen inoculum loads in soil seed banks using a qPCR method with SYBR Green chemistry. The invasive annual grass Bromus tectorum was chosen for this seed bank study. There were three objectives: 1) to design target-specific primers for three fungal pathogens known to be important in Bromus tectorum seed …


Genetic Variation In Ustilago Bullata: Molecular Genetic Markers And Virulence On Bromus Tectorum Host Lines, Mikel Stevens, Daniel J. Fairbanks, Susan E. Meyer, David L. Nelson, Suzette Clement, Jennifer Waters Jan 2005

Genetic Variation In Ustilago Bullata: Molecular Genetic Markers And Virulence On Bromus Tectorum Host Lines, Mikel Stevens, Daniel J. Fairbanks, Susan E. Meyer, David L. Nelson, Suzette Clement, Jennifer Waters

Faculty Publications

The pathogen Ustilago bullata often causes epidemic levels of head smut disease in Intermountain populations of the inbreeding annual grass Bromus tectorum. We examined patterns of genetic variation for virulence and for amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers in four U. bullata populations on B. tectorum in northern Utah and southern Nevada. Patterns of disease incidence generally supported a genefor-gene model for virulence and resistance in this pathosystem. Most host lines were susceptible to most or all paired isolates included in cross-inoculation tests, but we found evidence for the existence of four avirulence genes. Host lines with alleles conferring resistance …