Life Sciences Commons^™

Mobilizing Crop Biodiversity, Susan Mccouch, Zahra Katy Navabi, Michael Abberton, Noelle L. Anglin, Rosa Lia Barbieri, Michael Baum, Kirstin Bett, Helen Booker, Gerald L. Brown, Glenn J. Bryan, Luigi Cattivelli, David Charest, Kellye Eversole, Marcelo Freitas, Kioumars Ghamkhar, Dario Grattipaglia, Robert Henry, Maria Cleria Valadares Inglis, Tofazzal Islam, Zakaria Kehel, Paul J. Kersey, Graham J. King, Stephen Kresovich, Emily Marden, Sean Mayes, Marie Noelle Ndjiondjiop, Henry T. Nguyen, Samuel Rezende Paiva, Roberto Papa, Peter W.B. Phillips, Awais Rasheed

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Genome-Wide Association Study In Accessions Of The Mini-Core Collection Of Mungbean (Vigna Radiata) From The World Vegetable Gene Bank (Taiwan), Alena Sokolkova, Marina Burlyaeva, Tatjana Valiannikova, Margarita Vishnyakova, Roland Schafleitner, Cheng Ruei Lee, Chau Ti Ting, Ramakrishnan Madhavan Nair, Sergey Nuzhdin, Maria Samsonova, Eric Von Wettberg

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek, or green gram) is important tropical and sub-tropical legume and a rich source of dietary protein and micronutrients. In this study we employ GWAS to examine the genetic basis of variation in several important traits in mungbean, using the mini-core collection established by the World Vegetable Center, which includes 296 accessions that represent the major market classes. This collection has been grown in a common field plot in southern European part of Russia in 2018. Results: We used 5041 SNPs in 293 accessions that passed strict filtering for genetic diversity, linkage disequilibrium, population …

Dynamical Climatic Model For Time To Flowering In Vigna Radiata, Konstantin Kozlov, Alena Sokolkova, Cheng Ruei Lee, Chau Ti Ting, Roland Schafleitner, Eric Bishop-Von Wettberg, Sergey Nuzhdin, Maria Samsonova

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Phenology data collected recently for about 300 accessions of Vigna radiata (mungbean) is an invaluable resource for investigation of impacts of climatic factors on plant development. Results: We developed a new mathematical model that describes the dynamic control of time to flowering by daily values of maximal and minimal temperature, precipitation, day length and solar radiation. We obtained model parameters by adaptation to the available experimental data. The models were validated by cross-validation and used to demonstrate that the phenology of adaptive traits, like flowering time, is strongly predicted not only by local environmental factors but also by plant …

Editorial: Wild Plants As Source Of New Crops, Eric Von Wettberg, Thomas M. Davis, Petr Smýkal

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Perspective Article: Actions To Reconfigure Food Systems, Ana Maria Loboguerrero, Philip Thornton, Jonathan Wadsworth, Bruce M. Campbell, Mario Herrero, Daniel Mason-D'Croz, Dhanush Dinesh, Sophia Huyer, Andy Jarvis, Alberto Millan, Eva Wollenberg, Stephen Zebiak

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

There is broad agreement that current food systems are not on a sustainable trajectory that will enable us to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, particularly in the face of anthropogenic climate change. Guided by a consideration of some food system reconfigurations in the past, we outline an agenda of work around four action areas: rerouting old systems into new trajectories; reducing risks; minimising the environmental footprint of food systems; and realigning the enablers of change needed to make new food systems function. Here we highlight food systems levers that, along with activities within these four action areas, may …

Food And Job Insecurity In Vermont During Covid-19 Infographic, Meredith T. Niles, Anna L. Josephson, Farryl Bertmann, Emily H. Belarmino, Roni Neff

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This infographic details the summary results from a second Vermont survey on food and job insecurity in Vermont during COVID-19 in March and June 2020. Key results include: 1) Nearly 1 in 4 Vermonters experience food insecurity in June 2020; 2) People of color, those without a college degree, with job disruption, with children, and women were more likely to be food insecure; 3) More than 50% of Vermonters experienced job loss or disruption, and 20% received unemployment in June 2020; 4) Use of food assistance programs rose significantly between March 2020 and June 2020.

Covid-19 And Food Insecurity Impacts: A Follow Up Vermont Study, Meredith T. Niles, Anna L. Josephson, Farryl Bertmann, Emily H. Belarmino, Roni Neff

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

This brief report details the results from a follow-up survey of 1,236 Vermonters in June 2020, after an initial survey in March/April 2020 focused on the impact of COVID-19 on food access and security. The key results include: 1) Nearly 1 in 4 respondents (23%) were classified as food insecure in June, a reported 22% decrease since March, but higher than before COVID-19. 2) People of color, those without a college degree, those with a job loss, households with children, women, and younger people had greater odds of experiencing food insecurity. 3) The majority of respondent households had experienced some …

Food Access Through School Meals And Food Pantries During Covid-19: Early Findings From Vermont, Farryl Bertmann, Emily H. Belarmino, Thomas Wentworth, Erin Biehl, Roni Neff, Meredith T. Niles

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected people worldwide, disrupting food access, and security. To understand how food systems and security are impacted during this pandemic, an online survey was launched in Vermont from March 29 - April 12, 2020 (less than a week after the “Stay Home/Stay Safe” order). A total of 3,219 Vermonters responded with 182 providing a written answer specifically about food pantries and 828 of the respondents providing written comments to the open-ended question at the end of the survey. This brief summarizes survey findings and respondent comments about experiences with two programs during the early …

Growing Specialty Coffee: Economic Security And Environmental Sustainability In Global Coffee Systems, Stephen Posner, Janica Anderzen, Alejandra Guzman Luna, Ernesto Mendez

Reports and Policy Briefs

The Gund Institute has partnered with the Agroecology & Livelihoods Collaborative to create a more sustainable and just global coffee sector. Gund Fellows used this research brief to leverage our networks and engage NGOs such as The Specialty Coffee Association, funders, and companies in early discussions about how to address systemic inequity across the coffee value chain.

Agricultural Development Addresses Food Loss And Waste While Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Gillian L. Galford, Olivia Peña, Amanda K. Sullivan, Julie Nash, Noel Gurwick, Gillian Pirolli, Meryl Richards, Julianna White, Eva Wollenberg

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Food loss and waste (FLW) reduce food available for consumption and increase the environmental burden of production. Reducing FLW increases agricultural and value-chain productivity and may reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with feeding the global population. Although studies of interventions that reduce FLW exist, almost no research systematically investigates FLW interventions across multiple value chains or countries, most likely due to challenges in collecting and synthesizing data and estimates, let alone estimating greenhouse gas emissions. Our research team investigated changes in FLW in projects supported by the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) global hunger and food security initiative, …

Correction To: He ʻIke ʻAna Ia I Ka Pono (It Is A Recognizing Of The Right Thing): How One Indigenous Worldview Informs Relational Values And Social Values (Sustainability Science, (2019), 14, 5, (1213-1232), 10.1007/S11625-019-00721-9), Rachelle K. Gould, Māhealani Pai, Barbara Muraca, Kai M.A. Chan

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

In the original publication of the article, under the section “Indigenous and local knowledge”, on the 4th page, the following sentence “… Megan Bang, a scholar of Native American (Menominee) descent, and her team…” was published incorrectly. The correct sentence should read as “… Megan Bang, a scholar of Native American (Ojibwe) and Italian descent, and her team…”.

Genetic And Functional Approaches To Understanding Autoimmune And Inflammatory Pathologies, Abbas Raza

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Our understanding of genetic predisposition to inflammatory and autoimmune diseases has been enhanced by large scale quantitative trait loci (QTL) linkage mapping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). However, the resolution and interpretation of QTL linkage mapping or GWAS findings are limited. In this work, we complement genetic predictions for several human diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS) and systemic capillary leakage syndrome (SCLS) with genetic and functional data in model organisms to associate genes with phenotypes and diseases.

Focusing on MS, an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS), we experimentally tested the effect of three of the GWAS …

Assessing The Need And Desire For Nutritional Education, Marc Robert Hammond

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Many people suffer from health conditions that may be affected directly by diet and nutrition including diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, iron deficiency anemia, obesity, coronary artery disease, and cerebrovascular disease. Education of providers and patients alike may help decrease the prevalence of these health issues and their sequalae. The St. Albans Community has slightly poorer health and nutrition when compared to the entire state of Vermont. Patients in an outpatient primary care clinic in St. Albans, VT were provided with a survey that would assess:

The patient’s confidence in their nutritional skills and knowledge

Their willingness to go to a nutrition …

Regulation Of Neuroinflammation After Ischemic Stroke By Astroglial Endothelin Receptor Type-B Signaling, John Mcinnis

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

A large body of neuroscientific research has focused on reactive gliosis and glial scar formation because these are among the most prominent features of the cellular response to central nervous system (CNS) injury. Despite much progress in our understanding, controversy remains regarding the relative balance between the protective nature of the astroglial scar and its anti-regenerative features. Recent work suggests that astrocytes are heterogeneous in their resting state and in their reactivity. In traumatic injuries such as stroke and spinal cord injury, proliferative reactive astrocytes protect CNS tissue. By contrast, under neuroinflammatory and/or neurodegenerative conditions, neurotoxic astrocyte phenotypes may contribute …

Redox Regulation Of Src Kinase: Implications For Innate Il-33 Signaling In Allergen Responses, Christopher Michael Dustin

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The proto-oncogene tyrosine kinase Src is a ubiquitously expressed non-receptor tyrosine kinase involved in critical cellular functions including wound healing, migration, survival, and proliferation. Accordingly, aberrant Src signaling is also significantly involved in many diseases. Src is most well known as an oncogenic protein, however, there are emerging roles for Src signaling in various tissues involved in inflammatory diseases. One such tissue is the respiratory epithelium, which comprises the first line of defense against inhaled microbial, particulate, and chemical insults and is a critical nexus of innate immune signaling. Recent work has detailed the involvement of Src in many innate …