Life Sciences Commons^™

Understanding The Links Between Human Health And Climate Change: Agricultural Productivity And Allergenic Pollen Production Of Timothy Grass(Phleum Pratense L.) Under Future Predicted Levels Of Carbon Dioxide And Ozone, Jennifer M. Albertine

Open Access Dissertations

The prevalence of allergic disease is expected to increase with climate change. Grasses, which have highly allergenic pollen, are widely distributed across the globe. Changes in production and allergen content of grass pollen have not been specifically investigated. We tested the effects of elevated carbon dioxide and ozone on growth, pollen and allergen production of Timothy grass (Phleum pratense L.). Timothy is also used as an agricultural forage crop so changes in plant productivity can also affect humans indirectly. Plants were fumigated in eight chambers at two concentrations of ozone (O₃; 30 and 80 ppb) and carbon dioxide …

Interactions Between Floral Mutualists And Antagonists, And Consequences For Plant Reproduction, Nicole Leland Soper Gorden

Open Access Dissertations

While pollinators and leaf herbivores have been a focus of research for decades, floral antagonists have been studied significantly less. Since floral antagonists can be as common as leaf herbivores and have strong impacts on plant reproduction, it is important to understand the role of floral antagonists in the ecology and evolution of flowers. I conducted four experiments to better understand the relationship between plants, floral traits, floral antagonists, and other plant-insect interactions. First, I manipulated resources (light and soil nutrients) that are known to have impacts on plants and floral traits to test how they affect floral antagonists and …

The Evolutionary Genetics Of Seed Shattering And Flowering Time, Two Weed Adaptive Traits In Us Weedy Rice, Carrie S. Thurber

Open Access Dissertations

Weedy rice is a persistent weed of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) fields worldwide, which competes with the crop and drastically reduces yields. Within the US, two main populations of genetically differentiated weedy rice exist, the straw-hulled (SH) group and the black-hulled awned (BHA) group. Current research suggests that both groups are derived from Asian cultivated rice. However, the weeds differ from the cultivated groups in various morphological traits. My research focus is on the genetic basis of two such traits: seed shattering ability and differences in flowering time. The persistence of weedy rice has been partly attributed to its ability …

Novel Systems For The Functional Characterization Of Genes Related To Paclitaxel Metabolism In Taxus Cell Cultures, Khamkeo Vongpaseuth

Open Access Dissertations

Human society has benefited greatly from plant secondary metabolites, often utilizing a variety of compounds as dyes, food additives, and drugs. In particular, pharmaceutical development has benefited greatly from plant secondary metabolites. One example of this utility is paclitaxel, a highly substituted diterpene approved in the treatment of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and the AIDSrelated Kaposi’s sarcoma. Demand of paclitaxel is likely to increase, due to the current examination of paclitaxel in numerous clinical trials against a variety of other cancers.

Taxus cell culture represents a production source of paclitaxel to meet future demand. However, paclitaxel …

Conservation While Under Invasion: Insights From A Rare Hemiparasitic Plant, Swamp Lousewort (Pedicularis Lanceolata Michx.), Sydne Record

Open Access Dissertations

with non-native invasive species is considered a major threat to many rare native species. As such, invasives removals are a common management strategy. Rare native species that interact uniquely with other organisms in their community (e.g., hemiparasitic plants) may be adversely affected by removing invasives. A management plan for a regionally rare hemiparasitic plant in Massachusetts, Pedicularis lanceolata Michx., identified invasives as a threat, but more quantitative evidence is needed to determine how P. lanceolata‟s persistence is influenced by its co-occurrence with native or invasive hosts. This research asks how P. lanceolata is affected by growth with native versus invasive …