Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Transcriptional Regulation Of Specialized Metabolites In Arabidopsis Thaliana And Catharanthus Roseus, Craig M. Schluttenhofer

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

For millennia humans have utilized plant specialized metabolites for health benefits, fragrances, poisons, spices, and medicine. Valued metabolites are often produced in small quantities and may command high prices. Understanding when and how the plant synthesizes these compounds is important for improving their production. Phytohormone signaling cascades, such as jasmonate (JA) activate or repress transcription factors (TF) controlling expression of metabolite biosynthetic genes. TFs regulating specialized metabolite biosynthetic genes can be manipulated to engineer plants with increased metabolite production.

WRKY transcription factor are known components of both JA signaling cascades and regulation of specialized metabolism. The presence of WRKY binding …

Ecophysiological Responses Of Tall Fescue Genotypes To Endophyte Infection And Climate Change, Marie Bourguignon

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Tall fescue is a widely used forage grass in the eastern USA and can form a symbiosis with a fungal endophyte, which can be beneficial for the plant but can cause livestock health issues. Little is known regarding the symbiotic response to predicted climate change. To address this knowledge gap, I analyzed tall fescue variety trial data collected throughout the U.S., exploring relationships between climate variables and yield for two different fescue cultivars that were either endophyte-free or infected. This study showed no endophyte or cultivar effect on fescue yield, but identified temperature, precipitation and location as significant predictors of …