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Use Of Hrma Proteins And Their Genes For Broad Range Protection Of Plants Against Bacterial, Fungal And Viral Pathogens, Qingshun Li, Songhai Shen, Arthur G. Hunt

Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center Faculty Patents

The use of an avr gene hrmA to induce systematic acquired resistance in plant cells, plant seeds, plant tissues and plants is disclosed. Also disclosed is the use of low level expression of promoters in combination with the hrmA gene to provide broad-spectrum pathogen resistance in plant cells, plant seeds, plant tissues and plants.

Suppressors Of Transcriptional Transgenic Silencing In Chlamydomonas Are Sensitive To Dna-Damaging Agents And Reactivate Transposable Elements, Byeong-Ryool Jeong, Dancia Wu-Scharf, Chaomei Zhang, Heriberto D. Cerutti

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty Publications

In the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the epigenetic silencing of transgenes occurs, as in land plants, at both the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. In the case of single-copy transgenes, transcriptional silencing takes place without detectable cytosine methylation of the introduced DNA. We have isolated two mutant strains, Mut-9 and Mut-11, that reactivate expression of a transcriptionally silenced single-copy transgene. These suppressors are deficient in the repression of a DNA transposon and a retrotransposon-like element. In addition, the mutants show enhanced sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents, particularly radiomimetic chemicals inducing DNA double- strand breaks. All of these phenotypes are much …

Materials And Methods Useful To Affect Growth And Development Of Lepidoptera Larvae, Douglas Lee Dahlman, Bruce Allen Webb, Indu B. Maiti

Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center Faculty Patents

The present invention provides materials and methods related to causing insect resistance in plants. Specifically, the present invention provides nucleic acid compounds which encode a teratocyte secreted protein (TSP) which is capable of causing inhibition of growth and developmental arrest in Lepidoptera larvae. Cells and plants (including plant parts, seeds, embryos, etc.) comprising the nucleic acid compounds are also within the scope of the present invention. The present invention also provides amino acid compounds encoded by the nucleic acid compounds of the present invention, as well as methods to induce larval developmental arrest, methods to produce the nucleic acid and …

Detecting Stress In Animals, Sharon Durham, Ted H. Elsasser

Agricultural Research Magazine

When people get stressed, they seek relief in many ways. Some exercise, some practice specific breathing techniques, and some eat chocolate. Farm animals become stressed, too. In domesticated food animals, stress can affect meat quality, milk production, and general health. But animal stress must often be intuited from clues such as lower-than-anticipated weights and increased illness.

Certain stressful events can be anticipated, for example, birth and weaning. But how do you know if an animal is stressed for some other reason? Ted H. Elsasser of ARS’ Growth Biology Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, is investigating nitrated protein as a biomarker of …

Getting Atop Climbing Fern, Marcia Wood, Jesús García

Agricultural Research Magazine

A team of two tiny moths might help stop the spread of Old World climbing fern, an aggressive vine that’s on the march in central and south Florida. With further research, a third moth, a hungry mite, a small beetle, and perhaps other hardworking organisms as well may qualify to join the coterie of pint-sized weedeaters.

Known to botanists as Lygodium microphyllum, Old World climbing fern makes its way up stems and trunks of other plants, forming blankets of lightgreen vegetation.

On the ground, climbing fern creates tough, spongy mats that can easily smother grasses, low-growing shrubs, and small …

Speeding Up Breeding Of Superior Plants, Judy St. John

Agricultural Research Magazine

That oatmeal you ate for breakfast this morning is loaded with healthful compounds known as antioxidants. They help to protect your body from damage caused by molecules known as free radicals. Oats, for instance, are rich in the antioxidants alpha-tocopherol and alpha-tocotrienol.

But what if tomorrow’s oats could provide even more of these health-imparting compounds? That’s a goal of ARS oat researchers at laboratories in several states. Aiding this research is an invaluable tool of modern biotechnology. Known as biomolecular markers, gene markers, or DNA markers, these pieces of genetic material are signposts or clues. They are telltale indicators that, …

Protecting Peanuts From Aflatoxin, Jan Suszkiw, Joe W. Dorner, Marshall C. Lamb

Agricultural Research Magazine

Peanut farmers could soon have a biological pesticide for protecting their crop’s prized seed from fungi that produce aflatoxin—the chief culprits being Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus.

Circle One Global, Inc. (COGI), of Cuthbert, Georgia, has applied for an exclusive license on an ARS technique for making the biopesticide from spores of a nontoxigenic, or benign, strain of A. flavus.

In Florida, Georgia, and Alabama—top peanut-producing states— aflatoxin outbreaks from 1993 to 1996 caused losses averaging $26 million annually, ARS economist Marshall C. Lamb estimates. The Peanut Administrative Committee strictly regulates the sale or use of shelled peanuts …

Ars Researchers Winning Battle With Noxious Weed, Daniel Gandolfo, Jesús García

Agricultural Research Magazine

Small victories are being reported by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in the war against tropical soda apple (Solanum viarum), a nonnative, invasive weed of pastures, row crops, forests, and urban areas throughout the southeastern United States.

Tropical soda apple (TSA) was first observed in Florida in 1988, causing little concern with fewer than 2,000 acres affected. Just 6 years later, however, researchers estimated that more than 1 million acres were infested. Charles T. Bryson, an ARS research botanist with the Southern Weed Science Research Unit in Stoneville, Mississippi, says researchers believe the resilient weed has now been …

Science Update January 2002, Consuelo M. De Moraes, Brad Morris, Steven M. Valles, Yvette Alonso

Agricultural Research Magazine

Caterpillars—Agents of Their Own Demise

Bean Plants Repel Nematodes

Unlocking the Keys to Cockroach Resilience

Everything You Wanted To Know About Food Safety

Fighting Insect Pests Of Stored Foods, Michael A. Mullen, Franklin H. Arthur, Linda Mcgraw

Agricultural Research Magazine

Anyone who has ever been to a picnic knows insects are drawn to food. That’s why developing new methods to keep insects out of food in packages, warehouses, and processing plants is critical for food manufacturers. New and innovative methods are needed because the industry is challenged to reduce pesticide use while ensuring that food products are insect-free. To meet these challenges, a team of ARS scientists at the Grain Marketing and Production Research Center in Manhattan, Kansas, is working closely with industry.

Keep Out, Bug!

Keeping food in containers is one of the oldest ways to protect food from …

Shortcuts To Disease-Resistant Wheats, Gina L. Brown-Guedira, John P. Fellers, Linda Mcgraw

Agricultural Research Magazine

Everyone likes to take shortcuts in time-consuming tasks. And wheat breeders are no exception. Someday, wheat breeders may be able to use new molecular tools being developed by ARS in collaboration with Kansas State University and the Kansas Wheat Commission.

These tools show promise for reducing the time it takes breeders to move important quality and resistance traits into breeding populations of wheat using conventional breeding techniques. Currently, it can take as long as 10 or more years to develop new wheat varieties.

“Using molecular (or DNA) markers may shorten the task of improving insect and disease resistance while maintaining …

To Keep Rivers Within Bounds : A Channel Erosion Guide, Hank Becker, Jill Lee, Andrew Simon, Doug Shields Jr.

Agricultural Research Magazine

In the world of finance, bank failures tend to get press coverage. But there’s another kind of bank failure that affects the American West: Missouri River bank failures in eastern Montana involve lost soil—not dollars—but still hurt farmers financially.

Just ask Boone Whitmer, who farms 3,000 acres of wheat and alfalfa near Wolf Point. Like most farmers bordering the Missouri River downstream from the Fort Peck dam, he places irrigation pumps along the banks to get water for his crops. But the shifting sand bed of the river can clog pumps with sediment and hit growers like him hard.

“In …

Organic Wheat : A Production Guide, Steven Mccoy

Bulletins 4000 -

Many people believe that organic agriculture systems can only work in high rainfall regions. However, some of Australia’s most successful organic farmers are the experienced organic wheatbelt growers who produce cereal, pulse and oilseed crops in different regions and soil types across the country.

Wheat is the major organic cereal crop grown in Australia - predominantly noodle and breadmaking wheats for export markets.

Farming systems developed by modern organic wheat growers can differ significantly in concept, strategies and techniques from those used by conventional growers. Successful conversion to organic requires careful planning and integration of the whole farming system over …

Manure Matters, Volume 8, Number 4, Michael Brumm, Charles A. Shapiro, William Kranz

Manure Matters (newsletter)

Nitrate contamination of groundwater was first detected in Holt County, Nebraska in the mid- 1960’s. From 1976 to 1990, nitrate-N concentrations increased in 90 percent of the wells sampled by the Natural Resource Districts (NRD) in the county. As a consequence of the concerns associated with this increase, the Holt County Manure Management Education Project was funded by an EPA-319 grant with cooperation among UNL Cooperative Extension, UNL Conservation and Survey Division, USDA-NRCS, the Lower Niobrara NRD, and the Upper Elkhorn NRD. The goal of the project was to educate producers on cropping and manure best management practices to protect …

Probability Of Tree Seedling Establishment Changes Across A Forest–Old Field Edge Gradient, Scott J. Meiners, Steward T.A. Pickett, Steven N. Handel

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Forest edges affect many aspects of plant communities, causing changes in microclimate, species composition, and community structure. However, the direct role of edges in regulating forest regeneration is relatively unknown. The pattern of tree establishment across a forest–old field edge was experimentally examined to determine the response of three tree species to the edge gradient. We placed 100 1-m2 plots in a 90 3 90 m grid that began 30 m inside the forest, extended across the edge, and ended at 60 m into the old field. Into each plot, we planted seeds of Acer rubrum, Acer saccharum, and Quercus …

Arbuscular Mycorrhizae Of Mojave Desert Plants, J. H. Titus, P. J. Titus, R. S. Nowak, S. D. Smith

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Roots of 15 Mojave Desert plant species were assessed for arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) colonization in spring and autumn 1999. Another 19 species were assessed in autumn only. Perennial species were AM colonized, whereas annual species contained very low levels of AM hyphae or were nonmycorrhizal. The nonnative tree Tamarix ramosissima was also nonmycorrhizal. Levels of hyphae changed over the season in 2 species, arbuscle levels increased in 1 species, and vesicles decreased in 7 species. Mycorrhizal inoculum potential (MIP) was assessed in the soils associated with spring-collected plants. All soils were found to contain MIP. MIP values were not correlated …

The History Of The Discovery And Initial Seed Dissemination Of Metasequoia Glyptostroboides, A "Living Fossil", Jinshuang Ma

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Ever since the "living fossil ", Metasequoia glyptostroboides, was discovered during the 1940s in China, accounts of its mysterious discovery and introduction throughout the world have been told many times in different languages. However, information has often departed considerably from the true story. This paper represents a synthesis of more than 1000 original letters, manuscripts and publications both in Chinese and other languages, and addresses two main questions about details of the story: (1) how was the living fossil really discovered , and (2) who introduced the seeds into the U.S.A. and the rest of the world? Several controversies surrounding …

Eldon Kearl Greenhouse, Larry Sagers

Archived Gardening Publications

No abstract provided.

How Can I Operate My Lawnmower Safely?, Richard Beard

All Archived Publications

No abstract provided.

Greenhouses, Larry Sagers

Archived Gardening Publications

No abstract provided.

Range Judging In Utah, Mindy S. Pratt, G. Allen Rasmussen, Roger E. Banner

All Archived Publications

No abstract provided.

Folate Synthesis In Plants: The First Step Of The Pterin Branch Is Mediated By A Unique Bimodular Gtp Cyclohydrolase I, Gilles J. C. Basset, Eoin P. Quinlivan, Michael J. Ziemak, Rocío Díaz De La Garza, Markus Fischer, Susi Schiffmann, Adelbert Bacher, Jesse F. Gergory Iii, Andrew D. Hanson

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty Publications

GTP cyclohydrolase I (GCHI) mediates the first and committing step of the pterin branch of the folate-synthesis pathway. In microorganisms and mammals, GCHI is a homodecamer of ≈26-kDa subunits. Genomic approaches identified tomato and Arabidopsis cDNAs specifying ≈50-kDa proteins containing two GCHI-like domains in tandem and indicated that such bimodular proteins occur in other plants. Neither domain of these proteins has a full set of the residues involved in substrate binding and catalysis in other GCHIs. The tomato and Arabidopsis cDNAs nevertheless encode functional enzymes, as shown by complementation of a yeast fol2 mutant and by assaying GCHI activity …

Isolation And Characterization Of A Virus That Infects Emiliania Huxleyi (Haptophyta), Tonje Castberg, Runar Thyrhaug, Aud Larsen, Ruth-Anne Sandaa, Mikal Heldal, James L. Van Etten, Gunnar Bratbak

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The isolation and characterization of a virus (designated EhV) that infects the marine coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi (Lohmann) Hay & Mohler are described. Three independent clones of EhV were isolated from Norwegian coastal waters in years 1999 and 2000. EhV is a double-stranded DNA-containing virus with a genome size of ~415 kilo-base pairs. The viral particle is an icosahedron with a diameter of 160–180 nm. The virus particle contains at least nine proteins ranging from 10 to 140 kDa; the major capsid protein weighs ~54 kDa. EhV has a latent period of 12–14 h and a burst size of 400–1,000 (mean, …

Native Plants: The Preservation And Restoration Of Native Plants In Designed Landscapes In Northwest Arkansas, Janet Coleman

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

A decline in Northwest Arkansas's native plant population has occurred over the past 50 years, as documented by the U.S. Forest Service in the Ozark-Ouachita Highlands Assessment. This decline has been caused by increased human development in natural areas and the replacement of native plants with exotic, non-native plants. As a result, a generation has grown up not knowing what an Ozark wake Robin trillium (Trillium pusillum var. ozarkanum) or Blood root (Sanguinaria canadensis) Look like, because these plants are difficult to find in nature, are not commonly grown in designed landscapes, and are Largely unavailable in garden centers. The …

Characterization Of Wound-Inducible Genes Encoding Enzymes For Terpenoid Biosynthesis In Medicago Truncatula, Mandy M. Cox

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

In addition to having numerous applications as food flavorings and pharmaceuticals, terpenoids are an important class of defensive compounds that can accumulate in plants after pathogen infection or injury by insects. Sequences of DNA encoding putative terpene synthases and an oxidosqualene synthase, isolated from insect-damaged Medicago truncatula leaves, were selected from an expressed sequence tag (EST) database. The eDNA clones were used as radiolabeled probes to analyze gene expression in leaves treated with factors known to trigger a defense response in plants. Transcript levels for all of the genes examined increased in response to artificial wounding, insect herbivory, and methyl …

Water-Wise Lanscaping: Soil Preparation And Management, Rick Heflebower, Rich Koenig

All Archived Publications

No abstract provided.

Fertilizer Management For Grass And Grass-Legume Mixtures, Richard T. Koenig, Mark Nelson, James Barnhill, Dean Miner

All Archived Publications

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Horned Lark, Meghan F. Dinkins, Amy L. Zimmerman, Jill A. Dechant, Barry D. Parkin, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Christopher M. Goldade, Betty R. Euliss

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 4,000 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the relative densities of the species in North America, based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which …

Giving Baculoviruses A Better Edge, Arthur H. Mcintosh, Cynthia L. Goodman, James J. Grasela, Ben Hardin

Agricultural Research Magazine

Scientific advancements built on an understanding of what nature already provides are leading to environmentally friendly crop-pest control by either biological agents or specifically designed synthetic antiinsect compounds. A case in point: research on baculoviruses.

Baculoviruses are rod-shaped DNA viruses, many of which begin their life cycle reproducing inside cells. In the nuclei of caterpillar cells infected with baculoviruses, viral progeny multiply and are incorporated into protective polyhedronshaped protein structures called occlusion bodies. Infected caterpillars die and contaminate the leaf surfaces with the occlusion bodies. Then, healthy caterpillars ingest the occlusion bodies and release the virus when feeding on contaminated …

Manure Matters, Volume 8, Number 1, Bahman Eghball, John Gilley

Manure Matters (newsletter)

Phosphorus Risk Assessment Index Evaluation Using Runoff Measurements

Published by University of Nebraska – Lincoln’s Livestock Environmental Issues Committee. Manure and composted manure are valuable and renewable resources that can be effectively utilized for crop production and soil improvement. However, runoff from cropland areas receiving manure or compost may contribute to increased phosphorus (P) in streams and lakes. The main factors controlling P movement in surface runoff are transport (runoff and erosion) and source factors such as manure or fertilizer application method and rate, and soil P test level. Elevated soil P levels may result from application of manure at …