Digital Commons Network^™

Abiotic Stress Responses In Photosynthetic Organisms, Joseph Msanne

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cellular and molecular aspects of abiotic stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana subjected to cold, drought, and high salinity and in two photosynthetic green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Coccomyxa sp. C-169, subjected to nitrogen deprivation were investigated. Cold, drought, and high salinity can negatively affect plant growth and crop production. The first research aimed at determining the physiological functions of the stress-responsive Arabidopsis thaliana RD29A and RD29B genes. Cold, drought, and salt induced both genes; the promoter of RD29Awas found to be more responsive to drought and cold stresses, whereas the promoter of RD29B was highly responsive to salt stress. …

Management Zone Delineation Techniques On Irrigated Corn In Nebraska, Aaron M. Bereuter

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Increased interest in site-specific management of irrigated corn in Nebraska has identified the need for a decision-making framework for zone delineation. Zones based on static soil and landscape properties provide a valuable foundation for variable rate management strategies. The purpose of this project was to identify the optimal soil and landscape attributes for generating management zones (MZ) of relative productivity potential. Three producer-managed cornfields across Nebraska with varying soil types, topographic characteristics, and climate regimes were identified as research sites during the 2010 growing season. Nine soil and landscape attributes were identified as potential properties for estimation of productivity potential. …

The Marketplace Of Boston: Macrobotanical Remains From Faneuil Hall, Ciana Faye Meyers

Graduate Masters Theses

Residents of Boston in the eighteenth century utilized a wide range of botanical materials in their daily lives, navigating complex urban marketing systems and utilizing their own individual ingenuity to procure botanical resources. The one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three botanical remains recovered from a "community midden" underneath the present-day Faneuil Hall represents a diverse collection of taxa which encodes information not only about the localized dietary practices of colonial urban residents, but also helps to illuminate the more subtle ramifications of Boston's participation in the Atlantic economy on the lives of its residents. These botanical remains represent taxa from …

Essential Oils Of Cupressus Funebris, Juniperus Communis, And J. Chinensis (Cupressaceae) As Repellents Against Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) And Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) And As Toxicants Against Mosquitoes, John F. Carroll, Nurhayat Tabanca, Matthew H. Kramer, Natasha M. Elejalde, David E. Wedge, Ulrich R. Bernier, Monique Coy, James Becnel, Betul Demirci, Kemal Husnu Can Başer, Jian Zhang, Sui Zhang

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Juniperus communis leaf oil, J. chinensis wood oil, and Cupressus funebris wood oil (Cupressaceae) from China were analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We identified 104 compounds, representing 66.8-95.5% of the oils. The major components were: α-pinene (27.0%), α-terpinene (14.0%), and linalool (10.9%) for J. communis; cuparene (11.3%) and δ-cadinene (7.8%) for J. chinensis; and α-cedrene (16.9%), cedrol (7.6%), and β-cedrene (5.7%) for C. funebris. The essential oils of C. funebris, J. chinensis, and J. communis were evaluated for repellency against adult yellow fever mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti (L.), host-seeking nymphs of the lone …

Msh1 Influence On Plant Mitochondrial Genome Recombination And Phenotype In Tobacco, Peibei Sun

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Plant mitochondrial genomes are composed of unusually complex structures, due to active recombination at numerous repeated sequences in the genome. The maintenance of mitochondrial genome stability is under the control of identifiable nuclear genes. In plants, three nuclear genes (MSH1, RECA3 and OSB1) have been shown to participate in recombination surveillance and the suppression of illegitimate recombination in mitochondria. Disruption of these loci in Arabidopsis results in reproducible mitochondrial genome rearrangements. We demonstrated that repeat-mediated de novo recombination was also enhanced in both Arabidopsis and tobacco during passage through in vitro culture. Furthermore, in vitro conditions led …

Analysis Of Turnip Crinkle Virus Effects On The Innate And Adaptive Immunity In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Teresa J. Donze

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The ability to understand the interactions between plants and the variety of pathogens they encounter on a daily basis is an important area of research. In the following work presented in this dissertation, I sought to better understand the mechanisms that Turnip crinkle virus (TCV) employs to elude the defense responses of the host plant Arabidopsis thaliana. It was previously determined that TCV coat protein (CP) interacts with a transcription factor, TIP, within the about 10 amino acid region near the N-terminus of the CP called the R-domain. When this interaction was disrupted by making single amino acid substitutions …

Book Review: Effects Of Climate Change On Birds, Edited By Anders Pape Meller, Wolfgang Fiedler, And Peter Berthold, Brian J. Olsen

The Prairie Naturalist

Book review of Effects of Climate Change on Birds, edited by Anders Pape Meller, Wolfgang Fiedler, and Peter Berthold.

Climate scientists from across the globe predict vast changes during the next century in the planet's temperatures, precipitation, storm intensities, fire regimes, hydrologic cycles, and atmospheric, water, and soil chemistries. The changes will be global, but their effects will be felt locally everywhere. To find a scientifically and socially engaging bellwether of these events, we need to look only through the lens of avian biology. Birds are found from pole to pole; their movements connect continents. They are loud, colorful …

Modeling Parental Provisioning By Red-Winged Blackbirds In North Dakota, George M. Linz, Richard S. Sawin, Mark W. Lutman, William J. Bleier

The Prairie Naturalist

Male red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) exhibit a difference in nest provisioning rates along an east-west gradient in North America. North Dakota is located in the center of North America and harbors a large population of breeding red-winged blackbirds (RWBL). This location provided an opportunity to compare provisioning rates in the central U.S. with those reported for the eastern and western populations. We placed video cameras at RWBL nests to record male and female feeding trips. Thirty-four nests were located on territories with original males and 30 were on territories where a replacement (floater) male had taken over a …

Manuscript Content: Where Does It Belong?, Christopher N. Jacques

The Prairie Naturalist

One of the most common issues we address during content editing of papers for The Prairie Naturalist (journal) is the appropriate placement of content in the text body. Based on my experience with the editorial process, content placement also is one of the issues that authors are most resistant to suggestions or do not fully understand why we are so persistent about it (Thompson 2010). One of the primary objectives of scientific writing is to concisely and accurately disseminate information. Scientific papers are structured to help both the author and reader accomplish this objective. The material that belongs in each …

The Effects Of Phosphorus Enrichment On Leaf Litter Stoichiometry In A Forested Stream, Bryant Baker

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The effects of nutrient (N and P) enrichment on leaf litter decomposition in streams have been investigated extensively, but few have explored how P addition alone affects leaf litter stoichiometry (namely the C:P ratio). This study examined how the P content, C:P ratio and decomposition of two types of leaf litter (the recalcitrant Quercus stellata and the more labile Acer saccharum) responded to P enrichment from nutrient diffusing substrata (NDS) which was either unenriched agar or agar enriched with a moderate or high level of P. Leaf litter was sealed in 0.05 mm mesh bags, which excluded invertebrates, housed with …

Determination Of Poultry Litter's Nitrogen-Fertilizer Value For Winter Wheat Production, Brett Lee Gordon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen (N) availability in poultry litter (PL) applied in the fall as a nutrient source for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) has not been adequately characterized. Our objective was to determine a potentially available N (PAN) coefficient based on the inorganic-N fertilizer equivalence (FEQ) of fall-applied PL to winter wheat via field and laboratory research. Wheat grown at six site-years received 0, 84 and 168 kg N ha-1 as PL applied preplant and/or at-planting. The FEQ of PL-N was based on growth and yield responses of wheat fertilized with 22 to 191 kg N ha-1 applied in late winter as …

Conservation And Loss Of Ribosomal Rna Gene Sites In Diploid And Polyploid Fragaria (Rosaceae), Bo Liu, Thomas M. Davis

Biological Sciences

The genus Fragaria comprises species at ploidy levels ranging from diploid (2n = 2x = 14) to decaploid (2n = 10x = 70). Fluorescence in situ hybridization with 5S and 25S rDNA probes was performed to gather cytogenetic information that illuminates genomic divergence among different taxa at multiple ploidy levels, as well as to explore the evolution of ribosomal RNA genes during polyploidization in Fragaria.

Fungal Desaturases And Related Methods, David F. Hildebrand, Suryadevara S. Rao, John Thoguru

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Patents

The presently-disclosed subject matter provides isolated nucleic acid and amino acid sequences encoding mushroom desaturase polypeptides that are active with both palmitic and stearic acid, as well as vectors and transgenic plant cells comprising nucleic acids of the presently-disclosed subject matter. The presently-disclosed subject matter further provides methods of producing monounsaturated fatty acids, such as palmitoleic acid (16:1), and monounsaturated fatty acids prepared by the methods disclosed herein.

Sag101 Forms A Ternary Complex With Eds1 And Pad4 And Is Required For Resistance Signaling Against Turnip Crinkle Virus, Shifeng Zhu, Rae-Dong Jeong, Srivathsa C. Venugopal, Ludmila Lapchyk, Duroy Navarre, Aardra Kachroo, Pradeep Kachroo

Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

EDS1, PAD4, and SAG101 are common regulators of plant immunity against many pathogens. EDS1 interacts with both PAD4 and SAG101 but direct interaction between PAD4 and SAG101 has not been detected, leading to the suggestion that the EDS1-PAD4 and EDS1-SAG101 complexes are distinct. We show that EDS1, PAD4, and SAG101 are present in a single complex in planta. While this complex is preferentially nuclear localized, it can be redirected to the cytoplasm in the presence of an extranuclear form of EDS1. PAD4 and SAG101 can in turn, regulate the subcellular localization of EDS1. We also show that the Arabidopsis genome …

Forage News [2011-11], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Brent White is Kentucky Forage Spokesman
• KFGC Presents Awards
• KFGC Nominating Committee Report
• AFGC Coming to Louisville
• Forages at KCA
• Selling & Shipping Hay to Texas and Other Southern Tier States
• Hay Production Changes in Kentucky
• Climate Change Effects on Forage Quality of Kentucky Hay Fields
• Be Alert to Health Risks When Grazing Turnips

Nebline, November/December 2011

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Avoid Guessing About Holiday Food Safety

Farm Views

Horticulture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Environmental Focus

Urban Agriculture

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

Heritable Epigenetic Variation Among Maize Inbreds, Steve R. Eichten, Ruth A. Swanson, James C. Schnable, Amanda J. Waters, Peter J. Hermanson, Sanzhen Liu, Cheng-Ting Yeh, Yi Jia, Karla Gendler, Michael Freeling, Patrick S. Schnable, Matthew W. Vaughn, Nathan M. Springer

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Epigenetic variation describes heritable differences that are not attributable to changes in DNA sequence. There is the potential for pure epigenetic variation that occurs in the absence of any genetic change or for more complex situations that involve both genetic and epigenetic differences. Methylation of cytosine residues provides one mechanism for the inheritance of epigenetic information. A genome-wide profiling of DNA methylation in two different genotypes of Zea mays (ssp. mays), an organism with a complex genome of interspersed genes and repetitive elements, allowed the identification and characterization of examples of natural epigenetic variation. The distribution of DNA methylation …

Taking “Grazing” To The Next Level, Edward N. Ballard

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Since the late 1980’s, producer awareness of pasture management has been increasing. A number of factors have brought this about. Mainly, economic conditions have forced producers to look at their bottom line and this has reflected the low returns from mismanagement of forages and pastures. Also, advancements in the technology of pasture management and improvement have made more intensive utilization of the forage resource more economically viable. Advances in equipment, especially fencing and water equipment, have also helped bring about the increased interest in better grassland management.

Options For Getting Water In Every Paddock, Kevin Laurent

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Whether you call it rotational grazing, intensive grazing or management intensive grazing, the economic benefits of controlling how and where your cattle graze are well documented. Increased forage utilization, greater stocking rates, greater legume persistence, reduced hay feeding and more uniform nutrient recycling are just some of the many benefits producers can take advantage of when practicing some form of controlled grazing. However, one of the greatest challenges to implementing a controlled grazing system is the delivery of stock water to the grazing animal.

Stockpiling Tall Fescue: Cost & Return, Greg S. Halich

Kentucky Grazing Conference

An opportunity that Kentucky cattle farmers have in reducing their hay requirements is to apply nitrogen on select pastures to stockpile for fall and winter grazing. By increasing the total pasture production during this time period, the grazing season can be extended and the amount of hay required can be reduced.

Benefits Of "Improved" Grazing--More Important Now Than Ever!, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Grazing Conference

At this Conference twelve years ago I talked about the “Benefits of Improved Grazing”. We have had aspects of that theme at every Kentucky Grazing Conference since and also emphasized that message at 10 Heart of America Grazing Conferences and three National Grazing Conferences. With all that emphasis, why do I bring this up again and even have the nerve to say “More Important Now than Ever”? Well, the short answer is “things are different now!”

Living More Than Just Enough For The City: Persistence Of High-Quality Vegetation In Natural Areas In An Urban Setting, Rebecca W. Dolan, Jessica D. Stephens, Marcia E. Moore

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Urban environments pose special challenges to flora, including altered disturbance regimes, habitat fragmentation, and increased opportunity for invasion by non-native species. In addition, urban natural area represents most people’s contact with nature, given the majority of the world’s population currently live in cities. We used coefficients of conservatism (C-values), a system that ranks species based on perceived fidelity to remnant native plant communities that retain ecological integrity, to quantify habitat quality of 14 sites covering 850 ha within the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, in the Midwestern United States. All sites contained significant natural area and were inventoried via intensive complete …

Beneficial Partnerships: K-Staters Conduct Projects Throughout Africa, Gloria Holcombe, Timothy Dalton

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

Africa grows many of the same crops as Kansas, including sorghum and wheat. In fact, sorghum germplasm came from Africa, and now Kansas is the No. 1 sorghum producer in the United States.

K-State has expertise in grain storage issues, wheat and grain sorghum milling, and growing crops under dryland and irrigated conditions — vital information for African producers. Faculty secure grant funding to cover travel and other expenses associated with these partnerships. As an added bonus, they bring international experience into the classroom to share with their students. International collaborations help develop networks to share research, establish new markets, …

2011 Meeting Missing Abstracts

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts not included in Virginia Journal of Science Volume 62, No. 1 and 2, presented at the 89th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 25-27, 2011, at the University of Richmond, Richmond VA.

Plant Pathologist And Grain Scientist Earn K-State’S Highest Honor, Gloria Holcombe

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

Two innovative College of Agriculture faculty — John Leslie, professor and head of the Department of Plant Pathology, and Xiuzhi “Susan” Sun, professor of grain science and industry — were selected university distinguished professors, a lifetime title and the highest honor K-State bestows on its faculty.

Forage News [2011-10], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• 12th Kentucky Grazing Conference
• Frost Approaching: Beware of Prussic Acid!
• KFGC Field Day
• Don't Overgraze Warm-Season Grasses
• Freeze Tolerance of Forage Bermudagrass
• Performance by Spring and Fall-Calving Cows Grazing with Full Access, or No Access to Toxic, Wild-Type Endophyte-Infected Tall Fescue - 3-Year Summary
• The Determination of Switchgrass Growth Curves
• Chemical Suppression of Seedhead Emergence in Toxic Endophyte-Infected Tall Fescue for Improving Cattle WEight Gain and Physiology
• Reducing Feed Costs with Grazing Management

Effects Of Herbicides And Grazing On Floristic Quality Of Native Tallgrass Pastures In Eastern South Dakota And Southwestern Minnesota, Alexander J. Smart, Matthew J. Nelson, Peter J. Bauman, Gary E. Larson

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Historic herbicide use and grazing have influenced natural diversity and quality of native pasturelands in the Great Plains. Floristic quality assessments are useful to assist agencies in prioritizing conservation practices to enhance native grasslands. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of past land-use practices on the floristic quality of remnant native pastures in eastern South Dakota and southwestern Minnesota. Floristic quality assessments were conducted on 30 native pastures and categorized by past management practices (herbicide application and grazing intensity). Mean coefficient of conservatism (C) and floristic quality index (FQI) were calculated for each site~Results showed that …

Review Of Grass: In Search Of Human Habitat. By Joe C. Truett. Foreword By Harry W. Greene., Mary Ann Vinton

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Much of the book is devoted to discussing the heavy human dependence on grasslands and whether this relationship can be maintained in company with grassland conservation. Can humans continue to use grasslands for food, fiber, and newer uses like biofuels and carbon banking while still sustaining the ecosystem? Many of us in academic ecology struggle with resolving perceived conflicts between conservation and human grassland use. In many cases, a "win-win" scenario exists in which, for example, the proper use of livestock grazing is perfectly compatible with a healthy grassland ecosystem. In other cases, such as conserving prairie dog populations, tensions …

Transcriptomic Characterization Of A Synergistic Genetic Interaction During Carpel Margin Meristem Development In Arabidopsis Thaliana, April N. Wynn, Elizabeth E. Rueschhoff, Robert G. Franks

Biological Sciences Research

In flowering plants the gynoecium is the female reproductive structure. In Arabidopsis thalianaovules initiate within the developing gynoecium from meristematic tissue located along the margins of the floral carpels. When fertilized the ovules will develop into seeds. SEUSS (SEU) and AINTEGUMENTA (ANT) encode transcriptional regulators that are critical for the proper formation of ovules from the carpel margin meristem (CMM). The synergistic loss of ovule initiation observed in the seu ant double mutant suggests that SEU and ANT share overlapping functions during CMM development. However the molecular mechanism underlying this synergistic interaction is unknown. Using …

Effects Of Experimental Nitrogen Additions On Plant Diversity In Tropical Forests Of Contrasting Disturbance Regimes In Southern China, Xiankai Lu, Jiangming Mo, Frank S. Gilliam, Guirui Yu, Wei Zhang, Yunting Fang, Juan Huang

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

Responses of understory plant diversity to nitrogen (N) additions were investigated in reforested forests of contrasting disturbance regimes in southern China from 2003 to 2008: disturbed forest (withharvesting of understory vegetation and litter) and rehabilitated forest (without harvesting). Experimental additions of N were administered as the following treatments: Control, 50 kg N ha1yr1, and 100kg N ha1yr1. Nitrogen additions did not significantly affect understory plant richness, density,and cover in the disturbed forest. Similarly, no significant response was found for canopy closure in thisforest. In the rehabilitated forest, species richness and density showed no significant response to Nadditions; however, understory cover …