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Ultrastructural Localisation Of Chromium In Ocimum Basilicum, Roya Bishehkolaei, Hamid Fahimi, Sara Saadatmand, Taher Nejadsattari, Mehrdad Lahouti, Forouzan Tabatabaei Yazdi

Turkish Journal of Botany

Ocimum basilicum L. seedlings were exposed to different concentrations of Cr (0-8 mg L^{-1} of Cr^{3+}) to evaluate the cellular localisation of chromium, plant accumulating capacity, and potential cellular defence mechanisms against Cr stress. Dried plant tissues (roots and shoots) were exposed to X-ray microanalysis for element determination (including Cr, Cu, Zn, Co, Ni, and Mo). Results showed that the highest amount of Cr had accumulated in the roots of the plants treated with 8 mg L^{-1} of Cr^{3+}, while less Cr was transported to the shoots. TEM micrographs of Ocimum basilicum root cortex cells exposed to 4, 6, and …

Population Dynamics Of Parthenium Hysterophorus (Asteraceae) And Its Biological Suppression Through Cassia Occidentalis (Caesalpiniaceae), Jai Knox, Disha Jaggi, Manoj Stephen Paul

Turkish Journal of Botany

Phytosociological analysis performed over 2005 to 2009 revealed that Cassia occidentalis L. is a dominant species at 3 of 4 sites in Agra district, India, that were previously observed to be dominated by heavy populations of Parthenium hysterophorus L. In order to determine the role of biomolecular interaction, i.e. the allelopathic effect, if any, on this shift of floral pattern effects, aqueous shoot and root cold leachates were determined on seed germination, shoot cut bioassay, seedling bioassay, chlorophyll, nitrogen, and protein content of P. hysterophorus. A significant reduction in germination percentage, shoot cut bioassay, seedling bioassay, and chlorophyll of P. …

A Comparative Assessment Of Fruit Formation In Some Orchid Species From The Southern Caucasus Region, Houshang Nosrati, Roghieh Hajiboland, Ahmad Razban-Haghighi, Maryam Nikniazi

Turkish Journal of Botany

The distribution and population size of 5 orchid species (Cephalanthera longifolia, Orchis simia, Platanthera bifolia, Dactylorhiza romana, and Ophrys scolopax) were studied in the southern Caucasus based on the individual numbers in a given area. The fruit set was recorded for the latter 3 species and compared in natural and control groups (pollinators prevented) for D. romana and O. scolopax. We compared the obtained fruit set values with those reported from other regions. The distributions of the 5 species were completely fragmented and the population sizes were extremely small. This is the first report of O. scolopax from the region, …

Nebline, January 2011

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Tightening Your Belt in Tough Times

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

Annual Report Special Pullout Section

2011 Spring Seed Book, Nebraska Crop Improvement Association

Nebraska Crop Improvement Association Seed Guides

FOUNDATION SEED

PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION ACT and HOW IT BENEFITS YOU!

TURFGRASSES

PERENNIAL FORAGE GRASSES

SPRING WHEAT

SPRING BARLEY

OATS

OAT VARIETY CHARACTERISTICS - 2011

MILLET

MILLET VARIETY CHARACTERISTICS  2011

FIELD PEAS

HYBRID SEED CORN

NEBRASKA SEED QUALITY ASSURANCE® PROGRAM

SOYBEANS BUYERS’ NOTICE

APPROVED SEED CONDITIONERS

CUSTOM CERTIFIED CONDITIONERS

2010 NCIA MEMBERS

Giant Viruses, James L. Van Etten

James Van Etten Publications

The common view of viruses, mostly true, is of tiny burglars that sneak into cells, grab the biosynthetic controls and compel the cell to make huge numbers of progeny that break out of the cell and keep the replication cycle going. Viruses are supposed to be diminutive even compared to cells that are just a micrometer (1,000 nanometers) in diameter. They are supposed to travel light, making do with just a few well-adapted genes.

In 1992, a new microorganism was isolated from a power-plant cooling tower in Bradford, England, where Timothy Robotham, a microbiologist at Leeds Public Health Laboratory, was …

Distributions And Abundances Of Microstegium Vimineum Along Forest Roadsides At The Grassy Hill Natural Area, Franklin County, Virginia, Gregory D. Turner

Virginia Journal of Science

In summer 2005, plots were surveyed along roads passing through forest habitats at the Grassy Hill Natural Area Preserve in Franklin County, Virginia to assess the distributions and abundances of Microstegium vimineum in transects located at increasing distances away from roadsides into forest interiors. Across plots, Microstegium was encountered almost exclusively in roadside transects, where abundances were relatively high. While forest composition and topographic features were similar across plots, percent canopy cover and leaf litter depth were greater in interior compared to roadside transects due to undisturbed tree canopies and ground cover located in interior plot areas. Results imply that …

Spider Cognition, Robert R. Jackson, Fiona R. Cross

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Spiders, having minute brains, were once considered simple, instinct-driven automatons, but research on spider biology is revealing increasing evidence of their cognitive abilities. In this review, we discuss the complex, flexible behaviour of spiders, especially salticids, and highlight how sometimes the cognitive character of spider behaviour closely parallels that of much bigger animals. This includes the use of selective attention (both visual and olfactory) and the use of planned detours. The implications of these findings, and how they relate to bigger issues traditionally associated with big-brain animals, such as 'representation' and 'mind', are discussed. Also discussed are issues relating to …

Construction Of A Ssr-Based Genetic Map And Identification Of Qtl For Domestication Traits Using Recombinant Inbred Lines From A Cross Between Wild And Cultivated Cowpea (V. Unguiculata (L.) Walp.), Mebeaselassie Andargie, Remy S. Pasquet, Bhavani S. Gowda, Geoffrey M. Muluvi, Michael P. Timko

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is a grain legume commonly grown and consumed in many parts of the tropics and subtropics. A genetic linkage map was constructed using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and a recombinant inbred (RI) population of159 individuals derived from a cross between the breeding line 524B, a California Blackeye, and 219-01, a perennial wild cowpea from Kenya. Out of 912 primer combinations predicted to amplify SSRs in cowpea, 639 reliably produced amplification products in PCR assays and 202 (31.6%) were polymorphic between the two parents. These polymorphic SSRs were used to construct a genetic map consisting …

Cloning, Expression Analysis, And Transformation Vector Construction Of Dam Homologs In Peach And Poplar, Yuhui Xie

All Theses

Genetic fine mapping and sequencing of the EVG locus in peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] identified six tandem arrayed Dormancy-Associated MADS-box (DAM) genes as candidates for regulating growth cessation and terminal bud formation in the non-dormant evergrowing (evg) mutant. Since the mutant is lacking expression of six genes in the mapped locus, further functional analysis is needed to narrow the list of gene candidates for the non-dormant evg phenotype. Here I report three sets of experiments designed to functionally test DAM genes in peach and their homologs in a model tree, hybrid poplar.
First I constructed overexpression and knockdown vectors …

Contents, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Instructions For Authors, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Cicer Uludereensis Dönmez: A New Species Of Cicer (Chickpea) (Fabaceae) From Around The Fertile Crescent, Se Turkey, Ali̇ Aslan Dönmez

Turkish Journal of Botany

The genus Cicer L. includes an important crop plant, chickpea, which has been used as a protein source since prehistoric times. Specimens of a native Cicer have been collected and described from south-east Turkey. This new species, Cicer uludereensis Dönmez sp. nova, is distinct from a closely allied species, Cicer isauricum P.H.Davis, by its fine and more numerous teeth per leaflet, larger stipules, and narrower fruit with almost smooth seed surface. An illustration and a distribution map of the new species are provided and observations on the population are discussed.

Pollen Morphology Of The Genus Seseli L. (Umbelliferae) In Turkey, Ebru Doğan Güner, Hayri̇ Duman, Nur Münevver Pinar

Turkish Journal of Botany

Morphological features of pollen of 11 Turkish taxa belonging to the complex genus Seseli L. were examined using light and scanning electron microscopy. On the basis of exine sculpturing, 3 main types were recognised in Seseli: Type 1, rugulate at equator, psilate-perforate at pole; Type 2, striate-reticulate at equator, rugulate at pole; and Type 3, rugulate at equator, striate at pole. The study revealed that palynological characters display taxonomic significance in the genus.

Rare And Endemic Species: Why Are They Prone To Extinction?, Kani̇ Işik

Turkish Journal of Botany

A species is considered to be "rare" if it exhibits any one of the following attributes: (1) naturally occurs in a narrow geographical area, (2) occupies only one or a few specialised habitats, (3) forms only small population(s) in its range. An "endemic" species, however, grows naturally in a single geographical area, the size of which could be either narrow or relatively large. Not all endemic species are rare, just as not all rare species must necessarily be endemic. Many rare and/or endemic species exhibit one or more of the following attributes which make them especially prone to extinction: (1) …

Storage Effects Of Gel Encapsulation On Stability Of Chokeberry Monomeric Anthocyanins, Procyanidins, Color Density, And Percent Polymeric Color, Mary Kordsmeier, Luke Howard

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Chokeberries (Aronia melanocarpa) are an antioxidant-rich plant product due to their high content of polyphenols, especially anthocyanins and procyanidins. These polyphenols have been shown to provide protection against coronary heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer, as well as against oxidative stress, the main cause behind chronic diseases promoted by free radicals. The objective of this study was to determine the storage effects of gelatin encapsulation on monomeric anthocyanins, procyanidins, color density, and percent polymeric color of three gummy candies of different strengths formulated with a base of 25.4% chokeberry concentrate, 47.6% sucrose, 1.3% Splenda, and 0.025% potassium sorbate. The gum …

A Novel Gene Silencing Vector For Plant Genomics And Biotechnology, Dustin Hoover, Scott Nicholson, Vibha Srivastava

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Gene silencing is a process of suppressing activity of specific genes by producing “interfering” RNA encoded by foreign genes. This process serves as the principle of genetic modification in plants and animals, which is an important tool in genomics and biotechnology, allowing scientists to manipulate organisms to better meet human demands. New approaches of gene silencing may enable improvements on current practices of genetic modification, and broaden the application and impact of gene silencing in biotechnology. Recently, a novel vector design consisting of the transcription of short gene fragments lacking transcription termination signals was demonstrated to be effective in partial …

Role Of The Sexual Cycle In Development Of Genotypic And Phenotypic Diversity In Gibberella Zeae, Sladana Bec

Theses and Dissertations--Plant Pathology

Gibberella zeae (anamorph Fusarium graminearum) is a homothallic ascomycete pathogen that is responsible for causing Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat and small grains. In addition to causing a reduction in yield, harvested grain is frequently contaminated with trichothecene mycotoxins that are harmful for human and animal health. Use of wheat varieties with resistance to FHB is an important strategy to lower its impact. In order to produce varieties with durable resistance, we must understand the origin and degree of genetic diversity present in the pathogen population. In my research, I focused my efforts on an investigation of the …

Antioxidant And Antihypertensive Activities Of Rice Bran Peptides, Janika Hull, Arvind Kannan, Navam S. Hettiarachchy

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Protein isolates and peptide fractions from food sources (cereal grains), have been shown to exert bioactive properties including antiobesity, anticancer, antiangiogenic, etc. One such food source is rice bran, which is an underutilized co-product of rough rice milling. It contains 90% of the nutrients and nutraceuticals of value to health, including high quality protein. The high quality protein is a potential source to generate peptides that can reduce hypertension and oxidative stress, both being important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. The objective of this study was to extract peptide hydrolysates from heat stabilized defatted rice bran by enzymatic hydrolysis, evaluate …

Letter From The Dean, Michael Vayda

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Discovery: The Student Journal Of Dale Bumpers College Of Agricultural, Food And Life Sciences - Volume 12 2011, Several Authors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

A Molecular Genetic Study On The Tofl/Tofr Quorum-Sensing System Of Burkholderia Glumae: The Major Pathogen That Causes Bacterial Panicle Blight Of Rice, Ruoxi Chen

LSU Master's Theses

Burkholderia glumae is the major causal agent of an economically important rice disease, bacterial panicle blight (BPB). The known virulence factors of B. glumae share the TofI/TofR quorum sensing system as their regulator. tofI and tofR genes encode the N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) synthase for the B. glumae quorum sensing signals, N-octanoyl homoserine lactone (C8-HSL) and N-hexanoyl homoserine lactone (C6-HSL), and the receptor for AHL, respectively. To better understand the relationship between quorum sensing and known virulence factors (toxoflavin, flagella and lipase), as well as, putative virulence factors (i.e. extracellular polysaccharide), mutagenetic and phenotypic analyses were applied to this study. …

Soil Fertility And Crop Yields In Long-Term Organic And Conventional Cropping Systems In Eastern Nebraska, Samuel E. Wortman, Tomie D. Galusha, Stephen C. Mason, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Organic agriculture aims to build soil quality and provide long-term benefits to people and the environment; however, organic practices may reduce crop yields. This long-term study near Mead, NE was conducted to determine differences in soil fertility and crop yields among conventional and organic cropping systems between 1996 and 2007. The conventional system (CR) consisted of corn (Zea mays L.) or sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench)–soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)–sorghum or corn–soybean, whereas the diversified conventional system (DIR) consisted of corn or sorghum– sorghum or corn–soybean–winter wheat (wheat, Triticum aestivum L.). The animal manure-based organic system (OAM) …

Moving Micronutrients From The Soil To The Seeds: Genes And Physiological Processes From A Biofortification Perspective, Brian M. Waters, Renuka P. Sankaran

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The micronutrients iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu) are essential for plants and the humans and animals that consume plants. Increasing the micronutrient density of staple crops, or biofortification, will greatly improve human nutrition on a global scale. This review discusses the processes and genes needed to translocate micronutrients through the plant to the developing seeds, and potential strategies for developing biofortified crops.

T-Phylloplanin And Cis-Abienol, Two Natural Products From Tobacco Have Broad Spectrum, Anti-Fungal Activities, Brian Christopher King

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Tobacco phylloplanins (T-phylloplanin) are a group of closely-related glycoproteins that are formed and disposed at the interface between the plant aerial surface (the phylloplane) and the atmosphere. They are synthesized in short procumbent trichomes and are secreted to aerial surfaces where they are thought to serve the plant as a first line of defense against fungal pathogens. Here it is shown using in vitro and in planta assays that tobacco and sunflower phylloplanins have broad-spectrum antifungal activities against spores - and also hyphae for two species - of several true fungi. Field tests show that T-phylloplanin reduces diseases caused by …

Plants As Objects: Challenges For An Aesthetics Of Flora, John Charles Ryan

Research outputs 2011

This paper presents the conceptual challenges to an aesthetic model of living plants based in embodied interaction with flora through smell, taste, touch, sound and sight. I argue that the science of aesthetics is deterministically visual. Drawing from theories of landscape aesthetics put forth by Carlson and Berleant, I outline four primary obstacles to an embodied aesthetics: plants as objects of sight, plants as objects of art, plants as objects of disinterestedness and plants as objects of scientific discourse. A multi-sensorial aesthetics of flora requires auto-centric proximity and degrees of intersubjectivity between the appreciator and the appreciated plant that raise …

Anthoethnography: Emerging Research Into The Culture Of Flora, Aesthetic Experience Of Plants, And The Wildflower Tourism Of The Future, John C. Ryan

Research outputs 2011

How does anthoethnography contribute to the development of understandings of aesthetic experiences of wild plants and wildflower tourism? As exemplified by the quintessentially aesthetic industry of wildflower tourism, the culture of flora represents diverse engagements between people and plants. Such complex engagements offer further avenues for research. The critical methodology of anthoethnography has been one such approach to circumscribing the values, practices and rhetoric of wildflower tourism. Interviews have revealed perceptual phenomena such as the orchid and everlasting effects as two counterpoised examples of the differences between visual aesthetic values occurring in the region. For appreciators such as Tinker, botanical …

Cultural Botany: Toward A Model Of Transdisciplinary, Embodied, And Poetic Research Into Plants, John C. Ryan

Research outputs 2011

Since the eighteenth century, the study of plants has reflected an increasingly mechanized and technological view of the natural world that divides the humanities and the natual sciences. In broad terms, this article proposes a context for research into flora through an interrogation of existing literature addressing a rapprochement between ways to knowledge. The natureculture dichotomy, and more specifically the plant-to-human sensory disjunction, follows a parallel course of resolution to the schism between objective (technical, scientific, reductionistic, visual) and subjective (emotive, artistic, relational, multi-sensory) forms of knowledge. The foundations of taxonomic botany, as well as the allied fields of environmental …

Plants, Processes, Places: Sensory Intimacy And Poetic Enquiry, John Ryan

Research outputs 2011

As an arts-based research approach, poetic enquiry has been theorised and applied recently in the social sciences and in education. In this article, I extend its usage to eco-critical studies of Australian flora and fauna. The Southwest corner of Western Australia affords opportunities to deploy arts-based methodologies, including field poetry, for celebrating the natural heritage of a region of distinguished biodiversity. I suggest that lyric practices in places such as Lesueur National Park and Anstey-Keane Damplands in southern Perth can catalyse embodied engagements with flora. The outcome of these practices is the invocation of the multiple senses— including the proximities …

Elucidating The Biochemical Wizardry Of Triterpene Metabolism In Botroycoccus Braunii, Thomas Daniel Niehaus

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

B. braunii is a green alga that has attracted attention as a potential renewable fuel source due to its high oil content and the archeological record of its unique contribution to oil and coal shales. Three extant chemotypes of B. braunii have been described, namely race A, race B, and race L, which accumulate alkadienes and alkatrienes, botryococcene and squalene and their methylated derivatives, and lycopadiene, respectively. The methylated triterpenes, particularly botryococcenes, produced by race B can be efficiently converted to high quality combustible fuels and other petrochemicals; however, botryococcene biosynthesis has remained enigmatic.

It has been suggested that botryococcene …