Digital Commons Network^™

Individuality In Gut Microbiota Composition Is A Complex Polygenic Trait Shaped By Multiple Environmental And Host Genetic Factors, Andrew K. Benson, Scott A. Kelly, Ryan Legge, Fangrui Ma, Soo Jen Low, Jaehyoung Kim, Min Zhang, Phaik Lyn Oh, Derrick Nehrenberg, Kunjie Huab, Stephen D. Kachman, Etsuko N. Moriyama, Jens Walter, Daniel A. Peterson, Daniel Pomp

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty Publications

In vertebrates, including humans, individuals harbor gut microbial communities whose species composition and relative proportions of dominant microbial groups are tremendously varied. Although external and stochastic factors clearly contribute to the individuality of the microbiota, the fundamental principles dictating how environmental factors and host genetic factors combine to shape this complex ecosystem are largely unknown and require systematic study. Here we examined factors that affect microbiota composition in a large (n = 645) mouse advanced intercross line originating from a cross between C57BL/6J and an ICR-derived outbred line (HR). Quantitative pyrosequencing of the microbiota defined a core measurable microbiota …

Pollen Interception By Linyphiid Spiders In A Corn Agroecosystem: Implications For Dietary Diversification And Risk-Assessment, Julie A. Peterson, Susan Romero, James D. Harwood

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

Dietary diversification, including consumption of plant tissues such as pollen, can enhance the fecundity of generalist predators, resulting in improved control of pest prey. Supplemental pollen feeding has been observed in many natural enemies, including sheet-web spiders (Araneae: Linyphiidae), which represent a major component of food webs in agroecosystems. Their horizontal, ground-based webs have the potential to intercept pollen grains during anthesis of crop plants, providing the opportunity for consumption of pollen to occur. In laboratory feeding trials, Frontinella communis and Tennesseellum formicum (Araneae: Linyphiidae) readily fed on pollen grains dusted on their webs, with 82 and 92% of spiders …

Comparative Leaf Decomposition Rates Including A Non-Native Species In An Urban Ozark Stream, Sarah E. Lewis, Arthur V. Brown

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Leaf decomposition of three species of native Ozark vegetation was compared to that of one nonnative invasive species. Leaves were placed in an urban gravel-bed stream for 23 days. Changes in mass and condition of the leaves were assessed along with stream temperature, flow, width, depth and discharge. Species native to Eastern North American forests were sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), dogwood (Cornus florida), and redbud (Cercis canadensis). The nonnative species, Japanese (Amur) honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) comprised approximately 80% of the understory vegetation within the riparian zone of the study reach. After 23 days, Sycamore lost 24.6% mass, dogwood lost 30%, redbud …

Contents, Discovery Editors

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

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Dean, Michael Vayda

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.

Brown Midrib Mutations And Their Importance To The Utilization Of Maize, Sorghum, And Pearl Millet Lignocellulosic Tissues, Scott E. Sattler, Deanna L. Funnell-Harris, Jeffrey F. Pedersen

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Brown midrib mutants have been isolated in maize (Zea mays), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) arising by either spontaneous or chemical mutagenesis. The characteristic brown coloration of the leaf mid veins is associated with reduced lignin content and altered lignin composition, traits useful to improve forage digestibility for livestock. Brown midrib phenotype is correlated with two homologous loci in maize (bm1 and bm3) and sorghum (bmr6 and bmr12), which encode cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) and a caffeic O-methyl transferase (COMT). These enzymes are involved in the last …

Regulation Of Septum Formation By The Bud3–Rho4 Gtpase Module In Aspergillus Nidulans, Haoyu Si, Daniela Justa-Schuch, Stephan Seiler, Steven D. Harris

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The ability of fungi to generate polarized cells with a variety of shapes likely reflects precise temporal and spatial control over the formation of polarity axes. The bud site selection system of Saccharomyces cerevisiae represents the best-understood example of such a morphogenetic regulatory system. However, the extent to which this system is conserved in the highly polarized filamentous fungi remains unknown. Here, we describe the functional characterization and localization of the Aspergillus nidulans homolog of the axial bud site marker Bud3. Our results show that AnBud3 is not required for polarized hyphal growth per se, but is involved in septum …

The Wheat Bzip Factor, Taabf1, Mediates Aba-Induced Gene Expression In Bombarded Barley Aleurone Layers, Benjamin R. Keyser

Honors Theses

The plant hormone Abscisic acid (ABA) plays a central role in maturation and germination in seeds, as well as mediating adaptive responses to abiotic environmental stresses. ABA induces the expression of many genes, including late-embryogenesis-abundant genes such as HVA1. To elucidate the ABA signaling pathway leading to HVA1 expression, we focus on the bZIP factor TaABF1. Analysis of the interplay between ABA and TaABF1 in the aleurone cells of imbibing cereal grains indicated that the two are not additive in their induction of the HVA1 promoter. A synthetic ABA analog, PBI-51, did not specifically inhibit the effect of exogenous ABA …

Fluid Fertilizer’S Role In Sustaining Soils Used For Bio-Fuels Production, John L. Kovar, Douglas L. Karlen

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

The short- and long-term effects on soil nutrient cycling, physical properties, and biological activity of striving for higher grain yields and removing crop residues for bio-fuels production must be understood to provide more quantitative crop and soil management guidelines. This study focuses primarily on potassium (K) and sulfur (S) response by corn (Zea mays L.) grown for bio-energy feedstock production. Our objectives for 2009 were to evaluate (i) the performance of several S fertilizers, including liquid ammonium thiosulfate (12-0-0-26S), for corn grown in Iowa, and (ii) the use of surface or subsurface bands of N-P-K-S fluid fertilizers to optimize …

Procedures For Publishing In Non-Usda Media (Outside Publishing)

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

This P&P is an update of a previous version dated March 10, 1998. This P&P outlines revised responsibilities of the ARS author, Research Leader (RL), and other ARS officials. The most salient features of the new P&P are that the manuscript approval authority and associated responsibilities are delegated to the RL. ARS Form 115 (ARS-115) is revised accordingly (see Exhibit 1). Among the essential RL responsibilities are to determine the need and method for manuscript peer review, approve the technical and interpretive content of the manuscript, notify upper management about manuscripts containing prominent issues, obtain proper clearance/approval from upper management …

U.S. Meat Animal Research Center Clay Center, Ne

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

Mission

Research Units

U.S. Meat Animal Research Center Animal Health Research Unit

U.S. Meat Animal Research Center Environmental Management Research Unit

U.S. Meat Animal Research Center Genetics & Breeding Research Unit

U.S. Meat Animal Research Center Meat Safety and Quality Research Unit

U.S. Meat Animal Research Center Nutrition Research Unit

U.S. Meat Animal Research Center Reproduction Research Unit

Effects Of A New Waste-Processing By-Product On Soil And Vegetation At Fort Campbell, Tennessee, R. R. Busby, D. L. Gebhart, H. A. Torbert, J. O. Dawson, G. A. Bollero, K. N. Potter, D. R. Curtin

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

A garbage-processing technology has been developed that sterilizes and separates inorganic and organic components of municipal solid waste. A study was initiated to evaluate the uncomposted organic by-product of this process as a soil amendment for establishing native prairie grasses on disturbed Army training lands. The waste was incorporated into a silt loam soil at Fort Campbell Military Reservation in the central United States. The waste material was applied at rates of 0, 4.5, 9, 18, and 36 Mg ha^-1 and seeded with native prairie grasses to assess its effects on vegetation for two growing seasons, with an additional …

‘Food For Life’: Looking Beyond The Horizon, Charles A. Francis, John W. Doran

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Our real challenge appears to be anticipating what the major challenges and constraints will be to food production and distribution a decade or more into the future. This could be called ‘Beyond the Horizon’ thinking. Today there is little disagreement over the massive depletion on a global scale of two essential inputs to agriculture: fossil fuels and fresh water. We also recognize that phosphorus is found in concentrated form in only a few deposits in nature, and that agriculture is rapidly using this limited resource and dispersing it through harvested products and soil loss from fields in forms that make …

Growth And Fitness Components Of Wild × Cultivated Sorghum Bicolor (Poaceae) Hybrids In Nebraska, Lilyrani Sahoo, Jared J. Schmidt, Jeffrey F. Pedersen, Donald Lee, John L. Lindquist

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

• Premise of the study: Gene flow from crops to wild relatives has received considerable attention since the advent of genetically modified crops. Numerous researchers have found wild – crop hybrids to be nearly as fit as their wild parents, which suggests that crop genes may persist in wild populations. Components of the ecological fitness of cultivated sorghum, its wild relative, shattercane, and their hybrids have not been studied.

• Methods: To assess the potential for gene introgression into shattercane, we crossed cultivated sorghum to a single inbred shattercane line to produce F₁ hybrids and measured growth …

High Frequency Plant Production Via Shoot Organogenesis And Somatic Embryogenesis From Callus In Tylophora Indica, An Endangered Plant Species, Aastha Sahai, Anwar Shahzad, Mohammad Anis

Turkish Journal of Botany

An efficient and reproducible protocol has been developed for the in vitro production of an endangered medicinal climber Tylophora indica (Burm.f.) Merr. via leaf explants. Different types of calli produced on benzyladenine (BA) and thidiazuron (TDZ) supplemented Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium were selected for shoot induction and somatic embryogenesis studies. Calli when transferred from BA (5 µM) and TDZ (2.5 µM) to MS medium containing BA (5 µM) resulted in high frequency shoot induction (26.8 ± 0.97 shoots/culture) along with somatic embryogenesis (10.20 ± 0.37 embryoids/culture) up to 3 subculture passages. Embryoids transformed into complete plantlets when transferred …

Embryological And Cytochemical Features Of Scilla Autumnalis L., Zeynep Mi̇ne Coşkun, Meral Ünal

Turkish Journal of Botany

Nucellar epidermal cells in the micropylar region of Scilla autumnalis L. differentiate into a nucellar cap. It secretes a PAS-positive exudate filling the micropyle. A group of cells at the chalazal end of the nucellus forms a hypostase. Close to the antipodals, the hypostase cells contain abundant starch grains, suggesting a function as a storage tissue. Another ovular structure is the obturator. It secretes an exudate that stains deeply with PAS reaction, and it takes a role in directing the growth of pollen tubes toward the micropyle. Cytochemical tests in the mature embryo sac indicate the presence of high amounts …

2010 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

OAT VARIETY CHARACTERISTICS - 2010

OATS

MILLET

HYBRID SEED CORN

NEBRASKA SEED QUALITY ASSURANCE® PROGRAM

SOYBEANS BUYERS’ NOTICE

APPROVED SEED CONDITIONERS

CUSTOM CERTIFIED CONDITIONERS

2009 NCIA MEMBERS

Unrooted Stem Cutting Physiology; Water Use And Leaf Gas Exchange Of Severed Stem Cuttings, Peter Alem

All Theses

Stem cuttings are one of the most frequently used and successful methods of vegetative plant propagation. The understanding of unrooted cutting physiology, especially gas exchange and water flux, is crucial for successful propagation of healthy plants. Prior to root initiation, water uptake is limited and leafy stem cuttings are most vulnerable to wilting.
Experiments were carried out in the greenhouse with poinsettia cuttings to determine water uptake, photosynthesis, transpiration and stomatal conductance from the time of severing to rooting, including time spent in storage. Water uptake through the severed stem was investigated in the laboratory and growth chamber. Cutting gas …

Discovery: The Student Journal Of Dale Bumpers College Of Agricultural, Food And Life Sciences - Volume 11 2010, Several Authors

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

No abstract provided.

Enhanced Adventitious Shoot Regeneration From Aerial Stem Explants Of Ginger Using Tdz And Its Histological Studies, Adinkudikuyyal Lincy, Bhaskaran Sasikumar

Turkish Journal of Botany

A protocol for direct plantlet regeneration from aerial stem explants of ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) has been developed. Adventitious shoots and roots were regenerated from in planta aerial stem explants of 2 ginger varieties viz. var. 'Jamaica' and var. 'Varada'. Maximum shoot and root regeneration were observed in the cultures containing TDZ and IBA (1:1; 1:0.1 mg L-1) in both varieties. Cultures containing TDZ alone showed poor shoot and root formation. Histological studies revealed that the shoot initials originated from the primary thickening meristem and apical meristem, while the root primordial originated from the primary thickening meristem present in the …

Nitrogen And Phosphorus Resorption In A Salt Marsh In Northern Turkey, Yasemi̇n Çakir, Tuğba Özbucak, Hamdi̇ Güray Kutbay, Dudu Duygu Kiliç, Ali̇ Bi̇lgi̇n, Rena Huseyinova

Turkish Journal of Botany

This study was conducted to investigate foliar nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics, nitrogen and phosphorus resorption, and some leaf traits (i.e. SLA=specific leaf area) in some coastal salt marsh plants located in northern Turkey. The study area is located on the east bank of the Kızılırmak River in the central Black Sea Region. There were statistically significant differences among months (from June to October) in terms of SLA in all species except for Artemisia santonicum. However, no significant differences were found with respect to P in all species. The highest N and P resorption efficiencies were found in Salicornia prostrata, whereas …

Yield Potential And Resource-Use Efficiency Of Maize Systems In The Western U. S. Corn Belt, Patricio Grassini

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

Maize demand for food, livestock feed, and biofuel is expected to increase substantially. The Western U.S. Corn Belt accounts for 23% of U.S. maize production, and irrigated maize accounts for 43 and 58% of maize land area and total production, respectively, in this region. The most sensitive parameters (yield potential [YP], water-limited yield potential [YP-W], yield gap between actual yield and YP, and resource-use efficiency) governing performance of maize systems in the region are lacking. A simulation model was used to quantify YP under irrigated and rainfed conditions based on weather data, soil properties, and crop management at 18 locations. …

Clonal Propagation Of Dorystoechas Hastata Via Axillary Shoot Proliferation, Bengi̇ Erdağ, Yelda Emek, Serap Aydoğan

Turkish Journal of Botany

A protocol for the in vitro seed germination, seedling development, and axillary shoot propagation of Dorystoechas hastata Boiss. & Heldr. ex Bentham is described. By employing sterilised seeds that were transferred onto in vitro media, the effects of various in vitro media, photoperiods, and temperatures on germination were investigated. At the end of these experiments, a final protocol was determined for the in vitro germination of D. hastata seeds. With this protocol, the highest germination rate was obtained with distilled water supplemented with vitamins and 1 mg L^{-1} of gibberellic acid (GA_{3}), with a 16:8 photoperiod at 24 ± 2 …

Effects Of Environmental Variables And Crop Growth On Development Of Brown Rust Epidemics In Sugarcane, Wilmer Anibal Barrera

LSU Master's Theses

Natural epidemics of brown rust, caused by Puccinia melanocephala, affecting sugarcane were studied to determine the crop and/or environmental factors that affect epidemic onset, severity and eventual decline. Environmental and crop growth variables were monitored along with disease severity in two susceptible cultivars, LCP 85-384 and Ho 95-988, each grown at a different location in Louisiana. During two seasons, correlation and multiple regression analyses identified leaf wetness and temperature as important determinants of disease severity for both cultivars. The results suggested that crop growth variables were not determinants for epidemics. Controlled conditions experiments assessing the interaction of leaf wetness and …

Sfa Gardens Newsletter, Winter 2010, Sfa Gardens, Stephen F. Austin State University

SFA Gardens Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Phosphorus For High Rainfall Pastures, Mike Bolland, Bill Russell, David Weaver

Bulletins 4000 -

Soil testing for phosphorus provides a reliable indication of when the level of phosphorus in a soil is likely to be adequate for pasture production in the next growing season. It is a waste of money to apply phosphorus fertiliser when soil testing indicates none is required, or to acidified soils, or to undergrazed pastures, or to pastures dominated by poorly productive species.

Legumes have higher phosphorus requirement than grasses.

Critical soil test phosphorus values do not change when nitrogen fertiliser is applied.

Nutrient Accumulation And Photosynthesis In Glyphosate-Resistant Soybeans Is Reduced Under Glyphosate Use, Luiz Henrique Saes Zobiole, Rubem Silvério De Oliveira Jr., Robert John Kremer, Antonio Saraiva Muniz, Adilson De Oliveira Jr.

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

Global production of glyphosate-resistant (GR) soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] continues to increase annually; however, there are no particular specific fertilizer recommendations for the transgenic varieties used in this system largely because reports of glyphosate effects on mineral nutrition of GR soybeans are lacking. Several metabolites or degradation products of glyphosate have been identified or postulated to cause undesirable effects on GR soybeans. In this work we used increasing glyphosate rates in different application on cv. ‘BRS 242 GR’ in order to evaluate photosynthetic parameters, macro- and micronutrient uptake and accumulation and shoot and root dry …

Cloning, Expression, And Immunogenicity Of Flavobacterium Columnare Heat Shock Protein Dnaj, Oscar Olivares-Fuster, Jeffery S. Terhune, Craig A. Shoemaker, Covadonga R. Arias

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

The Flavobacterium columnare heat shock protein (HSP) gene dnaJ* was isolated, cloned, expressed, and used as an antigen in a recombinant vaccine strategy for channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. The F. columnare dnaJ* sequence was obtained from genomovars I and II and showed intraspecies variability. Recombinant protein was expressed and purified from Escherichia coli cultures and injected intraperitoneally (12 lg of purified DnaJ/fish) into fingerling channel catfish. In addition, induced (expressing the recombinant DnaJ) and uninduced (no recombinant protein being produced) E. coli cultures were also used to immunize fish. At 28 d postimmunization, antibody response was evaluated and the …

Production Characteristics And Body Composition Of Juvenile Cobia Fed Three Different Commercial Diets In Recirculating Aquaculture Systems, Charles R. Weirich, Paul S. Wills, Richard M. Baptiste, Marty A. Riche

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

The effect of feeding three commercial diets on production characteristics and body composition of juvenile cobia Rachycentron canadum reared using recirculating aquaculture systems (RASs) was assessed in a 56-d growth trial. Juvenile cobia (mean weight ± SE, 29.2 ± 0.7 g) were stocked into three 8-m³ tanks in each of four RASs at an initial density of 1.2 kg/m³. After stocking, fish were fed one of three commercial diets: Hybrid Striped Bass diet (HSB; 44% protein, 12% lipid), Finfish Gold diet (GOLD; 42% protein, 16% lipid), or Marine Grower diet (MG; 50% protein, 15% lipid), all at …