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Morphological, Genetic And Biochemical Characterization Of The Anti-Malarial Herb, Artemisia Annua Germplasm Collection At West Virginia University, Delini K. Samarasinghe

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Malaria is one of the deadliest diseases in human history. Nearly half of the world’s population, is at the risk in 106 countries. Only in 2016, this disease killed about 445,000 people, 72% of them being children under age five. It also accounts for US $12 billion dollars of direct costs in Africa alone. Five different species of Plasmodium cause malaria but P. falciparum is the most detrimental one, causing 50% of all malaria cases and is considered as the deadliest parasite in humans. Artemisinin (ART), a 15 C sesquiterpenoid is currently the only precursor to the most effective anti-malarial …

Organic Versus Conventional Cropping Sustainability: A Comparative System Analysis, Tiffany L. Fess, Vagner Benedito

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

We are at a pivotal time in human history, as the agricultural sector undergoes consolidation coupled with increasing energy costs in the context of declining resource availability. Although organic systems are often thought of as more sustainable than conventional operations, the lack of concise and widely accepted means to measure sustainability makes coming to an agreement on this issue quite challenging. However, an accurate assessment of sustainability can be reached by dissecting the scientific underpinnings of opposing production practices and crop output between cropping systems. The purpose of this review is to provide an in-depth and comprehensive evaluation of modern …

Mammal Communities Are Larger And More Diverse In Moderately Developed Areas, Arielle Waldstein Parsons, Tavis Forrester, Megan C. Baker-Whatton, William J. Mcshea, Christopher T. Rota, Stephanie G. Schuttler, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Roland Kays

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Developed areas are thought to have low species diversity, low animal abundance, few native predators, and thus low resilience and ecological function. Working with citizen scientist volunteers to survey mammals at 1427 sites across two development gradients (wild-rural-exurban- suburban-urban) and four plot types (large forests, small forest fragments, open areas and residential yards) in the eastern US, we show that developed areas actually had significantly higher or statistically similar mammalian occupancy, relative abundance, richness and diversity compared to wild areas. However, although some animals can thrive in suburbia, conservation of wild areas and preservation of green space within cities are …

Plant Probiotic Bacteria Bacillus And Paraburkholderia Improve Growth, Yield And Content Of Antioxidants In Strawberry Fruit, Mosaddiqur Rahman, Abdullah As Sabir, Julakha Akter Mukrta, Mohibul Alam Khan, Mohammed Mohi-Ud-Din, Giashuddin Miah, Mahfuzur Rahman, M. Tofazzal Islam

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Strawberry is an excellent source of natural antioxidants with high capacity of scavenging free radicals.

This study evaluated the effects of two plant probiotic bacteria, Bacillus amylolequefaciens BChi1 and Paraburkholderia fungorum BRRh-4 on growth, fruit yield and antioxidant contents in strawberry fruits. Root dipping of seedlings (plug plants) followed by spray applications of both probiotic bacteria in the field on foliage significantly increased fruit yield (up to 48%) over non-treated control. Enhanced fruit yield likely to be linked with higher root and shoot growth, individual and total fruit weight/plant and production of phytohormone by the probiotic bacteria applied on plants. …

Riparian Vegetation And The Soil Seed Bank Five Years After Dam Removal On The Elwha River, Washington, Cody C. Thomas

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Damming of rivers is widespread and can profoundly impact riparian areas by altering the fluvial processes that drive riparian vegetation communities. Dam removal may reverse these effects; however, very few studies have examined the response of riparian vegetation to large dam removal and associated disturbances, such as the release of sediment. Understanding how dam removal impacts downstream riparian vegetation is crucial as dam removal becomes more common. The Elwha River, Washington, is the location of the largest dam removals to date and provides an unprecedented opportunity to explore questions related to dam removal and riparian vegetation. The objectives of this …

The Vascular Flora Of The Red River Gorge In Powell, Menifee, And Wolfe Counties Kentucky, Thomas Steele Mcfadden

Online Theses and Dissertations

The Red River Gorge (RRG) is a 26,283 ha natural area within Menifee, Powell, and Wolfe counties of Kentucky. This area is in the Cumberland Plateau Physiographic Section which is a southern subsection of the Appalachian Plateau Physiographic Province. It is a mecca of outdoor recreation, hosting thousands of visitors each year, while also being home to a unique flora worthy of continued protection. A vascular flora was conducted between the fall of 2016 and the summer of 2018. Additional vouchers donated by Dr. Ross C. Clark and the Stanton Ranger District office, as well as vouchers deposited at regional …

Comparison Of The Genome Size, Endoreduplication, And Issr Marker Polymorphism In Eight Lotus (Fabaceae) Species, Erik Ducar, Monika Rewers, Iwona Jedrzejczyk, Pavol Martonfi, Elwira Sliwinska

Turkish Journal of Botany

Several species within the genus Lotus are important forage crops, and many are endangered or rare. Despite the high genetic diversity of the genus, identification of Lotus species is problematic because of the limited number of reliable morphological markers. In search of a quick, inexpensive, and steady method for species identification, genome size and cell cycle/endoreduplication intensity of 14 accessions belonging to eight Lotus species were estimated by flow cytometry. ISSR-PCR was also applied to find sensitive molecular markers for genetic diversity estimation. Genome size estimation revealed that Lotus species possess very small genomes and this characteristic enables the identification …

Volumetric Analysis Of Airborne Pollen Grains In The City Of Uşak, Turkey, Ulaş Uğuz, Aykut Güvensen, Nedret Şengonca Tort, Ayli̇n Eşi̇z Dereboylu, Peli̇n Baran

Turkish Journal of Botany

Airborne pollen in Uşak, a province in Turkey, was studied for two years (from 1 February 2014 to 31 January 2016) using the volumetric method and the most recent pollen data of the region were obtained. During the study, 23,915 pollen grains were detected. The pollens detected belonged to 53 taxa. Of the 53 taxa, 28 were woody and 25 were herbaceous. Of the pollen grains detected, 86% (20,565 pollen grains) were from woody plants, 4.74% (1133 pollen grains) belonged to Poaceae, and 8.65% (2071 pollen grains) were from other herbaceous plants, whereas 0.61% (146 pollen grains) were unidentified pollen …

Cloning And Functional Assessment Of The Protein Disulfide Isomerase (Pdi-V) Gene And Its Promoter Sequences From Haynaldia Villosa, Muhammad Faheem, Muhammad Arshad, Jin Xiao, Haiyan Wang, Yingbo Li, Xiue Wang

Turkish Journal of Botany

Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) and PDI-like genes encode key foldase enzymes that play an important role in disulfide bond formation, isomerization, and many other metabolic functions in plants. Our previous results indicate that the PDI-V expression is tissue-specific and that it is upregulated by powdery mildew and other abiotic stress treatments. In the current study, the complete PDI-V gene and its promoter sequence were cloned to identify gene structure and the important cis-regulating motifs responsible for various genes' activities. Sequence analysis revealed the size of the cloned genomic sequence and promoter region as 5728 bp and 2086 bp, respectively. The …

Molecular Cloning And Characterization Of Ipomoea Nil Metallothioneins, Agnieszka Mierek-Adamska, Zuzanna Znajewska, Anna Goc, Grazyna Dabrowska

Turkish Journal of Botany

Metallothioneins are low-molecular-weight, cysteine-rich proteins able to bind a variety of heavy metal ions. They are involved in the maintenance of micronutrient homeostasis and detoxification of nonessential heavy metals. Plant metallothioneins are classified into four main types based on the number and arrangement of cysteine residues. Here we report on the isolation of novel complementary and genomic DNA from a model for a short-day plant, Ipomoea nil (Japanese morning glory), that encodes 66- or 76-amino acid residue proteins. In silico and phylogenetic analysis of putative amino acid sequences confirmed that these 66- and 76-amino acid residue proteins belong, respectively, to …

New Species And New Records Of Lichenized Ascomycota From Tropicaldeciduous Forests Of The Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot, India, Sumesh Dudani, Sanjeeva Nayaka, Komal Ingle, Siljo Joseph

Turkish Journal of Botany

Stirtonia ghattensis Sumesh N. Dudani, Nayaka, Komal K. Ingle & S. Joseph sp. nov. having UV+ white thallus, 4-6-spored asci, and 5(-7)-septate ascospores and lacking lichen substances is described as new to science. Pertusaria mesotropa Müll. Arg. is reported for the first time from India. Bacidia subannexa (Nyl.) Zahlbr., Graphis caesiella Vain., G. handelii Zahlbr., Hemithecium scariosum Makhija & Adaw., and Pertusaria coccodes (Ach.) Nyl. are new records for Western Ghats. Arthothelium aphanocarpum (Nyl.) Zahlbr., which had a restricted distribution in the Andaman Islands, is collected from the mainland of India for the first time. An updated world key for …

Monitoring An Endangered And Rare Plant: Population Growth And Viability Oflotus Kunkelii (Esteve) Bramwell And Davis (Gran Canaria - Canary Islands), Agustin Naranjo Cigala, Marcos Salas, Francisco Javier Diaz, Aday Miguel Gonzalez-Garcia, Ana Ramos, Jose Ramon Arevalo Sierra

Turkish Journal of Botany

Species monitoring is a valuable tool that can be used to answer a wide range of questions directly related to species conservation, management, and population improvement. We monitored the only remaining population of Lotus kunkelii on a monthly basis over 3 years to reveal important characteristics of the population that could help protect it. In this study, the main hypothesis to be tested is whether the population of L. kunkelii is stable or not. The study site is located in Gran Canaria. Monthly censuses of the population recording size (height and diameter), mortality, regeneration, and presence of reproductive structures in …

Characteristic Of Glutamate Cysteine Ligase Gene And Its Response To The Salinity And Temperature Stress In Chlamydomonas Sp. Ice-L From Antarctica, Yueyue Peng, Yu Ding, Xiaochen Tang, Jichang Jian, Jinhui Wang, Quanfu Wang

Turkish Journal of Botany

Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L, an Antarctic ice alga, has high tolerance ability to freezing and salinity. Glutathione (GSH) is an important small antioxidative molecule in the growth and stress responses of plants including algae. We cloned a full-length cDNA encoding glutamate cysteine ligase (ICE-LGCL), the key enzyme of GSH synthesis, from Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L by RT-PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA ends technique (RACE). The cDNA has 2199 bp nucleotides with an open reading frame (ORF) of 1452 bp encoding a polypeptide of 453 amino acids. BLASTP algorithm results showed that ICE-LGCL shared 51%-70% amino acid sequence identity with the reported …

Interpopulation Variations In Morphochemical Characteristics Of Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni, Neena Kumari, Ravinder Raina, Yash Pal Sharma

Turkish Journal of Botany

The present study was carried out with an aim to evaluate Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni segregants and to characterize them morphochemically to facilitate selection of superior genotypes for hybridization in breeding programs. Two identified strains named A and B and their segregant populations (F1 and F2) were evaluated with their morphological and chemical characteristics. Various qualitative and quantitative morphological characters including leaf shape, plant type (loose or compact), plant habit, plant height, and shoot collar diameter were considered. Simultaneously stevioside and rebaudioside-A content was evaluated. A few individuals were identified with rebaudioside-A content ranging from 5.11% to 8.55% and the ratio …

Overexpression Of The Glycine Max Chalcone Isomerase (Gmchi) Gene In Transgenictalinum Paniculatum Plants, Thi Nhu Trang Vu, Thi Hong Trang Le, Phu Hiep Hoang, Danh Thuong Sy, Thi Thu Thuy Vu, Hoang Mau Chu

Turkish Journal of Botany

Talinum paniculatum plants contain flavonoids and saponins, which have strong antioxidant properties and are used in the treatment of numerous diseases, such as inflammation, allergies, and gastric ulcers. Currently, there is no published research on the flavonoid content of T. paniculatum plants; however, it has been determined that the species in the genus Talinum have very low flavonoid content, and therefore the effective approach to enhance the flavonoid content in T. paniculatum plants is overexpression of the Glycine max chalcone isomerase (GmCHI) gene. In this study, we analyzed GmCHI gene overexpression, which has increased total flavonoid content in transgenic T. …

Site Conditions And Functional Traits Affect Regeneration Dynamics Of European Hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus L.) In Forest Canopy Gaps, Éva Salamon-Albert, Ágnes Csiszár, Dénes Bartha

Turkish Journal of Botany

European hornbeam is a deciduous tree in mixed forest ecosystems, making a valuable contribution to species richness at a community level. We investigated early-phase regeneration of saplings in canopy gaps under contrasting ecological conditions by analyzing relationships between site parameters, leaf nutrients, and light-regulated carbon and water exchange functions at ecosystem and forest levels. Using plant response variables, we also detected functional soft traits and trade-offs. Species abundance proved to be affected by the elevation and slope of the sites, air humidity, precipitation during the growing period, as well as light-dependent and light-saturated rate of the assimilation function. Relationship between …

Seed Morphology Of The Genus Astragalus L. From North Asia, Tatiana Shemetova, Andrey Erst, Wei Wang, Kunli Xiang, Cem Vural, Zeki̇ Aytaç

Turkish Journal of Botany

Astragalus is one of the largest genera of angiosperms and a characteristic component of the steppes and mountains of North Asia. Here, we used scanning electron microscopy to investigate the seed morphology of 56 species of the genus from North Asia. In Astragalus , seed color varies from yellow-green, greenish brown, reddish brown to grayish brown. Seed shapes include reniform- globose, rombiform, and oblong-elliptical. Seed sizes vary from 1.25 x 0.88 mm to 4.94 x 3.29 mm. Anticlinal walls are straight, undulate, or slightly thickened, and the periclinal walls are aveolate, stellate, pectinate, or rugose. We recognized two main types …

Boletus Himalayensis (Basidiomycota; Boletales), A New Porcini Species From Pakistan, Samina Sarwar, Sana Jabeen, Ishtiaq Ahmad, Bryn Dentinger, Abdul Nasir Khalid

Turkish Journal of Botany

Morphology and phylogenetic analyses using the ITS and LSU regions of nrDNA were carried out on bolete collections belonging to Boletus s. str., originating from the Himalayan region of Pakistan. The phylogenetic analysis outlined the existence of previously unknown species of this genus. It is described here as Boletus himalayensis . Illustrations of the macroscopic characters and the microscopic features of the new species are provided. The distinction of B. himalayensis from allied species is discussed.

Local Loss And Spatial Homogenization Of Plant Diversity Reduce Ecosystem Multifunctionality, Yann Hautier, Forest Isbell, Elizabeth T. Borer, Eric W. Seabloom, W. Stanley Harpole, Eric M. Lind, Andrew S. Macdougall, Carly J. Stevens, Peter B. Adler, Juan Alberti, Jonathan D. Bakker, Lars A. Brudvig, Yvonne M. Buckley, Marc Cadotte, Maria C. Caldeira, Enrique J. Chaneton, Chengjin Chu, Pedro Daleo, Christopher R. Dickman, John M. Dwyer, Anu Eskelinen, Philip A Fay, Jennifer Firn, Nicole Hagenah, Helmut Hillebrand, Oscar Iribarne, Kevin P. Kirkman, Johannes M. H. Knops, Kimberly J. La Pierre, Rebecca L. Mcculley

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Biodiversity is declining in many local communities while also becoming increasingly homogenized across space. Experiments show that local plant species loss reduces ecosystem functioning and services, but the role of spatial homogenization of community composition and the potential interaction between diversity at different scales in maintaining ecosystem functioning remains unclear, especially when many functions are considered (ecosystem multifunctionality). We present an analysis of eight ecosystem functions measured in 65 grasslands worldwide. We find that more diverse grasslands—those with both species-rich local communities (α-diversity) and large compositional differences among localities (β-diversity)—had higher levels of multifunctionality. Moreover, α- and β-diversity synergistically affected …

Pushing The Resolution Limit By Correcting The Ewald Sphere Effect In Single-Particle Cryo-Em Reconstructions, Dongjie Zhu, Xiangxi Wang, Qianglin Fang, James L. Van Etten, Michael G. Rossmann, Zihe Rao, Xinzheng Zhang

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The Ewald sphere effect is generally neglected when using the Central Projection Theorem for cryo electron microscopy single-particle reconstructions. This can reduce the resolution of a reconstruction. Here we estimate the attainable resolution and report a “block-based” reconstruction method for extending the resolution limit. We find the Ewald sphere effect limits the resolution of large objects, especially large viruses. After processing two real datasets of large viruses, we show that our procedure can extend the resolution for both datasets and can accommodate the flexibility associated with large protein complexes.

Genome-Wide Analysis Of Genes Encoding Core Components Of The Ubiquitin System In Soybean (Glycine Max) Reveals A Potential Role For Ubiquitination In Host Immunity Against Soybean Cyst Nematode, Chunyu Zhang, Li Song, Mani Kant Choudhary, Bangjun Zhou, Guangchao Sun, Kyle C. Broderick, Loren Giesler, Lirong Zeng

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Background: Ubiquitination is a major post-translational protein modification that regulates essentially all cellular and physiological pathways in eukaryotes. The ubiquitination process typically involves three distinct classes of enzymes, ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1), ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2) and ubiquitin ligase (E3). To date, a comprehensive identification and analysis of core components comprising of the whole soybean (Glycine max) ubiquitin system (UBS) has not been reported.

Results: We performed a systematic, genome-wide analysis of genes that encode core members of the soybean UBS in this study. A total of 1431 genes were identified with high confidence to encode putative soybean UBS components, …

Tor-Autophagy Branch Signaling Via Imp1 Dictates Plant-Microbe Biotrophic Interface Longevity, Guangchao Sun, Christian Elowsky, Gang Li, Richard Wilson

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Like other intracellular eukaryotic phytopathogens, the devastating rice blast fungus Magnaporthe (Pyricularia) oryzae first infects living host cells by elaborating invasive hyphae (IH) surrounded by a plant-derived membrane. This forms an extended biotrophic interface enclosing an apoplastic compartment into which fungal effectors can be deployed to evade host detection. M. oryzae also forms a focal, plant membrane-rich structure, the biotrophic interfacial complex (BIC), that accumulates cytoplasmic effectors for translocation into host cells. Molecular decision-making processes integrating fungal growth and metabolism in host cells with interface function and dynamics are unknown. Here, we report unanticipated roles for the M. …

Determination Of Vegetative Development And Flower Effect Of Transgenic Nicotiana Tabacum, Hasan Pinar, Aydin Uyun, Semih Yilmaz, Nedim Mutlu, Amitava Mitra

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Species and varieties in the Nicotiana genus may respond differently to photoperiodism in terms of flowering time control. These are classified as short day, neutral day and long day plants. One of these, Nicotiana tabacum cv. The Xanthi nc is a genotype which can flowering on a long day. But the genotype Kanamycin resistance can open its flowers in January when the resistance gene is transferred to the plant. On the other hand, the effect of rootstock to scion in plant species is very important. One of the issues raised is whether the transgenic plant in the rootstock is effect …

Crop Residue Harvest Impacts Wind Erodibility And Simulated Soil Loss In The Central Great Plains, Yuxin He, Deann R. Presley, John Tatarko, Humberto Blanco-Canqui

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Crop residue removal can affect the susceptibility to soil wind erosion in climates such as those of the Central Great Plains, United States. Six on-farm trials were conducted in Kansas from 2011 to 2013 to determine the effects of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), corn (Zea mays L.), and grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), residue removal at 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of initial height on soil wind erosion parameters. Those parameters include soil surface random roughness (RR), and wind erodible fraction (EF; aggregates -¹ for three hours. Threshold wind velocity required to initiate …

Genetic Diversity And Population Structure Of F3:6 Nebraska Winter Wheat Genotypes Using Genotyping-By-Sequencing, Shamseldeen Eltaher, Ahmed Sallam, Vikas Belamkar, Hamdy A. Emara, Ahmed A. Nower, Khaled F. M. Salem, Jesse Poland, Peter S. Baenziger

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The availability of information on the genetic diversity and population structure in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeding lines will help wheat breeders to better use their genetic resources and manage genetic variation in their breeding program. The recent advances in sequencing technology provide the opportunity to identify tens or hundreds of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in large genome species (e.g., wheat). These SNPs can be utilized for understanding genetic diversity and performing genome wide association studies (GWAS) for complex traits. In this study, the genetic diversity and population structure were investigated in a set of 230 genotypes …

An Efficient And Improved Method For Virus-Induced Gene Silencing In Sorghum, Dharmendra Kumar Singh, Hee-Kyung Lee, Ismail M. Dweikat, Kirankumar S. Mysore

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Although the draft genome of sorghum is available, the understanding of gene function is limited due to the lack of extensive mutant resources. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is an alternative to mutant resources to study gene function. This study reports an improved and efficient method for Brome mosaic virus (BMV)-based VIGS in sorghum.

Methods: Sorghum plants were rub-inoculated with sap prepared by grinding 2 g of infected Nicotiana benthamiana leaf in 1 ml 10 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) and 100 mg of carborundum abrasive. The sap was rubbed on two to three top leaves of sorghum. Inoculated …

Hydnora Arabica (Aristolochiaceae), A New Species From The Arabian Peninsula And A Key To Hydnora, Jay F. Bolin, Darach Lupton, Lytton John Musselman

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The plant parasite Hydnora arabica (Aristolochiaceae) is described from the Arabian Peninsula. This species was previously identified as Hydnora africana in Oman. It can be separated from other Hydnora taxa primarily by its terete rhizome, red to orange inner perianth tube color, and tepal lobe margins entirely covered with dense strigose setae. In Oman, Hydnora arabica is known to parasitize two leguminous trees: Acacia tortilis and the introduced Pithocellobium dulce, but may parasitize additional Fabaceae. At least eleven synonyms or subspecific varieties of H. abyssinica are described in the literature, all from east or southern Africa. These synonyms are …

Low- Copy Nuclear Markers In Isoëtes (Isoëtaceae) Identified With Transcriptomes, Peter W. Schafran, Gabriel Johnson, W. Carl Taylor, Elizabeth A. Zimmer, Lytton J. Musselman

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Few genetic markers provide phylogenetic information in closely related species of Isoëtes (Isoëtaceae). We describe the development of primers for several putative low- copy nuclear markers to resolve the phylogeny of Isoëtes, particularly in the southeastern United States.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We identified regions of interest in Isoëtes transcriptomes based on low- copy genes in other plants. Primers were designed for these regions and tested with 16 taxa of Isoëtes and one species of Lycopodium. Parts of the pgiC, gapC, and IBR3 gene regions show phylogenetic signal within the North American and …

Does Channel Island Acmispon (Fabaceae) Form Cohesive Evolutionary Groups?, Mitchell E. Mcglaughlin, Lynn Riley, Kaius Helenurm, Lisa A. Wallace

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The California Channel Islands are unique relative to other island chains due to their close proximity to the California mainland and the fact that individual islands, or groups of islands, vary in their distance to the mainland and other islands. This orientation raises questions about whether island taxa with widespread distributions form cohesive evolutionary units, or if they are actually composed of several distinct evolutionary entities, either derived from independent mainland-to-island colonization events or divergence due to prolonged allopatric isolation. The 4 northern islands are clustered in a line (6-8 km separation among islands), while the 4 southern islands are …

Quantifying Genetic Responses Of Plants To Drought Stress With A Comparative Transcriptome Approach, Jessica K. Devitt

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Mentzelia section Bartonia (Loasaceae) commonly occurs in some of the hottest and driest places in North America, but we poorly understand the mechanisms that allow them to tolerate such extreme environments. Morphological and physiological adaptations are well studied in model organisms. The underlying genetic responses to drought stress in non-model organisms like Mentzelia is unknown. To better understand and identify differences and similarities in genetic responses to drought stress between species existing in different habitats with differing water availability, three species from the genus Mentzelia were compared. Species of section Bartonia occur across an environmental gradient, from temperate to arid …