Digital Commons Network^™

Comparative Genomics Reveals Functional Transcriptional Control Sequences In The Prop1 Gene, Robert D. Ward, Minchul Cho, S. A. Camper, Shannon W. Davis, Lori T. Raetzman, Timothy P.L. Smith, Constance Esposito, Robert H. Lyons, Jan-Fang Cheng, Edward M. Rubin, Simon J. Rhodes

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

Mutations in PROP1 are a common genetic cause of multiple pituitary hormone deficiency (MPHD). We used a comparative genomics approach to predict the transcriptional regulatory domains of Prop1 and tested them in cell culture and mice. A BAC transgene containing Prop1 completely rescues the Prop1 mutant phenotype, demonstrating that the regulatory elements necessary for proper Prop1 transcription are contained within the BAC. We generated DNA sequences from the PROP1 genes in lemur, pig, and five different primate species. Comparison of these with available human and mouse PROP1 sequences identified three putative regulatory sequences that are highly conserved. These are located …

Heritability Of Latent Period Estimated From Wild-Type And Selected Populations Of Puccinia Triticina, Jeffery S. Lehman, Gregory Shaner

Biology and Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Durability of partially resistant wheat cultivars to wheat leaf rust depends on the amount of genetic variation in parasitic fitness within populations of the pathogen Puccinia triticina. To assess the durability of partial resistance, selection experiments were used to explore quantitative variation in parasitic fitness of P. triticina. Fungal populations 881-WT and 882-WT were selected for shortened latent period on partially resistant cvs. CI 13277 and Sw 72469-6 for multiple generations. Fitness components were measured for wild-type and selected fungal populations. Responses to selection and selection differentials were calculated, and broad-sense, realized heritabilities for latent period were estimated for wild-type …

Common Waterhemp Growth And Fecundity As Influenced By Emergence Date And Competing Crop, E. Uscanga-Mortera, S. Clay, F. Forcella, J. Gunsolus

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

Common waterhemp (Amarathus rudis Sauer) is a frequent weed in glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops in the midwestern USA due, in part, to the delayed emergence of its seedlings. Variable waterhemp emergence was simulated by transplanting seedlings into both corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and bare plot areas at differing crop growth stages during two growing seasons in western Minnesota. Growth and fecundity were measured. As expected, late planted weeds produced little dry matter and few seeds, and competition from corn or soybean reduced waterhemp dry weight and fecundity by 90% compared with isolated plants. Interestingly, common …

Australian Temperate Strawberry Breeding Program (Albany Western Australia) Screening Of Advance And New Selections For Albany Western Australia - 2006/2007, Shane Trainer, Dennis Phillips, Hal

Horticulture research reports

Fourteen intermediate day neutral selections from the Australian temperate breeding program were compared in a June trial planting on a commercial property in the Albany region. Intermediate selections were derived from crosses made between 1999 and 2002. Three advanced 'short day' selections were compared for yield, both as trial plots (10 plants) and as large plot demonstrations of up to 500 plants. Accompanying these selections, six named day neutral, three short day and four Queensland cultivars of different runner origins were compared. Camarosa, Selva and Diamante were included as commercial controls.

Day neutral selections 02-083-24 and 02-83-311 were potentially superior …

Tillage And Rotation Effect On Corn–Soybean Energy Balances In Eastern Nebraska, G.-W. Rathke, Brian Wienhold, Wallace Wilhelm, W. Diepenbrock

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

Data from a field experiment conducted in eastern Nebraska over 16 years (1986–2001) were used to determine the energy balance of corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) as affected by tillage treatments and rotation. Tillage treatments included chisel plow, tandem disk, moldboard plow, ridge-tillage, no-till and subsoil tillage. Crop sequences were continuous corn, continuous soybean, corn in a corn–soybean rotation and soybean in a soybean–corn rotation. The energy balance was assessed by comparing the parameters: energy gain (net energy output), energy intensity (energy input per unit grain equivalent, GE) and output/input ratio. Changes in plant …

Assessment Of Genetic Diversity In The Usda And Cip-Fao International Nursery Collections Of Quinoa (Chenopodium Quinoa Willd.) Using Microsatellite Markers, S. A. Christensen, D. B. Pratt, C. Pratt, P. T. Nelson, M. R. Stevens, Eric N. Jellen, Craig E. Coleman, Daniel J. Fairbanks, A. Bonifacio, Michael J. Maughan

Faculty Publications

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a staple food crop for millions of impoverished rural inhabitants of Andean South America where it has been cultivated for millennia. Interest in quinoa, due largely to its superior nutritional characteristics, is fuelling a growing export market and has led to an increased focus on genetic research and the development of quinoa breeding programmes throughout South America. The success of these breeding programmes will rely heavily on the development of core germplasm collections and germplasm conservation. We report the development of a set of fluorescence-tagged microsatellite molecular markers that can be used to characterize genetic …

Growing Olives In Western Australia, Richard Taylor, John Burt

Bulletins 4000 -

There are about 9 million hectares of olives in the world, with the largest areas in Spain, Italy, Greece and Tunisia. Olives are grown between the latitudes of 30° and 45° from the equator. In Australia, the main producing areas are between latitudes 31° and 38°S. Production in Western Australia ranges from Chapman Valley, Northampton (29.5°S), to Albany (34.5°S). Olive production has increased markedly in Australia in the past ten years with a large increase in managed investment scheme olive groves. The Moore River region of the Shire of Gingin accounts for over 70 per cent of olive trees and …

Impacts Of T-Phylloplanin Gene Knockdown And Of Helianthus And Datura Phylloplanins On Peronospora Tabacina Spore Germination And Disease Potential, Antoaneta B. Kroumova, Ryan W. Shepherd, George J. Wagner

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

T-phylloplanin proteins secreted to aerial surfaces of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) by short procumbent trichomes inhibit spore germination and blue mold disease caused by the oomycete pathogen Peronospora tabacina. Many other plants were found to contain water-washed leaf surface proteins (phylloplanins), but the functions and properties of these are not known. Here we extend earlier evidence for the antifungal activity of T-phylloplanins using a reverse genetics approach. RNA interference of the T-phylloplanin gene in tobacco ‘T.I. 1068’ resulted in loss of T-phylloplanin mRNA and protein, loss of in vitro spore germination inhibition activity, and leaf infection …

What We Do Know About Rice (Oryza Sativa) Hemoglobins, Veronica Lira-Ruan, Emily H. Ross, Mark S. Hargrove, Gautam Sarath, Raul Arredondo-Peter, Robert V. Klucas

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

Nonsymbiotic hemoglobins (nsHb) are proteins widely distributed in land plants, however their function in plant organs is still not known. Rice nsHbs have been characterized in detail and represent a model to study plant nsHbs. Rice recombinant Hb1 (rHb1) has a very high affinity for O₂ (1,800 μM^-1 s^-1), because the dissociation constant is extremely low (k_off = 0.038 s^-1). X-ray analysis and site-directed mutagenesis showed that the low dissociation constant of rHb1 is partially due to the stabilization of bound O₂ by distal His. This characteristic suggests that the function of …

Ranunculus Arvensis (Ranunculaceae), An Alien Weed New To Southern California, Richard E. Riefner Jr, Steve Boyd

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

We report the first known records of Ranunculus arvensis from southern California. This alien species shows a tendency to behave as a facultative wetland plant, and could become a pest in scoured washes and flood plains, ephemeral pools, and on disturbed stream banks in the coastal lowlands.

Distribution Patterns Of Great Basin Conifers: Implications Of Extinction And Immigration, David A. Charlet

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Factors influencing the distribution of scattered montane conifers on mountaintops in the Great Basin of North America were investigated. The sources of data were collections and observations on more than 300 mountain ranges in the region. All mountains in the region with at least one montane conifer species and all adjacent source areas were included in the data set. In all, 164 montane island sites and 40 mainland sites were used in the analyses. Physical data for each site were compiled and regression analyses were conducted to test the predictions of three island biogeography models: immigration, extinction, and equilibrium. These …

Reassessment Of Yucca Brevifolia And Recognition Of Y. Jaegeriana As A Distinct Species, Lee W. Lenz

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

A brief historical account of the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia, Agavaceae) is presented. The geographical distribution, morphological and pollinator differences between subsp. brevifolia and subsp. jaegeriana are examined and the latter is raised to specific rank. The fossil Protoyucca and its possible relationship to the Joshua trees are considered together with implications as to the possible origin of the genus.

Wood Anatomy Of Crossosomatales: Patterns Of Wood Evolution With Relation To Phylogeny And Ecology, Sherwin Carlquist

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The seven families hypothesized by Sosa and Chase to comprise Crossosomatales possess relatively long vessel elements with scalariform perforation plates and scalariform to opposite vessel-ray pitting; tracheids; diffuse axial parenchyma; and heterogeneous rays. These and other primitive character states do not indicate relationships, but they do not offer any evidence against the idea that Crossosomatales are a natural order. Departures from the primitive character states are related to ecological adaptations. Crossosomataceae have simple perforation plates (scalariform briefly at the beginning of the secondary xylem), a feature correlated with the seasonal aridity of habitats occupied by the family, the sole family …

A Brief Nomenclatural Review Of Genera And Tribes In Theaceae, Linda M. Prince

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The angiosperm family Theaceae has been investigated extensively with a rich publication record of anatomical, cytological, paleontological, and palynological data analyses and interpretation. Recent developmental and molecular data sets and the application of cladistic analytical methods support dramatic changes in circumscription at the familial, tribal, and generic levels. Growing interest in the family outside the taxonomic and systematic fields warrants a brief review of the recent nomenclatural history (mainly 20th century), some of the classification systems currently in use, and an explanation of which data support various classification schemes. An abridged bibliography with critical nomenclatural references is provided.

Notes On Native Vascular Plants From Mima Mound-Vernal Pool Terrain And The Importance Of Preserving Coastal Terraces In Orange County, California, Richard E. Riefner Jr., Steve Boyd, Roy J. Shlemon

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

We report the following noteworthy collections of native vascular plants from mima mound fields in coastal Orange County, California: Deschampsia danthonioides, Lepidium strictum, and Sagina saginoides (new county records), Lepidium oblongum var. oblongum (previously excluded from the flora), Deinandra paniculata, Holocarpha virgata subsp. elongata, and Navarretia prostrata (new localities in the county), and Hordeum brachyantherum subsp. californicum (uncommon species of local interest). A herbarium study, preparation of voucher specimens, and a generalized distribution, facultative wetland status, and taxonomic notes, where appropriate, are cited for each taxon. An overview of the mima mound micro-relief associated with coastal …

Sheep Updates 2007 - Part 1, Richard Gunner, Anthony Clarke, Kevin Bell, Hugh Dove, H. M. Burrow, Kevin Goss

Sheep Updates

This session covers six papers from different authors:

PLENARY

1. Life beyond the farmgate - the meat perspective, Richard Gunner – Principal:- Richard Gunner’s Fine Meats

2. Do you need to worry about climate change?, Anthony Clark, Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University and Bureau of Rural Sciences.

3. Ruminant nutrition panel session - The impact of nutrition on animal health and welfare, Kevin Bell, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Studies, Murdoch University

4. Ruminant nutrition panel session - Pasture/animal interactions, Hugh Dove, Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Plant Industry

5. Precision Cattle Breeding for …

Sheep Updates 2007 - Part 3, Andrew Ritchie, Edward Riggall, James Hall, Gus Rose, Johan Greeff, John Young, M. Alchin, M. Young, T. Johnson, John Lucy, Martin Staines, Tim Wiley, Rob Grima, Sandra Prosser, Matt Ryan, Geoff Moore, Tony Albertsen, Phil Barrett-Lennard, George Woolston, John Titerington, Sarah Knight, Brianna Peake

Sheep Updates

This session covers seven papers from different authors:

PROFITABILITY

1. Benchmarking demonstrates both the potential and realised productivity gains in the sheep and wool industry, Andrew Ritchie, Edward Riggall and James Hall, ICON Agriculture, Darkan

2. Improving sheep genetics will increase farm profitability, Gus Rose, Johan Greeff Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, John Young Farming Systems Analysis Service, WA

3. Meat, Merinos and making money in WA Pastoral Zone, M. Alchin, M. Young and T. Johnson, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia,

GRAZING

4. Nitrogen - farmers' friend or foe? John Lucy and Martin Staines, Department …

Sheep Updates 2007 - Part 4, Dean Thomas, Dominique Blache, Dean Revell, Hayley Norman, Phil Vercoe, Zoey Durmic, Serina Digby, Di Mayberry, Megan Chadwick, Martin Sillence, David Masters, R. Silberstein, F. Byrne, P. G. H. Nichols, J. Young, L. Aitkins, M. G. Wilmot, A. J. Rintoul, T. Lambert, D. R. Mcclements, P. Raper, P. Ward, C. Walton, T. York, David Pethick, David Hopkins, Malcolm Mcphee, D. B. Savage, J. V. Nolan, I. R. Godwin, A. Aoetpah, T. Nguyen, N. Baillie, C. Lawler, Ken Geenty, John Smith, Darryl Smith, Tim Dyall, Grant Uphill, John Young, Michael Paton, John Dorrian

Sheep Updates

This session covers eight papers from different authors:

GRAZING

1. The impact of high dietary salt and its implications for the management of livestock grazing saline land, Dean Thomas, Dominique Blache, Dean Revell, Hayley Norman, Phil Vercoe, Zoey Durmic, Serina Digby, Di Mayberry, Megan Chadwick, Martin Sillence and David Masters, CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity, Faculty of Natural & Agricultural Sciences, The University of Western Australia, WA.

2. Sustainable Grazing on Saline Lands - outcomes from the WA1 research project, H.C. Norman^1,2, D.G. Masters^1,2, R. Silberstein^1,2, F. Byrne^2,3, P.G.H. Nichols …

Sheep Updates 2007 - Part 5, Bindi Murray, John Karlsson, Johan Greeff, Carolina Viñoles Gil, B. L. Paganoni, K. M. M. Glover, J. T. B. Milton, G. B. Martin, Hugh Dove, Bill Mckiernan, John Wilkins, Paul Greenwood, Linda Cafe

Sheep Updates

This session covers six papers from different authors:

GENETIC IMPROVEMENT

1. Breech Strike Resistance: Selecting for resistance traits reduces breech strike, Bindi Murray, John Karlsson, Johan Greeff, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia

2. Breeding Merino Sheep for Worm Resistance increases profit in a Mediterranean Environment, John Karlsson and Johan Greeff Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia

FEEDING

3. Embryo lasses were not increased when Merino ewes that had lost weight were supplemented with lupins, C. Viñoles Gil, B.L. Paganoni, K.M.M. Glover, J.T.B. Milton & G.B. Martin, School of Animal Biology, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, …

Flower Pests, Larry A. Sagers

All Archived Publications

No abstract provided.

Host Resistance To Monilinia Vaccinii-Corymbosi In Flowers And Fruits Of Highbush Blueberry, Jeffery S. Lehman, Suzu Igarashi, Peter V. Oudemans

Biology and Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi, the causal agent of mummy berry disease, infects blueberry flowers via the gynoecial pathway. To describe the expression of host resistance in highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), fungal growth in the styles and colonization of the locules were compared among five blueberry cultivars in a series of controlled greenhouse experiments. Styles were harvested 1 and 4 days postinoculation, and the length colonized by hyphae was determined using fluorescence microscopy. At 8 weeks after inoculation, fruit were harvested and scored for the presence of hyphae in the locules. The infection frequency of styles ranged from 0.33 to 0.71, and only …

Center For Grassland Studies Newsletter, Summer 2007, Volume 13, No. 3

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

Contents:

Managing the Meeting of the Cow and the Grass by Pat Reece, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, Panhandle Research and Extension Center, UNL, Scottsbluff

A Prairie Green Roof by Richard Sutton, Departments of Landscape Architecture and Agronomy and Horticulture, UNL

Carbon Sequestration Pilot Project Wraps Up Steve Chick, USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lincoln, NE

CGS Council Tours North Central Nebraska

The Nature Conservancy Expands Its Scope

Restored Wetlands Capture Missouri River Water Reducing Flooding

Nebline, July 2007

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Beneficial Insects in the Yard & Garden
Backyard Farmer’ Offers How-to Video on Tomatoes
What is that Bump on the Tree Leaves?
Black Knot on Plums
Saved From the Birds—Rescue of a Baby Owl
Raptor Recovery Nebraska
Pine Wilt Disease
How to Sample for Pinewood Nematode
Pine Species to Avoid Planting
Pesticide Container Recycling Program
Scrap Tire Collection
Mosquitoes
Mole Control
Calculating Water Volume
Test Water for Toxic Algae to Prevent Illness
Food and Fun at the Farmers’ Market
Tomato, Cucumber and Red Onion Salad with Mint Recipe
$ave Time & Money by Planning Meals
Focus on Watermelon
President’s Notes …

Botanical Survey Of Fuel Reduction Areas On The Pine Ridge Ranger District Of The Nebraska National Forest, Steven B. Rolfsmeier, Leslie Stewart-Phelps

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

Between May and September 2006, surveys of selected areas on the Pine Ridge Unit of the Pine Ridge Ranger District in the Nebraska National Forest were carried out to document the presence of vascular plant species of known or potential conservation concern. The surveys were done in response to a request for botanical information to include in hazardous fuel projects in the East Ash and West Ash drainages. These 2006 surveys concentrated primarily on these drainages, though small forested areas were also examined in the Deadhorse Creek and Indian Creek drainages. (Data from these sites are included in the following …

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Vegetation Monitoring And Analysis: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending June 30, 2007, Margaret N. Rees

Vegetation Monitoring

Executive Summary

• Weed Sentry staff surveyed several springs and seeps on the Desert Range National Wildlife Refuge, measuring exotic species abundance and plant community composition. In addition, 63 miles were surveyed for exotic species on National Park Service (NPS) land, nine miles on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, and 119 miles on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) land. A total of 867 exotic plants in incipient populations were treated on NPS land, and 53 plants were treated on ISFWS land.
• Research Assistant Ms. Jessica Spencer assumed coordination duties for Weed Sentry mapping this quarter to replace Ms. Carrie …

Comparative Chloroplast Genomics: Analyses Including New Sequences From The Angiosperms Nuphar Advena And Ranunculus Macranthus, Linda A. Raubeson, Rhiannon Peery, Timothy W. Chumley, Chris Dziubek, H. Matthew Fourcade, Jeffrey L. Boore, Robert K. Jansen

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Background

The number of completely sequenced plastid genomes available is growing rapidly. This array of sequences presents new opportunities to perform comparative analyses. In comparative studies, it is often useful to compare across wide phylogenetic spans and, within angiosperms, to include representatives from basally diverging lineages such as the genomes reported here: Nuphar advena (from a basal-most lineage) and Ranunculus macranthus (a basal eudicot). We report these two new plastid genome sequences and make comparisons (within angiosperms, seed plants, or all photosynthetic lineages) to evaluate features such as the status of ycf15 and ycf68 as protein coding genes, the distribution …

Can Organic Agriculture Feed The World?, Catherine Badgley, Ivette Perfecto, Kenneth Cassman , Responder, Jim Hendrix , Responder

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

During the past 30 years there has been a steady decrease in funding allocated to agricultural research in both developed and developing countries because of the widespread view that food insecurity is primarily caused by poverty and a lack of purchasing power rather than the inability to produce enough food. However, these views are being challenged by three global mega-trends: (1) a steady decrease in arable land area suitable for intensive food crop production as a result of farmland conversion to urban, industrial and recreational uses, (2) a steady reduction in the relative rate of yield gain for the major …

An Avidin-Based Assay For Histone Debiotinylase Activity In Human Cell Nuclei, Yap Ching Chew, Gautam Sarath, Janos Zempleni

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

The covalent binding of biotin to histones participates in heterochromatin formation, cell cycle progression and cellular response to DNA breaks. Biotinylation of histones appears to be a reversible process, but the identity of enzymes that remove biotin marks is largely unknown. Our long-term goal is to identify histone debiotinylases in human cells. Here we developed an avidin-based plate assay to quantify histone debiotinylase activities in nuclear extracts. This assay is an essential first step in purifying and identifying histone debiotinylases from human cells. Using this assay, we demonstrated that debiotinylation of histones depends on temperature and pH, consistent with enzyme …

The Prairie Naturalist, Volume 39, No. 2 June 2007

The Prairie Naturalist

USING DISTANCE SAMPLING TO ESTIMATE DENSITIES OF WHlTE-TAILED DEER IN SOUTH-CENTRAL MINNESOTA, M. A. LaRue, C. K. Nielsen, and M. D. Grund

BURROWING OWL ASSOCIATIONS WITH BLACK-TAILED PRAIRIE DOG COLONIES IN SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS AND SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO, S. L. Winter and J. F. Cully, Jr.

OPTIMAL FORAGING IN EASTERN FOX SQUIRREL: FOOD SIZE MATTERS FOR A GENERALIST FORAGER, R. Tatina

IN MEMORIAM: ROBERT N. RANDALL. C. Talkington

Editor's Note regarding Christmas Bird Count

OCCURRENCES OF SMALL MAMMAL SPECIES IN A MIXEDGRASS PRAIRIE IN NORTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA, R. K. Murphy, R. A. Sweitzer, and J. D. Albertson

SILPHIDAE (INSECTA: COLEOPTERA) COLLECTED IN …

Burrowing Owl Associations With Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Colonies In Southwestern Kansas And Southeastern Colorado, Stephen L. Winter, Jack F. Cully Jr.

The Prairie Naturalist

We quantified the use of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies as habitat for the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) in southwestern Kansas and southeastern Colorado. We used incidental sightings and breeding season avifauna surveys to document the presence of the burrowing owl on black-tailed prairie dog colonies, non-colonized rangeland, and cropland during the spring and early summer. Burrowing owl rarely was observed on noncolonized rangeland and cropland sites, and black-tailed prairie dog colonies appear to be used substantially as a habitat type for the burrowing owl in the region encompassing Cimarron and Commanche National Grasslands in …