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Fungal Spore Dispersal By The Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene Carolina Carolina), S. C. Jones, W. J. Jordan, Scott J. Meiners, A. N. Miller, A. S. Methven

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Although spores from most macrofungi are wind- or water-dispersed, dispersal may also occur via biotic vectors. The Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) is a facultative mycovore that may play an important role in fungal spore dispersal although, to date, no information exists on fungi occurring in fecal samples of box turtles or on the ecological significance of box turtles as spore dispersal vectors. Consequently, a study of the potential for Eastern box turtles to act as vectors for spore dispersal was initiated by capturing wild turtles and collecting fecal samples. Serial dilutions from fecal samples were made to enumerate …

Fungal Spore Dispersal By The Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene Carolina Carolina), S. Jones, W. Jordan, Scott Meiners, A. Miller, A. Methven

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Although spores from most macrofungi are wind- or water-dispersed, dispersal may also occur via biotic vectors. The Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) is a facultative mycovore that may play an important role in fungal spore dispersal although, to date, no information exists on fungi occurring in fecal samples of box turtles or on the ecological significance of box turtles as spore dispersal vectors. Consequently, a study of the potential for Eastern box turtles to act as vectors for spore dispersal was initiated by capturing wild turtles and collecting fecal samples. Serial dilutions from fecal samples were made to enumerate …

Dynamic Modeling Of Microclimate And Environmental Control Strategies In A Greenhouse Coupled With A Heat Pump System, Ilhami Yildiz, D. P. Stombaugh

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a dynamic simulation model to be employed in accurate prediction of microclimate in a greenhouse as a function of dynamic environmental factors. The model has options to evaluate the effects of location, time of the year, orientation, single and double polyethylene glazings, conventional and heat pump heating and cooling systems, open and confined greenhouse systems, CO₂ enrichment, variable shading, and the use of night curtains. Conventional gas furnace and evaporative cooling, respectively, provided heating and cooling in the conventional system. In the heat pump systems, gas-fired heat pump units …

Placing The Monocots: Conflicting Signal From Trigenomic Analyses, Melvin R. Duvall, Sarah Matthews, Neill Mohammad, Tammy Russel

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Despite recent significant advances in understanding angiosperm phylogeny, the position of monocots remains uncertain. We present here a phylogeny inferred from four genes that unambiguously unite monocots with eumagnoliids. A well-supported position for the monocots was obtained only after we replaced the available nuclear 18S rDNA sequence data with data from phytochrome C in a matrix that also included plastid rbcL and ndhF and mitochondrial atp1. Over 5000 base pairs of sequence data from 42 taxa were analyzed using Bayesian inference. The results of these analyses united monocots with the eumagnoliids in a well-supported clade. Although the …

Perianth Development In The Basal Monocot Triglochin Maritima (Juncaginaceae), Matyas Buzgo, Douglas E. Soltis, Pamela S. Soltis, Sangtae Kim, Hong Ma, Bernard A. Hauser, Jim Lebens-Mack, Bo Johansen

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Basal monocots exhibit considerable variation in inflorescence and floral structure. In some cases, such as Triglochin maritima, it is not clear whether the lateral and terminal structures of the inflorescence are flowers or pseudanthia, or where the limits between flowers and inflorescence lie. To address these questions, morphological studies were carried out, and the results show that in T. maritima both terminal and lateral structures are flowers, not pseudanthia. The terminal flower of T. maritima develops from the apical inflorescence meristem, suggesting that the apical meristem identity changes from "inflorescence" to "flower" during inflorescence development. In addition, distal flowers …

Patterns Of Floral Structure And Orientation In Japonolirion , Narthecium, And Tofieldia, Margarita V. Remizowa, Dmitry D. Sokoloff, Paula J. Rudall

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Floral evolution requires reassessment in basal monocots, including species formerly assigned to Melanthiaceae, in the light of recent developments in the molecular phylogenetics of monocots. We have investigated flowers of Tofieldia (Tofieldiaceae), Japonolirion (Petrosaviaceae), and Narthecium (Nartheciaceae). We confirm Engler's (1888) hypothesis that orientation of lateral flowers in monocots is dependent on presence and position of additional phyllomes on the pedicel. The type of floral orientation that occurs in Tofieldia is unusual for monocots, since the additional phyllomes are represented by calyculus scales rather than a bracteole, and the outer whorl tepals are initiated alternating with the calyculus scales. In …

Recommendations And Goals For Evo-Devo Research, Michael J. Frohlich

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The rapidly growing field of evolutionary-developmental biology (evo-devo) arises from the fusion of formerly disjunct scientific disciplines that traditionally generate very different scientific products. What should the scientific product of evo-devo be? I propose it should be a testable evolutionary scenario. Evolutionary scenarios have suffered eclipse and even opprobrium in recent years, but analysis of genes that control development may make evo-devo scenarios testable, hence scientifically valid. Hypothesis-based studies are more likely than descriptive studies to generate testable evolutionary scenarios. Candidate-gene studies are risky if only one or a few genes are known in the pathway that is putatively responsible …

Further Evidence For Seed Size Variation In The Genus Zostera: Exploratory Studies With Z. Japonica And Z. Asiatica, Sandy Wyllie-Echeverria, Victoria R. Wyllie-Echeverria, Algernon C. Churchill, Paul A. Cox

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Recent studies found seed size variation within the seagrass Zostera marina, one of nine species in the genus Zostera. The objectives of this study were to determine if variation also exists in the seeds of two other species Zostera japonica and Zostera asiatica within this genus. Results indicate that: (1) length and weight varied between two populations (one indigenous population from Akkeshi-Ko, Japan, and one exotic population from Willapa Bay, Washington, USA) of the small-bodied intertidal seagrass species Z. japonica, and (2) seed-size classes were discernable. Preliminary investigations were also initiated with a Japanese population of Z. asiatica …

Phylogeny Of Agavaceae Based On Ndhf, Rbcl, And Its Sequences, David J. Bogler, J. Chris Pires, Javier Francisco-Ortega

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Great advances have been made in our understanding of the phylogeny and classification of Agavaceae in the last 20 years. In older systems Agavaceae were paraphyletic due to overemphasis of ovary position or habit. Discovery of a unique bimodal karyotype in Agave and Yucca eventually led to a reexamination of concepts and relationships in all the lilioid monocots, which continues to the present day. Developments in cytogenetics, microscopy, phylogenetic systematics, and most recently DNA technology have led to remarkable new insights. Large-scale rbcL sequence studies placed Agavaceae with the core Asparagales and identified closely related taxa. Analysis of cpDNA …

The Role Of Phylogenetic Constraints In The Evolution Of Pollination Mechanisms In Iridaceae Of Sub-Saharan Africa, Peter Bernhardt, Peter Goldblatt

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Novel, specialized systems exploiting bibionid flies, oil-collecting bees, wasps, or crepuscular settling moths as pollen vectors are added to the range of recorded pollination mechanisms in sub-Saharan Africa Iridaceae, while knowledge of the pollination of previously understudied genera such as Aristea, Bahiana, Ferraria, Hesperantha, and Tritoniopsis is expanded. The pollination of 357 species of the sub-Saharan African Iridaceae now includes 17 discrete systems. Based on repetitive interlinked suites of floral attractants and rewards we now infer pollination mechanisms for an additional 883 species. Many pollination systems recur in genera containing > 10 species. The ancestral pollination in African Iridaceae, and …

A Comparison And Combination Of Plastid Atpb And Rbcl Gene Sequences For Inferring Phylogenetic Relationships Within Orchidaceae, Kenneth M. Cameron

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Parsimony analyses of DNA sequences from the plastid genes atpB and rbcL were completed for 173 species of Orchidaceae (representing 150 different genera) and nine genera from outgroup families in Asparagales. The atpB tree topology is similar to the rbcL tree, although the atpB data contain less homoplasy and provide greater jackknife support than rbcL alone. In combination, the two-gene tree recovers five monophyletic clades corresponding to subfamilies within Orchidaceae, and fully resolves them with moderate to high jackknife support as follows: Epidendroideae are sister to Orchidoideae, followed by Cypripedioideae, then Vanilloideae, and with …

Molecular Phylogentics Systematics In Dendrobieae (Orchidaceae), Mark A. Clements

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Molecular systematic research, using DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the 18-26S nuclear ribosomal repeat unit, was conducted on a broadly representative sample of the tribe Dendrobieae. The results provide independent support, in addition to evidence from plastid DNA analysis and morphology, for the phylogenetic reassessment of the taxon. At a broad level, Dendrobieae are polyphyletic with Dendrobium sect. Oxystophyllum being deeply embedded within one of the outgroup taxa, subtribe Eriinae: Podochileae. The remaining taxa form a weakly supported monophyletic group consisting of three major clades, Epigeneium, sister to predominantly Asian and Australasian clades. This author …

Subtribal Relationships In Tribe Tradescantieae (Commelinaceae)Based On Molecular And Morphological Data, Dylan J. Wade, Timothy M. Evans, Robert B. Faden

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Tribe Tradescantieae (Commelinaceae) consists of seven subtribes and 25 genera. Previous attempts to evaluate phylogenetic relationships within the group using morphology or the chloroplast-encoded rbcL have either been highly homoplasious (morphology) or provided only weak support for subtribal relationships due to insufficient variability (rbcL). In this study, phylogenetic analysis of nucleotide sequence data from the chloroplast-encoded ndhF and rbcL genes, as well as 47 morphological and anatomical characters, were used to evaluate relationships within and among the subtribes of Tradescantieae. The addition of ndhF resulted in a more highly resolved phylogeny and greater bootstrap …

Systematic Floral Anatomy Of Pontederiaceae, Michael G. Simpson, Darren H. Burton

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Twenty species of Pontederiaceae and six species of the outgroup families Haemodoraceae and Philydraceae were investigated with regard to floral anatomy, using standard histological methods and graphic reconstructions. Variation is described in several features, including functional carpel number, the distribution of floral aerenchyma, the presence of unusual floral epithelial cells, the presence, type, and distribution of tannin cells, crystal type and distribution, aspects of placentation, ovule number, number of ovule rows per carpel, and septal nectary presence. In order to better assess character homology, one of these features, placentation, was divided into three discrete characters: septal fusion, placenta position, and …

A Molecular Phylogenetic Study Of Generic And Subgeneric Relationships In The Southwest Australian Endemics Conostylis And Blancoa (Haemodoraceae), Stephen D. Hopper, Mark W. Chase, Michael F. Fay

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

We sequenced the plastid gene matK and the nuclear ribosomal spacer ITS for 39 of the 47+ species of Conostylis as well as its monotypic sister genus Blancoa, which some authors have included within Conostylis. Conostylis received 99% bootstrap support as monophyletic, with 100% support that Blancoa is its sister. Within Conostylis, the study provides strong support for two large sister clades, which we refer to as clades A (100%) and B (99%). Clade A consists of C. subgen. Conostylis plus the recently discovered C. glabra of C. subgen. Pendula sect. Divaricata (100%), and C. subgen. Pendula sect. Appendicula (100%). …

Phylogenetics Of Liliales, Michael F. Fay, Mark W. Chase, Nina Rønsted, Dion S. Devey, Yohan Pillon, J. Chris Pires, Gitte Peterson, Ole Seberg, Jerrold I. Davis

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

In order to investigate interfamilial relationships of Liliales we analyzed a combined matrix of plastid rbcL, trnL intron, trnL-F intergenic spacer, matK, and ndhF, and mitochondrial atp1 DNA sequences. The results are generally congruent with previous broad analyses and provide higher bootstrap support for many relationships. Important changes relative to previous studies are the recognition of Petermanniaceae distinct from Colchicaceae and the tentative inclusion of Corsiaceae in the order. This brings the number of families in the order from nine to eleven. The additional data presented here strengthen the case for including Uvulariaceae in …

Population Demography And Herbivory Of Trillium Grandiflorum, Thomas P. Rooney, Kendra C. Millam

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Numerous pedicellate and sessile Trillium species are endemic to eastern North America, where white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations have been growing in recent decades. Deer feed on Trillium plants, and because they often consume all leaves and flowers, the photosynthetic capacity of browsed plants is greatly diminished. To determine if deer can influence Trillium population dynamics, we review two recent studies that applied matrix population models to understand how deer browsing affects Trillium grandijlorum. Research conducted in the Great Lakes region indicated Trillium populations in which 6-12% plants were browsed declined 3.6% per year. Simulations show that …

Missing Links Between Disjunct Populations Of Androcymbium (Colchicaceae) In Africa Using Chloroplast Dna Noncoding Sequences, Alberto Del Hoyo, Joan Pedrola-Monfort

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

With the objective of clarifying some aspects of the biogeography, phylogeny, and taxonomy of the genus Androcymbium, we sequenced three chloroplastic DNA noncoding regions (trnL intron, trnL-trnF IGS, and trnY-trnD IGS). These data were analyzed with maximum parsimony and the ancestral areas methods following Bremer. Results show that Androcymbium is not monophyletic and that the origin of its distribution and speciation is situated in western South Africa. Later, it dispersed to North Africa, going first to eastern South Africa. Androcymbium austrocapense and A. roseum allow us to phylogenetically connect the species of …

Gondwanan Vicariance Or Dispersal In The Tropics? The Biogeographic History Of The Tropical Monocot Family Costaceae (Zingiberales), Chelsea D. Specht

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Costaceae are a pantropical family, distinguished from other families within the order Zingiberales by their spiral phyllotaxy and showy labellum comprised of five fused staminodes. While the majority of Costaceae species are found in the neotropics, the pantropical distribution of the family as a whole could be due to a number of historical biogeographic scenarios, including continental-drift mediated vicariance and long-distance dispersal events. Here, the hypothesis of an ancient Gondwanan distribution followed by vicariance via continental drift as the leading cause of the current pantropical distribution of Costaceae is tested, using molecular dating of cladogenic events combined with phylogeny-based biogeographic …

Phlogeny And Biogeography Of The Prayer Plant Family, Linda M. Prince, W. John Kress

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Marantaceae are the second largest family in the order Zingiberales, with approximately 31 genera and 535 species. Earlier studies based on morphological and molecular characters could not confidently determine the relationships among major lineages of the family, nor could they identify the basal branch of the family tree. Phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data from all three genomic compartments (chloroplast: matK, ndhF, rbcL, rps16 intron, and trnL-trnF intergenic spacer; mitochondrion: cox1; nucleus: ITS region and the 5'-end of 26S) for a restricted set of taxa were conducted under parsimony criteria to define …

Australian Temperate Strawberry Breeding Program (Western Australia) Selection Of New And Advanced Short Day Breeding Lines And Cultivars In Western Australia - 2005/2006, Michaela Antoine, Dennis Phillips

Horticulture research reports

Sixty-eight 'short day' selections from the Australian Temperate breeding program were compared in a trial planting on a commercial property at Wanneroo from a mid May planting. Thirty-three of the selections were derived from crosses made in 2003 (new Stage 4 selections) and twenty-nine were from crosses made between 1998 and 2002 (Intermediate Stages 5 and 6). In addition, three advanced selections were compared in large plots of 1,000-1 ,500 plants together with three commercial control cultivars, Gaviota, Camino Real and Kiewa. These selections were 'fast tracked' for future commercialisation by being selected for bulking up in September 2004.

Seven …

A Highly Efficient Transient Protoplast System For Analyzing Defence Gene Expression And Protein–Protein Interactions In Rice, Songbiao Chen, Lizen Tao, Lirong Zeng, Miguel E. Vega-Zanchez, Kenji Umemura, Guo-Liang Wang

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty Publications

The transient assay system based on mesophyll or cultured cell-derived protoplasts has been exploited in several plant species and has become a powerful tool for rapid gene functional analysis and biochemical manipulations. However, the system has not been widely used in rice owing to the difficulties in large-scale isolation of viable rice protoplasts from leaves or suspension-cultured cells. Here, we describe a significantly improved method to isolate a large number of protoplasts from stem and sheath tissues of both young and mature plants. High-level coexpression of multiple constructs and efficient suppression of exogenous and endogenous genes were observed in the …

Natural Abundance Of Foliar 15N As An Early Indicator Of Nitrogen Deficiency In Fertilized Cotton, S. Stamatiadis, C. Christofides, C. Tsadilas, V. Samaras, James S. Schepers

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

Information on the contribution of various soil nitrogen (N) sources to plant N uptake is often needed for the implementation of sustainable or site-specific management practices in agriculture. Considering the limitations of traditional methods in meeting these needs, this study investigated the potential of leaf δ¹⁵N as an early indicator of nutrient deficiency in cotton. The spatial and temporal natural abundance of ¹⁵N was measured in the soil and leaves of a fertilized cotton field located near the village of Moschochori (Larissa, Greece). The isotopic signal of the leaves was interpreted in the context of the relative …

Evaluation Of Cauliflower And Broccoli Varieties: Autumn Planting (January - May 2006), Kristen Stirling

Horticulture research reports

This document has been prepared from a cauliflower and broccoli variety evaluation trial conducted at the Manjimup Horticultural Research Institute, South Western Highway, Manjimup WA 6258. The results reflect the growth characteristics, yield, quality and density of the cauliflower and broccoli varieties as recorded at this site during the conditions of the growing period (January to May 2006).

This report is the second in a series of four produced from the evaluation of cauliflower and broccoli varieties conducted at the Manjimup Horticultural Research Institute. The results are provided to allow seed suppliers, seedling nurseries, producers, packers and marketers to identify …

Evaluation Of Cauliflower And Broccoli Varieties: Winter Planting (April - August 2006), Kristen Stirling

Horticulture research reports

This document has been prepared from a cauliflower and broccoli variety evaluation trial! conducted at the Manjimup Horticultural Research Institute, South Western Highway, Manjimup WA 6258. The results reflect the growth characteristics, yield, quality and density of the cauliflower and broccoli varieties as recorded at this site during the conditions of the growing period (April - August 2006).

This report is the third in a series of four produced from the evaluation of cauliflower and broccoli varieties conducted at the Manjimup Horticultural Research Institute. The results are provided to allow seed suppliers, seedling nurseries, producers, packers and marketers to identify …

A Nuclear Rdna Phylogeny Of Smilax (Smilacaceae), Kenneth M. Cameron, Chengxin Fu

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Smilacaceae are a taxonomically confused, cosmopolitan family of Liliales characterized by climbing habit, reticulate leaf venation, paired petiolar tendrils, unisexual flowers, and superior ovaries. Deviations from this generalized morphology have led to the division of Smilacaceae into at least seven different genera and five sections within the large genus Smilax. In particular, taxa with connate tepals (Heterosmilax), more than six stamens (Pleiosmilax, Oligosmilax), or herbaceous habit (Hemexia) have been variously classified. Using DNA sequences of 96 taxa from the nuclear rDNA ITS gene region, parsimony analyses provide moderate resolution, but generally poor bootstrap support …

Rack1 Mediates Multiple Hormone Responsiveness And Developmental Processes In Arabidopsis, Hemayet Ullah

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

The scaffold protein RACK1 (Receptor for Activated C Kinase 1) serves as an integrative point for diverse signal transduction pathways. The Arabidopsis genome contains three RACK1 orthologues, however, little is known about their functions. It is reported here that one memberof this gene family, RACK1A, previously identified as the Arabidopsis homologue of the tobacco arcA gene, mediates hormone responses and plays a regulatory role in multiple developmental processes. RACK1A expresses ubiquitously in Arabidopsis. Loss-of-function mutations in RACK1A confer defects in multiple developmental processes including seed germination, leaf production, and flowering. rack1a mutants displayed reduced sensitivity to gibberellin and brassinosteroid in …

Science-Based Organic Farming 2006: Toward Local And Secure Food Systems, Charles A. Francis, Katja Koehler-Cole, Twyla Hansen, Peter Skelton

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Organic farming includes growing food and fiber—animals, agronomic crops, horticultural fruits and vegetables, related products—as one dynamic and rapidly evolving component of our complex U.S. food system. Even as more farmers are moving toward organic certification and participation in an environmentally sound and economically lucrative market, questions arise about the long-term social impacts and sustainability of a set of practices that has gone from a movement to an industry. Consolidations in the organic trade have brought multinational corporations to the table, as they have observed a grassroots activity that has grown by 20% per year for the past two decades, …

Nebline, January 2006

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

30 MyPyramid Steps to a Healthier You
Guide to Growing Amaryllis
Winter Care of Houseplants
Managing Dust Mites
Urban Pest Management Conference
You Caught Your Mouse — How About Cleanup?
Beginning Beekeeping 2-Day Workshop
Private Pesticide Applicator Certification
Is Burning Wood an Economically Feasible Option?
Crop Protection Clinic, Jan. 23
Acreage-Tough Plants
The Physical Resources of the Acreage—Part 1
Upcoming Acreage Insights Clinics
Meet the Grain Group
Mock Frozen “Peach” Daiquiri Recipe
Sit Less, Move More!
Low-Cost Indoor Avenues to Fitness
Home Energy Checkup
Household Hints: Cleaning silver by electrolysis
President’s Notes — Janet’s Jargon
FCE News & Events
Rokeby …

Nebraska Vine Lines, Volume Ix, Issue 1. January/February 2006.

Nebraska Vine Lines (2003–2006)

• Be Sure To Put The 9th Annual Forum on Your Calendar

• Trellis and Vine Training Field Day

• Making Wine with Frontenac By: Anna Katharine Mansfield,UM Enology Project Leader

• GREETINGS FROM PAUL READ IN TASMANIA