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Aphid Parasitoid Wasps (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Aphidiinae) Of The Americas: Species Discovery, Key To Genera, Annotated Checklist, And Summary Of Biology, Abigail Paige Martens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Tracking Nitrogen Mineralization In The Presence Of Biochar Utilizing Complementary-Method Assays In East Central South Dakota, Andrew Calvin Engel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding soil N transformations in agricultural systems of the Northern Great Plains is crucial for guiding effective soil and nutrient management of this vital cropland. While the use of biochar in agriculture has attracted great attention recently, little has been reported on the seasonal dynamics of soil nitrogen (N) transformation and its response to biochar application. A field experiment was conducted over 2 seasons, spring (6/3/19-6/24/19) and summer (7/26/19-8/16/19), using four treatments or control soil, urea (224 kg N/ha), biochar (46,250 kg/ha), and urea+biochar (224 kg N/ha and 46,250 kg/ha, respectively). The results for both seasons showed biochar had no …

Big Meadows Mountain Meadow & Aspen Restoration Project 2017 – 2023 Summary Report, Scott River Watershed Council

Aspen Bibliography

Big Meadows Mountain Meadow and Aspen Restoration Project is designed to enhance aspen and mountain meadow habitats at Big Meadows, a property that is privately owned by Ecotrust Forest Management (EFM). EFM owns approximately 40,000 acres in the Klamath Mountains of Siskiyou County, known as the Scott River Headwaters Property. The Scott River Headwaters Property Management Plan, developed by EFM, specifically identifies and prioritizes the restoration of aspen woodlands. As such, EFM and Scott River Watershed Council (SRWC) partnered with the goal of improving these critical habitats. The Big Meadows complex is one of the largest mountain meadow systems within …

Plant Cell Wall Composition And In Vitro Fermentation Characteristics Of Cool-Season Forage Grasses From Two Growing Seasons In Central Kentucky, Sophia Danielle Newhuis

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Grass cell walls are rich in cellulose, hemicellulosic arabinoxylan (AX) polysaccharides, and lignin. AX structural differences such as degree and pattern of branching and the ester-linked phenolic acid content could affect plants’ digestibility when used as forage for livestock. However, there is little information about how these structural elements change over the growing season in the vegetative tissue of cool-season perennial grasses. Enhanced information about the cell wall composition and carbohydrate structure of forage material will provide a foundation for expanding our knowledge of how forage cell wall carbohydrate structures are utilized by ruminants. The objectives of this study were …

Structural Files For The Etr1 Ethylene-Receptor Dimer Based On Computational Modeling, Beenish J. Azhar, Safdar Abbas, Sitwat Aman, Maria V. Yamburenko, Wei Chen, Lena Muller, Buket Uzun, David A. Jewell, Jian Dong, Samina N. Shakeel, Georg Groth, Brad M. Binder, Gevorg Grigoryan, G. Eric Schaller

Dartmouth Scholarship

Structural models for the ETR1 homodimer were generated with AlphaFold-Multimer. Coppers were modeled under two potential coordinations involving Cys65 and His69 of the ETR1 homodimer, one in which the two coppers are bound independently and do not share an interaction with each other, and another where they are closely bonded.

See the following publication for details: Azhar, B.J., Abbas, S., Aman, S., Yamburenko, M.V., Chen, W., Müller, L., Uzun, B., Jewell, D.A., Dong, J., Shakeel, S.N., Groth, G., Binder, B.M., Grigoryan, G., Schaller, G.E. (2023) Basis for high-affinity ethylene binding by the ethylene receptor ETR1 of Arabidopsis. Proc. Natl. Acad. …

Distributional Ecology Of Noccaea Vesicaria In Relation To The Anatolian Diagonal, İlayda Dumlupinar, Hakan Gür, Bariş Özüdoğru

Turkish Journal of Botany

Anatolia is located at the intersection of three of the world's 36 biodiversity hotspots (the Caucasus, Irano-Anatolian, and Mediterranean Basin biodiversity hotspots) and has about 10,000 plant species, over 3000 of which are endemic. Among the many reasons for the astonishing biodiversity of Anatolia, one that stands out is the Anatolian Diagonal. Although the Anatolian Diagonal has long been recognized as a biogeographical boundary between Central and Eastern Anatolia, its exact functioning is still not well understood. Thus, in this study, our aims were 1) to assess the environmental barrier function of the Anatolian Diagonal for a plant species, Noccaea …

Haplotype Diversity And Molecular Phylogeny Of Wild Crambe L. (Brassicaceae) Taxa Of Turkey, Burcu Tarikahya Hacioğlu, Kurtuluş Özgi̇şi̇

Turkish Journal of Botany

Revealing genetic diversity is both essential for plant systematics and also provides important information for agricultural sciences. Crambe hispanica var. abyssinica is an oil seed crop. Wild plants related to crops (Crop Wild Relatives) are important resources for the genetic improvement of cultivated species. In order to reveal the genetic diversity of wild Crambe taxa of Turkey, we used ITS and trnL-F markers to create the haplotype networks and phylogeny reconstruction. Thirty-nine accessions belonging to 8 Crambe taxa were used as the material of our study: Crambe orientalis var. orientalis with 18 accessions, Crambe orientalis var. sulphurea with 3 accessions, …

Seed Morphology Of Some Taxa Of The Genus Euphorbia L. (Euphorbiaceae) In Turkey And Its Taxonomic Significance, Murat Kurşat, Bi̇rol Başer, Fahretti̇n Özbey, İrfan Emre

Turkish Journal of Botany

The morphological characteristics of seeds are not affected by environmental factors and can be used to identify the Euphorbia taxa. The present study aims to determine the morphological characteristics of seeds in 27 taxa of Euphorbia using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscope (LM). Findings revealed that the seeds of Euphorbia show variation in size, color, and seed surface ornamentations among different species. The seeds vary also in shape from ovoid, ellipsoidal, globose, quadrangular, compressed, to compressed-ellipsoidal with two exceptions in E. petiolata (oblong--quadrangular truncate), E. macrocarpa (subglobose), and E. szovitsii var. kharputensis(ellipsoidal quadrangular truncate). Furthermore, it was …

Climate Change Is Leading To Rapid Shifts In Seasonality In The Himalaya, Tenzing Ingty, Angela Erb, Xiaoyang Zhang, Crystal Schaaf, Kamaljit S. Bawa

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Climate change has significantly impacted vegetation phenology across the globe. The general consensus is that the Earth’s vegetation has experienced an advance in the spring phases and a delay in senescence. However, some studies from high latitudes and high elevations have instead shown delayed spring phenology, owing to a lack of chilling fulfillment and altered snow cover and photoperiods. We have used the MODIS satellite-derived view-angle corrected surface reflectance data (MCD43A4) to document the four phenological phases in the high elevations of the Sikkim Himalaya, and compared the phenological trends between below-treeline zones and above-treeline zones. This analysis of remotely …

Origin, Distribution And Domestication Of The Carob Tree (Ceratonia Siliqua L.), Yassine Moustafa Mahdad, Semir Bechir Suheil Gaouar

Turkish Journal of Botany

The carob tree, which is a member of the Fabaceae family, is an agrosilvopastoral tree whose pre-Mediterranean tropical origin appears well established on the basis of genetic, fossil and physiological data. C. siliqua has recently been successfully introduced from the Mediterranean basin to other parts of the world that have a Mediterranean climate. In terms of its domestication, there is paleobotanical, philological, ecological and historical evidence to suggest that the species was spread by people from Arabia, where it took refuge during the Ice Age, to Mesopotamia and then on to the western Mediterranean. This ?eastern refugium hypothesis? (ERH) postulates …

Bioaccumulation Of Four Metals In The Same Genus Mosses (Barbula Hedw.) And Soil Pollution Assessment In An Abandoned Karst Bauxite Tailing Area, Dengfu Wang, Qimei Wu, Zhaohui Zhang

Turkish Journal of Botany

Soil metal pollution is a concern in bauxite tailing areas. This study aimed to effectively screen plants with strong tolerance to metal contamination by analyzing the levels of metals in Barbula rigidula (Hedw.) Mild. (BR), Barbula indica (Hook.) Spreng. (BI), and Barbula vinealis Brid. (BV) and in soils. The contents of metals in mosses obtained from the bauxite tailing area followed the following order: Al > Fe > Zn > Cu. Furthermore, the levels of these metals were highest in BR, followed by BI and BV. However, concentrations of Al (12,220-87,080 mg/kg), Fe (8520-62,690 mg/kg), Cu (98.5-185.4 mg/kg), and Zn (208.2-352.6 mg/kg) in …

A New Species Of Arrhenia (Agaricales, Hygrophoraceae) From Guizhou Province, China, Jing Wang, Huan Gao, Dong Mei Liu, Chun Ying Deng, Shao Qi Zhou

Turkish Journal of Botany

Arrhenia nivea is a new bryophilous species of Arrhenia from a valley in southwestern China'a subtropical monsoon humid climate zone.The species is characterized by pure white basidiomata with an irregularly discoid to cupulate 1.5-4.5 mm diameter pileus, reduced hymenium, nonamyloid basidiospores, lack of cystidia, the presence of clamps, and no incrusted pigment of the pileipellic hyphae. Phylogenetic analysis using ITS sequence data confirmed that it arised from a pathway separate from other species of Arrhenia.

Revision Of The Genus Nepeta L. (Lamiaceae) In Iraq, Tuncay Di̇rmenci̇, Ali̇ Haloob, Ferhat Celep, Shahina A. Ghazanfar

Turkish Journal of Botany

This paper revises the genus Nepeta for the family Lamiaceae for the Flora of Iraq project. We describe a new species, Nepeta iraqensis, and four new records Nepeta congesta subsp. cryptantha, N. stricta, N. lamiifolia and N. iodantha for Iraq. Lectotypes for six taxa are selected and comments on complex species are given. In addition, two new synonyms are given here for the first time. In all, we describe with identification keys, 19 taxa, three of which are endemic to Iraq.

The Effect Of Grafting On Pollen Fertility And Seed Production Of Diploid Interspecific Hybrid And Tetraploid Eggplant Genotypes, Sebahatti̇n Çürük, İlknur Külahlioğlu Çeği̇l

Turkish Journal of Botany

Solanum melongena is susceptible to diverse diseases and parasites, in particular the wilts (bacterial, Fusarium and Verticillium), nematodes, and some insects. Solanum torvum is robust to Verticillium and some bacterial wilts and root-knot nematode. It was reported that interspecific hybrid plants originated out of the hybridization of these species were sterile. In our previous studies that have been carried out to overcome this interspecific hybridization barrier, only from Faselis F1 that was used as the female parent, many interspecific hybrid seeds were obtained and 9.07% of the seeds grew into plants in vitro. The percentage of pollen viability and germination …

Tanacetum Isfahanicum (Compositae-Anthemideae), A New Species From Iran And Its Phylogenetic Position Based On Nrdna Its Data, Maryam Naderifar, Ali Sonboli, Shahrokh Kazempour Osaloo

Turkish Journal of Botany

Tanacetum isfahanicum Sonboli and Naderifar (Compositae-Anthemideae) is described as a new species from Isfahan and Fars provinces of Iran. It belongs morphologically to Tanacetum sect Xanthoglossa and differs from its the closest relative, T. polycephalum, by shape of basal and cauline leaves, shape of capitula, length and width of involucre and color of achene ribs. The phylogenetic position of the new species within the genus Tanacetum is established based on nrDNA ITS sequences variation and its close relationship with T. polycephalum is corroborated.

Diversity Of Endolichenic Fungi Within Lichen Genus Parmotrema From India, Jyotsna Chakarwarti, Sanjeeva Nayaka, Suchi Srivastava

Turkish Journal of Botany

: The lichens serve as an ecological niche for a group of unexplored fungal species residing inside their thallus without causing any noticeable symptoms and such fungi are termed as endolichenic fungi. The objective of the current study is to check the endolichenic fungal diversity within lichen genus Parmotrema. The study resulted in a total of 450 endolichenic fungi (ELF) isolates from 15 species of Parmotrema. Out of these, 73 sporulating isolates were identified using ITS sequences which resulted in 47 species under 23 genera. The phylogenetic assemblage of the fungi comprised Sordariomycetes (84.50%), Dothideomycetes (5.63%), Eurotiomycetes (7.04%), Pezizomycetes (1.40%), …

Ecological Quality Status Of The Turkish Coastal Waters By Using A Marine Macrophytic Biotic Index (Eei-C), Ergün Taşkin, İbrahi̇m Tan, Murat Çakir, Özge Sungur, Orki̇de Mi̇nareci̇, Ersi̇n Mi̇nareci̇, Hakan Atabay

Turkish Journal of Botany

The present study includes the results of the second benthic macrophytes? monitoring period of a survey of ecological status from the Turkish coasts. The biotic index Ecological Evaluation Index (EEI-c) was used to assess the ecological status classes (ESC) and MA-LUSI the anthropogenic pressures. Sampling was made by the quadrat (20 × 20 cm) method, and the samples were collected from 93 sites in Turkish coastal waters between 2017 and 2019. In total, 240 taxa were found in the Turkish marine waters. Forty sites were classified into High ESC, 24 sites into Good, 12 sites into Moderate, 13 sites into …

Sorghum Wrky Transcription Factor Sbwrky45 Enhanced Seed Germination Under Drought Stress In Transgenic Arabidopsis, Elamin Baillo, Muhammad Sajid Hanif, Ping Xu, Zhengbin Zhang

Turkish Journal of Botany

The WRKY transcription factors (TFs) family is an important family of plant-specific TFs, playing vital roles in various abiotic and biotic stress responses. WRKY TFs are gaining considerable attention due to their significant roles in stress responses. However, their functions in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) are lagging behind. In this study, a WRKY gene designated as SbWRKY45 was isolated and characterized from sorghum. SbWRKY45, belonging to Group IIa, consists of one intron and two exons and encodes 430 amino acids. SbWRKY45 is located in chromosome 4. The cis-element prediction analysis showed that the promoter region of SbWRKY45 has several abiotic …

Treatment Plan And Educational Guide For Removing Invasive Barnyard Grass, Canada Thistle, And Cocklebur Within The Baduwa't (Mad River) Estuary, Ashley S. Turner, Alex D. Lallman

Undergraduate Scholarship

Our project is located at the Baduwa’t Estuary. We partnered with CalTrout to assist them with meeting one of the objectives for their Mad River (Baduwa’t) Estuary Floodplain Habitat and Public Access Enhancement Project. CalTrout partnered with the landowner, McKinleyville Community Services District, to restore 4.25 acres of the estuary. Our project focused on reducing the abundance of invasive plant species within the estuary area. The target plant species were barnyard grass, Canada thistle, and cocklebur. First, we conducted a literature review to learn the best management practices for eradicating the three target species. Then we conducted a field survey …

Investigation Of The Function Of Protein Acyl Transferases Using Crispr-Cas9 To Create Null Mutants, Claire E. Christopher

Honors Theses and Capstones

24 Protein Acyl Transferases (PATs) have been identified in the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana. Despite knowing the enzymatic function of these genes (palmitoylation), the specific subcellular pathways, protein targets, and cellular activities of these proteins remain unknown. To investigate the pathways that PAT genes are involved in, deletion mutations were created in several genes and the phenotype of the organisms carrying homozygous mutations was observed. To introduce mutations, the CRISPR/Cas9 system was inserted into the plant’s genome using Agrobacterium tumefaciens to cause deletions in PAT genes of interest. To date, no CRISPR-induced pat mutants have a noticeable phenotype. These …

Endophytic Fungi Improve Management Of The Burrowing Nematode In Banana (Musa Spp.) Through Enhanced Expression Of Defence-Related Genes, James Kisaakye, Hendrika Fourie, Danny Coyne, Laura Cortada, Fathiya Mbarak Khamis, Sevgan Subramanian, Shirlyne Masinde, Solveig Haukeland

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The root-burrowing nematode, Radopholus similis, is reputedly the most damaging nematode pest of banana and responsible for major production losses. In this study, the endophytic potential of 13 fungal isolates was assessed for the management of R. similis in East African Highland bananas (‘Ng’ombe’). All isolates successfully colonised tissue-cultured banana roots, with isolates from Trichoderma, Fusarium and Hypocrea producing the highest (≥49.1%) and Beauveria isolates the lowest (≤14.4%) colonisation. The fungal endophytes T. asperellum (ICIPE 700) and H. lixii (ICIPE 697) were the most effective in reducing R. similis densities (>81%) relative to the non-inoculated control. However, the combined …

Leveraging Data, Models And Farming Innovation To Prevent, Prepare For And Manage Pest Incursions: Delivering A Pest Risk Service For Low-Income Countries, Bryony Taylor, Henri Edouard Zefack Tonnang, Tim Beale, William Holland, Mary Lucy Oronje, Elfatih Mohamed Abdel-Rahman, David Onyango, Cambria Finegold, Jessica Zhu, Stefania Pozzi, Sean T. Murphy

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Globally, pests (invertebrates, vertebrates, pathogens, weeds) can cause estimated annual losses of between 20% and 40%, but higher losses are disproportionately experienced by many low-income countries, as agriculture is the mainstay of the majority of the people and of national economies. Pests pose a major barrier to these countries’ ability to meet the aims of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG2, “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.” However, solutions, in the form of pest risk alert systems, coupled with major advances in technology, are now providing opportunities to overcome this barrier in …

Life History, Resource Allocation, And Phenology Of Diploid Flowering Rush (Butomus Umbellatus) Collected From Populations In Ohio And New York, Maxwell G. Gebhart

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus) is an invasive wetland perennial monocot that is native to eastern Europe that invaded north America in the early 1900’s. Flowering rush made its way to the Great Lakes in the mid-1950’s and has now invaded lake and wetland systems along the U.S. – Canadian border causing a host of issues related to water quality and water use. Within the current invaded range two cytotypes, a diploid and a triploid, have been documented which much of the current research and developed management strategies have been largely on the triploid. Research presented here is on the diploid …

Variation In Establishment Success For American Mistletoe [Phoradendron Leucarpum (Raf.) Reveal & M.C. Johnst. (Viscaceae)] Appears Most Likely To Predict Its Distribution In Virginia And North Carolina, United States, Nicholas P. Flanders, Christopher P. Randle, Eric L. Walters, Lytton J. Musselman

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Dispersal limitation and variation in habitat suitability may determine an association of American mistletoe [Phoradendron leucarpum (Raf.) Reveal & M.C. Johnst. (Viscaceae)] with forested wetlands in Virginia and North Carolina, United States. Here, we first tested the alternative hypothesis that variation in host availability drives this habitat relationship. We used a generalized linear model to show a positive effect of forested wetland habitat on American mistletoe occurrence after accounting for both variation in host availability and differences among regions in host use. We then used seed sowing experiments to quantify how light availability and flood regime determine the viability …

Determining The Effectiveness Of Rosemary Essential Oil On The Shelf Life Of Ground Beef Under Different Lighting Conditions, Jordan T. Looper, Kelly R. Vierck

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

This study determined the effectiveness of rosemary extract on the shelf life of ground beef patties under different retail display conditions. Ground beef patties were produced from an 85%:15% blend (lean:fat). Patties were formed from batches of control or amended with rosemary extract. Patties were individually packaged using overwrap. Groups were assigned into one of two lighting groups (3000K and 3500K). Patties were placed in a simulated retail display for 5 d under continuous lighting and rotated once a day. Lipid oxidation and color samples were taken each day. Relating to lipid oxidation, there was no three-way interaction between display …

Monoclonal Antibodies Against Methyl Glucuronoxylan Epitopes For Understanding Xylan Structure And Modification, Utku Avci

Turkish Journal of Botany

Lignocellulosic biomass is an abundant and renewable source that could be utilized for production of many bioproducts. It mainly consists of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, all of which come together to form a recalcitrant wall that impedes production of bioproducts. In order to overcome the recalcitrant nature of the biomass, it is important to fully understand how cell wall components are synthesized and assembled. Xylan is one of the hemicellulosic components of the wall that contributes to recalcitrance. Xylan has substitutions on the backbone that are formed by the orchestration of many enzymes. For example, glucuronoxylan methyltransferases are responsible for …

Phytochemical Investigation Of Alkaloid Fractions Of Fumaria Vaillantii And F. Asepala And Their Antifungal Influence On Gene Expression Pattern In Aspergillus Species, Monir Mohseni, Azra Ataie Azimi, Babak Delnavaz Hashemloian, Mozhgan Farzamisepehr

Turkish Journal of Botany

The genus Fumaria is known for its strong medicinal effects. This research aimed to assess the phytochemical profile in various alkaloid fractions from Fumaria vaillantii Loisel and Fumaria asepala Boiss. grown in the Saveh region of the central province of Iran and their antifungal activity against Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger was investigated in laboratory conditions. Also, the types and amount of alkaloid compounds and the effect of compounds on the expression of key genes of aflatoxin biosynthesis were conducted in order to investigate the ability of alkaloids of two Fumaria species to prepare environmentally friendly disinfectants. The total alkaloid …

Of Transcription Factor And Transformation: Elucidating Gene Function In The Common Ice Plant, Mesembryanthemum Crystallinum, Chinenye Lilian Izuegbunam

Dissertations and Theses

Abiotic stresses negatively affect plant growth and development across the globe, which also affect the production of food, feed, biofuel, and fiber to meet the demands of a growing population. Thus, developing novel strategies to increase abiotic stress tolerance in crops is necessary. One of these strategies is exploring transcription factors (TFs) in Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) plants to improve plant abiotic stress tolerances. Therefore, the first objective of this dissertation determine the abiotic stress tolerance function of a CAM TF, McHB7opt in Arabidopsis. This study found that McHB7opt increased stress-responsive pathways related to seed germination and early seedling development. …

Discovery: The Student Journal Of Dale Bumpers College Of Agricultural, Food And Life Sciences - Volume 24 2023, Several Authors

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

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Effects Of Environmental Factors On Rice Blast Disease, April Ellen Lamb

Theses and Dissertations--Plant Pathology

Rice blast disease, caused by the ascomycete fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, occurs in over 85 countries and results in an annual crop loss of 10-30%, a corresponding nutrient value of meals for 60 million people. As a result, it is listed as a critical plant disease by the United Nations. Understanding factors affecting disease severity is of critical concern for food security. M. oryzae has been used as a model system for studying effector-triggered immunity (ETI) by understanding that ETI is primarily a plant response. M. oryzae has been used as a model to study fungal pathogenicity, host specificity, genome …