Life Sciences Commons^™

Plant Diseases And Pests In Utah Raspberries, Sean Christensen

Research on Capitol Hill

Very little information exists on pathogens and pests that affect Utah raspberry production. In fact a survey of Utah raspberry growers at the 2015 USU Urban and Small Farms conference showed that 72% said the largest problem they had was with diseases and pests, and 71% of those did not know what the diseases actually were.

Several viruses, bacteria, pests, and nutrient deficiencies can have a large influence on raspberry yield. This survey was designed to raise awareness among Utah raspberry growers, help them to better prepare for, and manage these possible disease problems. This will be increasingly more important …

Potential Regulation Of Deadly Water-Borne Shigella Bacteria Pathogenesis Through The Shigella Infection Protein Spa47, Jamie Kingsford

Research on Capitol Hill

• Shigella is a gram-negative, bacterial pathogen typically found in contaminated water sources.
• Each year, Shigella is responsible for over 90 million infections and 100,000 deaths stemming from symptoms of severe dysentery, fever, nausea and vomiting.
• A needle-like apparatus found on the surface of Shigella allows the bacterium to infect host cells.
• Each needle-apparatus has an associated ATPase, a protein that can hydrolyze ATP into ADP and P_i.
• The Shigella needle-apparatus ATPase Spa47 is predicted to provide the energy for infection.
• Spa47 has been shown to be essential for infection – without Spa47, no infection will occur.
• We were …

Beyond The Fiber: Novel Spider Silk Coatings And Adhesives, Danielle A. Gaztambide, Breton A. Day

Research on Capitol Hill

Natural spider silks have long been recognized for their combination of incredible strength and elasticity. Spider silk is more elastic than nylon, tougher than Kevlar, and stronger than steel by weight. Due to an inability to farm spiders, much work has been done to produce spider silks in transgenic hosts for large -scale production. Our work was done using recombinant spider silk proteins produced in transgenic goats and the bacteria E. coli.

More recently spider silks have also been recognized for their biocompatibility and lack of immunogenicity. Spider silks' incredible strength and ability to be implanted safely within the body …

Insecticides Are Not Always The Answer For Combatting Pests In Onion Fields, Harlie Hutchinson

Research on Capitol Hill

Onion thrips are the insect vector of a severe virus in onion, Iris yellow spot virus. The thrips and virus are primary threats to the economic stability of onion production worldwide. Overuse of insecticides to suppress onion thrips has resulted in the development of resistance, reduced performance of insecticides, and reduced onion yields.

There is a compelling desire to find alternatives to better manage these pests. In this study, we assessed onion thrips populations on onions with low and high nitrogen rates, and near and far from corn and wheat, two common neighboring crops in the onion farm-scape.

Water Use Of Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties, Shawn Foster

Research on Capitol Hill

• With drought so prevalent in the West, water use on urban landscapes is being closely scrutinized with up to 60% of urban water use directed to landscape irrigation-primarily our lawns.
• Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is widely used because of its soft texture, attractive color, and ability to recover from intensive use.
• More water-efficient varieties of Kentucky bluegrass may result in less irrigation yet maintain quality and function of the turf.