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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Chitosanase May Enhance Anti-Fungal Defense Responses In Transgenic Tobacco, Bill L. Hendrix
Chitosanase May Enhance Anti-Fungal Defense Responses In Transgenic Tobacco, Bill L. Hendrix
Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal
Fungicides are expensive, dangerous, and can be harmful to the environment, but they are often necessary for profitable farming operations. New technologies may soon allow farmers to replace these chemicals with genetically engineered plants producing antifungal enzymes that degrade fungal cell walls. To explore this option, a Paenbacillus chitosanase gene was cloned, sequenced, and modified for plant expression. The modified gene was delivered to tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L cv. Xanthine) leaf disks via Agrobacterium tumenfaciens-mediated transformation. The putative GMOs were tested for transgene integration, transcription, and translation. Confirmed transformants were then screened for enhanced responses to a Rhizoctonia solani cell …
Dna Sequence Of Melanocortin 1-Receptor Gene In Coturnix Japonica: Correlation With Three E Locus Alleles, E, E+, Erh, Rupali B. Ugrankar
Dna Sequence Of Melanocortin 1-Receptor Gene In Coturnix Japonica: Correlation With Three E Locus Alleles, E, E+, Erh, Rupali B. Ugrankar
Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal
The melanocortin 1-receptor (MC1-R) gene plays a key role in the expression of fur and feather color in mammals and birds by regulating the distribution of two melanin pigments: eumelanin (black/brown) and pheomelanin (red/yellow). MC1-R corresponds to the classical Extension (E) locus in mice, pigs, dogs, horses, and chickens. Three E locus alleles, the wild-type (e + ), brown (E), and redhead (e rh) have been identified in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). To determine if the quail E locus phenotypes were due to variation in the MC1-R gene, the coding region of the MC1-R gene was PCR amplified and DNA …
Transcriptional Control Of The Opp Operon In Clostridium Difficile, S. Lindsey Davis
Transcriptional Control Of The Opp Operon In Clostridium Difficile, S. Lindsey Davis
Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal
As a serious expense for both the hospital and the patient, nosocomial infections create a burden on the health care industry that is not easily overcome. Among the infections commonly contracted in the hospital environment, those associated with the Clostridium difficile bacterium account for millions of cases each year. Largely due to the nature of C. difficile infection as a response to the disruption of the normal flora of the colon caused by antibiotic activity, no completely effective treatment for this condition has been identified. It is this problem that forms the foundation for research devoted to the development of …
The Role Of Natural Calcium Oxalate Crystals In Plant Defense Against Chewing Insects, Sarah J. Doege
The Role Of Natural Calcium Oxalate Crystals In Plant Defense Against Chewing Insects, Sarah J. Doege
Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal
Calcium oxalate is the most abundant insoluble mineral found in plants and it is common among many plant families. Calcium oxalate crystals in plants can appear as irregular rectangles, spiked balls, or needles. The formidable appearance of these crystals has lead to speculation that they might serve as a form of pest control by deterring chewing insects. We utilized mutant plant lines to assess the effects of plant calcium oxalate crystals on the survival and feeding habits of chewing insects. We have taken advantage of calcium oxalate-deficient (cod) mutants of the barrel medic, Medicago truncatula Calcium oxalate crystals accumulate in …
Response Of Blackberry Cultivars To Nematode Transmission Of Tobacco Ringspot Virus, Alisha Sanny
Response Of Blackberry Cultivars To Nematode Transmission Of Tobacco Ringspot Virus, Alisha Sanny
Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal
A study was conducted on eight cultivars of blackberry ('Apache', 'Arapaho', 'Chester', 'Chickasaw', 'Kiowa', 'Navaho', 'Shawnee', and 'Triple Crown'), of which four plants of each were previously determined in the fall of 2001 to have root, but not leaf, infection with Tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV). The objective of our study was to determine virus effects on plant vigor, and the spread of virus infection in the plants. Eight plants of each cultivar, four infected and four free of infection, were grown in pots on a gravel pad for the 2002 growing season, and samples of primocane and floricane leaves were …
Characterization Of Wound-Inducible Genes Encoding Enzymes For Terpenoid Biosynthesis In Medicago Truncatula, Mandy M. Cox
Characterization Of Wound-Inducible Genes Encoding Enzymes For Terpenoid Biosynthesis In Medicago Truncatula, Mandy M. Cox
Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal
In addition to having numerous applications and pharmaceuticals, terpenoids are an important class of defensive compounds that can accumulate in plants after pathogen infection or injury by insects. Sequences of DNA encoding putative terpene synthases and an oxidosqualene synthase, isolated from insect-damaged Medicago truncatula leaves, were selected from an expressed sequence tag (EST) data base. The cDNA clones were used as radio-labeled probes to analyze gene expression in leaves treated with factors known to trigger a defense response in plants. Transcript levels for all of the genes examined increased in response to artificial wounding, insect herbivory, and methyl jasmonate (meJA) …