Genetics and Genomics Commons^™

Understanding Potassium Toxicity Stress Responses Of The Extremophyte Schrenkiella Parvula Using Systems Biology Approaches, Pramod Pantha

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Schrenkiella parvula is an extremophyte model closely related to Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica crops. Its natural habitat includes shores of saline lakes in the Irano-Turanian region. It has adapted to grow in soils rich in multiple salts including Na⁺ and K⁺. I have investigated the genetic basis for high K⁺ tolerance in plants using S. parvula as a stress tolerant model compared to the premier plant model, Arabidopsis thaliana which is highly sensitive to salt stresses using physiological, ionomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic approaches. Under high K⁺ stress, root system architecture changes significantly compared to control …

Evolution Of Extreme Habitat Specialists In The Dark: Cavefishes And Anglerfishes, Pamela Hart

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Extremophilic organisms are fascinating in that they thrive in physiologically demanding environments. Extreme habitats include subsurface caves and the deep sea, which share several qualities like low light and cold temperatures. Extremophiles have adapted bizarre characteristics that allow them to thrive in such harsh environments including eye and pigment loss (cavefishes) and development of a lure in anglerfishes. These traits are integral to the health and fitness of these organisms, yet the evolutionary history of these traits is unclear.

Cave adaptation has evolved repeatedly across the Tree of Life, famously leading to eye degeneration and loss, yet its macroevolutionary implications …