Plant Sciences Commons^™

Nebraska Promotes Sorghum And Pearl Millet Food Processing In East Africa, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

Sorghum and millet are ideal crops for many parts of Africa. However, sorghum and millet’s use as food sources for large urban populations in West Africa is hampered by 1) lack of infrastructure for conveying and demonstrating the food value of sorghum and millet to small business investors, 2) limitations on the supply of high quality grains to processors, 3) lack of small processors, 4) lack of educational resources related to small business development, 5) lack of product development expertise, and 6) lack of knowledge of evidence supporting nutritional claims associated with sorghum and millet consumption.

The Department of Food …

Enhanced Uv Inactivation Of Adenoviruses Under Polychromatic Uv Lamps, Karl G. Linden, Jeanette Thurston, Raymond Schaefer, James P. Malley Jr.

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

Adenovirus is recognized as the most UV-resistant waterborne pathogen of concern to public health microbiologists. The U.S. EPA has stipulated that a UV fluence (dose) of 186 mJ cm^-2 is required for 4-log inactivation credit in water treatment. However, all adenovirus inactivation data to date published in the peer-reviewed literature have been based on UV disinfection experiments using UV irradiation at 253.7 nm produced from a conventional low-pressure UV source. The work reported here presents inactivation data for adenovirus based on polychromatic UV sources and details the significant enhancement in inactivation achieved using these polychromatic sources. When full-spectrum, medium-pressure …

Intsormil, Elvis A. Heinrichs

INTSORMIL Scientific Publications

The Sorghum, Millet and Other Grains CRSP (INTSORMIL) is funded by the United States Agency for International Development and collaborating organizations in the U.S and in host countries. The Global INTSORMIL program involves 17 U.S. scientists at six universities and the USDA and 23 host country national research programs. The INTSORMIL mission is to use collaborative research to overcome constraints to sorghum, millet and other grains (fonio, tef and finger millet) production and utilization for the mutual benefit of agriculture in the U.S. and developing countries.

The focus is on increasing food security and promoting market development of sorghum and …

Center For Grassland Studies Newsletter, Winter 2007, Volume 13, No. 1

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

Contents

• Restoration of Salt Cedar Infestations

• From the Director

• Patch-burn Grazing: Benefits for Both Wildlife Habitat and Livestock Performance by Chris Helzer

• CGS Associates

• Soil Physical Characteristics of Aging Golf Greens by Roch Gaussoin

• Jim Gerrish to Speak at 2007 Nebraska Grazing Conference

A Physiological Basis For Controlling Leafy Spurge On Nebraska Rangeland, Rob B. Mitchell, Corey Moffet, Ron Sosebee

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

Applying herbicides at the appropriate physiological stage is an important consideration to effectively control leafy spurge.

Livestock Production System Management Responses To Thermal Challenges, J. A. Nienabar, G. L. Hahn

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

The adaptive capabilities of animals and livestock production systems have been emphasized in this report. Biometeorology has a key role in rational management to meet the challenges of thermal environments. While the focus is primarily on cattle in warm or hot climates, the importance of dynamic animal responses to environmental challenges applies to all species and climates. Methods used to mitigate environmental challenges focus on heat loss/heat production balance. Under cold stress, reduction of heat loss is the key. Under heat stress, reduction of heat load or increasing heat loss are the primary management tools, although heat-tolerant animals are also …

Characterization Of Polymeric Proteins From Vitreous And Floury Sorghum Endosperm, B. Ioerger, S. R. Bean, M. R. Tuinstra, Jeffrey F. Pedersen, J. Erpelding, K. M. Lee, T. J. Herrman

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

Differences in protein content and composition between vitreous and floury endosperm were investigated using a number of different techniques. Differences in protein cross-linking between vitreous and floury endosperm were investigated using differential solubility, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and analysis of sulfhydryl content and composition. Vitreous endosperm was found to have higher levels of total protein and kafirins, but floury endosperm had a higher proportion of γ-kafirins than the vitreous. Floury endosperm was found to have higher levels of SDS-soluble proteins than SDS-insoluble proteins extracted using sonication than vitreous endosperm. Conversely, vitreous endosperm had a greater proportion of the insoluble proteins. …

Comment On “A G Protein–Coupled Receptor Is A Plasma Membrane Receptor For The Plant Hormone Abscisic Acid”, Christopher Johnston, Brenda Temple, Jin-Gui Chen, Yajun Gao, Etsuko N. Moriyama, Alan M. Jones, David Siderovski, Francis Willard

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty and Staff Publications

Liu et al. (Reports, March 23, 2007, p. 1712) reported that the Arabidopsis thaliana gene GCR2 encodes a seven-transmembrane, G protein–coupled receptor for abscisic acid. We argue that GCR2 is not likely to be a transmembrane protein nor a G protein–coupled receptor. Instead, GCR2 is most likely a plant homolog of bacterial lanthionine synthetases.

The Mycotoxin Threat To Food Safety, Ervin Balazs, James S. Schepers

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

This workshop entitled “Mycotoxins from the Field to the Table” held in Omaha, Nebraska, USA from 29 November to 1 December, 2006 evolved from the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) Co-operative Research Program on “Biological Resource Management” that was initiated in 1979. It currently focuses on three specific areas, namely the natural resources challenge, sustainability in practice, and the food chain. This workshop was organized under the sustainability and food chain themes.

The Cooperative Research Program's two major activities are promotion of expert exchanges by supporting postdoctoral fellowship awards up to 26 weeks in an OECD host laboratory …

Source Tracking Of Microbial Intrusion In Water Systems Using Artificial Neural Networks, Minyoung Kim, Christopher Y. Choi, Charles P. Garba

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

A ‘‘what-if’’ scenario where biological agents are accidentally or deliberately introduced into a water system was generated, and artificial neural network (ANN) models were applied to identify the pathogenic release location to isolate the contaminated area and minimize its hazards. The spatiotemporal distribution of Escherichia coli 15597 along the water system was employed to locate pollutants by inversely interpreting transport patterns of Escherichia coli using ANNs. Results showed that dispersion patterns of Escherichia coli were positively correlated to pH, turbidity, and conductivity (R² = 0.90–0.96), and the ANN models successfully identified the source location of Escherichia coli introduced into …

Convergence Of Agriculture And Energy: Ii. Producing Cellulosic Biomass For Biofuels, Steven L. Fales, J. Richard Hess, Wallace Wilhelm, Don Erbach, William D. Provine, Kenneth P. Vogel, Todd A. Peterson, Edward C. A. Runge

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

Global energy demand is increasing as known global petroleum supplies are decreas¬ing. Calls to supplement or replace the current fossil-based energy system with new, envi¬ronmentally and economically sustainable strategies continue to increase, especially in light of more expensive traditional energy sources. Various governmental agencies and working groups have set aggressive targets and timelines for decreasing fossil fuel consumption by substituting bio-based energy (Bush 2007; Foust et al. 2007; Perlack et al. 2005; Smith et al. 2004). The alignment and continuity of these goals is illustrated in Figure 1.
Current biofuel production in the United States relies primarily on corn grain …

Biofuel Feedstocks: The Risk Of Future Invasions, Joseph M. Ditomaso, Jacob N. Barney, Alison M. Fox

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

In an effort to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, expand domestic energy production, and maintain economic growth, public and private investments are being used to pursue dedicated feedstock crops for biofuel production. Unlike food crops grown for grain-based ethanol (e.g., corn), which require high inputs of fertilizers and pesticides and typically are grown on prime agricultural land, proposed lignocellulose-based energy crops (e.g., switchgrass) typically have a neutral or negative carbon budget, require relatively few economic or environmental inputs, and can be cultivated on marginal, lower-productivity land. Thus, a rapidly growing industry related to crop selection, cultivar improvement, and conversion technologies is …

Forage Potential Of Temperate Legumes With Perennial Grasses In The Southern Plains, John A. Guretzky, Twain Butler, Matt Mattox

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION

Rising costs of N fertilizer coupled with evidence of improved forage production and quality has increased interest among beef cattle producers in legume-grass mixtures for pasture. Our objectives were to evaluate forage yields of temperate legumes seeded with perennial grasses in the Southern Plains. Replicated field trials were established in 2006 at Burneyville, OK; Vashti, TX; and Stephenville, TX, to evaluate potential legume dry matter (DM) yields under different soil and rainfall regimes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Burneyville. Legumes were broadcast-seeded and lightly raked by hand within individual 3 x 5 m plots in an existing stand of eastern gamagrass …

Nebline, Nov./Dec. 2007

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Internet is Popular Way to Access Extension
When it Comes to Being Wired, Youth are Leading the Way
Storage Methods to Reduce Loss of Hay Quality
Grain Stubble Rental Rates
Organic Production
Winter Protection for Roses
Make a Holiday Wreath
Winter Gardening Activities for Kids of All Ages
Turkey Tips
Cheesy Turkey Lasagna Recipe
Mediterranean Diet Offers Healthy Benefits
FREE Seminar, “Making Many Meals Using a Few Ingredients”
Mediterranean Soup
President’s Notes — Alice’s Analysis
Household Hints: Caring for Fleece
The Holidays When There are No Close Family Ties
FCE News & Events
Holiday Safety Tips
Holiday Gifts Needed for …

K12-Biotinylated Histone H4 Marks Heterochromatin In Human Lymphoblastoma Cells, Gabriela Camporeale, Anna M. Oommen, Jacob B. Griffin, Gautam Sarath, Janos Zempleni

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

Covalent modifications of histones play crucial roles in chromatin structure and genomic stability. Recently, we reported a novel modification of histones: biotinylation of lysine residues. Here we provide evidence that K12-biotinylated histone H4 (K12Bio H4) maps specifically to both heterochromatin (alpha satellite repeats in pericentromeric regions) and transcriptionally repressed chromatin (γ-G globin and interleukin-2) in human lymphoblastoma cells. The abundance of K12Bio H4 in these regions was similar to that of K9-dimethylated histone H3, a known marker for heterochromatin. Likewise, K8-biotinylated histone H4 (K8Bio H4) mapped to heterochromatin, but the relative enrichment was smaller compared with K12Bio H4. Stimulation of …

Engineering, Nutrient Removal, And Feedstock Conversion Evaluations Of Four Corn Stover Harvest Scenarios, Reed L. Hoskinson, Douglas L. Karlen, Stuart J. Birrell, Corey W. Radtke, Wally Wilhelm

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

Crop residue has been identified as a near-term source of biomass for renewable fuel, heat, power, chemicals and other bio-materials. A prototype one-pass harvest system was used to collect residue samples from a corn (Zea mays L.) field near Ames, IA. Four harvest scenarios (low cut, high-cut top, high-cut bottom, and normal cut) were evaluated and are expressed as collected stover harvest indices (CSHI). High-cut top and high-cut bottom samples were obtained from the same plot in separate operations. Chemical composition, dilute acid pretreatment response, ethanol conversion yield and efficiency, and thermochemical conversion for each scenario were determined. Mean …

The Chlamydomonas Genome Reveals The Evolution Of Key Animal And Plant Functions, Sabeeha S. Merchant, Simon E. Prochnik, Olivier Vallon, Elizabeth H. Harris, Steven J. Karpowicz, George B. Witman, Astrid Terry, Asaf Salamov, Lillian K. Fritz-Laylin, Laurence Maréchal-Drouard, Wallace F. Marshall, Liang-Hu Qu, David R. Nelson, Anton A. Sanderfoot, Martin H. Spalding, Vladimir V. Kapitonov, Qinghu Ren, Patrick Ferris, Erika Lindquist, Harris Shapiro, Susan M. Lucas, Jane Grimwood, Jeremy Schmutz, Igor V. Grigoriev, Daniel S. Rokhsar, Arthur Grossman, Chlamydomonas Annotation Team, Jgi Annotation Team, Heriberto D. Cerutti

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty and Staff Publications

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a unicellular green alga whose lineage diverged from land plants over 1 billion years ago. It is a model system for studying chloroplast-based photosynthesis, as well as the structure, assembly, and function of eukaryotic flagella (cilia), which were inherited from the common ancestor of plants and animals, but lost in land plants. We sequenced the ~120-megabase nuclear genome of Chlamydomonas and performed comparative phylogenomic analyses, identifying genes encoding uncharacterized proteins that are likely associated with the function and biogenesis of chloroplasts or eukaryotic flagella. Analyses of the Chlamydomonas genome advance our understanding of the ancestral eukaryotic cell, …

Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus Lacking Helper Component-Proteinase Is Competent To Produce Disease Synergism In Double Infections With Maize Chlorotic Mottle Virus, Drake C. Stenger, Brock A. Young, Feng Qu, Thomas Jack Morris, Roy French

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The tritimovirus Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) and the machlomovirus Maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) each cause systemic chlorosis in infected maize plants. Infection of maize with both viruses produces corn lethal necrosis disease (CLND). Here, we report that complete deletion of the WSMV helper component-proteinase (HC-Pro) coding region had no effect on induction of CLND symptoms following coinoculation of maize with WSMV and MCMV. We further demonstrated that elevation of virus titers in double infections, relative to single infections, also was independent of WSMV HC-Pro. Thus, unlike potyvirus HC-Pro, WSMV HC-Pro was dispensable for disease synergism. Because disease synergism …

Center For Grassland Studies Newsletter, Fall 2007, Volume 13, No. 4

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

Contents:

Turfgrass and Landscape Management Degree Program at UNL by Robert (Bob) C. Shearman, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, UNL

New Farm Bill Should Continue Support for Grassland Management by Duane Hovorka, National Wildlife Federation

Another Great Nebraska Grazing Conference in 2007!

New Ph.D. Specialization in Applied Ecology at UNL by Tala Awada, James Brandle and Larkin Powell, School of Natural Resources, UNL

Nebraska Mentoring Program for Graziers by Roger Chesley, Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition

2003 National Resources Inventory Information Online

2007 CGS Fall Seminar Series

Nebline, October 2007

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

How Healthy is Your Home?
Soybean Cyst Nematode Spreading in Nebraska
Maintain Grain Quality in Storage
Winterize Your Underground Sprinkler System
Prepare Fireplaces and Woodburning Stoves for Safe Use this Winter
Why Leaves Fall
Choose Decay Resistant Wood for Buildings, Fenceposts
Storing a Tractor
Drying Gourds
Start Garden Cleanup
Tree Planting and Landscape Improvement Funds Available
Grassland Center Sets Fall Lecture Schedule
President’s Notes — Alice’s Analysis
Household Hints
Control Anger Rather Than Suppress It
FCE News & Events
Respond Effectively to Misbehaving Children by Understanding the Problem
Filing Financial Records Saves Time
How Dish Size, Location Influence the Amount …

Source Tracking Of Microbial Intrusion In Water Systems Using Artificial Neural Networks, Minyoung Kim, Christopher Y. Choi, Charles P. Gerba

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

A ‘‘what-if’’ scenario where biological agents are accidentally or deliberately introduced into a water system was generated, and artificial neural network (ANN) models were applied to identify the pathogenic release location to isolate the contaminated area and minimize its hazards. The spatiotemporal distribution of Escherichia coli 15597 along the water system was employed to locate pollutants by inversely interpreting transport patterns of E. coli using ANNs. Results showed that dispersion patterns of E. coli were positively correlated to pH, turbidity, and conductivity (R² = 0.90–0.96), and the ANN models successfully identified the source location of E. coli introduced into …

Comparison Of Laboratory Methods And An In Situ Method For Estimating Nitrogen Mineralization In An Irrigated Silt-Loam Soil, Brian J. Wienhold

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

Nitrogen (N) mineralization makes a considerable contribution to crop-available N and is difficult to estimate. Reliable methods for measuring N mineralization are needed to produce data sets for developing N-mineralization models, as a component in fertilizer recommendation algorithms, and to assess the effect of management practices on N mineralization. Numerous methods are available for estimating N mineralization. Laboratory methods are relatively easy but may not reflect conditions in the field, and field methods are usually labor-intensive. A study was conducted to compare N-mineralization estimates using anaerobic and aerobic laboratory methods and an in situ field method for the 0- to …

The Effect Of Residue C:N Ratio On The Turnover Of N And C In Various Soil Organic Matter Fractions, Ana B. Wingeyer

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Identifying soil organic matter (SOM) fractions that contribute to soil indigenous nitrogen (N) supply and understanding their turnover under different management constitute necessary tools toward an efficient N use. The objectives of this study were: i) trace the endpoint of carbon (C) flux from residue inputs into SOM; and ii) asses the role of the light fraction (LF), mobile humic acid (MHA) fraction and calcium humate (CaHA) fraction as N sources for heterotrophic decomposition of fresh plant residues with contrasting C:N ratio. A long-term aerobic soil incubation was carried out on ¹⁵N-labeled soil samples from Lincoln and Mead, NE. …

Nebline, September 2007

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Control Winter Annuals in Fall
Free Soybean Cyst Nematode Sample Kits Available
Free Scrap Tire Collection
Keep Roosting Birds From Dirtying Cars, Driveways This Fall
Wood Heat–A Viable Home Heating Alternative
Ten Rules for Planting Trees
Answers to Composting Questions
President’s Notes — Alice’s Analysis
Household Hints: Programmable Thermostats
FCE News & Events
First Step to Eliminate Debt is Cut Expenses
Ease Children Into Staying Home Alone
Strengthening Family Treasures Daughter/Mother Camp
Four Fruit Salad Recipe
Do You REALLY Know How Much You Eat?
ABC’s for Good Health, Oct. 2, 9 & 23
Free Seminar, “Making Many Meals Using a …

Usda-Ars Lincoln Location Contact Information

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

Grain, Forage, & Bioenergy Research Unit
Mid-West Livestock Research Unit
Soil & Water Conservation Research Unit
Employee Listing

The mission of the USDA / ARS programs at Lincoln, Nebraska is to improve the productivity, stability of production, sustainability and profitability of crop and livestock production systems in the Great Plains

The Lincoln Location is a part of the Northern Plains Area (NPA) of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), a Research, Education and Economics (REE) agency, and the main in-house research arm of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Internode Structure And Cell Wall Composition In Maturing Tillers Of Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum. L), Gautam Sarath, Lisa M. Baird, Kenneth P. Vogel, Robert B. Mitchell

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

This work examined cell composition gradients in maturing tillers of switchgrass (Panicum virgatuln L. ) with the aim of developing baseline information on this important forage and biomass crop. Flowering tillers were collected from plants raised from seeds in a greenhouse and field, harvested at soil level and separated into internodes beginning with the node subtending the peduncle. Internodes were analyzed using microscopy, by fiber digestion, high-performance liquid chromatography and by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to obtain anatomical and compositional data. Microscopy demonstrated the development and maturation of cortical fibers which eventually became confluent with the fiber sheath surrounding vascular …

Cloning And Expression Of An Atrazine Inducible Cytochrome P450, Cyp4g33, From Chironomus Tentans (Diptera: Chironomidae), Diana K. Londono, Herbert A.A. Siqueira, Haichuan Wang, Gautam Sarath, Michael J. Lydy, Blair D. Siegfried

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

Previous studies performed in our laboratory have measured the effect of atrazine exposure on cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenase activity and have found increased activity in midge larvae (Chironomus tentans) as a result of atrazine exposure (1– 10 ppm). Here we report the cloning and expression of a specific C. tentans CYP4 gene that is responsive to atrazine induction with an open reading frame of 1678 bp which encodes a putative protein of 559 amino acid residues. Alignments of deduced amino acid sequences with other insect P450 genes and phylogenetic analysis indicated a high degree of similarity to other insect …

Comparative Genomics Reveals Functional Transcriptional Control Sequences In The Prop1 Gene, Robert D. Ward, Minchul Cho, S. A. Camper, Shannon W. Davis, Lori T. Raetzman, Timothy P.L. Smith, Constance Esposito, Robert H. Lyons, Jan-Fang Cheng, Edward M. Rubin, Simon J. Rhodes

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

Mutations in PROP1 are a common genetic cause of multiple pituitary hormone deficiency (MPHD). We used a comparative genomics approach to predict the transcriptional regulatory domains of Prop1 and tested them in cell culture and mice. A BAC transgene containing Prop1 completely rescues the Prop1 mutant phenotype, demonstrating that the regulatory elements necessary for proper Prop1 transcription are contained within the BAC. We generated DNA sequences from the PROP1 genes in lemur, pig, and five different primate species. Comparison of these with available human and mouse PROP1 sequences identified three putative regulatory sequences that are highly conserved. These are located …

Tillage And Rotation Effect On Corn–Soybean Energy Balances In Eastern Nebraska, G.-W. Rathke, Brian Wienhold, Wallace Wilhelm, W. Diepenbrock

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

Data from a field experiment conducted in eastern Nebraska over 16 years (1986–2001) were used to determine the energy balance of corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) as affected by tillage treatments and rotation. Tillage treatments included chisel plow, tandem disk, moldboard plow, ridge-tillage, no-till and subsoil tillage. Crop sequences were continuous corn, continuous soybean, corn in a corn–soybean rotation and soybean in a soybean–corn rotation. The energy balance was assessed by comparing the parameters: energy gain (net energy output), energy intensity (energy input per unit grain equivalent, GE) and output/input ratio. Changes in plant …

What We Do Know About Rice (Oryza Sativa) Hemoglobins, Veronica Lira-Ruan, Emily H. Ross, Mark S. Hargrove, Gautam Sarath, Raul Arredondo-Peter, Robert V. Klucas

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

Nonsymbiotic hemoglobins (nsHb) are proteins widely distributed in land plants, however their function in plant organs is still not known. Rice nsHbs have been characterized in detail and represent a model to study plant nsHbs. Rice recombinant Hb1 (rHb1) has a very high affinity for O₂ (1,800 μM^-1 s^-1), because the dissociation constant is extremely low (k_off = 0.038 s^-1). X-ray analysis and site-directed mutagenesis showed that the low dissociation constant of rHb1 is partially due to the stabilization of bound O₂ by distal His. This characteristic suggests that the function of …