Botany Commons^™

Modelling The "Bottom-Up" Development Pattern Of Tar Spot Disease In Corn, Brenden Lane, Joaquín Guillermo Ramírez-Gil, Carlos Góngora-Canul, Mariela Sofia Fernandez Campos, Andres Cruz-Sancan, Fidel E. Jiménez-Beitia, Alex G. Acosta-Guatemal, Wily Sic, C. D. Cruz

Graduate Industrial Research Symposium

In 2015, the corn-infecting pathogen Phyllachora maydis (causal agent of tar spot disease) was reported for the first time in the United States. The disease has since spread across the US, causing major yield losses. In 2021 alone, 5.88 million metric tons (231.3 million bushels) of US corn yield were lost to this disease, costing an estimated US$1.25 billion. Though fungicides can protect against these agroeconomic losses, application timing can be difficult to optimize because our understanding of tar spot dynamics is still evolving. The current view is that tar spot typically develops bottom-up through a repeating infection cycle. Because …

Insects And Their Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota, Fungi) Of Lake Eustis And Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area: A Case Study On Urbanization And Diversity, Patricia J. Kaishian

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

A rapid biodiversity assessment of insects and associated Laboulbeniales fungi was conducted over the course of five nights in August, 2018, at two central Florida lakes: Lake Eustis and the nearby protected and restored National Natural Landmark, Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area (EMCA), which encompasses a portion of Lake Griffin. Lake Eustis was surveyed for Laboulbeniales in 1897 by mycologist Dr. Roland Thaxter but has not since been investigated. Because Lake Eustis has been urbanized, with the lake perimeter almost entirely altered by human development, the site offers a look into Laboulbeniales diversity across a 121-year timeline, before and after human …

Relating Green Space Characteristics To Student Housing Habits, Joshua Randall

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

A History Of Zinnias: Flower For The Ages, Eric Grissell

Purdue University Press Book Previews

A History of Zinnias brings forward the fascinating adventure of zinnias and the spirit of civilization. With colorful illustrations, this book is a cultural and horticultural history documenting the development of garden zinnias—one of the top ten garden annuals grown in the United States today.

The deep and exciting history of garden zinnias pieces together a tale involving Aztecs, Spanish conquistadors, people of faith, people of medicine, explorers, scientists, writers, botanists, painters, and gardeners. The trail leads from the halls of Moctezuma to a cliff-diving prime minister; from Handel, Mozart, and Rossini to Gilbert and Sullivan; from a little-known confession …

Molecular Phylogeny Implemented In An Introductory Plant Classification Course, Chao Cai, Jo Ann Banks

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Plant classification is one of the core components in undergraduate programs related to plant sciences. Traditionally plant classification courses primarily introduce morphology-based taxonomy because of practical needs in the field. However, the publication of new plant classification systems by Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) using molecular phylogeny methods leads to the trends of using molecular evidence (DNA barcode) for plant identification. In our introductory plant classification course, we included a two-week module (lectures and labs) to introduce key concepts and fundamental skills in molecular phylogeny. Week 1 included concepts of evolutionary tree thinking, data mining in NCBI using BLAST search, and …

Utilizing Gis To Locate Endangered Gravel Hill Prairies Of The Wabash River Valley, Ryan W.R. Schroeder

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

The Gravel Hill Prairies (GHP’s) of the Wabash River Valley are an endangered ecosystem in the state of Indiana and provide optimal growing conditions for a number of state endangered plants. Currently only four remnants are known to exist near Lafayette, IN, found by a previous study conducted in 1980 by Post, Bacone, and Aldrich (Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science, 1984, vol. 94: 457-464). These unique ecosystems have been found to occur almost exclusively on soils classified as Rodman Gravelly Loams and Strawn-Rodman complexes which occur predominantly along the outwash terraces of the Wabash River and its tributaries. …

Developing Probability Maps For Locating And Scouting Unprotected Areas Of Gravel Hill Prairies On Rodman Soils Along The Wabash River Valley Near Lafayette, Indiana, Ryan W.R. Schroeder

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

No abstract provided.

Combating A Global Threat To A Clonal Crop: Banana Black Sigatoka Pathogen Pseudocercospora Fijiensis (Synonym Mycosphaerella Fijiensis) Genomes Reveal Clues For Disease Control, Rafael E. Arango-Isaza, Caucasella Diaz-Trujillo, Braham Deep Singh Dhillon, Andrea L. Aerts, Jean Carlier, Charles F. Crane, Tristan V. De Jong, Ineke M. De Vries, Robert A. Dietrich, Andrew D. Farmer, Claudia Fortes Fereira, Suzana A L Garcia, Mauricio Guzmán, Richard C. Hamelin, Erika A. Lindquist, Rahim Mehrabi, Olman Quiros, Jeremy Schmultz, Harris J. Shapiro, Elizabeth Reynolds, Gabriel Scalliet, Manoel Teixeira Souza, Ioannis Stergiopoulos, Theo A J Van Der Lee, Pierre J G M De Wit, Marie Françoise Zapater, Lute Harm Zwiers, Igor V. Grigoriev, Stephen B. Goodwin, Gert Hj J Kema

Department of Botany and Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

Black Sigatoka or black leaf streak disease, caused by the Dothideomycete fungus Pseudocercospora fijiensis (previously: Mycosphaerella fijiensis), is the most significant foliar disease of banana worldwide. Due to the lack of effective host resistance, management of this disease requires frequent fungicide applications, which greatly increase the economic and environmental costs to produce banana. Weekly applications in most banana plantations lead to rapid evolution of fungicide-resistant strains within populations causing disease-control failures throughout the world. Given its extremely high economic importance, two strains of P. fijiensis were sequenced and assembled with the aid of a new genetic linkage map. The 74-Mb …

Detecting Genomic Regions Responsible For Resistance In Arabidopsis, Valeria Cancino, Anjali Iyer-Pascuzzi, Rucha Karve

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Ralstonia solanacearum is a soil-borne plant root colonizing pathogen and the casual agent of bacterial wilt (BW) disease. BW leads to severe yield loss in a wide variety of agricultural commodity crops, such as tomato, banana, and pepper. In this study, we look at the plant-pathogen interaction between Ralstonia solanacearum and various ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana with the goal of finding resistant ecotypes. To identify resistant ecotypes, seeds are first sterilized and left to soak in the dark. Then the seeds are plated on agar media, transferred to a growth chamber, and allowed to grow for 5 days. On day …

Framework For Functional Tree Simulation Applied To 'Golden Delicious' Apple Trees, Marek Fiser

Open Access Theses

This research aims to develop a framework to model realistic and functional trees. Our modular framework is easily controllable and extensible by the user. The framework provides powerful features such as per-leaf light simulation and a source-sink based resources transport model. Our novel 3D reconstruction algorithm generates realistic tree models with a good 3D polygon topology. ^ The second part of this research is a functional model of a Golden Delicious apple tree. We use our simulation framework and data collected in Purdue Meigs farm over the year 2014 to create a realistic data-driven model. The model reacts on temperature …

Genetic Analysis Of Tocochromanol Variation In Maize Using High-Density Linkage Mapping, Megan E. Fenton

Open Access Theses

Vitamin E is an essential nutrient in the human diet and refers to eight distinct compounds that are collectively known as tocochromanols. Tocochromanols are grouped into two classes: tocotrienols and tocopherols. Tocochromanols are the major lipid-soluble antioxidants in maize (Zea mays L.) grain. Enhancing the tocochromanol content of maize derived foods through plant breeding has important nutritional and health implications. Chapter one is a literature review that provides a foundational understanding of the biosynthesis, function and genetic control of tocochromanols in plants, with specific attention to maize (Zea mays L.). Upon this foundation two research objectives were developed that work …

Eco-Evolutionary Factors Drive Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatiles, Which Intercept Plant Defense, Elizabeth K. Rowen

Open Access Theses

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) mediate a wide variety of interactions in ecosystems. However, many volatile compounds are found across plant taxa, and some are exploited to attract natural enemies for biological control. Subtle changes in HIPV blends can produce profound changes in the behavior of predators, parasitoids and herbivores, and may also alter the defensive processes of neighboring plants. I investigated different ecological and evolutionary factors to understand how plant volatile emissions are affected by feeding guild, herbivore diet breadth and domestication. I meta-analyzed 109 studies and found that specialists induce more total volatiles than generalists. Domesticated species have stronger …

Genetic Analysis Of Nitrogen Remobilization And Kernel Compositon In Zea Mays L. And Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench, Raymond S Lindsey

Open Access Dissertations

Genetic Analysis of Nitrogen Remobilization and Kernel Composition in Zea Mays L. and Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench. Major Professor: Mitchell Tuinstra. Modern maize (Zea mays L.) production relies heavily on nitrogen fertilization for high productivity. Over-application of nitrogen fertilizers in cropping systems can have detrimental economic and environmental effects. For this reason, improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) is a major goal of breeders and producers. Nitrogen Utilization Efficiency (NUtE) is one component of NUE, and the most important component under N-limited conditions. In this study we examined the genetic controls of the timing and preferential canopy position of leaf N …

Effects Of Temperature And Pollinator Availability On Plant Reproductive Success In The Indiana Spring Ephemeral Community, Asya Robertshaw

Open Access Dissertations

Temperature is a key driver of phenology in both plants and insects, and even small changes in temperature can impact the reproductive success of insect-pollinated plants by influencing access to pollinator services. While it is well-established that temperature variation directly impacts the flowering phenology of many plant species, the mechanisms by which it ultimately influences seed production via the pollinator community are not well understood. Climate change has the potential to disrupt the temporal synchrony between plants and their primary pollinators, especially if the two rely on different seasonal cues for the timing of their life history events. If the …

Population Differentiation, Dispersal Limitation, And Local Adaptation In The Gametophytic Fern Vittaria Appalachiana, Sally M. Stevens

Open Access Dissertations

Species' distributions are driven by a variety of abiotic and biotic factors. As these factors become altered by global climate change, species are believed to respond to these projected environmental changes in four different ways. One response is the shifting of the species' geographic range to higher latitudes and elevations, which will be unlikely for those species that have limited dispersal potential. Alternatively, organisms may tolerate the change, which will be unlikely for those organisms that are not phenotypically plastic. A third potential response is to adapt to the new environment via rapid evolution, an unlikely response for those organisms …

Identification And Characterization Of Signal Components In Early Aba Signaling In Arabidopsis, Yueh-Ju Hou

Open Access Dissertations

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) regulates growth, development, and response to abiotic stress in plants. The core ABA signaling has three key components: ABA receptors PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE 1 and PYR1-Like protein (PYR1/PYLs), type 2C protein phosphatases (PP2Cs) and SNF1- related protein Kinase 2s (SnRK2s). In the presence of ABA, PYR1/PYLs bind to and inhibit PP2Cs, leading to the release of SnRK2s from suppression, to activate downstream events such as ABA-responsive gene expression. To identify new components in the ABA signaling pathway, we performed a yeast two-hybrid screen for PYLs and SnRK2s interactors. We identified two proteins that interact with PYLs …

Identification And Characterization Of Factors Involved In Dna Demethylation And Anti-Silencing In Arabidopsis, Zhaobo Lang

Open Access Dissertations

DNA methylation is a key epigenetic mark for transcriptional gene silencing in many eukaryotes. DNA methylation status can be dynamically controlled by methylation and active demethylation processes. Compared to the well-known mechanisms of DNA methylation, the mechanisms of DNA demethylation and its regulation are poorly understood. In order to better understand the DNA demethylation pathway, we developed two genetic screening systems in Arabidopsis to identify new components involved in the DNA demethylation. In the first system, which is based on 35S promoter driven SUC2 (sucrose transporter 2) transgene, a mutant (91-1) was isolated and map-based cloning identified the …

Regulation Of Mor By Different Abiotic Stresses In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Luke Stepan, Rucha Karve, Anjali Iyer-Pascuzzi

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The climate is changing and as a consequence the environment is becoming hotter and drier. How different plants will react to these changes is unknown. Identification of genes involved in stress tolerance can help predict plant-environment interactions and lead to stress tolerant plants. The MOR gene (Modulator Of Root ROS, ROS = Reactive Oxygen Species) in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana encodes a transcription factor that may regulate stress responses, as mor mutants are drought tolerant. We hypothesized that MOR expression changes in response to different abiotic stress stimuli. We tested MOR expression in response to salt (NaCl), abscisic acid …

Abcb11 Functions With B1 And B19 To Regulate Rootward Auxin Transport, Jesica Elyse Reemmer

Open Access Theses

Auxin transport is essential for the architecture and development of erect plants. In a network of transporters directing auxin flows, ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) transporters are a ubiquitous family of proteins that actively transport important substrates, including auxins, across the plasma membrane. ABCB1 and ABCB19 have been shown to account for the majority of rootward auxin transport, but residual fluxes to the root tip in Arabidopsis b1b19 double mutants implies the involvement of at least one additional auxin transporter in this process. Of specific interest, the severe dwarfism seen in abcb1abcb19 is strikingly reminiscent of that seen in mutants defective in …

Refining Phylogenetic Hypotheses Using Chloroplast Genomics And Incomplete Data Sets In Lasthenia (Madieae, Asteraceae), Joseph Frederic Walker

Open Access Theses

The genus Lasthenia (Madieae, Asteraceae), consists of predominantly annual plant species that are largely endemic to the California Floristic Province of western North America and occupy a large range of habitat types. With high levels of morphological and ecological diversity, Lasthenia is a robust tool, capable of providing a natural non-model organism for answering a diverse array of ecological and evolutionary questions. Future studies would benefit greatly from a strong phylogenetic hypothesis and more molecular resources, such as the whole plastome sequence for a representative species in the genus. Over a decade ago there was a study that laid a …

No Acute Effects Of Grape Juice On Appetite, Implicit Memory And Mood, Sara J. Hendrickson, Richard D. Mattes

Botanicals Research Center for Age-Related Diseases Publications

Background: Animal experiments document effects of grape juice on cognitive performance and motor skills, and observational studies in humans suggest an inverse association between flavonoid intake and cognitive decline. These effects may be related to the antioxidant properties of polyphenols. Juice consumption and flavonoid intake may also affect appetite. Objective: To study the acute effects of grape juice consumption on appetite, mood and implicit memory during a time of increased lethargy - the post-lunch dip. Design: Thirty-five participants with a mean age of 26 years who smoked a mean of 11 cigarettes/day for 8 years were included in the study. …