Botany Commons^™

Metabolomic Differences Between Invasive Alien Plants From Native And Invaded Habitats, Sarah A. Skubel, Xiaoyang Su, Alexander Poulev, Llewellyn C. Foxcroft, Vyacheslav Dushenkov, Ilya Raskin

Publications and Research

Globalization facilitated the spread of invasive alien species (IAS), undermining the stability of the world’s ecosystems. We investigated the metabolomic profiles of three IAS species: Chromolaena odorata (Asteraceae) Datura stramonium (Solanaceae), and Xanthium strumarium (Asteraceae), comparing metabolites of individual plants in their native habitats (USA), to their invasive counterparts growing in and around Kruger National Park (South Africa, ZA). Metabolomic samples were collected using RApid Metabolome Extraction and Storage (RAMES) technology, which immobilizes phytochemicals on glass fiber disks, reducing compound degradation, allowing long-term, storage and simplifying biochemical analysis. Metabolomic differences were analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) of samples …

Leaf Traits And Performance Vary With Plant Age And Water Availability In Artemisia Californica, Jennifer L. Funk, Julie E. Larson, Gregory Vose

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Background and aims
Leaf functional traits are strongly tied to growth strategies and ecological processes across species, but few efforts have linked intraspecific trait variation to performance across ontogenetic and environmental gradients. Plants are believed to shift towards more resource-conservative traits in stressful environments and as they age. However, uncertainty in how intraspecific trait variation aligns with plant age and performance in the context of environmental variation may limit our ability to use traits to infer ecological processes at larger scales.

Methods
We measured leaf physiological and morphological traits, canopy volume, and flowering effort for Artemisia californica (California sagebrush), a …

Production And Selection Of Quality Protein Popcorn Hybrids Using A Novel Ranking System And Combining Ability Estimates, Leandra Parsons, Ying Ren, Abou Yobi, Preston Hurst, Ruthie Angelovici, Oscar Rodriguez, David R. Holding

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Popcorn varieties are agronomically sub-optimal and genetically limited compared to other maize subspecies. To increase genetic diversity and improve popcorn agronomics, dent germplasm has been introduced to popcorn with limited success and generally, major loss of popping. Between 2013 and 2018, 12 Quality Protein Popcorn (QPP) inbreds containing Quality Protein Maize (QPM) and popcorn germplasm were produced that maintained popping while carrying the opaque-2 allele conferring elevated kernel lysine. This is an opportune trait in the growing market for healthier snacks and a model for mining QPM traits into popcorn. We crossed QPP inbreds to explore the effects of heterosis …

Genomic Prediction Enhanced Sparse Testing For Multi-Environment Trials, Diego Jarquin, Reka Howard, José Crossa, Yoseph Beyene, Manje Gowda, Johannes W.R. Martini, Giovanny Covarrubias Pazaran, Juan Burgueño, Angela Pacheco, Martin Grondona, Valentin Wimmer, Boddupalli M. Prasanna

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

“Sparse testing” refers to reduced multi-environment breeding trials in which not all genotypes of interest are grown in each environment. Using genomic-enabled prediction and a model embracing genotype · environment interaction (GE), the non-observed genotype-in-environment combinations can be predicted. Consequently, the overall costs can be reduced and the testing capacities can be increased. The accuracy of predicting the unobserved data depends on different factors including (1) how many genotypes overlap between environments, (2) in how many environments each genotype is grown, and (3) which prediction method is used. In this research, we studied the predictive ability obtained when using a …

Effects Of Tank Contamination And Impact Of Drift-Reducing Agents On Weed Control In Response To Dicamba Applications, Milos Zaric

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

Availability of dicamba-tolerant (DT) crops from 2017 provided farmers with additional herbicides for weed control management in row crops. However, the technology alike this one has concerns regarding dicamba off-target movement (OTM) causing undesirable effects on sensitive vegetation. Even though dicamba has high water solubility OTM that has often been overlooked when it comes to unintended crop exposure is dicamba tank contamination. Considering the complexity of spraying equipment soybean response may be expected even when small amounts of residues are left in the spray equipment. Typically, the same field spray equipment is used to perform herbicide application through growing season …

Irrigation, Carbon Amelioration, Nitrogen, And Stover Removal Effects On Continuous Corn, Marty Schmer, Virginia L. Jin, Richard B. Ferguson, Brian J. Wienhold

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Corn (Zea mays L.) residue or stover is harvested as supplemental feed for livestock and is a potential feedstock for cellulosic biofuels. Limited information is available on corn stover removal effects on grain yield under different irrigation rates, nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates, and practices to maintain soil carbon (C) and minimize soil erosion. We evaluated potential interactions between irrigation rate (full or limited), C amelioration practices (cover crop, surface-applied manure, or no amelioration practice), fertilizer N management (125 or 200 kg N ha⁻¹), and stover removal (residue removal or no residue removal), on no-till continuous corn …

Weed Control Efficacy Of Bio-Based Sprayable Mulch Films In Specialty Crop Systems, Eliott Gloeb

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

A sprayable bio-based mulch film (biofilm) could present a more sustainable weed management tool for specialty crop producers than conventional plastic mulch films while also offering flexibility in application patterns and timing. From 2017 to 2019, six greenhouse trials and four field trials were conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to study the effects of biofilm application on weed suppression and crop yields. Multiple application rates (0.81 L/m² - 9.78 L/m²) and application times (prior to weed emergence and post weed emergence) were tested. Corn starch, glycerol, keratin hydrolysate, corn gluten meal, corn zein, and isolated soy …

Use Of Different Agro-Wastes In The Cultivation Of Pleurotus Ostreatus (Jacq.) Kummer, Mary O. Iwuagwu, Deborah S. Nwaukwa, Chidi E. Nwaru

Journal of Bioresource Management

Agro-wastes are abundant in both rural and urban areas and when carelessly disposed off to the environment by dumping or burning, they lead to environmental pollution, and consequently to health hazards. Growing of edible mushroom on these wastes can contribute to decrease in environment pollution. This work investigated the growth and yield of Pleurotus ostreatus on different agro-wastes: plantain midrib (PM), corn straw (CS), sugarcane bagasse (SB) and their combinations (PM+CS, PM+SB, CS+SB, CS+PM+SB) with a view to finding the best substrate for the growth of P. ostreatus. The experiment was carried out using completely randomized design with seven treatments …

The Prairie Naturalist, Vol. 52, Issue 1, June 2020

The Prairie Naturalist

EDITOR’S NOTE • Jane E. Austin, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief

Factors Associated with Larval Freshwater Drum Annual Peak Density in a Nebraska Irrigation Reservoir • Brett T. Miller, Brian C. Peterson, Keith D. Koupal, and Casey W. Schoenbeck

Small mammal communities in grasslands at the Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, USA • Lynda R. Lafond, Elizabeth H. Rave, and Kathryn A. Yurkonis

Evaluation of Four Larval Fish Sampling Methods in a Large Midwestern River • Nathan J. Lederman, Anthony R. Sindt, Douglas J. Dieterman, John D. Krenz, and Shannon J. Fisher

Wood Frogs (Rana sylvatica) in Southwestern Roberts …

Characterizing Variation In Nitrogen Use Efficiency In Wheat Genotypes Using Proximal Canopy Sensing For Sustainable Wheat Production, Mohammed A. Naser, Raj Khosla, Louis Longchamps, Subash Dahal

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Global nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) for cereal production is marginal and is estimated to be about 33%. Remote sensing tools have tremendous potential for improving NUE in crops through efficient nitrogen management as well as the identification of high-NUE genotypes. The objectives of this study were (i) to identify and quantify the variation in NUE across 24 winter wheat genotypes (Triticum aestivum L.) and (ii) to determine if the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) could characterize the variability in NUE across wheat genotypes. This study was conducted in 2010 and 2011 in the semi-arid climate of Northeastern Colorado across dryland …

Genome Wide Association Study Reveals Plant Loci Controlling Heritability Of The Rhizosphere Microbiome, Siwen Deng, Daniel F. Caddell, Gen Xu, Lindsay Dahlen, Lorenzo Washington, Jinliang Yang, Devin Coleman-Derr

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Host genetics has recently been shown to be a driver of plant microbiome composition. However, identifying the underlying genetic loci controlling microbial selection remains challenging. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) represent a potentially powerful, unbiased method to identify microbes sensitive to the host genotype and to connect them with the genetic loci that influence their colonization. Here, we conducted a population-level microbiome analysis of the rhizospheres of 200 sorghum genotypes. Using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, we identify rhizosphere-associated bacteria exhibiting heritable associations with plant genotype, and identify significant overlap between these lineages and heritable taxa recently identified in maize. Furthermore, we …

The Found World: The Role Of Findability In The History Of Botany, Douglas Tuers

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

This study will investigate how a community of botanists used the findability inherent in botanical localities to rediscover species that were previously lost to botany. This article will look at the literature that announced the rediscovery of three species in the vicinity of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. These species are Heuchera hispida, Phlox buckleyi, and Gaylussacia brachycera. These three plants were rediscovered over a short period of time, about 13 years from 1919 to 1932. This study will draw from the announcement of these rediscoveries. In each of these cases there was a surrounding literature that …

Species Dispersal Modes In Amphitropical Plant Species Of North And South America, Samera Lemma Mulatu

Honors College Theses

Amphitropical disjunct plants are species that occur in both North and South America but not in the intermediate equatorial region. How amphitropical species dispersed across the Americas to their current distribution remains uncertain. To explain amphitropical distributions, three hypotheses were developed to test that (1) species dispersed successively through island hopping across the tropical zone in temperate microhabitats (= stepping stones), (2) species came to their current distribution through vicariance, or (3) species dispersed by a single long distance dispersal event. Twenty-five species were studied to infer their historical distributions with species distribution models in MaxEnt. Distribution models for each …

Effects Of Flower Color On Pollination And Seed Production In Lupinus Perennis, Amanda Morris

Honors Projects

We examined how flower color morphs (blue vs white) in Lupinus perennis affect the probability of a flower setting fruit, average mass of a seed produced, and average number of seeds per pod.

Gutiérrez Of Gutierrezia (Asteraceae: Astereae), Kathleen H. Keeler

Kathleen H. Keeler Publications

Mariano La Gasca y Segura, known as Lagasca, named a southwestern North American plant Gutierrezia without recording who he was honoring. The association of Lagasca with Pedro Gutiérrez Bueno, a leading chemist and pharmacist in Madrid at the same time that LaGasca was director of the Royal Botanical Garden there, makes it likely that Gutiérrez Bueno was the intended honoree.

Assessing Approaches For Stratifying Producer Fields Based On Biophysical Attributes For Regional Yield-Gap Analysis, Spyridon Mourtzinis, Patricio Grassini, Juan I. Rattalino Edreira, José F. Andrade, Peter M. Kyveryga, Shawn P. Conley

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Large databases containing producer field-level yield and management records can be used to identify causes of yield gaps. A relevant question is how to account for the diverse biophysical background (i.e., climate and soil) across fields and years, which can confound the effect of a given management practice on yield. Here we evaluated two approaches to group producer fields based on biophysical attributes: (i) a technology extrapolation domain spatial framework (‘TEDs’) that delineates regions with similar (long-term average) annual weather and soil water storage capacity and (ii) clusters based on field-specific soil properties and weather during each crop …

Modeling Species Distribution And Habitat Suitability Of American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius) In Virginia, Jacob D. J. Peters

Masters Theses, 2020-current

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is a well-known and sought-after medicinal plant native to North America that is facing increased threat of extinction due to overharvesting, herbivory, and habitat loss. Species distribution and habitat suitability models may be valuable to landowners interested in sustainable harvest or to institutions interested in the conservation and restoration of the species. With unequal sampling efforts across a region of interest, it is likely that some locations with appropriate habitat may be misrepresented in model predictions. This study refined a state-derived species distribution model for ginseng through increased sampling effort across the Cumberland Plateau …

Poisonous And Injurious Plants Of The United States: A Bibliography, James P. Smith Jr

Botanical Studies

No abstract provided.

Vegetative Community And Health Assessment Of A Constructed Juncus-Dominated Salt Marsh In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Nickolas R. Murphy

Master's Theses

Deer Island is a coastal habitat which provides a buffer from storm and flood damage as well as shore-line stabilization to the mainland of Biloxi, Mississippi. A third of the land has been lost since 1850, largely driven by tropical storm and hurricane impacts as well as sea level rise. The United States Army Corps of Engineers and Mississippi Department of Marine Resources have targeted the shores of the island as sites for restoration using beneficial use dredged material, and two sites of differing age have since been planted with Spartina alterniflora, Juncus roemerianus, Uniola paniculata, S. patens, and Panicum …

Subcellular Localization Of Tobacco Sabp2 Under Normal And Stress Conditions, Sanjeev Das

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Subcellular Localization of Tobacco SABP2 under Normal and Stress Conditions

Salicylic acid (SA), a phytohormone, plays an important role in plant physiology. SA mediated innate immune pathway is an important pathway for plant immunity against pathogens. Plants resisting pathogen infection synthesize higher levels of Methyl Salicylate (MeSA), which is then converted to SA by the esterase activity of Salicylic Acid Binding Protein 2 (SABP2). The high level of the converted SA leads to enhanced pathogen resistance. The study of subcellular localization of a protein is critical in explaining its potential biochemical functions. SABP2 tagged with eGFP was expressed transiently in …

Hexadecane Petroleum, And Biofuel Utilization In Marine Bacteria Isolated From Ballast Tanks, Alex Yashchenko

Graduate Theses

This study characterized the growth of bacteria isolated from ballast tank fluids in hexadecane, petroleum, plant, and algae-derived fuels. The study was performed to explore the capacity of ballast tank isolates to survive and grow within fuels that may be stored within ballast tanks. Results of the hexadecane analysis indicated that most isolates had higher viable cell counts in media supplemented with hexadecane. Members of Alteromonas, Pseudoalteromonas, and a single Brevundimonas species had viable cell counts that were one or several orders ofmagnitude greater than that of controls. Results offuel analysis indicated higher viable cell counts in pure JP-5 and …

Exploring Interactions Of Phyllosphere Epiphytes With Plant Pathogenic Bacteria Pseudomonas And Xanthomonas On Tomato, Ashley D. Turner

Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies have indicated the importance of resident microflora of plants in contributing towards overall plant health. Among difference components of the plant microbiome, Methylobacterium and Sphingomonas have been recognized as common residents of the phyllosphere for many host plants, however their role in disease control needs to be further investigated. The purpose of this study was to conduct experiments investigating the effectiveness of phyllosphere Methylobacterium and Sphingomonas isolated from red clover against common tomato phyllosphere bacterial pathogens, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato and Xanthomonas perforans. Additionally, this study uses X. perforans wild-type and X. perforans type VI secretion system …

A Comparative Ecological Study Of Limestone And Dolomite Glades In The Ozark Mountains Of Northwest Arkansas, Brittney Booth

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Glades are one of the many habitats that exist in the Arkansas Ozarks and contribute to the overall biodiversity of the state of Arkansas. For this study, five dolomite glades and five limestone glades in the Ozarks of northwest Arkansas were studied from March to October in the years 2017 and 2018 to determine the similarities or differences that might be present. One hundred and fifteen vascular plant taxa were documented in the dolomite glades and one hundred and three vascular plant taxa were documented in the limestone glades. Forty-six vascular plant taxa were unique to the dolomite glades and …

Midseason Nitrogen Sufficiency Guidelines For Corn Production In Arkansas Based On Tissue Analysis And Remote Sensing, Caio Luiz Dos Santos

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are a lack of tools to assess midseason nitrogen (N) status in corn (Zea mays L.) production systems and identify the need for additional N fertilization. This study was conducted to determine the ability of leaf N concentration (LN) and the Dark Green Color Index (DGCI) at the 10th collared leaf stage (V10), the 12th collared leaf stage (V12), and tasseling (VT) to predict if midseason N is required to maximize corn grain yield. From 2017 to 2019, eight field studies with 11 N treatments ranging from 0 to 258 kg N ha-1 were conducted on silt loam soils …

Resilience To Large, “Catastrophic” Wildfires In North America's Grassland Biome, Victoria M. Donovan, Dirac Twidwell, Daniel R. Uden, Tsegaye Tadesse, Brian D. Wardlow, Christine H. Bielski, Matthew O. Jones, Brady W. Allred, David E. Naugle, Craig R. Allen

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Wildfires are ecosystem‐level drivers of structure and function in many vegetated biomes. While numerous studies have emphasized the benefits of fire to ecosystems, large wildfires have also been associated with the loss of ecosystem services and shifts in vegetation abundance. The size and number of wildfires are increasing across a number of regions, and yet the outcomes of large wildfire on vegetation at large‐scales are still largely unknown. We introduce an exhaustive analysis of wildfire‐scale vegetation response to large wildfires across North America's grassland biome. We use 18 years of a newly released vegetation data set combined with 1,390 geospatial …

Control Of Volunteer Corn In Enlist Corn And Economics Of Herbicide Programs For Weed Control In Conventional And Multiple Herbicide-Resistant Soybean Across Nebraska, Adam Michael Striegel

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

With commercialization of multiple herbicide-resistant corn and soybean cultivars, producers have new management options for controlling herbicide-resistant weeds and volunteer corn. Corn-on-corn production systems are common in irrigated fields in southcentral Nebraska which can create issues with volunteer corn management in corn fields. Enlist corn contains a new multiple herbicide-resistant trait providing resistance to 2,4-D choline, glyphosate, and the aryloxyphenoxypropionate (FOPs). Field experiments were conducted in 2018 and 2019 at South Central Agricultural Laboratory near Clay Center, Nebraska with the objective to evaluate ACCase-inhibiting herbicides and herbicide application timing on volunteer corn control, Enlist corn injury, and yield. Glyphosate/glufosinate-resistant corn …

Buffalograss Diversity Assessment, Jesse Collin Marshall

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

Buffalograss [Buchloë dactylodes (Nutt.) Engelm. syn. Bouteloua dactyloides (Nutt.) Columbus] is a low input alternative turfgrass for the Great Plains region. Buffalograss is a dioecious stoloniferous warm season grass with wide variation of valuable traits and is well adapted for use in minimal maintenance landscapes. The obligate outcrossing nature of the species and wide variation of potentially valuable traits make buffalograss a prime candidate for cultivar improvement and genetic study. Limited information is available regarding buffalograss genetics. In effort to expand genetic resources around buffalograss, we developed buffalograss derived simple sequence repeat markers from previously available transcriptomes of buffalograss …

A Floristic Survey Of Andalusia: A Historic Preservation Site In Baldwin County, Georgia, William Pharr

Biology Theses

A survey of the vascular plants of Andalusia, a historic preservation site located along Highway 441 north of Milledgeville in Baldwin County, Georgia, was conducted between August 2018 and February 2020. The site was the late home of esteemed author, Flannery O’Connor, and resides along the Georgia fall line, making it a historically significant area that could yield a unique plant community convergence, as well as rare endemic species. This floristic inventory provides baseline data on the species and plant communities of Andalusia for use in future studies regarding the flora of this area. A total of 191 vascular species …

Investigating The Effects Of Temperature On Lesser Celandine, Regina Bellian

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

This paper explores invasive species Ficaria verna (Lesser celandine) and the effects of temperature on its growth. Trials were completed with two treatments, 13OC cold temperature and 20OC ambient temperature. Germinated bulbils of Lesser celandine were planted on February 15, 2017 and placed in their respective growing chambers. The plants were watered weekly and monitored for growth until harvest on March 29, 2017. Upon harvest, the plants’ height, largest leaf diameter and biomass were measured after extraction from soil and the removal of the leftover soil debris. Average height was found to be 11.66cm for the cold treatment and 5.14cm …

A Basic Ddradseq Two‐Enzyme Protocol Performs Well With Herbarium And Silica‐Dried Tissues Across Four Genera, Ingrid E. Jordon-Thaden, James B. Beck, Catherine A. Rushworth, Michael D. Windham, Nicolas Diaz, Jason T. Cantley, Christopher T. Martine, Carl J. Rothfels

Faculty Journal Articles

Premise

The ability to sequence genome‐scale data from herbarium specimens would allow for the economical development of data sets with broad taxonomic and geographic sampling that would otherwise not be possible. Here, we evaluate the utility of a basic double‐digest restriction site–associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) protocol using DNAs from four genera extracted from both silica‐dried and herbarium tissue.

Methods

DNAs from Draba, Boechera, Solidago, and Ilex were processed with a ddRADseq protocol. The effects of DNA degradation, taxon, and specimen age were assessed.

Results

Although taxon, preservation method, and specimen age affected data recovery, large phylogenetically informative …