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Full-Text Articles in Plant Breeding and Genetics

Discovering The Genetics Underlying Speciation Traits In Heuchera (Coral Bells), Tajinder Singh Apr 2026

Discovering The Genetics Underlying Speciation Traits In Heuchera (Coral Bells), Tajinder Singh

Honors Theses

Hybridization is a key evolutionary mechanism for generating biological diversity, ultimately shaping diversification and adaptation of plant lineages in natural and agroecosystems.  Our understanding of the frequency, distribution, and significance of hybridization is rapidly increasing, but the external driving forces that dictate why certain species hybridize, and others do not remain obscure. The physical traits that shape gene flow and trait sharing among species are likely to be among the key factors that directly control hybridization. Gene flow in most plants is mediated by pollinating insects and thus by pollination syndromes, which are suites of floral traits that have evolved …


The Importance Of A Multidisciplinary Approach To Public Health: Addressing Food Insecurity Through A Biological And Sociological Lens, Chloe Grant May 2021

The Importance Of A Multidisciplinary Approach To Public Health: Addressing Food Insecurity Through A Biological And Sociological Lens, Chloe Grant

Honors Theses

Plants can sense the change of 1 oC in their growth environment and thus global climate change has a great impact on plant growth and development. The phenomenon that warm non-stress temperatures promote stem and petiole elongation, as well as leaf hyponastic growth, is collectively known as thermomorphogenesis. While it is known that the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor PIF4 is highly inducible by temperature elevations and controls thermomorphogenesis in dicots (e.g., Arabidopsis thaliana), the molecular mechanism underlying thermomorphogenetic growth in monocots is not clear. In this study, I identify PIF4 orthologs in several economically important monocotyledonous species and …


Transcriptional Activation Of Phytochrome-Interacting Factor 4 Is A Conserved Mechanism Of Thermomorphogenesis In Dicotyledenous Plants, Caroline Clutton Apr 2021

Transcriptional Activation Of Phytochrome-Interacting Factor 4 Is A Conserved Mechanism Of Thermomorphogenesis In Dicotyledenous Plants, Caroline Clutton

Honors Theses

In the model dicotyledonous plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor Phytochrome-Interacting Factor 4 (AtPIF4) plays a central role in regulating the ambient temperature-regulated hypocotyl growth response. Warm temperatures induce AtPIF4 transcription and the accumulated AtPIF4 promotes thermomorphogenesis by enhancing the expression of a group of growth-related genes. However, whether this thermo-induced growth response is universal, and more importantly, whether there is a conserved thermomorphogenetic mechanism shared in dicots is largely unknown. Here we show that higher ambient temperatures promote the hypocotyl growth in four other dicotyledonous plants, including Brassica rapa, Camelina sativa, Nicotiana benthamiana …


Assessing Genetic Differentiation Among Populations Of The Invasive Plant Impatiens Glandulifera In Maine, Jordan R. Schoonover Jan 2010

Assessing Genetic Differentiation Among Populations Of The Invasive Plant Impatiens Glandulifera In Maine, Jordan R. Schoonover

Honors Theses

The annual herbaceous plant Impatiens glandulifera Royle is native to the Himalayas and is a significant invasive species in Europe. In the past century, it was introduced to the United States, where it has become established in 12 states. This study evaluated genetic differentiation among four Maine populations, to address a theory that posits hybridization of distinct lineages as a trigger for invasiveness. Regions of microsatellite repeats were evaluated at two polymorphic loci for 41 plants sampled from the four populations. A striking finding was that the observed heterozygosity was substantially higher than the heterozygosity expected from random combination of …


Chloroplast Dna Analysis Of Putative Chestnut Chinquapin Hybrids, Sarah Emmalyne Kennedy Mar 2008

Chloroplast Dna Analysis Of Putative Chestnut Chinquapin Hybrids, Sarah Emmalyne Kennedy

Honors Theses

The American chestnut tree (Castanea dentata) has been reduced from a key canopy hardwood to an understory shrub by the chestnut blight disease. C. dentata shares similar morphological characteristics with the Allegheny chinquapin (C.pumila variety pumila) and the Ozark chinquapin (C.pumila variety ozarkensis). Before the chestnut blight epidemic, the easiest and most obvious means of separating species of American chestnut and chinquapins was based on habit or flower morphology. C.dentata existed as a large tree, while varieties of C. pumila existed as shrubs or small trees; C. dentata contains three nuts per bur, while varieties of C. pumila contain one …


The Pollination Biology And Mating System Of A Peripheral Population Of Witheringia Solanacea (Solanaceae), Timothy Miller Jan 2008

The Pollination Biology And Mating System Of A Peripheral Population Of Witheringia Solanacea (Solanaceae), Timothy Miller

Honors Theses

Pollinator visitation rates over the life of a flower are determined by pollinator abundance and floral longevity. If flowers are not visited frequently enough, pollen limitation may occur, favoring the evolution of self-compatibility (SC). In plant species with varying SC levels, central populations often are self-incompatible (SI) and peripheral populations are SC. Witheringia solanacea (Solanaceae) is a species that follows this trend with the exception of one population in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, which is peripheral yet SI. I investigated this population using multiple techniques including floral bagging, pollinator observations, microsatellite analysis, and floral longevity manipulations. My results confirmed …


Comparative Stamen Morphology Of The Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family), Hannah Kay Nov 1999

Comparative Stamen Morphology Of The Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family), Hannah Kay

Honors Theses

The Ranunculaceae family, also known as the Crowfoot or Buttercup family, consists of some forty genera (Gleason, 1952). The species of Ranunculaceae are most abundant in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and especially diverse in the eastern part of North America. Species living near the equator grow on high mountains in cool conditions. These plants are commonly found as herbs, but may also be found as shrubs or woody vines. Their structural variations create a myriad of distinct leaf types, petal types, flower configurations, stem growth patterns, and other morphological features. The focus of this project is on the …


An Sem Study Of Selected Genera Of The Ranunculaceae, Gregory A. Mantooth Mar 1989

An Sem Study Of Selected Genera Of The Ranunculaceae, Gregory A. Mantooth

Honors Theses

The Ranunculaceae, better known as the Crowfoot or Buttercup family, is commonly recognized as one of the most diverse plant families in North America. A moderately large family, the Ranunculaceae contains 1750 temperate species with many of its genera represented in the southeastern United States (Gleason, 1952). Sixteen genera are native to Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia and it is these members of the Ranunculaceae that are the focus of my study. In my research, I have studied the seed coat patterns of various genera native to the southeastern United States. It is my intention to see how …


A Study Of Generic Evolution In The Plant Family Ranunculaceae, Elizabeth Rose Mar 1985

A Study Of Generic Evolution In The Plant Family Ranunculaceae, Elizabeth Rose

Honors Theses

The eighteen southeastern genera of the Ranuncuiaceae famiiy yielded eight evolutionary trees when analyzed using the PENNY routine of the PHYLIP program with a data matrix of 19 genera by 41 characters. Each tree required 70 steps, and the trees were the most parsimonious found for the data.


The Occurence Of C4-Photosynthetic Plants In Cedar Glades, Jamie S. Ross Apr 1984

The Occurence Of C4-Photosynthetic Plants In Cedar Glades, Jamie S. Ross

Honors Theses

This project began as a continuation and extension of upper level undergraduate biological study in Plant Taxonomy. It began over a year ago with the collection of plant specimens in the early spring of 1983 and continued throughout that year and into the summer of 1984. The latter half of the project entailed mainly laboratory and library work related to the plant specimens. Collecting was done in Chickamauga Battlefield and was made possible by the granting of a collecting permit by the National Park Service. The collection was restricted to herbaceous vascular plants and most of these were summer annuals. …