Dedra A. Christensen and Dr. Phil S. Allen, Botany and Range Sciences After seed imbibition, water travels preferentially to those tissues most actively involved in germination. The majority of water travels to the embryo of the seed, which includes both the radical (primary root), and shoot meristem (rapidly dividing tissue that develops into the shoot […]
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY OF EARLY INFECTION OF DYERS WOAD, ISATIS TINCTORIA BY GERMLINGS OF PUCCINIA THLASPEOS
Michael T. Binns and Dr. Gary R. Hooper, Agronomy and Horticulture Dyers Woad (Isatis tinctoria) is an introduced noxious weed of crop and rangeland in northern Utah. A native rust fungus (tentatively identified as Puccinia thlaspeos) is being investigated as a possible biological control agent of the weed. In order to effectively use the rust […]
GERMINATION OF BROMUS TECTORUM IN RESPONSE TO DEHYDRATION FOLLOWING IMBIBITION
Jennifer Baker and Dr. Phil S. Allen, Zoology In order to achieve successful seedling establishment, seeds must have mechanisms to protect against germinating under harmful environmental conditions. One such mechanism, semi-dormancy, can be triggered by dehydration of imbibed seeds. Depending on the length, severity, and extent of hydration prior to dehydration, some seeds exhibit delayed […]
Effect of Smut on Cheatgrass Population Composition
Alisa Paulsen and Dr. Daniel Fairbanks, Botany and Range Sciences In the Western United States, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is often considered to be an undesirable, invasive weed. When cheatgrass is introduced into an area, it can rapidly establish itself as the dominant species, inhibiting re-establishment of native plants1,2 while competing with important grain crops such […]
Phylogenetic Utility of the Astacin Gene in Crayfish
Crystal Komm and Dr. Keith Crandall, Zoology Phylogenetic analyses are used to examine evolutionary relationships among crayfish species at different taxonomic levels. Nuclear genes provide genetic information from independent loci which, when analyzed, can be compared to mitochondrial DNA sequences. Astacin is a nuclear gene encoding a digestive protein in crayfish. This was the focus […]
Hearing Native Voices: A Field-Study of Women’s Reproductive Health in the Village of Matemwe, Island of Unguja, Zanzibar East Africa
Jeremy J. Keele and Dr. Samuel Rushforth, Botany and Range Sciences Zanzibar is a tiny archipelago nation associated with the East African country of Tanzania. Thanks in part to an ORCA grant, I spent the summer of 2000 living with the villagers of Matemwe, on the archipelago’s principal island, Unguja. While in Matemwe, I studied […]
Cell Transfection of Rat Chondrosarcoma Cells Assaying Col11a2 Gene Enhancer Element Activity Using Luciferase and â-galactosidase
Ann Hillam and Dr. Laura C. Bridgewater, Zoology The Col11a2 gene encodes the production of type XI collagen which is fundamental for normal skeletal development. As with many genes, comparatively little is known of the transcriptional activation and enhancement mechanisms of the Col11a2 gene. Such knowledge will help advance gene therapy techniques to minimize and […]
Survey of Mycorrhizal Colonization in Native, Open-Pollinated and Introduced, Hybrid Maize in Villages of Chiquimula, Guatemala
Jessica Hess and Dr. Von D. Jolley, Agronomy and Horticulture Mycorrhizae is a symbiotic association between certain species of soil fungi and the root systems of many land plants. Most economically important crops form this association. By colonizing plant roots, mycorrhizal fungi receive a carbon supply from photosynthesis in plant tissues. The plant, by reason […]
Phylogeny of the Polyneopterous Insect Orders
Matt Gruwell and Dr. Michael Whiting, Zoology Despite recent morphological and molecular investigations, phylogenetic relationships among the Polyneoptera remain nebulous. If this group is monophyletic, then it represents one of the largest and morphologically most diverse of all insect radiations. The Polyneoptera includes the orders Orthoptera, Phasmida, Plecoptera, Embioptera, Dermaptera, Grylloblattaria, Isoptera, Blattaria, and Mantodea, […]
Ion Channel Permeation: Kinetic Modeling of Ion/Side-Chain Electrostatic Interactions in Native and Fluorinated Gramicidin Channels
Adam S. Frost and Professor David D. Busath, Zoology Gramicidin A is a 15-amino acid peptide produced by several strains of the bacteria Bacillus brevis. The primary sequence of gramicidin A is HCO-L-Val-Gly-L-Ala-D-Leu-L-Ala-D-Val-LVal- D-Val-L-Trp-D-Leu-L-Trp-D-Leu-L-Trp-D-Leu-L-Trp-NHCH2CH2OH. The side-chains alternate chirality, with the odd-numbered residues having the usual L-chirality and the evennumbered residues having D-chirality. The alternating chirality of the […]