Characterizing the role of Glycine max NHL gene family members in plant-nematode interactions [abstract]

Abstract only availableSoybean cyst nematode (SCN; Heterodera glycines) is a microscopic parasitic roundworm of soybean that causes nearly $1 billion dollars in annual yield loss in the United States. SCN damages the plant by attaching itself to the soybean root system, where it forms a complex feeding site and drains vital nutrients from the plant. Naturally resistant soybean lines have been used as the primary strategy to manage SCN, because they have evolved a natural mechanism for resisting SCN infection. However, soybean resistance against SCN is derived from a small genetic base and repeated annual plantings of these same resistant lines has selected for populations of SCN that can reproduce on the resistant lines. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms of how some soybean plants have the ability to naturally resist infection by SCN is critical for designing new strategies to improve crop plant resistance to SCN. My project focuses on soybean NDR1/HIN1-like (NHL) genes found to be expressed at higher levels specifically within SCN-induced feeding cells of resistant soybean as compared to susceptible soybean. To gain insight into the potential role of these genes in soybeans ability to resist SCN, full-length gene and cDNA sequences have been isolated using techniques known as genome walking and RACE PCR. RNAi and overexpression constructs have been generated to directly test the function of these genes in SCN resistance. To gain insight into the nematode-responsive regulation of each gene, the endogenous promoter sequences have been isolated and fused to the _-glucuronidase reporter gene for expression studies. This project will give insight into the mechanisms the soybean plant uses to defend itself against SCN infection and hopefully reveal crucial results which aid in the goal of developing SCN resistant soybean.Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Opportunity Progra

A virus-induced gene silencing method to study soybean cyst nematode parasitism in Glycine max

Background Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) based virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) vectors have been developed and used in soybean for the functional analysis of genes involved in disease resistance to foliar pathogens. However, BPMV-VIGS protocols for studying genes involved in disease resistance or symbiotic associations with root microbes have not been developed. Findings Here we describe a BPMV-VIGS protocol suitable for reverse genetic studies in soybean roots. We use this method for analyzing soybean genes involved in resistance to soybean cyst nematode (SCN). A detailed SCN screening pipeline is described. Conclusions The VIGS method described here provides a new tool to identify genes involved in soybean-nematode interactions. This method could be adapted to study genes associated with any root pathogenic or symbiotic associations

A century of sea level measurements at Newlyn, SW England

The Newlyn Tidal Observatory is the most important sea level station in the UK. It commenced operations in 1915 as part of the Second Geodetic Levelling of England and Wales, and the mean sea level determined from the tide gauge during the first six years (May 1915-April 1921) defined Ordnance Datum Newlyn (ODN) which became the national height datum for the whole of Great Britain. The 100 years of sea level data now available have contributed significantly to many studies in oceanography, geology and climate change. This paper marks the centenary of this important station by reviewing the sea level (and, more recently, detailed land level) measurements and Newlyn’s contributions to UK cartography, geodesy and sea-level science in general. Recommendations are made on how sea and land level measurements at Newlyn might be enhanced in the future

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Global Oceans

Global Oceans is one chapter from the State of the Climate in 2019 annual report and is avail-able from https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0105.1. Compiled by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, State of the Climate in 2019 is based on contr1ibutions from scien-tists from around the world. It provides a detailed update on global climate indicators, notable weather events, and other data collected by environmental monitoring stations and instru-ments located on land, water, ice, and in space. The full report is available from https://doi.org /10.1175/2020BAMSStateoftheClimate.1

Global Oceans, BAMS State of the Climate in 2021, Chapter 3

Patterns of variability in ocean properties are often closely related to large-scale climate pattern indices, and 2021 is no exception. The year 2021 started and ended with La Niña conditions, charmingly dubbed a “double-dip” La Niña. Hence, stronger-than-normal easterly trade winds in the tropical south Pacific drove westward surface current anomalies in the equatorial Pacific; reduced sea surface temperature (SST) and upper ocean heat content in the eastern tropical Pacific; increased sea level, upper ocean heat content, and salinity in the western tropical Pacific; resulted in a rim of anomalously high chlorophyll-a (Chla) on the poleward and westward edges of the anomalously cold SST wedge in the eastern equatorial Pacific; and increased precipitation over the Maritime Continent. The Pacific decadal oscillation remained strongly in a negative phase in 2021, with negative SST and upper ocean heat content anomalies around the eastern and equatorial edges of the North Pacific and positive anomalies in the center associated with low Chla anomalies. The South Pacific exhibited similar patterns. Fresh anomalies in the northeastern Pacific shifted towards the west coast of North America. The Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) was weakly negative in 2021, with small positive SST anomalies in the east and nearly-average anomalies in the west. Nonetheless, upper ocean heat content was anomalously high in the west and lower in the east, with anomalously high freshwater flux and low sea surface salinities (SSS) in the east, and the opposite pattern in the west, as might be expected during a negative phase of that climate index. In the Atlantic, the only substantial cold anomaly in SST and upper ocean heat content persisted east of Greenland in 2021, where SSS was also low, all despite the weak winds and strong surface heat flux anomalies into the ocean expected during a negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation. These anomalies held throughout much of 2021. An Atlantic and Benguela Niño were both evident, with above-average SST anomalies in the eastern equatorial Atlantic and the west coast of southern Africa. Over much of the rest of the Atlantic, SSTs, upper ocean heat content, and sea level anomalies were above average. Anthropogenic climate change involves long-term trends, as this year’s chapter sidebars emphasize. The sidebars relate some of the latest IPCC ocean-related assessments (including carbon, the section on which is taking a hiatus from our report this year). This chapter estimates that SST increased at a rate of 0.16–0.19°C decade−1 from 2000 to 2021, 0–2000-m ocean heat content warmed by 0.57–0.73 W m−2 (applied over Earth’s surface area) from 1993 to 2021, and global mean sea level increased at a rate of 3.4 ± 0.4 mm yr−1 from 1993 to 2021. Global mean SST, which is more subject to interannual variations than ocean heat content and sea level, with values typically reduced during La Niña, was ~0.1°C lower in 2021 than in 2020. However, from 2020 to 2021, annual average ocean heat content from 0 to 2000 dbar increased at a rate of ~0.95 W m−2, and global sea level increased by ~4.9 mm. Both were the highest on record in 2021, and with year-on-year increases substantially exceeding their trend rates of recent decades

Characterization of a new counterflow burner and operation with vaporized liquid heptane

A characterization of counter-flow nonpremixed flames was performed using stereo particle image velocimetry (SPIV) to measure the velocity field at multiple planes. The SPIV measurements were performed in methane flames. Additionally, a liquid fuel vaporization system was created to allow the use of fuels naturally at a liquid state to be used undiluted in a counter-flow burner. The system was tested with n-heptane. The system refinement process and n-heptane flame pictures are presented

Characterization of soybean genes involved in soybean cyst nematode (SCN) resistance [abstract]

Abstract only availableThe expansion of the soybean cyst nematode (SCN; Heterodera glycines) across soybean producing regions of the United States shows no signs of slowing. Resistant soybean germplasm has been used as the primary strategy to manage this pest. However, soybean resistance against SCN is derived from a narrow genetic base and repeated plantings have selected for populations of SCN that can break the resistance. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms of soybean resistance is critical for designing novel strategies to improve crop plant resistance to SCN. To identify genes potentially involved in SCN resistance, we previously coupled laser capture microdissection with microarray profiling to compare gene expression profiles of nematode feeding cells induced in resistant and susceptible near-isogenic lines (NILs) of soybean. We identified 390 soybean genes that were differentially expressed between the resistant and susceptible NILs. Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) pools of soybean DNA were then screened for the presence of a subset of these genes. Three genes, believed to be involved in soybean stress and defense responses, were selected for further functional studies. Full length gene and cDNA sequences are being isolated using genome walking and RACE PCR approaches. RNAi and overexpression studies will be used to test the function of these genes in resistance to SCN.MU Monsanto Undergraduate Research Fellowshi

A virus-induced gene silencing method to study soybean cyst nematode parasitism in Glycine max

Background Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV) based virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) vectors have been developed and used in soybean for the functional analysis of genes involved in disease resistance to foliar pathogens. However, BPMV-VIGS protocols for studying genes involved in disease resistance or symbiotic associations with root microbes have not been developed. Findings Here we describe a BPMV-VIGS protocol suitable for reverse genetic studies in soybean roots. We use this method for analyzing soybean genes involved in resistance to soybean cyst nematode (SCN). A detailed SCN screening pipeline is described. Conclusions The VIGS method described here provides a new tool to identify genes involved in soybean-nematode interactions. This method could be adapted to study genes associated with any root pathogenic or symbiotic associations.This article is from BMC Research Notes 6 (2013): 1, doi:10.1186/1756-0500-6-255. Posted with permission.</p