Direct and indirect selection on flowering time, water-use efficiency (WUE, δ (13)C), and WUE plasticity to drought in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Flowering time and water-use efficiency (WUE) are two ecological traits that are important for plant drought response. To understand the evolutionary significance of natural genetic variation in flowering time, WUE, and WUE plasticity to drought in Arabidopsis thaliana, we addressed the following questions: (1) How are ecophysiological traits genetically correlated within and between different soil moisture environments? (2) Does terminal drought select for early flowering and drought escape? (3) Is WUE plasticity to drought adaptive and/or costly? We measured a suite of ecophysiological and reproductive traits on 234 spring flowering accessions of A. thaliana grown in well-watered and season-ending soil drying treatments, and quantified patterns of genetic variation, correlation, and selection within each treatment. WUE and flowering time were consistently positively genetically correlated. WUE was correlated with WUE plasticity, but the direction changed between treatments. Selection generally favored early flowering and low WUE, with drought favoring earlier flowering significantly more than well-watered conditions. Selection for lower WUE was marginally stronger under drought. There were no net fitness costs of WUE plasticity. WUE plasticity (per se) was globally neutral, but locally favored under drought. Strong genetic correlation between WUE and flowering time may facilitate the evolution of drought escape, or constrain independent evolution of these traits. Terminal drought favored drought escape in these spring flowering accessions of A. thaliana. WUE plasticity may be favored over completely fixed development in environments with periodic drought

Variable Influences of Water Availability and Rhizobacteria on the Growth of Schizachyrium scoparium (Little Bluestem) at Different Ages

There is significant interest in understanding the role of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in alleviating different types of plant stress. Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem) is a moderately drought tolerant, perennial bunchgrass native to North America. The goal of this experiment was to evaluate whether the addition of a bacterial root isolate in the Pseudomonas genus promoted the growth of S. scoparium with changes in water availability. Pseudomonas are common rhizobacteria and have been shown to improve plant growth. It was hypothesized that plants inoculated with the PGPR strain would have greater growth and health, and would be less affected by shifts in water availability. Pseudomonas strains were isolated from the roots of native S. scoparium plants. After germination, S. scoparium seedlings were subjected to four treatment groups: low water; high water; low water with PGPR; and high water with PGPR. The experiment was run three times with plants at different starting ages; 14-, 28-, and 70-day-old plants. The effects of the water and PGPR treatments were variable between the experimental trials. There were no significant effects of the water treatments on plant growth in Trial 1 (14-day-old plants) or Trial 2 (28-day-old plants), however, there was a significant negative effect of the high watering treatment on the shoot length and biomass in Trial 3. High water availability was significantly associated with greater plant health in Trial 1, but appeared to reduce plant health in Trials 2 and 3. The PGPR treatment appeared to promote root growth and biomass in Trial 2, and was associated with greater plant health in all three trials, especially when paired with the low water treatment. Results from a permutational MANOVA indicate that plant growth was significantly different between the trials due to differences in the starting age of the plants and the duration of the experiments. Thus, methodological choices, such as plant life history stage and experiment duration, may affect the response of plants to PGPR in the rhizosphere. This research provides an insight into the interactions between PGPR and water availability on the growth and health of native plants

PENINGKATAN KETERAMPILAN MENULIS TEKS EKSPOSISI MELALUI PENGGUNAAN STRATEGI PEMBELAJARAN THINK TALK WRITE DAN MEDIA AUDIO VISUAL ( Penelitian Tindakan Kelas pada Siswa Kelas X IPS 2 SMA N 1 Surakarta Tahun Pelajaran 2017/2018)

Yustina Dwinuryati.2017. Peningkatan Keterampilan menulis Teks Eksposisi melalui Penggunaan Strategi Pembelajaran Think, Talk, Write dan Media Audio Visual (Penelitian Tindakan Kelas pada Siswa Kelas X IPS 2 SMA N 1 Surakarta Tahun Pelajaran 2017/2018). Tesis. Pembimbing: Prof. Dr. Andayani, M.Pd. Kopembimbing: Prof. Dr. Retno Winarni, M.Pd. Program Studi Magister Pendidikan Bahasa Indonesia, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sebelas Maret Surakarta. ABSTRAK Keterampilan menulis merupakan keterampilan berbahasa tingkat tinggi dan harus diajarkan kepada siswa di Sekolah Menengah Atas. Salah satu keterampilan menulis yang harus diajarkan kepada siswa kelas X sesuai Kurikulum 2013 Revisi adalah menulis teks eksposisi. Pembelajaran keterampilan menulis teks eksposisi di kelas X IPS2 SMA N 1 Surakarta mengalami permasalahan baik dari sisi motivasi belajar maupun keterampilan menulis siswa. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan: (1) motivasi belajar menulis teks eksposisi siswa kelas X IPS 2 SMA Negeri 1 Surakarta dengan strategi pembelajaran think talk write dan penggunaan media audio visual dan (2) keterampilan menulis teks eksposisi siswa kelas X IPS 2 SMA Negeri 1 Surakarta dengan strategi pembelajaran think talk write dan media audio visual. Strategi penelitian berupa Penelitian Tindakan Kelas. Data penelitian bersumber dari proses pembelajaran, informan, hasil tes menulis teks eksposisi, dan dokumen. Teknik pengumpulan data dengan pengamatan, kajian dokumen, wawancara, dan tes. Uji validitas data menggunakan teknik triangulasi sumber data dan triangulasi metode. Teknik analisis data menggunakan teknik deskriptif komparatif dan analisis kritis. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penerapan strategi pembelajaran think, talk, write dan penggunaan media audio visual pada siswa kelas X IPS2 SMA N I Surakarta dapat meningkatkan motivasi belajar dan keterampilan menulis teks eksposisi dari siklus 1 ke siklus 2. Hal itu dibuktikan adanya perubahan dan peningkatan motivasi belajar dan keterampilan menulis teks eksposisi siswa: (1) motivasi siswa meningkat dari siklus 1 sebesar 68% menjadi 82% pada siklus 2 dan (2) keterampilan menulis teks eksposisi meningkat dari siklus 1 sebesar 76% meningkat menjadi 88% pada siklus 2. Kata kunci: teks eksposisi, motivasi, strategi think talk write, audio visua

The RESOLVE Survey Atomic Gas Census and Environmental Influences on Galaxy Gas Reservoirs

We present the H i mass inventory for the REsolved Spectroscopy Of a Local VolumE (RESOLVE) survey, a volume-limited, multi-wavelength census of >1500 z = 0 galaxies spanning diverse environments and complete in baryonic mass down to dwarfs of ~109 ${M}_{\odot }$. This first 21 cm data release provides robust detections or strong upper limits (1.4M H i 1012 ${M}_{\odot }$) halos, suggesting that gas stripping and/or starvation may be induced by interactions with larger halos or the surrounding cosmic web. We find that the detailed relationship between G/S and environment varies when we examine different subvolumes of RESOLVE independently, which we suggest may be a signature of assembly bias

The B-Cell Specific Transcription Factor, Oct-2, Promotes Epstein-Barr Virus Latency by Inhibiting the Viral Immediate-Early Protein, BZLF1

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent-lytic switch is mediated by the BZLF1 immediate-early protein. EBV is normally latent in memory B cells, but cellular factors which promote viral latency specifically in B cells have not been identified. In this report, we demonstrate that the B-cell specific transcription factor, Oct-2, inhibits the function of the viral immediate-early protein, BZLF1, and prevents lytic viral reactivation. Co-transfected Oct-2 reduces the ability of BZLF1 to activate lytic gene expression in two different latently infected nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines. Furthermore, Oct-2 inhibits BZLF1 activation of lytic EBV promoters in reporter gene assays, and attenuates BZLF1 binding to lytic viral promoters in vivo. Oct-2 interacts directly with BZLF1, and this interaction requires the DNA-binding/dimerization domain of BZLF1 and the POU domain of Oct-2. An Oct-2 mutant (Δ262–302) deficient for interaction with BZLF1 is unable to inhibit BZLF1-mediated lytic reactivation. However, an Oct-2 mutant defective for DNA-binding (Q221A) retains the ability to inhibit BZLF1 transcriptional effects and DNA-binding. Importantly, shRNA-mediated knockdown of endogenous Oct-2 expression in several EBV-positive Burkitt lymphoma and lymphoblastoid cell lines increases the level of lytic EBV gene expression, while decreasing EBNA1 expression. Moreover, treatments which induce EBV lytic reactivation, such as anti-IgG cross-linking and chemical inducers, also decrease the level of Oct-2 protein expression at the transcriptional level. We conclude that Oct-2 potentiates establishment of EBV latency in B cells

Methylation-Dependent Binding of the Epstein-Barr Virus BZLF1 Protein to Viral Promoters

The switch between latent and lytic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is mediated by the viral immediate-early (IE) protein, BZLF1 (Z). Z, a homologue of c-jun that binds to AP1-like motifs (ZREs), induces expression of the BRLF1 (R) and BRRF1 (Na) viral proteins, which cooperatively activate transcription of the Z promoter and thereby establish a positive autoregulatory loop. A unique feature of Z is its ability to preferentially bind to, and activate, the methylated form of the BRLF1 promoter (Rp). To date, however, Rp is the only EBV promoter known to be regulated in this unusual manner. We now demonstrate that the promoter driving transcription of the early BRRF1 gene (Nap) has two CpG-containing ZREs (ACGCTCA and TCGCCCG) that are only bound by Z in the methylated state. Both Nap ZREs are highly methylated in cells with latent EBV infection. Z efficiently activates the methylated, but not unmethylated, form of Nap in reporter gene assays, and both ZREs are required. Z serine residue 186, which was previously shown to be required for Z binding to methylated ZREs in Rp, but not for Z binding to the AP1 site, is required for Z binding to methylated Nap ZREs. The Z(S186A) mutant cannot activate methylated Nap in reporter gene assays and does not induce Na expression in cells with latent EBV infection. Molecular modeling studies of Z bound to the methylated Nap ZREs help to explain why methylation is required for Z binding, and the role of the Z Ser186 residue. Methylation-dependent Z binding to critical viral promoters may enhance lytic reactivation in latently infected cells, where the viral genome is heavily methylated. Conversely, since the incoming viral genome is initially unmethylated, methylation-dependent Z activation may also help the virus to establish latency following infection

CAC.Mimulus.2013.photoperiod.experiment

This data file contains flowering data for Mimulus guttatus and Mimulus nasutus from a growthchamber, photoperiod experiment performed in 2013. Individuals from five maternal M. guttatus lines (N=11-12 per line, per treatment) and two M. nasutus lines (N=23 per line, per treatment) were grown under two daylength treatments: 12 or 16 hrs. Whether an individual flowered was recorded as yes or no after eight weeks of growth. Families were originally collected from Catherine Creek in Washington State (USA) in 2010 or 2012. Each row in the data sheet is one individual. See additional information and descriptions of their location of origin in Kenney and Sweigart 2016

Data from: Adaptive differentiation in floral traits in the presence of high gene flow in scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata)

Plant-pollinator interactions are thought to be major drivers of floral trait diversity. However, the relative importance of divergent pollinator-mediated selection versus neutral processes in floral character evolution has rarely been explored. We tested for adaptive floral trait evolution by comparing differentiation at neutral genetic loci to differentiation at quantitative floral traits in a putative Ipomopsis aggregata hybrid zone. Typical I. aggregata subsp. candida displays slender white tubular flowers that are typical of flowers pollinated by hawkmoths and subsp. collina displays robust red tubular flowers typical of flowers pollinated by hummingbirds; yet hybrid flower morphs are abundant across the East Slope of the Colorado Rockies. We estimated genetic differentiation (FST) for nuclear and chloroplast microsatellite loci and used a half-sib design to calculate quantitative trait divergence (QST) from collection sites across the morphological hybrid zone. We found little evidence for population structure and estimated mean FST to be 0.032. QST values for several floral traits including corolla tube length and width, color, and nectar volume were large and significantly greater than mean FST. We performed multivariate comparisons of neutral loci to genetic correlations within and between populations and found a strong signal for divergent selection, suggesting that specific combinations of floral display and reward traits may be the targets of selection. Our results show little support for historical subspecies categories, yet floral traits are more diverged than expected due to drift alone. Non-neutral divergence for multivariate quantitative traits suggests that selection by pollinators is maintaining a correlation between display and reward traits

CAC.Mimulus.2012.phenology.by.plot

This file contains data on flowering phenology from mixed populations of Mimulus guttatus, Mimulus nasutus, and hybrids, from Catherine Creek in Wasthington State, USA during 2012. Flowering data was collected from each of 20 0.5 meter squared plots. The number of open flowers in each plot was recorded on 31 days throughout the 2012 flowering season. Each row in the datasheet is a date; plots are represented in columns. Each data point is the number of open flowers recorded within a plot on a single day. See Kenney and Sweigart 2016 for detailed information on species composition per plot