Isolation and Characterization of the Soybean Major Latex Homologue Msg, and Analysis of Its Pod-Specific Promoter

136 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000.The objective of this project was to identify and investigate a pod specific promoter from soybean for the potential use in disease resistance strategies. A random lambda cDNA clone, VS-107, isolated from a soybean pod library, showed elevated mRNA expression in soybean pods and it was used as a probe to retrieve the gene and promoter sequences from a soybean genomic lambda library. Computer analyses indicate that the gene, named Msg , belongs to the major latex protein family. Primers annealing at different positions 5' upstream of the gene, at the 3 'UTR and at the intron were used to obtain PCR fragments representing the flanking regions. The different regions were cloned into the binary vector pBI101 with a promoterless uidA (GUS) reporter gene. Fourteen deletion fragments of the 5' region were compared by particle bombardment of soybean pods and by transformation into Arabidopsis by Agrobacterium vacuum infiltration. The full length promoter is needed for maximal expression in floral and fruit tissues, guard cells and nodes. Surprisingly, the minimal promoter of 650 bp is only functional in Arabidopsis when the nosT is replaced by the Msg 3'UTR and it can be deleted without a change in expression pattern. A pathogen induction experiment on transgenic Arabidopsis plants did not show the Msg promoter to be induced after infiltration with Pseudomonas syringae. However, in soybean pods, the Msg transcript was localized by whole mount in situ hybridization to the mid pericarp layer, a continuous single cell layer believed to be involved in pathogen defense. The conclusion is that the Msg promoter is a strong soybean promoter that drives developmentally induced gene expression in tissues that are sites for pathogen defense.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

The plastome of the arctic Oxytropis arctobia (Fabaceae) has large differences compared with that of O. splendens and those of related species

Anatomical and physiological specializations for plant adaptation to harsh climates are the results of molecular mechanisms that can be nuclear or organellar encoded. In this study, the complete plastomes of an arctic species, Oxytropis arctobia Bunge (Fabaceae,) and a closely related temperate species, O. splendens Douglas ex Hook., were assembled, annotated and analyzed to search for differences that might help explain their adaptation to different environments. Consistently with the previously sequenced O. bicolor DC. and O. glabra plastomes, the O. arctobia and O. splendens plastomes both have the common features of the inverted repeat-lacking clade (IRLC), as well as the atpF intron loss, which is unique to the genus. However, significant differences distinguishes the O. arctobia from O. splendens and other closely related plastomes (Oxytropis spp. and Astragalus spp.), including a 3 kb inversion, two large insertions (>1 kb), significant modifications of the accD gene, and an overall larger size.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Development of a Quick-Install Rapid Phenotyping System

In recent years, there has been a growing need for accessible High-Throughput Plant Phenotyping (HTPP) platforms that can take measurements of plant traits in open fields. This paper presents a phenotyping system designed to address this issue by combining ultrasonic and multispectral sensing of the crop canopy with other diverse measurements under varying environmental conditions. The system demonstrates a throughput increase by a factor of 50 when compared to a manual setup, allowing for efficient mapping of crop status across a field with crops grown in rows of any spacing. Tests presented in this paper illustrate the type of experimentation that can be performed with the platform, emphasizing the output from each sensor. The system integration, versatility, and ergonomics are the most significant contributions. The presented system can be used for studying plant responses to different treatments and/or stresses under diverse farming practices in virtually any field environment. It was shown that crop height and several vegetation indices, most of them common indicators of plant physiological status, can be easily paired with corresponding environmental conditions to facilitate data analysis at the fine spatial scale