Introduction

Careers in Plant Biology

Degree Requirements

Courses

Research Opportunities

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

2005 Life Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium

Judd Jones (right) worked in David McLaughlin's laboratory, where he examined the process of nuclear division in Smittium culisetae, a fungus that inhabits the hindgut of mosquito larvae. The goal of the study was to determine the chronology of nuclear division in this fungus and obtain information that would help position it on the fungal tree of life.



Joseph Foley worked in Carolyn Silflow's laboratory, with the assistance of Nancy Haas. Joe worked on the positional cloning of the APM1 gene of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Mutations in the APM1 gene confer resistance to the anti-microtubule herbicides amiprophos-methyl and oryzalin on this green alga.



Joseph Foley is shown here with Dr. Jane Glazebrook, Plant Biology faculty member.


Joseph Foley's poster has attracted a distinguished-looking audience in this photo, including his research adviser Carolyn Silflow and Plant Biology faculty members Anton (Tony) Sanderfoot and Paul (Pete) Lefebvre (left to right).

Kjirsten Walt (right) worked in Tony Sanderfoot's laboratory studying proteins of the secretory system of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. SNARE proteins are membrane proteins that are localized to specific subcellular compartments and mediate the movement of vesicles and macromolecules into these compartments. Kjirsten used antibodies and fluorescent protein fusions to localize SNAREs within Chlamydomonas cells.

Jennifer Moy (right) worked in Carolyn Silflow's laboratory with the assistance of Matthew LaVoie. Jennifer developed a new procedure for performing insertional mutagenesis in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. She used a linear, 2-kb DNA molecule carrying a selectable marker gene for insertional mutagenesis and TAIL-PCR to amplify the genomic DNA sequences flanking the sites of insertion. Comparisons of the sequences of the amplified DNAs with the sequence of the Chlamydomonas genome facilitated rapid identification of the sites of insertion.

Nicole Saur carried out her research in Nathan Springer's laboratory. Nicole investigated the dynamics of DNA replication and degradation in maize endosperms, which is triploid with two copies of each maternal chromosome and one copy of each paternal chromosome. One long-ronge goal of the study is to determine whether there is preferential replication or degradation of the alleles contributed by either the maternal or paternal parent. This objective can be achieved by using inbred parents with distinct DNA polymorphisms.

Annalisa Weiler worked in Cynthia Weinig's laboratory with Marc Brock as co-adviser. Annalisa studied the effect of photoperiod (8, 10, 12, and 14 hours) on flowering in different ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana. Most ecotypes exhibited accelerated flowering under 12- and 14-hour photoperiods. However, Annalisa also observed significant interactions between photoperiod and genotypes. She subsequently extended her study to the effects of photoperiod on floral morphology and its potential impact on fitness.

Eric Cross (right), Kevin Dorn (left), and Allison Cherry studied the effects of environmental factors such as light intensity, temperature, and humidity on trichome initiation and development in Arabidopsis thaliana. They worked in the laboratory of David Marks. Their results showed higher trichome density on the leaves of plants grown under higher light intensity. They subsequently extended the study to Arabidopsis plants with mutations in the GL1 and GL3 genes, two genes known to control trichome initiation and development.

Jesica Treiber (right) carried out her research in Kate VandenBosch's laboratory with the assistance of Dasharath Lohar. Jessica studied the symbiotic relationship between the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti and the model legume Medicago truncatula. She examined the effects of key signaling and regulatory genes on root and nodule-development, focusing on the hairy roots of M. truncatula produced by infection with Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Chimeric fusion genes and RNA interference were used to up- and down-regulate the expression of the selected genes.

Mchelle LaValle (left) used RNA interference to study the roles of protein kinase-encoding genes on root development in Medicago truncatula. She worked in the laboratory of Steve Gantt (right). Michelle's results showed that several of the targeted genes are involved in root development because when they were silenced by RNA interference, the roots of the transgenic plants developed abnormally.






Erika Blackwell (right) performed her research in the laboratory of George Weiblen with the assistance of Summer Silvieus. Erika is shown here discussing her work with Plant Biology Professor David Mclaughlin. Erika worked on the phylogeny of non-pollinator fig wasps of the genus Sycoscapter. She used the nucleotide sequences of two mitochondrial genes and ovipositor lengths as key components in examining phylogeneic relationships. The phylogenetic tree produced from these data and other morphological data indicates that multiple species of Sycoscapter are attacking the larvae of the same species of fig wasp.






Alex Hooker (left), a Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology major, carried out his research with George Weiblen (right) with the help of Wendy Clement (center). Alex studied the phylogenetic relationships of species of Castilleae, the closest relatives of the figs (genus Ficus). Alex used the sequences of the internal transcribed spacer regions of ribosomal RNA genes to construct molecular phylogenies. His results will provide the foundation for future studies on the evolution of the Castilleae.