Raspberries are an important commodity worldwide, with the United States (U.S.) leading fourth in global production in 2017. An important factor when shipping propagated Rubus across the globe is the security of clean plant material verified through pathogen detection methods which is vital in preventing disease spread. A raspberry virus...
Plant pathogens in the genus Phytophthora are known to cause disease on field crops, nursery plants, and forest trees. The best known example probably is Phytophthora infestans, which triggered the infamous Irish potato famine. Other important Phytophthora species include: P. ramorum (sudden oak death pathogen), P. sojae (soybean root rot...
The Red Dog Mine transports concentrated zinc and lead ore in northwestern Alaska through Cape Krusenstern National monument along a haul road. High metal levels in the moss Hylocomium splendens along the haul road have been attributed to ore dust released during transport. The mine has implemented several pollution abatement...
The legality of wood products in trade often depends on their geographic origin, creating a need for forensic tools that can verify claims of provenance for wood and wood products. Cedrela odorata L. or Spanish cedar is a target of illegal logging. We developed a 140 SNP Agena™ MassARRAY® assay...
Classic biological control can be a powerful option for those tasked with managing biological invasions; however, some biocontrol releases lead to non-target attack – feeding, damage or development on species other than the target species. The cinnabar moth, Tyria jacobaeae L. (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) was introduced to Western Oregon as a...
Winter squash (Cucurbita maxima) grown in Oregon’s Willamette Valley for edible seed, frozen foods, and fresh markets is susceptible to an undiagnosed soilborne disease. Diseased squash fields exhibit symptoms of stunting, root and crown rot, vascular discoloration, and late-season wilt, which in extreme cases can lead to total crop failure....
A multi-year field study was conducted in Oregon and Washington to evaluate the influence of nitrogen fertilization rate and timing on cone quality, nitrate accumulation in cones, severity of powdery mildew (caused by Podosphaera macularis), arthropod pests, and the stability of conservation biological control of the twospotted spider mite (Tetranychus...
In recent years, our ecological knowledge of tropical dry forests has increased dramatically. However, whole components of the ecosystem, like lichenized fungi, remain mostly unknown. Crustose lichens in these forests are so abundant, that they are responsible for the characteristic appearance of a “white bark forest” during the dry season....
The Willamette Valley (Oregon) Prairie Plant Trait Dataset is a compilation of plant traits of species important in upland prairies, wetland prairies, vernal pools, and emergent wetlands, and in the restoration of prairies and wetlands of the Willamette Valley of Oregon. These species are also found widely throughout the Pacific...
Biofortification of folates in staple crops is an important strategy to help eradicate human folate deficiencies. Folate biofortification using genetic engineering has shown great success in rice grain, tomato fruit, lettuce, and potato tuber. However, consumers’ skepticism, juridical hurdles, and lack of economic model have prevented the widespread adoption of...
Biodiversity loss is of global concern, and is due in part to deforestation and high consumer demand for wood and wood products. The neotropical tree species Cedrela odorata (“Spanish cedar” or “cedro”) is economically valuable for its wood and faces threats of overexploitation. Due to strong similarities in wood features...
Foliar fungi – pathogens, endophytes, epiphytes – form taxonomically diverse communities that affect plant health and productivity. The composition of foliar fungal communities is variable at spatial scales both small (e.g., individual plants) and large (e.g., continents). However, few studies have focused on how environmental factors and host plant traits...
Phytophthora root rot decreases availability and quality of rhododendrons produced in the USA. Symptoms of Phytophthora root rot include root necrosis, leaf chlorosis, stunting, and permanent wilt. The purpose of this thesis was to better understand the impact of root damage, soil moisture, nitrogen fertilizer application, and pathogen species on...
There is growing interest in using biocrusts (assemblages of cyanobacteria, lichens, mosses, and other taxa in various proportions covering the upper few millimeters of the soil surface) to assist in restoring ecosystem function and native plant communities in dryland ecosystems. Biocrusts can be transplanted and established using jute or thatch,...
Shrubs, bunchgrasses and biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are believed to contribute to site resistance to plant invasions in the presence of cattle grazing. Although fire is a concomitant disturbance with grazing, little is known regarding their combined impacts on invasion resistance. We are the first to date to test the...
The growth of a plant’s root system is essential for its survival. Preliminary observations suggest that a protein complex called the exocyst may play a role in the development of the root system by facilitating the growth of roots and root hairs. Previous work discovered a protein that potentially interacts...
An increased understanding of secondary metabolism in fungi is important for both biological and societal reasons. The ascomycete genus, Tolypocladium, is an ideal system to explore secondary metabolism characterization, ecology, evolution and regulation. The genus produces and has the genomic potential to produce a wide array of metabolites. Paired with...
In the Pacific Northwestern United States, the hop powdery mildew fungus, Podosphaera macularis, survives overwintering periods in association with living host tissue because the ascigerious stage of the pathogen is not known to occur in this region. Field experiments were conducted over a 5-year period to describe the overwintering process...
All necessary data files (including a README file) associated with the Master's Thesis titled: Contrasting Epiphytic and Ground Layer Macrolichen Communities along the Coast-to-inland Climatic Gradient in Oregon.
Cyanolichens, lichens with a cyanobacterial photobiont, benefit our ecosystems by the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form for other organisms. They are highly sensitive to air pollution and require liquid water for photosynthesis. Many cyanolichen species frequently occur on the ground in the Pacific Northwest, however, most macrolichen...
The fungus Nothophaeocryptopus gaeumannii is the causative agent of Swiss needle cast (SNC), a foliar disease of Douglas-fir. Disease is characterized by premature loss of foliage and reduced growth resulting from the inhibition of photosynthesis due to the occlusion of stomata by the ascocarps of N. gaeumannii. Although the disease...
Conservation conflicts may develop on restoration sites with multiple species recovery objectives. For example, on Pacific Northwest prairies, the co-planting of the diploid cytotype of the common native wildflower Castilleja hispida with the endangered wildflower C. levisecta has resulted in putative Castilleja hybrids on restoration sites, prompting fears that genetic...
Grape powdery mildew (GPM, causal agent Erysiphe necator) is the most economically important disease of grapevine in the Western U.S. Low levels of GPM infection on clusters (1-5%) can negatively affect wine sensory quality, so intensive fungicide programs are common. This may lead to problems like excessive fungicide use and...
Recommends pest management practices for blueberry.
Published 2018. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog
The sweet potato is one of the world’s most widely consumed crops, yet its evolutionary history is poorly understood. In this paper, we present a comprehensive phylogenetic study of all species closely related to the sweet potato and address several questions pertaining to the sweet potato that remained unanswered. Our...
Symbioses are intimate interactions between two different organisms. In a pathogenic interaction, one organism benefits and the other is generally harmed; whereas in a mutualistic interaction, the members reciprocally benefit. Rhodococcus is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria that persist in a variety of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Although better known...
Micronutrient deficiency, also known as the hidden hunger, affects over two billion people worldwide. Potato is the third most consumed food crops in the world, and is therefore a fundamental element of food security for millions of people. Increasing the amount of micronutrients in food crop could help alleviate worldwide...
This dataset is available as supplement for a research article submitted in 2018 and accepted in 2019. Genomic resources for the Neotropical tree genus Cedrela (Meliaceae) and its relatives. By Kristen N. Finch, B.A.; F. Andrew Jones, Ph.D.; Richard Cronn, Ph.D.
Tree species in the genus Cedrela are threatened by...
The dataset here is used as a document file for presenting supplementary videos in the dissertation Tao, K. (2018). Investigating protein-lipid-membrane interactions in Plant Cells using Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation (Doctoral dissertation).
Keywords: Protein, Lipid, Membrane, Plant Cells, Fluorescent Imaging
Modern plant pathology benefits from integrating methods and concepts from evolutionary biology. For example, evolutionary concepts are used to identify and examine species boundaries of plant pathogens, recognize processes underlying pathogen biogeography, identify traits that characterize emerging species, and discover new molecular interactions that originate under processes of selection. In...
To determine the invasion threat to the NE Pacific of marine algae arriving on Japanese debris from the 2011 Great Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami, my colleagues and I identified the algal species on 42 of the most heavily fouled debris items that landed on the shores of Oregon and Washington...
To determine the invasion threat to the NE Pacific of marine algae arriving on Japanese debris from the 2011 Great Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami, my colleagues and I took up the task of identifying the algal species on 42 of the most heavily fouled debris items that landed on the...
Fungi play critical roles in ecosystem processes and interact with plant communities in mutualistic, pathogenic, and commensal ways. Fungal communities are thought to be influenced by both associated tree communities and soil properties. However, the relative importance of the biotic and abiotic drivers of soil fungal community structure and diversity...
Rare plant reintroductions are a critical conservation tool for the augmentation of diminishing populations, or re-establishment of extirpated populations. Analysis of reintroduction failures suggests that a sophisticated understanding of species biology, ecology, and habitat is essential for producing self-sustaining rare plant populations. This study sought to generate that background knowledge...
The order Cornales (dogwoods) is the earliest diverging lineage within the most diverse group of flowering plants, the asterids (>80,000 species). Although molecular phylogenetics have significantly improved our understanding of cornalean systematics, early phylogenetic relationships remain uncertain due to an initial rapid radiation. The fossil record of Cornales is extensive...
Phytophthora ramorum continues to cause extensive mortality of tanoaks in southwestern Oregon. Rain readily washes inoculum down through the canopy, causing new infections on the lower parts of the tree and neighboring host plants. Although this aspect of dispersal is well understood, the relative importance of infested soil and leaf...
Freezing to death in winter is a danger faced by ectothermic organisms throughout temperate climates. One adaptation of lepidopteran insects for overwinter survival is the sequestration of antifreeze solutes in the hemolymph prior to pupal diapause. This acts to depress freezing points during the long and immobile pupal stage during...
Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Rhodococcus fascians are plant pathogenic bacteria that can induce crown and leafy galls on plants, respectively. Infection by these bacteria results in disfigured, unsellable plants, leading to significant economic losses to the nursery industry. A. tumefaciens and R. fascians are capable of infecting a broad range of...
Climate and terrestrial vegetation have had mutual feedbacks for nearly five hundred million years, yet both are now departing from recent historical norms, with uncertain implications for forest ecosystems. This dissertation outlines the current and potential future climate responses of lichen and bryophyte communities in the United States as part...
Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is an iconic North American high-elevation tree species currently threatened by climate change, mountain pine beetle, and white pine blister rust (WPBR), a lethal disease caused by the non-native fungal pathogen Cronartium ribicola. In collaboration with the USDA Forest Service Dorena Genetic Resource Center, germplasm was...
Weed management is one of the main challenges for organic agriculture. Soil solarization has been shown to be an effective mitigation strategy for weeds and soil borne plant pathogens but few studies have been conducted in cooler climates such as the Pacific Northwest.
Non-target effects are one of the greatest potential risks of weed biological control programs, and understanding non-target effects of biological control at the population level is crucial for predicting when they will occur and altering the perception of biological control as a whole. In this thesis, we assessed the ecological...
Potato virus Y (PVY) is a major potato pathogen affecting potato yields worldwide. Thiamin, a water-soluble B vitamin (vitamin B1) has been shown to boost the plant’s immunity, thereby increasing resistance against pathogens. In this study, we tested different concentrations of thiamin (1 mM, 10 mM, 50 mM, 100 mM)...
A new species belonging to the lichen genus Physconia is described from Alaska and the Canadian and American Rocky Mountains and adjacent forested regions. It is also reported from China, Nepal, India and Siberia. The new species, Physconia labrata, is superficially similar to P. perisidiosa, but can be distinguished by...
Micronutrient malnutrition, also known as the hidden hunger, affects over two billion people worldwide. Potato is the third most consumed food crop in the world, and is therefore a fundamental element of food security for millions of people. Increasing the amount of micronutrients in potatoes could help alleviate worldwide micronutrient...
Thiamin is essential for human health. While plants are the ultimate source of thiamin in most human diets, staple foods like white rice have low thiamin content. Therefore, populations whose diets are mainly based on low-thiamin staple crops suffer from thiamin deficiency. Biofortification of rice grain by engineering the thiamin...
To determine the invasion threat to the NE Pacific of marine algae arriving on Japanese debris from the 2011 Great Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami, my colleagues and I identified the algal species on 42 of the most heavily fouled debris items that landed on the shores of Oregon and Washington...
This dataset contains a draft assembly of the common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) nuclear genome, linkage group information, and gene family counts for Asclepias and related species. The genome assembly is accompanied by annotation of gene models, repeat models, transfer RNAs, and open reading frames, and mapping information of Asclepias transcripts,...
The Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington in the United States and British Columbia in Canada) is one of the major producers of red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) and blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) in the world. The expansion of growing area with these crops has resulted in the emergence of new...