Understanding complex traits is a fundamental challenge in plant genetics and a prerequisite for molecular breeding. Tools for trait dissection are markers, maps, and quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) is an application that integrates these tools. In this thesis research, a new sequence-based marker was evaluated, maps...
Recent studies in men have shown plasma levels of vitamin B-6
and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), the active form of vitamin B-6, to
increase with exercise. It was hypothesized that muscle glycogen
phosphorylase might be the source of these increases as this enzyme
has been shown to increase with increasing vitamin...
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurological disorder characterized by neuromuscular junction decay, motor neuron death, progressive paralysis, and eventually death of the individual, usually by respiratory failure. Oxidative stress is a prominent hallmark of the disease and is often accompanied and exacerbated by mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammation. This...
Molecular tools, coupled with unique germplasm stocks and rigorous phenotyping, are
useful for developing a better understanding of qualitative and quantitative disease resistance
genes in plants. The identification of molecular markers linked to all types of resistance
genes provides opportunities for implementing a range of resistance breeding strategies,
ranging from...
Wild barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. spontaneum) could be a source of useful genes for improving cultivated barley. The useful genes present in Hordeum vulgare subsp. spontaneum may be new alleles at described loci, or these may be entirely new genes in the sense that there is limited allelic variation at...
The Greenbelt Land Trust (GLT) (a grass-roots conservation group in
Oregon) is interested in a conservation plan for the Marys River Corridor. To
facilitate this effort, a resource inventory was required and a Geographic
Information System (GIS) data base used to compile the inventory (called the
Marys River Project (MRP))....
The bioavailability of chemical compounds in the marine environment fundamentally influences the growth and physiology of microorganisms. Organic and inorganic chemicals that are produced by some marine plankton can be consumed by other plankton for energy production, growth, or to initiate essential physiological processes. Cultures of the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana,...