College of Agriculture
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/4
As the foundation of the land grant mission at Montana State University, the College of Agriculture and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station provide instruction in traditional and innovative degree programs and conduct research on old and new challenges for Montana’s agricultural community. This integration creates opportunities for students and faculty to excel through hands-on learning, to serve through campus and community engagement, to explore unique solutions to distinct and interesting questions and to connect Montanans with the global community through research discoveries and outreach.
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Item Microbial community changes during a toxic cyanobacterial bloom in an alkaline Hungarian lake(2018-08) Bell, Tisza A. S.; Feldoldi, Tamas; Sen-Kilic, Emel; Vasas, Gabor; Fields, Matthew W.; Peyton, Brent M.The Carpathian Basin is a lowland plain located mainly in Hungary. Due to the nature of the bedrock, alluvial deposits, and a bowl shape, many lakes and ponds of the area are characterized by high alkalinity. In this study, we characterized temporal changes in eukaryal and bacterial community dynamics with high throughput sequencing and relate the changes to environmental conditions in Lake Velence located in Fejer county, Hungary. The sampled Lake Velence microbial populations (algal and bacterial) were analyzed to identify potential correlations with other community members and environmental parameters at six timepoints over 6weeks in the Spring of 2012. Correlations between community members suggest a positive relationship between certain algal and bacterial populations (e.g. Chlamydomondaceae with Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria), while other correlations allude to changes in these relationships over time. During the study, high nitrogen availability may have favored non-nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria, such as the toxin-producing Microcystis aeruginosa, and the eutrophic effect may have been exacerbated by high phosphorus availability as well as the high calcium and magnesium content of the Carpathian Basin bedrock, potentially fostering exopolymer production and cell aggregation. Cyanobacterial bloom formation could have a negative environmental impact on other community members and potentially affect overall water quality as well as recreational activities. To our knowledge, this is the first prediction for relationships between photoautotrophic eukaryotes and bacteria from an alkaline, Hungarian lake.Item Opportunities and Trade-offs among BECCS and the Food, Water, Energy, Biodiversity, and Social Systems Nexus at Regional Scales(2018-01) Stoy, Paul C.; Ahmed, Selena; Jarchow, Meghann; Rashford, Benjamin; Swanson, David; Albeke, Shannon; Bromley, Gabriel T.; Brookshire, E. N. Jack; Dixon, Mark D.; Haggerty, Julia Hobson; Miller, Perry R.; Peyton, Brent M.; Royem, Alisa; Spangler, Lee H.; Straub, Crista; Poulter, BenjaminCarbon dioxide must be removed from the atmosphere to limit climate change to 2°C or less. The integrated assessment models used to develop climate policy acknowledge the need to implement net negative carbon emission strategies, including bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), to meet global climate imperatives. The implications of BECCS for the food, water, energy, biodiversity, and social systems (FWEBS) nexus at regional scales, however, remain unclear. Here, we present an interdisciplinary research framework to examine the trade-offs as well as the opportunities among BECCS scenarios and FWEBS on regional scales using the Upper Missouri River Basin (UMRB) as a case study. We describe the physical, biological, and social attributes of the UMRB, and we use grassland bird populations as an example of how biodiversity is influenced by energy transitions, including BECCS. We then outline a "conservation" BECCS strategy that incorporates societal values and emphasizes biodiversity conservation.Item Carbon chain length of biofuel- and flavor-relevant volatile organic compounds produced by lignocellulolytic fungal endophytes changes with culture temperature(2017-09) Schoen, Heidi R.; Hunt, Kristopher A.; Strobel, Gary A.; Peyton, Brent M.; Carlson, Ross P.Three fungal endophytes from the genus Nodulisporium were studied for volatile organic compound (VOC) production. All three fungi grew on a wide range of carbon substrates ranging from simple sugars to waste biomass sources. The fungi synthesized a number of long and short-chain VOCs, including eucalyptol; 1-butanol, 3-methyl; 1-octen-3-ol; and benzaldehyde, all with potential applications as biofuel or flavor compounds. As culture temperature decreased, average VOC carbon chain length increased, especially for VOCs associated with fatty acid metabolism. The results provide a template for controlling synthesis of desired VOCs through selection of species and culturing conditions.Item A Lipid-Accumulating Alga Maintains Growth in Outdoor, Alkaliphilic Raceway Pond with Mixed Microbial Communities(2016-01) Bell, Tisza A. S.; Prithiviraj, Bharath; Wahlen, Brad D.; Fields, Matthew W.; Peyton, Brent M.Algal biofuels and valuable co-products are being produced in both open and closed cultivation systems. Growing algae in open pond systems may be a more economical alternative, but this approach allows environmental microorganisms to colonize the pond and potentially infect or outcompete the algal “crop.” In this study, we monitored the microbial community of an outdoor, open raceway pond inoculated with a high lipid-producing alkaliphilic alga, Chlorella vulgaris BA050. The strain C. vulgaris BA050 was previously isolated from Soap Lake, Washington, a system characterized by a high pH (∼9.8). An outdoor raceway pond (200 L) was inoculated with C. vulgaris and monitored for 10 days and then the culture was transferred to a 2,000 L raceway pond and cultivated for an additional 6 days. Community DNA samples were collected over the 16-day period in conjunction with water chemistry analyses and cell counts. Universal primers for the SSU rRNA gene sequences for Eukarya, Bacteria, and Archaea were used for barcoded pyrosequence determination. The environmental parameters that most closely correlated with C. vulgaris abundance were pH and phosphate. Community analyses indicated that the pond system remained dominated by the Chlorella population (93% of eukaryotic sequences), but was also colonized by other microorganisms. Bacterial sequence diversity increased over time while archaeal sequence diversity declined over the same time period. Using SparCC co-occurrence network analysis, a positive correlation was observed between C. vulgaris and Pseudomonas sp. throughout the experiment, which may suggest a symbiotic relationship between the two organisms. The putative relationship coupled with high pH may have contributed to the success of C. vulgaris. The characterization of the microbial community dynamics of an alkaliphilic open pond system provides significant insight into open pond systems that could be used to control photoautotrophic biomass productivity in an open, non-sterile environment.Item Evaluation of cellulose as a substrate for hydrocarbon fuel production by Ascocoryne sarcoides (NRRL 50072)(2014-02) Mallette, Natasha D.; Pankrantz, E. M.; Busse, S.; Strobel, Gary A.; Carlson, Ross P.; Peyton, Brent M.The fungal endophyte, Ascocoryne sarcoides, produced aviation, gasoline and diesel-relevant hydrocarbons when grown on multiple substrates including cellulose as the sole carbon source. Substrate, growth stage, culturing pH, temperature and medium composition were statistically significant factors for the type and quantity of hydrocarbons produced. Gasoline range (C5-C12), aviation range (C8-C16) and diesel range (C9-C36) organics were detected in all cultured media. Numerous non-oxygenated hydrocarbons were produced such as isopentane, 3,3-dimethyl hexane and d-limonene during exponential growth phase. Growth on cellulose at 23˚C and pH 5.8 produced the highest overall yield of fuel range organics (105 mg * g·biomass−1). A change in metabolism was seen in late stationary phase from catabolism of cellulose to potential oxidation of hydrocarbons resulting in the production of more oxygenated compounds with longer carbon chain length and fewer fuel-related compounds. The results outline rational strategies for controlling the composition of the fuel-like compounds by changing culturing parameters.