Plant Sciences & Plant Pathology

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/12

The Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology is part of the College of Agriculture at Montana State University in Bozeman. An exciting feature of this department is the diversity of programs in Plant Biology, Crop Science, Plant Pathology, Horticulture, Mycology, Plant Genetics and Entomology. The department offers BS, MS, and Ph.D. degree program

Browse

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 18
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Registration of ‘Lustre’ durum wheat
    (Wiley, 2022-08) Hogg, Andrew C.; Carr, Patrick; Eberly, Jed; Chen, Chengci; Kowatch‐Carlson, Calla; Crutcher, Frankie; Lamb, Peggy F.; McNamara, Kyla; Haney, Eleri; Kephart, Ken D.
    ‘Lustre’ (Reg. no. CV-1193, PI 695072) is a spring durum wheat [Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum (Desf.)] developed by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station and released in 2020. Lustre was bred using the single seed descent method and was selected for its yield performance under dryland conditions across Montana, low grain Cd accumulation, good pasta firmness, high grain protein, high yellow semolina color, and low semolina ash. Lustre performs well in both the north central and northeast regions of Montana, where most Montana durum is produced and intended for pasta production. Lustre has similar stripe rust tolerance and susceptibility as top-grown durum cultivars in the state with susceptibility at the seedling stage and high-temperature adult-plant resistance. Lustre is moderately susceptible to Fusarium head blight like other durum cultivars. Lustre is resistant to the predominant races of stem and leaf rust and is moderately tolerant to fungal leaf spot complex. Lustre is approximately 89 cm tall, with a yellow green color and a heading date 1 d later than the cultivar ‘Mountrail’. Lustre has an erect flag leaf and an erect tapering head having white glumes and awns.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Antixenosis, Antibiosis, and Potential Yield Compensatory Response in Barley Cultivars Exposed to Wheat Stem Sawfly (Hymenoptera: Cephidae) under Field Conditions
    (2020-08) Achhami, Buddhi B.; Reddy, Gadi V. P.; Sherman, Jamie D.; Peterson, Robert K. D.; Weaver, David K.
    Wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton, is an economically serious pest of cereals grown in North America. Barley cultivars were previously planted as resistant crops in rotations to manage C. cinctus, but due to increasing levels of injury to this crop, this is no longer a valid management tactic in Montana. Therefore, we aimed to understand antixenosis (behavioral preference), antibiosis (mortality), and potential yield compensation (increased productivity in response to stem injuries) in barley exposed to C. cinctus. We examined these traits in eight barley cultivars. Antixenosis was assessed by counting number of eggs per stem and antibiosis was assessed by counting infested stems, dead larvae, and stems cut by mature larvae. Potential yield compensation was evaluated by comparing grain yield from three categories of stem infestation: 1) uninfested, 2) infested with dead larva, and 3) infested cut by mature larva at crop maturity. We found the greatest number of eggs per infested stem (1.80 ± 0.04), the highest proportion of infested stems (0.63 ± 0.01), and the highest proportion of cut stems (0.33 ± 0.01) in ‘Hockett’. Seven out of eight cultivars had greater grain weight for infested stems than for uninfested stems. These cultivars may have compensatory responses to larval feeding injury. Overall, these barley cultivars contain varying levels of antixenosis, antibiosis, and differing levels of yield compensation. Our results provide foundational knowledge on barley traits that will provide a framework to further develop C. cinctus resistant or tolerant barley cultivars.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Multiple decrement life tables of Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae) across a set of barley cultivars: The importance of plant defense versus cannibalism
    (2020-09) Achhami, Buddhi B.; Peterson, Robert K. D.; Sherman, Jamie D.; Reddy, Gadi V. P.; Weaver, David K.
    Accurately estimating cause-specific mortality for immature insect herbivores is usually difficult. The insects are exposed to abiotic and biotic mortality factors, causing cadavers to simply disappear before cause of mortality can be recorded. Also, insect herbivores are often highly mobile on hosts, making it difficult to follow patterns for individuals through time. In contrast, the wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton, spends its entire egg, larval, and pupal period inside a host stem. Therefore, with periodic sampling stage-specific causes of mortality can be ascertained. Consequently, we examined C. cinctus mortality in eight barley, Hordeum vulgare L., cultivars in two locations in Montana from 2016 to 2018 by collecting stem samples from stem elongation to crop maturity at weekly intervals, and collecting overwintered barley stubs the following spring and summer from the same plots. If larvae were present, we examined larval status—dead or alive—and categorized dead individuals into one of 5 mortality categories: plant defense, cannibalism, parasitism, pathogens, and unknown factors. We used multiple decrement life tables to estimate cause-specific mortality and irreplaceable mortality (the proportion of mortality from a given cause that cannot be replaced by other causes of mortality). Plant defense (antibiosis) caused 85.7 ± 3.6%, cannibalism (governed by antixenosis) caused 70.1 ± 7.6%, parasitism caused 13.8 ± 5.9%, unknown factors caused 38.5 ± 7.6%, and pathogens caused 14.7 ± 8.5% mortality in the presence of all causes of mortality. Similarly, irreplaceable mortality due to plant defense was 22.3 ± 6.4%, cannibalism was 29.1± 4.2%, unknown factors was 6.2 ± 1.8%, pathogens was 0.9 ± 0.5%, and parasitism was 1. 5 ± 0. 6%. Antibiosis traits primarily killed newly emerged larvae, while other traits supported more favorable oviposition decisions by females, increasing mortality by obligate cannibalism. Our results suggest that breeding barley for resistance to C. cinctus targeting both categories of traits (antibiosis and antixenosis) is a highly valuable tactic for management of this important pest.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Wildflower Seed Sales as Incentive for Adopting Flower Strips for Native Bee Conservation: A Cost-Benefit Analysis
    (2019-07) Delphia, Casey M.; O'Neill, Kevin M.; Burkle, Laura A.
    Improving pollinator habitat on farmlands is needed to further wild bee conservation and to sustain crop pollination in light of relationships between global declines in pollinators and reductions in floral resources. One management strategy gaining much attention is the use of wildflower strips planted alongside crops to provide supplemental floral resources for pollinators. However, farmer adoption of pollinator-friendly strategies has been minimal, likely due to uncertainty about costs and benefits of providing non-crop flowering plants for bees. Over 3 yr, on four diversified farms in Montana, United States, we estimated the potential economic profit of harvesting and selling wildflower seeds collected from flower strips implemented for wild bee conservation, as an incentive for farmers to adopt this management practice. We compared the potential profitability of selling small retail seed packets versus bulk wholesale seed. Our economic analyses indicated that potential revenue from retail seed sales exceeded the costs associated with establishing and maintaining wildflower strips after the second growing season. A wholesale approach, in contrast, resulted in considerable net economic losses. We provide proof-of-concept that, under retail scenarios, the sale of native wildflower seeds may provide an alternative economic benefit that, to our knowledge, remains unexplored. The retail seed-sales approach could encourage greater farmer adoption of wildflower strips as a pollinator-conservation strategy in agroecosystems. The approach could also fill a need for regionally produced, native wildflower seed for habitat restoration and landscaping aimed at conserving native plants and pollinators.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Registration of ‘StandClear CLP’ hard red winter wheat
    (2020-06) Berg, Jim E.; Kephart, Ken D.; Lamb, Peggy F.; Davis, Edward S.; Eberly, Jed O.; Miller, John H.; Chen, Chengci; Pradhan, G. P.; Torrion, Jessica A.; Ramsfield, Ron; Smith, Vincent H.; Nash, Deanna L.; Holen, Doug L.; Cook, Jason P.; Gale, Sam; Jin, Yue; Chen, X.; Bruckner, Phil L.
    ‘StandClear CLP’ (Reg. no. CV-1162, PI 693236) hard red winter (HRW) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was developed and released by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station and exclusively licensed to Loveland Products, Inc., in 2020. StandClear CLP is a two-gene Clearfield, semisolid-stem wheat intended for use with the selective imidazolinone (IMI) herbicide imazamox. StandClear CLP resulted from a cross of MTS0531 to an IMI herbicide tolerant F1 plant from a population segregating for two acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) genes [TaAHAS1D and TaAHAS1B]. Original herbicide tolerance donors were IMI ‘Fidel’ (TX12588*4/FS2, BASF) for allele TaAHAS1D via descended experimental lines MTCL0309 and MTCL0510, and proprietary hard red spring wheat line CDC Teal 11A (BASF Corporation) for allele TaAHAS1B. StandClear CLP was selected as a F6:7 headrow in 2014 following multiple cycles of phenotypic mass selection for IMI herbicide tolerance and stem solidness. StandClear CLP was tested under the experimental number MTCS1601 from 2016 to 2019 in Montana for field performance, herbicide tolerance, and end-use quality. StandClear CLP is a high-yielding, Clearfield HRW wheat cultivar with intermediate stem solidness, moderate host plant resistance to wheat stem sawfly, and acceptable milling and baking quality.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Warm-Season Forage Options in Northern Dryland Regions
    (2020-06) Carr, Patrick M.; Boss, Darrin L.; Chen, Chengci; Dafoe, Julia M.; Eberly, Jed O.; Fordyce, Simon; Hydner, Roger M.; Fryer, Heather K.; Lachowiec, Jennifer A.; Lamb, Peggy F.; McVay, Kent A.; Khan, Qasim A.; Miller, Perry R.; Miller, Zachariah J.; Torrion, Jessica A.
    Rotating summer fallow with wheat (Triticum spp.) is done in dryland grain farming at upper latitudes to stabilize yields over time and to prevent crop failure. However, summer fallow is costly since weeds must be controlled and crops are not grown. Replacing summer fallow with grain crops can generate low economic returns. Previous research indicated that annual cool‐season forages can be substituted for summer fallow in dryland cropping systems. Our objective was to determine if annual warm‐season species were suited for forage production in monocultures and polycultures in the U.S. northern Great Plains. Dry matter (DM) production by 20 warm‐ and cool‐season crop monocultures and 4 polycultures was determined across six environments during 2016, and by 25 warm‐ and cool‐season crop monocultures and polycultures across four environments from 2016 through 2018. Maize (Zea mays L.) monoculture produced forage DM in amounts equal to, or greater than, those produced by other warm‐ and cool‐season crop treatments (P < 0.05). Maize DM production averaged 2.5 to 5.7 Mg ha−1, depending on the study and environment. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.] and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) also produced relatively large amounts of forage DM. Polycultures failed to produce more DM than monocultures consistently (P > 0.40). These results indicate that maize and other warm‐season crops are adapted for dryland forage production in cool regions at upper latitudes. Additional research is needed to determine the impacts of annual warm‐season forages on grain yield in a forage‐wheat crop sequence.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Metagenomes from high-temperature chemotrophic systems reveal geochemical controls on microbial community structure and function
    (2010-03) Inskeep, William P.; Rusch, Douglas B.; Jay, Zackary J.; Herrgard, Markus J.; Kozubal, Mark A.; Richardson, Toby H.; Macur, Richard E.; Hamamura, Natsuko; Jennings, Ryan deM.; Fouke, Bruce W.; Reysenbach, Anna-Louise; Roberto, Frank; Young, Mark J.; Schwartz, Ariel; Boyd, Eric S.; Badger, Jonathan H.; Mathur, Eric J.; Ortmann, Alice C.; Bateson, Mary M.; Geesey, Gill G.; Frazier, Marvin
    The Yellowstone caldera contains the most numerous and diverse geothermal systems on Earth, yielding an extensive array of unique high-temperature environments that host a variety of deeply-rooted and understudied Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya. The combination of extreme temperature and chemical conditions encountered in geothermal environments often results in considerably less microbial diversity than other terrestrial habitats and offers a tremendous opportunity for studying the structure and function of indigenous microbial communities and for establishing linkages between putative metabolisms and element cycling. Metagenome sequence (14–15,000 Sanger reads per site) was obtained for five high-temperature (>65°C) chemotrophic microbial communities sampled from geothermal springs (or pools) in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) that exhibit a wide range in geochemistry including pH, dissolved sulfide, dissolved oxygen and ferrous iron. Metagenome data revealed significant differences in the predominant phyla associated with each of these geochemical environments. Novel members of the Sulfolobales are dominant in low pH environments, while other Crenarchaeota including distantly-related Thermoproteales and Desulfurococcales populations dominate in suboxic sulfidic sediments. Several novel archaeal groups are well represented in an acidic (pH 3) Fe-oxyhydroxide mat, where a higher O2 influx is accompanied with an increase in archaeal diversity. The presence or absence of genes and pathways important in S oxidation-reduction, H2-oxidation, and aerobic respiration (terminal oxidation) provide insight regarding the metabolic strategies of indigenous organisms present in geothermal systems. Multiple-pathway and protein-specific functional analysis of metagenome sequence data corroborated results from phylogenetic analyses and clearly demonstrate major differences in metabolic potential across sites. The distribution of functional genes involved in electron transport is consistent with the hypothesis that geochemical parameters (e.g., pH, sulfide, Fe, O2) control microbial community structure and function in YNP geothermal springs.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Characterization of resistance to Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae) in barley germplasm
    (2018-04) Varella, Andrea C.; Talbert, Luther E.; Achhami, Buddhi B.; Blake, Nancy K.; Hofland, Megan L.; Sherman, Jamie D.; Lamb, Peggy F.; Reddy, Gadi V. P.; Weaver, David K.
    Most barley cultivars have some degree of resistance to the wheat stem sawfly (WSS), Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae). Damage caused by WSS is currently observed in fields of barley grown in the Northern Great Plains, but the impact of WSS damage among cultivars due to genetic differences within the barley germplasm is not known. Specifically, little is known about the mechanisms underlying WSS resistance in barley. We characterized WSS resistance in a subset of the spring barley CAP (Coordinated Agricultural Project) germplasm panel containing 193 current and historically important breeding lines from six North American breeding programs. Panel lines were grown in WSS infested fields for two consecutive years. Lines were characterized for stem solidness, stem cutting, WSS infestation (antixenosis), larval mortality (antibiosis), and parasitism (indirect plant defense). Variation in resistance to WSS in barley was compared to observations made for solid-stemmed resistant and hollow-stemmed susceptible wheat lines. Results indicate that both antibiosis and antixenosis are involved in the resistance of barley to the WSS, but antibiosis seems to be more prevalent. Almost all of the barley lines had greater larval mortality than the hollow-stemmed wheat lines, and only a few barley lines had mortality as low as that observed in the solid-stemmed wheat line. Since barley lines lack solid stems, it is apparent that barley has a different form of antibiosis. Our results provide information for use of barley in rotation to control the WSS and may provide a basis for identification of new approaches for improving WSS resistance in wheat.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A large-scale multiomics analysis of wheat stem solidness and the wheat stem sawfly feeding response, and syntenic associations in barley, Brachypodium, and rice
    (2018-02) Biyiklioglu, Sezgi; Alptekin, Burcu; Akpinar, B. Ani; Varella, Andrea C.; Hofland, Megan L.; Weaver, David K.; Bothner, Brian; Budak, Hikmet
    The wheat stem sawfly (WSS), Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), is an important pest of wheat and other cereals, threatening the quality and quantity of grain production. WSS larvae feed and develop inside the stem where they are protected from the external environment; therefore, pest management strategies primarily rely on host plant resistance. A major locus on the long arm of wheat chromosome 3B underlies most of the variation in stem solidness; however, the impact of stem solidness on WSS feeding has not been completely characterized. Here, we used a multiomics approach to examine the response to WSS in both solid- and semi-solid-stemmed wheat varieties. The combined transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic data revealed that two important molecular pathways, phenylpropanoid and phosphate pentose, are involved in plant defense against WSS. We also detected a general downregulation of several key defense transcripts, including those encoding secondary metabolites such as DIMBOA, tricetin, and lignin, which suggested that the WSS larva might interfere with plant defense. We comparatively analyzed the stem solidness genomic region known to be associated with WSS tolerance in wild emmer, durum, and bread wheats, and described syntenic regions in the close relatives barley, Brachypodium, and rice. Additionally, microRNAs identified from the same genomic region revealed potential regulatory pathways associated with the WSS response. We propose a model outlining the molecular responses of the WSS-wheat interactions. These findings provide insight into the link between stem solidness and WSS feeding at the molecular level.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Acute Toxicity of Permethrin, Deltamethrin, and Etofenprox to the Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee
    (2018-05) Piccolomini, Alyssa M.; Whiten, Shavonn R.; Flenniken, Michelle L.; O'Neill, Kevin M.; Peterson, Robert K. D.
    Current regulatory requirements for insecticide toxicity to nontarget insects focus on the honey bee, Apis mellifera (L.; Hymenoptera: Apidae), but this species cannot represent all insect pollinator species in terms of response to insecticides. Therefore, we characterized the toxicity of pyrethroid insecticides used for adult mosquito management (permethrin, deltamethrin, and etofenprox) on a nontarget insect, the adult alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata (F.; Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in two separate studies. In the first study, the doses causing 50 and 90% mortality (LD50 and LD90, respectively) were used as endpoints and 2-d-old adult females were exposed to eight concentrations ranging from 0.0075 to 0.076 μg/bee for permethrin and etofenprox, and 0.0013–0.0075 μg/bee for deltamethrin. For the second study, respiration rates of female M. rotundata were also recorded for 2 h after bees were dosed at the LD50 values to give an indication of stress response. Results indicated a relatively similar LD50 for permethrin and etofenprox, 0.057 and 0.051 μg/bee, respectively, and a more toxic response, 0.0016 μg/bee for deltamethrin. Comparatively, female A. mellifera workers have a LD50 value of 0.024 μg/bee for permethrin and 0.015 μg/bee for etofenprox indicating that female M. rotundata are less susceptible to topical doses of these insecticides, except for deltamethrin, where both A. mellifera and M. rotundata have an identical LD50 of 0.0016 μg/bee. Respiration rates comparing each active ingredient to control groups, as well as rates between each active ingredient, were statistically different (P < 0.0001). The addition of these results to existing information on A. mellifera may provide more insights on how other economically beneficial and nontarget bees respond to pyrethroids.
Copyright (c) 2002-2022, LYRASIS. All rights reserved.