2017 Division of Plant Sciences University of Missouri Fall/Winter Around the Division Awards & Honors Programs & People Recent Grants Recent Publications 2 4 6 9 12 Inside Plant Sciences is produced by Jared Fogue and Tonya Mueller. am writing to you as we approach the end of another academic year in which the excellence of our students, staff and faculty have been on display. In this newsletter issue you will find updates on some of our Division’s graduate students who have received national conference awards for the quality of their research and extension accomplishments (page 5). You can also read about the Dupont Plant Sciences Symposium that was organized and convened by our graduate students in February 2018 (page 8). Among our many accomplished undergraduate students, MiKayla Engemann was named Outstanding Junior (page 4) for her demonstration of leadership and involvement in CAFNR. She received this award at the recently held CAFNR Celebration of Excellence. Also at that event, Vicki Bryan received the Frederick B. Mumford Outstanding Staff Award, and faculty member, Robert Sharp, received the Roger L. Mitchell Fellow Award for his contributions to collaboration and innovative thinking in the college. On the same day as the CAFNR Celebration event, another Division faculty member, Gary Stacey, received the Fellows Award from the Academy of Science - St. Louis (page 4). The award was given in recognition of Gary’s outstanding achievements in science. We have been fortunate in recent months to have successfully recruited several very talented new faculty and staff members who will further enhance our missions of teaching, extension/ outreach, and service to our agricultural industries in Missouri (page 6). Our newest faculty members include Kaitlyn Bissonnette, Assistant Extension Professor of field crop pathology, who joined the Division in the fall 2017. In January 2018, Kevin Rice joined our faculty as Assistant Professor of Extension entomology, and Megan Hall joined the Division as Assistant Research Professor of Viticulture. Rounding out our new arrivals is Josephine Ezeri-Mgbechi, who assumed the role of Director of the University of Missouri Plant Diagnostic Clinic that serves all of the state’s agricultural plant industries. The impacts of our Division reach far beyond the state of Missouri. A great example is the recent visit that Andrew Thomas, Research Assistant Professor, made to Myanmar (page 2). The focus of Andy’s visit was to help educate nut tree farmers on the important technique of grafting. Back home in Missouri, Andy is based at the CAFNR Southwest Research Center in Mt. Vernon. His visit to Myanmar is a great example of the expertise that is provided by the Divisions’ faculty, staff and students to the world agricultural community. Finally, you can read about the continuing success of Division faculty members in generating research support (page 9). The research funds generated by their successful grantsmanship are increasingly important for enabling high quality training of both graduate and undergraduate students and for supporting the state’s agricultural economy. The Division’s success in gaining research funding is amongst the very highest of all departments and divisions across the Mizzou campus. I facebook.com/ MUPlantSciences INSIDE PLANT SCIENCES from the Division Director JIM ENGLISH
Transcript
2017
Division of Plant SciencesUniversity of Missouri
Fall/Winter
Around the Division
Awards & Honors
Programs & People
Recent Grants
Recent Publications
246912
Inside Plant Sciences is produced by Jared Fogue and Tonya Mueller.
am writing to you as we approach the end of another academic year in which the excellence of our students,
staff and faculty have been on display. In this newsletter issue you will find updates on some of our Division’s graduate students who have received national conference awards for the quality of their research and extension accomplishments (page 5). You can also read about the Dupont Plant Sciences Symposium that was organized and convened by our graduate students in February 2018 (page 8). Among our many accomplished undergraduate students, MiKayla Engemann was named Outstanding Junior (page 4) for her demonstration of leadership and involvement in CAFNR. She received this award at the recently held CAFNR Celebration of Excellence. Also at that event, Vicki Bryan received the Frederick B. Mumford Outstanding Staff Award, and faculty member, Robert Sharp, received the Roger L. Mitchell Fellow Award for his contributions to collaboration and innovative thinking in the college. On the same day as the CAFNR Celebration event, another Division faculty member, Gary Stacey, received the Fellows Award from the Academy of Science - St. Louis (page 4). The award was given in recognition of Gary’s outstanding achievements in science.
We have been fortunate in recent months to have successfully recruited several very talented new faculty and staff members who will further enhance our missions of teaching, extension/outreach, and service to our agricultural industries in Missouri (page 6). Our newest faculty members include Kaitlyn Bissonnette, Assistant Extension Professor of field crop pathology, who joined the Division in the fall 2017. In January 2018, Kevin Rice joined our faculty as Assistant Professor of Extension entomology, and Megan Hall joined the Division as Assistant Research Professor of Viticulture. Rounding out our new arrivals is Josephine Ezeri-Mgbechi, who assumed the role of Director of the University of Missouri Plant Diagnostic Clinic that serves all of the state’s agricultural plant industries.
The impacts of our Division reach far beyond the state of Missouri. A great example is the recent visit that Andrew Thomas, Research Assistant Professor, made to Myanmar (page 2). The focus of Andy’s visit was to help educate nut tree farmers on the important technique of grafting. Back home in Missouri, Andy is based at the CAFNR Southwest Research Center in Mt. Vernon. His visit to Myanmar is a great example of the expertise that is provided by the Divisions’ faculty, staff and students to the world agricultural community.
Finally, you can read about the continuing success of Division faculty members in generating research support (page 9). The research funds generated by their successful grantsmanship are increasingly important for enabling high quality training of both graduate and undergraduate students and for supporting the state’s agricultural economy. The Division’s success in gaining research funding is amongst the very highest of all departments and divisions across the Mizzou campus.
University of Missouri, Division of Plant Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211 • plantsciences.missouri.edu
2
While it is quite a rewarding, interesting, and useful skill to me, grafting is reserved for very specific horticultural purposes and has very limited applications around the farm. However, this unconventional skill became the basis for a fascinating trip for me to Myanmar (Burma) this past November.
While Myanmar still struggles with some internal conflicts, it has recently achieved a strong and stable democracy and has opened its doors to the world. This has resulted in a torrent of investors, international businessmen, and tourists flocking to the country. As Myanmar opened up over the last few years, Winrock International, a non-profit international agricultural development agency based in Little Rock, received funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development for numerous agricultural projects under a program called “Farmer to Farmer”. One of Winrock’s very specialized, small-scale projects is to develop and improve macadamia nut production in Myanmar’s famous coffee-growing regions. Turns out, they needed someone with very specialized expertise in nut tree grafting to teach and encourage current and potential macadamia farmers in Myanmar to graft. I
answered Winrock’s call, and they readily sent me to rural Myanmar to teach grafting to macadamia farmers and nurserymen there. I was pleased to represent University of Missouri and CAFNR on this project.
Myanmar is about as far as one can go from southwest Missouri. After flying from Springfield to Dallas, I took a non-stop 17 1/2-hour flight to Hong Kong, then another flight to Myanmar’s bustling port city of Yangon (Rangoon). After settling in for a few days in Yangon, and getting things lined out for the project, a local Winrock employee (“T.K.”, my counterpart and translator) and I took yet another, rather exhilarating flight on a big old propeller plane up-country to an extremely bare-bones airport near the tiny rural town of Heho. From there, a waiting driver whisked us away through fascinating agricultural areas for several hours to the little village of Ywangan. With horn constantly honking, we dodged herds of Brahman cattle sauntering in the road, swerved around over-loaded ox-carts, and passed noisy, smoke-belching tractor-trucks hauling enormous loads of rice, rice straw, and cabbages. It was wonderful being out of the cramped, sweltering city of Yangon, and I felt right at
Grafting is Grafting;
whether in Rural Missouri or Rural Asia
Andrew L. Thomas
During my 22 years with the University of Missouri’s Southwest Research Center at Mt. Vernon, I have grafted
thousands of fruit and nut trees of every sort,
grapes, ornamentals, and even “vegetables” such as
tomatoes and watermelons. I have also taught grafting
to many hundreds of people either one-on-one or in
numerous grafting workshops at the Southwest Center and
elsewhere. So, I suppose I have become something of an
“expert” at grafting.
Celebrating (with locally grown coffee) after a successful macadamia grafting workshop in the village of Ywangan, Myanmar.
University of Missouri, Division of Plant Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211 • plantsciences.missouri.edu
3
The MU Division of Plant Sciences has been developing a plan to BUILD. Not only have we been building outstanding research, extension and teaching programs but we are ready to build a new facility that will allow greater collaboration amongst our outstanding faculty, staff, students and the world.
For more details visit the project website:BuildingPlantSciences.missouri.edu
BUILDING Plant Sciences
Garden view
North entrance
home among farms and farmers in the midst of such impressive agricultural production. But I was constantly reminded that I was deep in the heart of Asia as nearly every hilltop, mountain, rock outcrop, and tiny village were adorned with numerous stunning, golden, centuries-old Buddhist pagodas and temples even more numerous than churches in southwest Missouri (Myanmar is aptly called “Land of a Million Pagodas”).
Finally, after several long, grueling days of travel, I was able to get down to work. Over the next week, I toured numerous macadamia farms and nurseries, plus a small government-run macadamia nut research and outreach station not unlike the Southwest Center. I really enjoyed visiting with farmers at their homes and farms, and discussing (with translation) their vision for macadamia nut production as well as coffee and other fruits and vegetables they were producing in abundance. Some farms were already producing macadamia nuts, and had de-hulling, cracking, roasting, and packaging machinery in place, while others had just planted their first seedlings in the field – perfect for grafting! As I have done countless times in Missouri, I conducted two grafting workshops in rural Myanmar, attended by about 40 people each, where (again with translation) I explained why one would want to graft nut trees in the first place, described the art and science of joining two different plants into one, and then demonstrated macadamia grafting on practice trees. The most fun was then having some of the more adventurous attendees try their hand at grafting in front of the crowd, while I looked over their shoulders.
There was great interest in learning how to graft macadamia trees, because the producers understand how potentially lucrative growing these nuts can be, and that, without skilled grafters, the industry will never be able to meet its potential. Those few people who develop this rare skill will be in great demand as the industry develops and expands.
After the grafting portion of the workshops, lots more questions and discussion came up about how much money could be made by growing macadamia nuts (grafted or ungrafted). Funny; those are almost the exact same questions I get here in Missouri when demonstrating and discussing grafting trees such as pecans, black walnuts, and fruit trees. Turns out that despite deep cultural, economic, religious, and climatic differences, farmers everywhere have pretty much the same goals. They want to profit from their effort while protecting and improving their soils, and providing healthy locally produced food to their families and communities.
I was treated like royalty in Myanmar, enjoyed incredible food, had lots of time to sight-see (ask me about the Burmese Pythons!), and took over 1,000 pictures during my brief two weeks there. When I set out to learn how to graft trees many years ago, I never imagined that this rather obscure skill could be of such value that a prestigious group such as Winrock would fly me across the world to teach exactly what I teach here in Missouri.
Macadamia nuts have a thin leathery husk and very hard shell, requiring specialized equipment to process.
University of Missouri, Division of Plant Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211 • plantsciences.missouri.edu
Awards & Honors
Gary Stacey received the Fellows Award from the Academy of Science – St. Louis during their 24th Annual Outstanding Scientists Awards. This event was held at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis on April 5, 2018. The Fellows Award recognizes a distinguished individual for outstanding achievement in science.
Stacey has consistently been among the world leaders in the study of biological nitrogen fixation, which is of global agricultural importance. He has been instrumental in the development of genomic resources for the study of soybean. He has 13 patents, two of which support the Novozymes product
OptimizeTM. He was elected a Fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology and Fellow of the American Society for Plant Biology. Stacey’s main research interest lies in the mutually beneficial interaction between nitrogen-fixing bacteria and legumes, particularly soybeans.
Gary Stacey – 2018 Fellows Award from the Academy of Science - St Louis
CAFNR Celebration of ExcellenceThe College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources honored outstanding faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of CAFNR at its annual Celebration of Excellence awards ceremony Thursday, April 5.
Robert Sharp received the Roger L. Mitchell Fellow award. This award honors Roger L. Mitchell, the former dean of the MU College of
Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, to recognize those who elevate the College through collaboration and innovative thinking.
Robert E. Sharp has been with the University of Missouri since 1986. He has been a professor of agronomy in the Division of Plant Sciences since 1997. Sharp has led Mizzou’s Interdisciplinary Plant Group as its director since 2011. IPG includes faculty, students, postdoctoral fellows and professionals, among others, and encourages interdisciplinary and collaborative research and education through seminars, workshops, symposiums, training programs and partnerships. Sharp has earned numerous awards and honors and has been highly involved during his time at Mizzou, including presenting at professional meetings across the world. He has earned nearly $18 million in grant support, through research, conference support and training grants. He has a long history of advising M.S. and Ph.D. students as well.
“Dr. Sharp’s research is known and has impact throughout the world. For some individuals this may sound hyperbolic, but with Dr. Sharp it is an understatement,” said William Wiebold, professor of plant sciences. “He has chosen to study a topic, drought, that plagues nearly every country on earth and affects the
health and wellbeing of several billion people. His work starts at, literally, the root of the problem. Dr. Sharp has focused like a laser on root biology and using that knowledge to ameliorate the effects of drought stress on plant growth and productivity.”
Vicki Bryan, coordinator in the Interdisciplinary Plant Group, received the Frederick B. Mumford Outstanding Staff Award. This award
recognizes a College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources staff member for sustained excellence in executing assigned duties and for her or his effectiveness in support of the mission of their unit and the College.
Bryan has been part of CAFNR for six years, and coordinates conferences and symposiums, has helped create a graduate student exchange program in Brazil, and collaborates with offices of governors and foreign dignitaries to ensure projects go off without a hitch. She has served as chair of the CAFNR Staff Advisory Council.
Bryan has done all of these things and far more with a confidence and competency that make it all look easy. And while doing all of this, while putting in endless evenings and weekends to ensure that everything runs as a well-oiled machine, she unfailingly shows concern and compassion for all around her; this jet-setting staffer, while juggling a dozen priorities, always manages to find the time to stop and to genuinely ask how you are doing.
MiKayla Engemann was named Outstanding Junior. Individual class awards are given to students who demonstrate leadership and CAFNR activity involvement.
MiKayla is majoring in plant sciences and prides herself in being an active part of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. She is a member of Mizzou Collegiate Cattlewomen, the Mizzou Agronomy Club and is part of the CAFNR Week Steering Committee. She has helped those clubs in various ways, including serving as a reporter, social media chair and treasurer, as well as helping with philanthropy.
“MiKayla’s career objective is to use the knowledge and skills she has gained in her plant sciences degree to make an impact on agriculture, Missouri’s No. 1 industry,” said Bryan Garton, associate dean and director of academic programs. “She was an academically talented student in high school and this has carried over to her academic accomplishments at the University of Missouri. Her cumulative GPA places her in the top 30 percent of all students in our college, while completing a challenging, science-based curriculum. In addition, she is pursuing two emphasis areas within the plant sciences degree: crop management and breeding, biology and biotechnology.”
Matthew Terry, Crop, Soil & Pest Management, Reid Smeda
Timothy Weber, Horticulture, Jeanne Mihail & Misha Kwasniewski
Congratulations!
Fall 2017
Awards & Honors
The 2018 Weed Science Society of America (WSSA)’s annual meeting was held in Arlington, Virginia, in January of 2018. At this meeting four University of Missouri weed science graduate students presented their research via poster, oral, and/or video formats and competed against students from across the nation. Graduate students Shea Farrell, Brian Dintelmann, Eric Oseland, and Derek Whalen, advised by Dr. Kevin Bradley, all received awards. Shea, Brian, and Derek gave 15 minute oral presentations and Eric Oseland developed and produced an extension video on narrow windrow burning, which can be viewed on the Mizzou Weed Science Facebook page.
2018 WSSA ANNUAL MEETING
Adjunct faculty member Rob Myers was recognized as the “Missouri Conservationist of the Year" at the Missouri Natural Resources Conference in February. The award was presented by president of the Missouri Soil and Water Conservation Society, Todd Higgins.
University of Missouri, Division of Plant Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211 • plantsciences.missouri.edu
Director of the MU Plant Diagnostic ClinicJosephine Ezeri-Mgbechi became the new Director of the University of Missouri Plant Diagnostic Clinic (PDC) in January. She comes from Montana State University where her research included a statewide survey of bee diseases and research on soybean pathogens. She earned her bachelor’s degree in microbiology and her master’s degree in plant pathology from Nigeria. She earned her doctoral degree from Washington State
University. The PDC has served Missouri since 1965. The clinic assists county Extension specialists, commercial businesses and private citizens with their pest problems. The PDC is capable of plant disease diagnosis, identification of unknown plants and insects. Besides clinic staff, a diverse group of Plant Sciences faculty specializing in agronomy, entomology, horticulture, or plant pathology assist with identification of pests as needed. The clinic is open year round to receive samples.
Josephine can be reached at the clinic by emailing [email protected] or by calling 573-882-3019.
EntomologistKevin Rice is the new Assistant Professor of Extension entomology. Kevin received a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and a master’s degree from Auburn University. At Auburn, he studied the effects of red imported fire ants on native arthropod assemblages in natural systems. After graduating from Auburn University, he received a temporary position at the USDA-ARS lab in Maricopa, Ariz. and investigated pest and predator movement in field crops. Shortly there after, Rice served as an area extension agent with the University of
Arizona working closely with field crop growers and industry stakeholders. Kevin then moved to Ohio State University, where he completed his doctorate degree in entomology. His dissertation examined the effects of invasive emerald ash borer on a native plant species chemical defense, growth and reproductive allocation. This affected the development and survival of native swallowtails consuming these host plants. His post-doctoral work at Penn State and the USDA-ARS focused on economic damage created by invasive herbivores in field, vegetable and orchard crops.
Plant PathologistKaitlyn Bissonnette is the new Assistant Extension Professor of field crop pathology. She began her duties on Oct. 16, and fills the position previously held by Laura Sweets who retired. Kaitlyn conducted her postdoctoral research at Iowa State University, working on applied management of soybean cyst nematode with nematode-protectant seed treatments. She
completed her PhD at the University of Illinois. Her research focused on the use of integrated disease management practices to manage Fusarium mycotoxins in winter wheat. She also worked on disease management trials for corn, soybeans and oats.
Viticulturist Megan Hall is the new Assistant Research Professor of Viticulture at MU. Megan completed her Ph.D. at Cornell University, based at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY, where she worked on understanding and managing the grape disease sour rot. Megan pursued viticulture only after she had completed her Bachelors in East Asian Studies from the University of Toronto and Master of Arts in Socio-Legal Studies from York University. She was working in politics in New York City when she decided to change careers. She returned to her home state of Oregon, and enrolled in the Vineyard Management program at Chemeketa Community College. The community college
program sparked her love of applied scientific research and viticulture. She worked as the viticulture intern at Rex Hill Winery/ A to Z Wineworks and as the assistant viticulturist at a small family-owned vineyard, both in the Willamette Valley, before pursuing higher level science courses at Portland State University. She was then admitted into the Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology section of the School of Integrative Plant Sciences at Cornell. Now a faculty member at MU, Megan continues to pursue research on sour rot on grapes, as well as other avenues of research related to nutrient deficiencies of grapevines and fungicide resistance.
University of Missouri, Division of Plant Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211 • plantsciences.missouri.edu
Debi KellyMEET YOUR EXTENSION SPECIALIST
Debi Kelly serves as the horticulture and local food specialist with MU Extension in Jefferson County. She also serves St. Charles and St. Louis County as well as St. Louis City. Debi provides educational programming for home horticulture and commercial horticulture. She assists producer in marketing their farm products to local sources such as farmers’ markets, roadside stands, grocery stores and restaurants. She also assists those with interests in alternative enterprises as well as beginning farmers. Debi has had a long career working for the University of Missouri Extension. Before becoming the horticulture/local food specialist in Jefferson County, she managed the Missouri Alternatives Center, was the Co-Coordinator for the Missouri Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)Program and was a key personnel on a Missouri Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Grant.
Debi also brings to the table her vast experience with grants as both a recipient and reviewer of grants. She has been on numerous grants during her career from beginning farming to farmers’ markets to cover crops. Debi has been on over 30 USDA grant review panels and has been a panel manger as well.
When asked, Debi says she loves working with beginning farmers. They have great ideas on new types of enterprises and are excited about agriculture and all the possibilities open to them.
Debi has two sons, one a software developer for a major company and the second a senior at MU majoring in Physics.
Debi Kelly, Horticulture/Local Food Specialist and Kathy Maddox, Jefferson County Extension Administrative Assistant, providing farmer products sampling at an area farmers’ market as part of a Farmers’ Market Promotion Grant.
Programs & People
Plant transformation has been a bottleneck in advancing plant functional genomics study and genome editing. Transformation of recalcitrant cereal crop species has been challenging. The National Science Foundation - Plant Genome Research Program sponsors this training workshop. MU Plant Transformation Core facility will host this workshop. The goal of this workshop is to provide attendees with hands-on experience in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of cereal crop species. Attendees will have the opportunity to walkthrough advanced protocols
for transformation of cereal crops with focus on three recalcitrant cereal species; including Zea mays inbred lines, Sorghum bicolor public genotype, and Brachypodium distachyon public genotype. Trainees will have the opportunity to learn how to utilize plant morphorgenic regulator genes to transform B73 as well as the best practice for cereal transformation. In addition, the workshop will offer two lectures and host a discussion forum. The first lecture will focus on the mechanism of plant somatic embryogenesis whereas the second lecture will center on how to establish
and implement cereal transformation systems. The Plant Transformation Core Facility at University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA, will host this workshop from July 30 to August 3, 2018. For workshop pre-registration (free), please visit Plant Transformation Core Facility website at https://plantsciences.missouri.edu/muptcf/workshop and for any workshop update. Seats are limited. Pre-registration is required by June 20, 2018 to secure your spot and facilitate our workshop organization. Please contact Dr. Zhanyuan J. Zhang, [email protected] for any workshop related questions.
National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program Plant Transformation Workshop
Date: July 30-August 3, 2018 Time: 8:30am-5:30pm Location: Plant Transformation Core Facility, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
University of Missouri, Division of Plant Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211 • plantsciences.missouri.edu
DuPont Plant Sciences Symposia series
On February 8th 2018, a team of graduate students from the Division of Plant Sciences, the Division of Biological Sciences, and the Interdisciplinary Plant Group organized the DuPont Plant Sciences Symposium entitled "Utilizing Multidisciplinary Research To Improve Tomorrow's Crops".
This symposium was the second annual event to be held at MU as part of The DuPont Plant Sciences Symposia series, which provides an opportunity for the next generation of scientists to interact with both public and private experts through student-driven and organized events at over 30 academic institutions worldwide.
The symposium was held in Monsanto Auditorium, Bond Life Sciences Center, and featured the following invited speakers;
Ed Buckler, USDA-ARS, Cornell
Harry Klee, University of Florida-Gainesville
Robert Meeley, DuPont-Pioneer R&D, Johnston, Iowa
Dan Voytas, University of Minnesota
Linda Walling, University of California-Riverside.
additional information can be found at mupioneersymposium.org.
Graduate Student Committee (L-R): Ben Julius, Biological Sciences; Nathan Swyers, Biological Sciences; Anna Glowinski, Plant Sciences; Katelynn Koskie, Biological Sciences; Vivek Shrestha, Biological Sciences and Katy Guthrie, Biological Sciences.
Programs & People
Gene Stevens pens children's book
Genes Stevens, Plant Sciences Extension Professor, has written and published a children’s book titled “Cotton Tales.” What started out as bedtime stories for his children has turned into a tale of growing up in rural Tennessee to be shared by all. “Cotton Tales” is available on Amazon and in the Portageville, MO library.
View the full story on CAFNR’s website. https://cafnr.missouri.edu/2018/03/after-hours-cotton-tales/
PHOTO CAPTION; Photo courtesy of Scott Seal, general manager, Portageville Missourian-News.
Every year in early February, Plant Sciences faculty, staff and graduate students join with Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Genetics Area Program, the MU Informatics Institute, IPG, Molecular Pathogenesis & Therapeutics, Life Sciences Fellowship Program and Bond Life Sciences Center in a joint graduate recruitment weekend. During this weekend, top applicants are brought to campus to meet faculty, tour facilities and learn about the exciting opportunities for graduate study. Each prospective graduate student is matched with a student host in order to learn more about the program from an insider’s perspective. In addition, the prospective students are provided with the opportunity to meet with faculty mentors based on the
student’s research interests. On February 2-3, 2018 Plant Sciences invited 13 potential graduate students for this year’s event. On Friday they met with faculty members of their choosing, heard presentations from the various student organizations in Plant Science and toured campus before joining the other divisions for a social reception in Bond Life Science Center. Friday night they were treated to dinner with the hosts and other graduate students. On Saturday morning they attended a poster session and a presentation from STEM organizations on campus. Positive feedback over the years from all parties involved promotes the need to continue participating in the event each year.
University of Missouri, Division of Plant Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211 • plantsciences.missouri.edu
11
Investigators Title Sponsor Amount of Funding Dates
Finke, D. Hibbard, B. Coudron, T.
Screening toxins and transgenic corn for efficacy on western corn rootworm larvae
Genective $230,000 04/15/2016-04/01/2019
Fritschi, F. Kovaleski, S.
Rays for Roots-Integrating Backscatter X-ray Phenotyping, Modeling, and Genetics to Increase Carbon Sequestration and Switchgrass Resource Use Efficiency
University of Florida $653,122 08/25/2017-08/24/2018
Fritshci, F. Utilizing soybean genes/drought stress Agricultural Research Service $25,000 01/01/2018-
08/31/2018
Fritschi, F. Transformation Project Zeakal, Inc. $336,892 01/01/2018-12/31/2019
Miller, L. Rice, K.
A Regional Approach to Pest Management Implementation University of Illinois $20,000 03/01/2018-
02/28/2019
Nelson, K.Evaluation of a New Nitrification Inhibitor for Anhydrous Application in Corn
University of Missouri, Division of Plant Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211 • plantsciences.missouri.edu
12
Kandoth PK, Liu S, Prenger E, Ludwig A, Lakhssassi N, Heinz R, Zhou Z, Howland A, Gunther J, Warren S, Dhroso A, LaFayette P, Tucker D, Johnson S, Anderson J, Alaswad A, Cianzio SR, Parrott WA, Korkin D, Meksem K, Mitchum MG. Systematic mutagenesis of serine hydroxymethyltransferase reveals an essential role in nematode resistance. Plant Physiology 2017; 175:1370-1380.
Habibullah, H., K.A. Nelson, and P.P. Motavalli. 2017. Assessing management of nitrapyrin with urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer on corn yield and soil nitrogen in a poorly-drained claypan soil. J. Agric. Sci. 9(11):17-29. doi:10.5539/jas.v9n11p17
Johnson, II, F.E., K.A. Nelson, and P.P. Motavalli. 2017. Urea fertilizer placement impacts on corn growth and nitrogen utilization in a poorly-drained claypan soil. J. Agric. Sci. 9:28-40. doi: 10.5539/jas.v9n11p17
Kaur, G., B.A. Zurweller, K.A. Nelson, P.P. Motavalli, and C.J. Dudenhoeffer. 2017. Soil waterlogging and nitrogen fertilizer management effects on corn and soybean yields. Agron. J. 109:1–10. doi:10.2134/agronj2016.07.0411
Patharkar O.R., Gassmann W. and Walker J.C. (2017) Leaf shedding as an anti-bacterial defense in Arabidopsis cauline leaves. PLoS Genet. 13: e1007132.
Mazur M.J., Spears B.J., Djajasaputra A., van der Gragt M., Vlachakis G., Beerens B., Gassmann W. and van den Burg H.A. (2017) Arabidopsis TCP transcription factors interact with the SUMO conjugating machinery in nuclear foci. Front. Plant Sci. 8: 2043.
Michelmore R., Coaker G., Bart R., Beattie G., Bent A., Bruce T., Cameron D., Dangl J., Dinesh-Kumar S., Edwards R., Eves-van den Akker S., Gassmann W., Greenberg JT., Hanley-Bowdoin L., Harrison R.J., Harvey J., He P., Huffaker A., Hulbert S., Innes R., Jones J.D.G., Kaloshian I., Kamoun S., Katagiri F., Leach J., Ma W., McDowell J., Medford J., Meyers B., Nelson R., Oliver R., Qi Y., Saunders D., Shaw M., Smart C., Subudhi P., Torrance L., Tyler B., Valent B. and Walsh J. (2017) Foundational and translational research opportunities to improve plant health. Mol. Plant-Microbe Interact. 30: 515-516.
Smallwood, C.J., Gillman, J.D., Saxton, A.M., Bhandari, H.S., Wadl, P.A., Fallen, B.D., Cregan, P.B., Hyten, D.L., Song, Q.J., Pantalone, V.R. “Identifying and Exploring Significant Genomic Regions Associated with Soybean Yield and Seed Fatty Acids, Protein and Oil.” Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology 20(4):243-53 (Dec. 2017).
Ziegler, G., Nelson, R., Granada, S., Krishnan, H.B., Gillman, J.D., Baxter, I. “Genome-Wide Association Study of Ionomic Traits on Diverse Soybean Populations from Germplasm Collections.” Plant Direct 2(1):1-14 (Jan. 2018)
Niu KK, Zhang XJ, Deng HM, Wu F, Ren YD, Xiang H, Zheng SC, Liu L, Huang LH, Zeng BJ, Li S, Xia QY, Li S, Song Q, Palli R and Feng QL (2017) BmILF and DNA secondary structures are involved in transcriptional regulation of BmPOUM2 in Bombyx mori. Nucleic Acids Research (Published online 29 November 2017. DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx1207).
Du MF, Liu XG, Ma NN, Liu XM, Yin XM, Rafaeli A, Song Q and An SH (2017) Calcineurin-mediated dephosphorylation of acetyl-coA carboxylase is required for PBAN-induced sex pheromone biosynthesis in Helicoverpa armigera. Molecular and Cellular Proteomics 16(12):2138-2152.
Ge LQ, Xia T, Huang B, Gu HT, Song Q, Yang GQ, Liu F and Wu JC (2017) PHF7, a novel male gene influences female fecundity and population growth in Nilaparvata lugens Stål (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). Scientific Reports 7, 11611.
Yang H, Peng Y, Shi Y, Tian J, Wang J, Peng X, Xie C, Xu X, Song Q, Wang Z and Lv Z (2018) Transcriptome assembly and expression profiling of the molecular responses to cadmium toxicity in cerebral ganglia of wolf spider Pardosa pseudoannulata (Araneae: Lycosidae). Ecotoxicology (Accepted on Dec 5, 2017. DOI: 10.1007/s10646-017-1885-1).
Zou CS, Liu GF, Liang LL, Liu SM, Song Q, Wang J, Feng QL, Su Y.L. and Li S. (2017) Cucurbitacin B acts a potential insect growth regulator by antagonizing 20-hydroxyecdysone activity. Pest Management Science (Published online on 2017 Dec 4. DOI: 10.1002/ps.4817).
University of Missouri, Division of Plant Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211 • plantsciences.missouri.edu
13
Ge LQ, Gu HT, Huang B, Song Q, Stanley D, Liu F, Yang GQ and Wu JC (2017) An adenylyl cyclase like-9 gene (NlAC9) influences growth and fecundity in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). PLoS One e0189214.
Liu NY, Lia ZB, Zhao N, Song Q, Zhu JY and Yang B (2017) Identification and characterization of chemosensory gene families in the bark beetle, Tomicus yunnanensis. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology D 25, 73-85 (published on line Nov 23, 2017; doi: 10.1016/j.cbd.2017.11.003).
Zou WS, Wang Z, Song Q, Luo YS, Liu LG and Yang PH (2017) Regulation of two benthic bacteria on the recruitment of dormant Microcystis aeruginosa in upper sediment. Acta Scientiae Circumstantiae, 37 (11), 4160-4169.
Li R, Yan ZZ, Wang J, Song Q and Wang Z (2017) De novo characterization of venom apparatus transcriptome of Pardosa pseudoannulata and analysis of its gene expression in response to Bt protein. BMC Biotechnology 17, 73.
Yang L, Mei YT, Fang Q, Wang JL, Yan ZC, Song Q, Lin Z and Ye GY (2017) Identification and characterization of serine protease inhibitors in a parasitic wasp, Pteromalus puparum. Scientific Reports 7, 15755.
Wang J, Peng Y, Yang H, Yan Z, Li Q, Shi Y, Xie C, Liang Y, Wang Z and Song Q (2017) Biotoxicity of Cry1Ab protein on wolf spider Pardosa pseudoannulata. Ecotoxicology 26, 1336-1343.
Wu T, Zhao Y, Wang Z, Song Q, Wang Z, Xu Q, Wang Y, Wang L, Zhang Y and Feng C (2017) β-1,3-glucan recognition protein 1 activates the prophenoloxidase system in response to pathogenic bacterial infection in Ostrinia furnacalis Guenée. Developmental and Comparative Immunology 79, 31-43.
Zhang HW, Man X, Wang Y, Song Q, Stanley D, Hui KM and Zhang XW (2017) Characterization of a double WAP domain-containing protein from the red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkia. Fish and Shellfish Immunology 71, 329-337.
Mahmoud, MAB, Sharp RE, Oliver MJ, Finke DL, Bohn M, Ellersieck MR, Hibbard BE (2018) Response of maize hybrids with and without rootworm- and drought-tolerance to rootworm infestation under well-watered and drought conditions. Journal of Economic Entomology 111: 193-208 (advance access publication date: 11/28/2017)
Duan K, Willig CJ, De Tar JR, Spollen WG, Zhang ZJ (2017) Transcriptomic analysis of Arabidopsis seedlings in response to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation process. Mol Plant-Microbe Interact (doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-10-17-0249-R).
Ye H, Roorkiwal M, Valliyodan B, Zhou L, Chen P, Varshney R, Nguyen HT. (2018) Genetic regulation of root system architecture and plasticity in grain legumes. Journal of Experimental Botany (Accepted).
Kulkarni K, Patil G, Valliyodan B, Vuong T, Shannon GJ, Nguyen HT, Lee J-D. (2018) Comparative genome analysis to identify SNPs associated with high oleic acid and elevated protein content in soybean. Genome doi: 10.1139/gen-2017-0158.
Wang B, Zhao M, Yao L, Maldonado Dos Santos JV, Valliyodan B, Wu T, Nguyen HT. (2018) Identification and characterization of drought inducible transcription factors in Lablab purpureus by a comparative genomic approach. Crop and Pasture Science (Accepted).
Do TD, Vuong TD, Dunn D, Smothers S, Patil G, Yungbluth DC, Chen P, Scaboo A, Xu D, Carter TE, Nguyen HT, Grover Shannon J. 2017. Mapping and confirmation of loci for salt tolerance in a novel soybean germplasm, Fiskeby III. Theor Appl Genet. doi: 10.1007/s00122-017-3015-0.
Cheng P, Gedling CR, Patil G, Vuong TD, Shannon JG, Dorrance AE, Nguyen HT. 2017. Genetic mapping and haplotype analysis of a locus for quantitative resistance to Fusarium graminearum in soybean accession PI 567516C.Theor Appl Genet. 130:999-1010.
Wu C, Zheng A, Chen P, Hummer W, Mokua J, Ye H, Shannon G.J, Nguyen H.T. 2017. Evaluation and development of flood-tolerant soybean cultivars. Plant Breeding 136:913-923.
University of Missouri, Division of Plant Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211 • plantsciences.missouri.edu
14
Patil G, Mian R, Vuong T, Pantalone V, Song Q, Chen P, Shannon GJ, Carter TC, Nguyen HT. 2017. Molecular mapping and genomics of soybean seed protein: a review and perspective for the future. Theor Appl Genet. doi: 130:1975-1991.
Deshmukh R, Nguyen HT, Belanger R. 2017. Aquaporins: Dynamic role and regulation. Front. Plant Sci. 8:1420.
Seminario A, Song L, Zulet A, Nguyen HT, González EM, Larrainzar E. 2017. Drought stress causes a reduction in the biosynthesis of ascorbic acid in soybean plants. Front Plant Sci. 8:1042.
Patil G, Chaudhary J, Vuong TD, Jenkins B, Qiu D, Kadam S, Shannon GJ, Nguyen HT. 2017. Development of SNP genotyping assays for seed composition traits in soybean. Int J Plant Genomics. 2017:6572969.
Prince SJ, Murphy M, Mutava RN, Durnell LA, Valliyodan B, Shannon JG, Nguyen HT. 2017. Root xylem and their physiological role to protect yield in water-stressed soybean. J Exp Bot. 68:2017-2036.
Huynh, M.P., L.N. Meihls, B.E. Hibbard, S.L. Lapointe, R.P. Niedz, D.C. Ludwick, T.A. Coudron. 2017. Diet improvement for western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) larvae. PLoS ONE 12 (11): e0187997. https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0187997
Mahmoud, M.A.B., R.E. Sharp, M.J. Oliver, D.L. Finke, M. Bohn, M.R. Ellersieck, and B.E. Hibbard. 2018. Interactive effects of western corn rootworm and drought on Maize hybrids with and without drought- and rootworm-tolerance in the field. J. Econ. Entomol. 111: 193–208 (https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/tox309).
Bohn, M.O., J.J. Marroquin, S. Flint-Garcia, K. Dashiell, D.B.Willmot, and B.E. Hibbard. 2018. QTL mapping of western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) host plant resistance in two populations of doubled haploid lines in maize (Zea mays L.). J. Econ. Entomol. 111:435–444 (https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/tox310).
Do TD, Vuong TD, Dunn D, Smothers S, Patil G, Yungbluth DC, Chen P, Scaboo A, Xu D, Carter TE, Nguyen HT, Grover Shannon J (2018) Mapping and confirmation of loci for salt tolerance in a novel soybean germplasm, Fiskeby III. Theor Appl Genet 131:513-524
Achieving Sustainable Cultivation of Soybeans. 2018. Henry T. Nguyen (ed.). Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing. Cambridge, U.K.
The Soybean Genome. 2017. Henry T. Nguyen and M. Bhattacharyya (eds.). Springer-Verlag. Berlin, Germany.
