2020 Cohort
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Dawson Byrd
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I am a fourth-year Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology Major funded by U-SPARC. I work with Dr. Kerry Mauck in the Department of Entomology studying the gut content analysis of sap-feeding insects. Our research investigates if plant genetic information can be stored in the gut content of psyllids and aphids. This research is vital because it can be used to study the spread and transmission of pathogens between host plants and their associated insect vector. Gut content analysis has only been performed for a few psyllid species and has never been explored in insect vectors that feed similarly. To address these knowledge gaps, I use specialized DNA extraction methods to purify plant genetic material ingested by psyllids. These DNA extracts are then used in a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) where we can amplify the chloroplast trnL gene sequence to screen for the potential storage of plant DNA. We anticipate that both the aphids and psyllids have the ability to ingest and retain plant DNA and that the encoded information can reveal the hosts of plant pathogens that sap-feeding insects consume in their respective habitats. This study and its techniques will guide future work in the exploration of the origin of emerging insect-transmitted pathogens found in agriculture. Studying the transmission of diseases between insects and plants on a molecular level will help researchers gain a better understanding of the significance of the relationship between entomology and plant pathology and how it affects ecological health.
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Lourdes Flores
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Microtubule dynamics and regulation play a critical role in cell division and strongly influence cell shape in maize. Using time-lapse microscopy, the movement of microtubules labeled with YFP-TUBULIN was analyzed in interphase cells. Kymographs which show microtubule movement over time were used to calculate microtubule growth rates, pause times and shrinkage rates. Maize interphase microtubule growth and shrinkage rates are slower than similar Arabidopsis interphase microtubule dynamics. These data provide the first quantitative analysis of microtubule dynamics in maize, a model monocot.
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Gabriela Salazar
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In the spring of 2021, I started working in Dr. Rasmussen’s lab observing microtubules and their trajectories by measuring their dynamic properties in maize epidermal cells.I measured microtubule movement by generating kymographs, which are used to assess microtubule growth and shrinkage rates. I found that microtubule dynamics in maize tends to be slower in interphase (non-dividing) cells. More recently, I have started working in person with a graduate student, Stephanie Martinez, and have shifted my focus to understanding how maize seedlings respond to salt stress. For this project, we have prepared three different salt treatments for wild-type maize and four different mutants and have monitored the germination rate of the seedlings daily for a total of ten days. After measuring the root lengths of each seedling, we will better understand how salinity affects the growth of wild-type maize compared with the mutants.
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Beverlie Aileen
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I am a fourth year Plant Biology student in Louis Santiago’s lab, we study plant ecophysiology. Here, I am researching the water transport processes of plants, which mainly occur in the xylem. Understanding how plant life uses and transports water can direct us to be more efficient and mindful as our planet is increasing with droughts. However, the vasculature of plants is tedious and therefore, its functionality is not agreed upon by scholars. A literature analysis has been conducted to disentangle ideas, better known as controversies. The controversies I have delved into aim to have proper methods of measurement established and come to consensus on how water is conducted upwards throughout plants, especially eudicots.
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