Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2006. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-62). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Excess nutrients in the form of uneaten food or waste from intensive, monospecies aquaculture farms can have negative effects on the surrounding natural ecosystem, causing eutrophication and benthic habitat degradation. Biomitigative techniques such as Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) are being investigated for their ability to reduce these negative environmental impacts. IMTA is the co-culture of multiple species from complementary trophic levels, physically orientated in such a way that excess waste nutrients from the fed component are intercepted by the extractive species. For IMTA systems to become a sustainable aquaculture design alternative, it is important to ensure that infrastructure orientation and stocking densities of the extractive species maximize the amount of excess nutrients intercepted and overall system efficiency. Previous research has shown that the majority of wastes from fed finfish are made up of large organic particulates which sink rapidly to the benthos underneath or near the fish cages and which would be available to benthic deposit-feeding species. The California sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus) is a promising extractive species for IMTA on the west coast of Canada due to its deposit-feeding behaviour and its relatively high market price. Owing to the sea cucumber’s morphology and ability to move through restricted spaces, containment can be difficult without reducing nutrient transfer and overall IMTA system efficiency (i.e. mesh sizes needed to contain small sea cucumbers may restrict flow of farm particulates to them). The overall goal of the present work is to effectively contain juvenile sea cucumbers in such a way that maximizes benthic extraction of large-particulate nutrients within an IMTA system. / Graduate

No description available.

Orientador: Antonio Ismael Inácio Cardoso / Banca: Norberto da Silva / Banca: Maurício Dutra Zanotto / Banca: Paulo Cesar Tavares de Melo / Banca: Wilson Roberto Maluf / Resumo: Esse trabalho teve como objetivo estimar a capacidade geral e específica de combinação, empregando-se um "topcross" entre linhagens e populações de pepino japonês. Foram obtidos 16 híbridos experimentais a partir de 2 populações testadoras (geração F2 de Yoshinari e de Natsusuzumi) e 8 linhagens S5 obtidas a partir do híbrido comercial Hokuho, também foi avaliado o híbrido F1 Hokuho, totalizando 27 tratamentos. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em blocos casualizados com 4 repetições e cada parcela foi constituída de 4 plantas. Foram realizados dois experimentos em duas épocas, onde foram avaliadas as seguintes características relacionadas ao crescimento vegetativo da planta: comprimento das plantas, número de folhas, número de nós, número de brotações laterais e porcentagem de brotações. Também se avaliou o peso de frutos totais, peso de frutos comerciais, número total de frutos, número de frutos comerciais, porcentagem de frutos comerciais e peso médio de frutos comerciais. As análises de capacidades combinatória foram efetuadas de acordo com o modelo de Geraldi & Miranda Filho (1988). A população de Yoshinari (TY) apresentou, em média, melhor capacidade de se combinar com as linhagens de Hokuho. A linhagem L7 apresentou os maiores valores positivos da estimativa da CGC para a maioria das características avaliadas nos dois experimentos e os híbridos H1Y e H1N, que continham a linhagem L1 como parental, foram os que apresentaram maiores valores para a estimativa da CEC com as populações testadoras para a maioria das características avaliadas nos dois experimentos realizados, enquanto os que tinham a linhagem L5 como parental apresentaram os menores valores. Conclui-se, portanto, que há um alto potencial de se extrair linhagens de Yoshinari para cruzamentos com linhagens de Hokuho, a fim de se obter híbridos tão bons quanto o Hokuho. / Abstract: The objective of the present work was obtain general and specific combining ability estimates, using a top cross between lines and japanese cucumber populations. It was obtained 16 experimental hybrids starting from 2 test populations (Yoshinari and Natsusuzumi) and 8 S5 lines obtained starting from the Hokuho commercial hybrid. The Hokuho hybrid F1 was also evaluated, totaling 27 treatments. The experimental design used was randomized block with four replications and for plant per plot. Were evaluated the following characteristics related to the vegetative growth of the plant: length of the plants, number of leaves, number of us, number of lateral produce and produce percentage. Related to the production it was evaluated: weight of total fruits, weight of commercial fruits, total number of fruits, number of commercial fruits, percentage of commercial fruits and weigh medium of commercial fruits. The analyses of combining ability were evaluated in agreement with the model of Geraldi & Miranda Filho (1988). The Yoshinari of population (TY) presented, on average, better combining ability with the lines of Hokuho, the lines L7 presented the largest positive values of gi for most of the evaluated characteristics in the two experiments and hybrids with the lines L1 it was the one that it presented larger values for CEC with the test populations for most of the evaluated characteristics in the two accomplished experiments, while the hybrids of lines L5 showed the smallest values. It is ended that there is a high potential of extracting lines of Yoshinari for crossings with lines of Hokuho, in order to obtain hybrid as good as Hokuho, with the advantage of being adapted to national conditions. / Doutor

A indução de resistência em plantas contra fitopatógenos é um método alternativo de controle de doenças, o qual envolve a ativação de mecanismos de resistência latentes da planta. Hoje no mercado existem poucos produtos que atuam segundo este princípio. Na busca de novas moléculas que possam ser utilizadas em campo, diversos compostos de origem microbiana, com capacidade de estimular uma ou mais respostas de defesa, já foram isolados e caracterizados. A Saccharomyces cerevisiae é uma levedura capaz de induzir resistência e elicitar respostas de defesa em algumas plantas. Com o objetivo de extrair da levedura um ou mais compostos capazes de induzir o acúmulo de fitoalexinas em cotilédones de soja e na proteção dessa leguminosa contra Microsphaera diffusa (agente causal do oídio da soja) e de pepino contra Colletotrichum lagenarium (agente causal da antracnose do pepino), células em suspensão foram autoclavadas. Os compostos assim extraídos foram inicialmente separados através de precipitação etanólica. Em seguida, foram realizadas cromatografias de troca iônica e de afinidade para separar as frações com maior poder elicitor das de baixo poder elicitor. A fração não adsorvida à resina DEAE-Celulose foi a que induziu maior acúmulo de fitoalexinas. No entanto, nenhum dos preparados testados foi capaz de conferir proteção a plantas de soja contra M. diffusa. Já no caso de pepino, plântulas tratadas com as frações resultantes da cromatografia de afinidade apresentaram reduções entre 50 e 70 % de área lesionada causada por C. lagenarium e aumento na atividade de peroxidases. Extratos incorporados à meio de cultivo não apresentaram efeito inibitório sobre o crescimento e esporulação de C. lagenarium. Com base nesses resultados, concluímos que existe na parede da levedura compostos capazes de induzir resistência local em pepino contra C. lagenarium, sendo que pelo menos um destes compostos é um carboidrato, contendo provavelmente manana e glucosamina. / The acquired resistance of plants to pathogens is an alternative method to control diseases which includes the activation of resistance mechanisms in the plants. A few products already commercially available have their action based upon this mechanism. In the search for novel molecules that can be used under field conditions, many compounds from microbes with the ability to stimulate one or more defense responses were already isolated and characterized. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an yeast with the ability to induce defense responses and resistance in some plants. A suspension of cells from the yeast was autoclaved with the purpose of extracting one or more compounds with the ability to induce the accumulation of phytoalexins in soybean cotyledons and to protect soybean plants against Microsphaera diffusa (causal agent of powdery mildew) and plants of cucumber against Colletotrichum lagenarium (causal agent of anthracnose). The compounds extracted by this method were separated using ethanolic precipitation. After this step, the fractions of higher elicitation activity were separated from those of lower one by using ion exchange cromatography and affinity cromatography. The non-adsorbed fraction to DEAE-Cellulose was the one that induced the highest accumulation of phytoalexins. However, none of the fractions were able to protect soybean plants from M. diffusa. In the case of cucumber, seedlings treated with the fractions from affinity chromatography were able to reduce disease symptoms caused by C. lagenarium by 50 to 70 % and to increase the activity of peroxidases. Extracts that were incorporated into growing media did exhibit any inhibitory effect on in vitro growth and sporulation of C. lagenarium. According to these results, it is possible to conclude that there are compounds in the cell walls of the yeast that are able to induce local resistance to C. lagenarium in cucumber and that at least one of these compounds is a carbohydrate that likely contains mannan and glucosamine.

Tobacco necrosis virus (TNV) interfered with cucumber necrosis virus (CNV) replication in mixed infections. TNV inhibited both the initiation of CNV infections and subsequent CNV multiplication. Evidence of interference was found in qualitative evaluations of symptoms on a wide host range and by quantitative evaluations (lesion counts and incidence of systemic symptoms) on cucumber, cowpea, and bean. Fresh weight measurements similarly indicated antagonism in mixed infections. Some evidence of CNV interfering with TNV replication was found, in the form of a reduction in the occurrence of systemic symptoms. Photometric scanning of sucrose density gradient columns after centrifugation revealed that in mixed infections CNV reached only half the concentration attained in single infections while TNV was unaffected or even very slightly increased in concentration. This interference continued even when high temperatures greatly limited TNV replication. Only at 3° C, where its replication was barely detectable, did TNV have no effect on the CNV concentration attained. CNV did not significantly aid TNV replication at any temperature. In serial passage of mixed infections TNV quickly gained in concentration relative to CNV. Although CNV and TNV symptoms could not readily be distinguished from one another on most hosts, Phaseolus vulgaris var. Topcrop kept at 23 C and Chenopodium capitaturn kept at 18 C were established as reliable indicators of CNV and TNV respectively. One preparation from doubly infected tissue showed evidence of possible phenotypic mixing based on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and on reactions with antisera, although this could not be confirmed by infectivity tests. Through use of the antigen-antibody neutralization test, another virus preparation from doubly infected tissue gave evidence of possible genomic masking of TNV RNA in CNV coat protein. No evidence of possible genomic masking in the opposite direction was found. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

High tunnels are used to modify the crop environment by trapping solar energy, providing protection from unfavorable weather events, and extending the growing season in temperate regions. This project assessed yield and quality in three independent cultivar trials of warm-season crops tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) grown under high tunnel production compared with an outdoor field in eastern and western North Dakota. Tomato yields in the high tunnel were increased by 1.4 times over the field trial yields. Yields from the pepper cultivar trials both inside the high tunnel and outside field were comparable to one another at 1.24 kg plant-1 and 1.06 kg plant-1, respectively. Cucumber yields in the high tunnel were increased by 1.7 times over the field trial yields. Results indicate that in North Dakota, high tunnels extended the growing season, and increased production relative to field conditions.

Plant cell wall degradation into fermentable sugars by cellulases is one of the greatest barriers to biofuel production. Expansin protein loosens the plant cell wall by opening up the complex of cellulose microfibrils and polysaccharide matrix components thereby increasing its accessibility to cellulases. We over-expressed cucumber expansin in maize kernels to produce enough protein to assess its potential to serve as an industrial enzyme for applications particularly in biomass conversion. We used the globulin-1 embryo-preferred promoter to express the cucumber expansin gene in maize seed. Expansin protein was targeted to one of three sub-cellular locations: the cell wall, the vacuole, or the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). To assess the level of expansin accumulation in seeds of transgenic kernels, a high throughput expansin assay was developed. The highest expressing plants were chosen and enriched crude expansin extract from those plants was tested for synergistic effects with cellulase on several lignocellulosic substrates. Activity of recombinant cucumber expansin from transgenic kernels was confirmed on these pretreated substrates. The best transgenic lines (ER-targeted) can now be used for breeding to increase expansin expression for use in the biomass conversion industry. Results of these experiments show the success of expansin over-expression and accumulation in transgenic maize seed without negative impact on growth and development and confirm its synergistic effect with cellulase on deconstruction of complex cell wall substrates.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第21311号 / 農博第2296号 / 新制||農||1064(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H30||N5145(農学部図書室) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科応用生物科学専攻 / (主査)教授 髙野 義孝, 教授 田中 千尋, 教授 寺内 良平 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

No description available.