Thesis (Ph. D. - Molecular and Cellular Biology)--University of Arizona, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-104).

Thesis (B.Ag.Sc.(Hons.))--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Animal Science, 2002. / Bibliography: leaves 63-73.

Academisch proefschrift--Amsterdam. / Summary in Dutch and English. Bibliography: p. [208]-214.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Academisch proefschrift--Amsterdam. / Summary in Dutch and English. Bibliography: p. [208]-214.

Les plantes halophiles sont des plantes résistantes au stress salin, qui subissent une grande variété de stress dans leur environnement naturel. Ces conditions les ont menées à synthétiser des molécules de défense, qui peuvent présenter des activités biologiques intéressantes de par leur structure et diversité. Dans le cadre d’une collaboration avec la PME Salipouss, trois espèces ont été choisies sur la base de tests antioxydants préliminaires, avec pour objectif d’optimiser (i) la multiplication de plants in vitro pour des cultures industrielles en serre et (ii) d’améliorer le niveau d’activité de leurs extraits. La diversité des composés potentiellement actifs présents dans ces extraits est ensuite analysée par fractionnement bioguidé, afin d’isoler des molécules valorisables. Ce fractionnement est appuyé par des analyses de composés par RMN, permettant d’obtenir des informations sur la structure des composés bio-actifs. Les résultats obtenus montrent le fort potentiel de valorisation de ces trois espèces dans l’industrie, et plus particulièrement dans la nutrition et la cosmétique. / Halophytes are salt tolerant or salt-resistant plants which undergo high stress in their natural habitat. As a consequence of environmental stresses, they produce a number of active defense molecules which display interesting biological activities because of their diverse actions or structures. For the present study, three halophytic species were selected from preliminary antioxidant screening. In collaboration with Salipouss SME, objectives of the work were (i) to optimize in vitro halophyte multiplication in order to produce biomass under greenhouse and (ii) to elicit particular metabolic pathways in order to improve extract activities. To attempt to isolate molecules with potentially valuable activities, the variety of compounds from these extracts is reduced by successive fractionations. In addition, NMR analyzes allow to obtain indications on the nature and on the structure of the active compounds. First results highlight the strong activities of the selected halophytes, making them promising candidates for industrial uses, especially in nutrition and cosmetics.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Flinders University, School of Biological Sciences. / Typescript bound. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

The succulent, annual euhalophyte, Salicornia bigelovii was grown in 1, 10, 35, 45 and 60 ppt Instant Ocean. This range represents approximately 1/35 to nearly twice the salinity of seawater. The plants in the 4 highest salinities had common final dry weights and seed yields of about 60 and 11 g, respectively, while the 1 ppt plants had 28 and nearly 5 g, respectively. The water relations data reflected the growth and seed production of the plants. The plants in the 4 higher salinities had water potentials sufficient to generate large import gradients and osmotic potentials which contributed to substantial turgors. The 1 ppt plants had a gradient like the rest, but a very low turgor of 0.11 MPa which was barely 23% of that of the lowest of the other treatments. Higher salinities resulted in slightly greater organic and inorganic osmotica contents. Overall, these results suggest a relatively fixed genetic response to a wide range of salinities, as well as an inability to function well at very low salinities. No plant grown at 0 ppt was ever able to reproduce. Therefore, this plant is an obligate halophyte. Experiments in the plant's native coastal estuary indicated meristem water potentials fluctuate with the tides, although they remain about 1.5 MPa below the corresponding soil water potentials. The plants occupy a discrete elevational range throughout the estuary, spending about 1/3 of their daylight hours submerged, and apparently never see dryness. Phenotype differences in the estuary suggest that, within the habitat, pacing and consequent resource domination may be important parameters affecting plant size and possibly fitness. Nitrogen, which is characteristically rare in this and other estuaries, may be critical in this regard. The plants produce large quantities of glycine-betaine, which may be for simultaneous osmoticum use and nitrogen storage. Most roots occur in the first 3 inches of soil. A mechanism is proposed, based on highly efficient compartmentation at the cellular level and the shuttling of organic osmoticum across the tonoplast, by which the tidally based cyclical water potentials could be explained.

The area of secondarily salinized lands is increasing at a faster rate over time. Many irrigation districts around the world are shrinking as a result of secondarily salinized soils. This is resulting in crop yield losses. Irrigation practices with low drainage are intensifying this problem. Bioremediation of salinized soils with halophytes is one of the means of reversing this process. In these studies, we tested the growth and performance of four salt tolerant halophytes to varying levels of salinity. We analyzed the salt content of the plant tissues at different salinities, in order to determine how the plants' tissues reflect the increases in salinity. It was discovered that Allenrolfea occidentalis tolerates and grows well at higher salinities than the other plants tested. Furthermore, the concentration of salt in the aerial plant tissue was high and increased further in response to the external salt concentration. Halophytes such as A. occidentalis can be used to remediate abandoned salt affected lands and their biomass can have an added economic value. On the other hand, domestication of wild halophytes for agronomic purposes represents another opportunity to address the increasingly salinized soils and shortages of freshwater around the world. In these studies, we assessed the potential for improvement of an oilseed halophyte, Salicornia bigelovii, through selective breeding. We compared plant characteristics of S. bigelovii cultivars produced in breeding programs with wild germplasm in a green house common garden experiment. We concluded that S. bigelovii has sufficient genetic diversity among wild accessions and cultivars to support a crop improvement program to introduce desirable agronomic characteristics into this wild halophyte.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Australia, 2006.