Tag: Poster 70

Microbial Inheritance in Seed Saving Networks: An Investigation into the Drivers of Fusarium Abundance and Transmission in Multiple Varieties of Corn Seeds

Presenter: Catherine Jaffe

Faculty Mentor: Brendan Bohannan, Lucas Nebert

Presentation Type: Poster 70

Primary Research Area: Science

Major: Biology, Environmental Science

Funding Source: UROP Mini-grant, University of Oregon UROP, $700

Seedborne pathogenic fungi in the genus Fusarium are prevalent in corn populations and pose human health risks due to their production of carcinogenic mycotoxins. Although much is known about the effects of domestication on the genetics of corn populations, less is understood about the impacts of agricultural management on the inheritance of microbes like Fusarium that live in and around these plants. Our research aims to better understand how networks of seed saving and crop management affect the abundance and transmission of Fusarium in corn seeds. Using preliminary datasets from a Community Research Network of farmers established by University of Oregon PhD student Lucas Nebert, we investigate how efficiently Fusarium is transmitted through seed saving networks and whether certain varieties of corn are prone to higher abundances of seedborne Fusarium. Additionally, we examine which agricultural practices affect the transmission of Fusarium from parent to offspring. We also gather and analyze new data using an interdisciplinary mix of interviews with farmers, in-lab DNA analysis techniques, and multivariate statistical tests. Since Fusarium population dynamics are a product of both the microbial ecology within the seed and human agricultural practices, this interdisciplinary approach provides a clearer window onto how agricultural methods influence microbial inheritance in seeds. Although our results are preliminary, we expect to see Fusarium abundance vary according to corn species, as previous studies have shown that microbial communities tend to be more similar between closely related plant varieties. The results of our research may have wide reaching implications due to the ubiquity of Fusarium and their potential to impact methods of sustainable agriculture.

Effect of Elevated Temperature on Embryonic Skeletal Development in Antarctic Bullhead Notothen, Notothenia coriiceps

Presenter(s): Natalie Mosqueda − Biology

Faculty Mentor(s): John Postlethwait, Thomas Desvignes

Poster 70

Research Area: Developmental Biology

Funding: SPUR NIH Grant

Among adapted species is the Antarctic Bullhead Notothen, Notothenia coriiceps, a Notothenoid only found in the secluded waters of the Southern Ocean. The Antarctic Peninsula in particular is one of the faster warming areas, warming at a rate 10 times faster than the global average and is expected to rise 4°C from the normal -1/0°C at the end of the century. It is important to investigate the effects of the warming temperature on embryogenesis and more specifically on early skeletal development of the Antarctic fish, N. coriiceps. We hypothesize that fish embryos raised at the higher temperature of +4°C will develop faster compared to embryos raised at the normal water temperature of about -1°C. In addition, we hypothesize that elevated temperature will result in asynchronous and abnormal development of various skeletal elements in embryos compared to control embryos raised at normal temperature. For this study, reproductive adult Notothenia coriiceps were collected around the Antarctic Peninsula in 2014 and 2016. Half of the embryos obtained by in vitro fertilization were raised at +4°C and composed the “heated” group, while the other half were raised at natural temperature between -1 and 0°C and formed the “control” group. We collected embryos at regular intervals during the first four months of development, fixed them and preserved them in 80% ethanol. The development and morphology of skeletal elements was recorded with a numbering system and results showed that the “heated” embryos had a faster embryonic and skeletal development compared to the “control” embryos, confirming our hypotheses. Our results therefore indicate that elevated water temperatures impact the normal skeletal development of the Antarctic fish larvae and could alter their survival if global warming predictions prove to be accurate. Additionally, there is asynchronous development between the cranial facial skeletal features and the axial skeleton among the two sample groups that could lead to later development issues

Behavioral Correlates in Sleeping Laboratory Mice with Widefield Imaging

Presenter(s): Ally Wimberly

Faculty Mentor(s): Paul Steffan & David McCormick

Poster 70

Session: Sciences

Pupillometry has effectively correlated pupil size with cortical states in awake mice. High amounts of brain activity have been associated with large pupil size whereas low amounts of brain activity associate with smaller pupil size in awake mice. The purpose of this project is to acquire widefield imaging on sleeping laboratory mice in order to gain a better understanding of mouse neuronal activity during sleep. I aim to find lower amounts of brain activity and small pupil size during non-REM sleep along with high amounts of brain activity with large pupil size during REM sleep. The widefield and pupil imaging will provide the opportunity to correlate certain neuronal activity with behaviors and other neuronal activity with deeper neural mechanisms happening during sleep. Some of the behavior correlates we will use are: movement of whiskers, paws, and fluctuation of the pupil size. Once the behavioral activity is excluded, the deeper neural mechanisms during sleep will be narrowed down and able to be focused on. Finding the deeper neural mechanisms will enable us to track neural circuits and networks involved during different stages of sleep in order to evolve a better profile of overall neuronal activity during sleep.