Characterization
and Analysis of Oil and Brine Impacted Sites in the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve
Four sites in
the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve impacted by brine or oil spill will be sampled
and characterized with respect to soil chemistry, bioassays for residual
toxicity, soil microbiology, plant communities, and nematodes and other soil
invertebrates. Data will be analyzed with respect to the impact of the spills
on the respective soil ecosystems and the implications for remediation and
restoration. A report of findings will be produced as a project deliverable.
Sponsors: University of Tulsa, DoE – IPEC
PIs: Anne Cross
University of
Tulsa: Kerry Sublette
Juniperus
virginiana
Response to Nitrogen Additions: A Greenhouse Experiment
This greenhouse
experiment, a collaborative work between the botany department, plant and soil
sciences and the EPA, looks at the effects of atmospheric nitrogen deposition
on growth rates of eastern red cedar.
Sponsor: Environmental Protection Agency
PIs: Anne Cross
EPA: Paul Meyer
Plant and Soil
Sciences: Dave Engle, Bjorn Martin
The
examination of ecological factors that generate ecotones or biological
transition zones (BTZ) across a gradient from semiarid grassland to semiarid
shrubland in New Mexico, contributing to the understanding of climatic influences
on biological systems as vegetation changes from perennial grassland to
perennial shrubland.
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
PIs: Anne Crosse
University of
New Mexico: James R. Gosz
Plasmodesmal
and Phloem Transport of Proteins: Mechanisms in Relation to Signal Transduction
and Viral Movements in Plants
Research to
reveal the cellular or tissue origins of phloem-translocated proteins, how the
proteins are transported into the phloem via plasmodesmata, what specific
functions they each play, and in what form plant viruses move within the phloem
and how they interact with plant transport functions.
Sponsor: The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
PIs: Biao Ding
Noble
Foundation: Richard Nelson
This project
will determine how plasmodesmata at specific cellular boundaries in various
classes of veins change structure and function to contribute to irreversible
transition of a tobacco leaf from a sink to a source of photoassimilates.
Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture
PI: Biao Ding
Salt
Plains Microbial Observatory
This project expands the Salt Plains research to
a longer term organismal survey approach, encompassing bacteria, archaea and
algae.
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
PI: William Henley
LeXEn:
Response of Photosynthetic Microbes of the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge
to Dynamic Extreme Conditions
A
laboratory and field project concerning the physiological ecology of salt
tolerant algae under extreme stress conditions. Organisms are being isolated
into culture and studied in laboratory experiments. Field data collection is
underway to relate algal biomass to physical and chemical conditions on the
Salt Plains.
Sponsor:
National Science
Foundation
PIs:
William Henley
Microbiology
and Molecular Genetics: Robert Miller
Summer
Academy of the Oklahoma Principals Science Scholars
The
Summer Academy of the Oklahoma Principals Science Scholars will introduce
minority and non-minority students to the excitement of sciences, mathematics
and technology, allowing them to use state of the art technology in computer
science, chemistry, physics, and biology. At the same time attention will be
drawn to science, mathematics and technology of traditional cultures. The
purpose of the Academy is to enable students to appreciate the futures they
might have in science, math and technology by choosing careers in these areas.
It will also show that science has been practiced by all human societies and
that modern science is an extension of a process that goes back into
prehistory.
Sponsor:
Oklahoma State Regents
for Higher Education
PI:
Becky Johnson
Collaborative
Research Grant
Supporting projects in Arabidopsis functional
genomics and comparative studies between the model plants Arabidopsis thaliana
and Medicago truncatula. Emphasis is being placed on genes with essential
functions during seed development.
Sponsor: S.R. Noble Foundation
PI: David Meinke
Essential
Gene Functions of Arabidopsis
Seed Development
The project is a large-scale collaborative
project on the analysis of genes that perform an essential function during seed
development in Arabidopsis and give a seed phenotype when disrupted by mutation.
Project deliverables include detailed information of 300 essential genes,
phenotype information and seed stocks for the corresponding mutants, summaries
of relevant expression data, and a central on-line database that summarizes
information for general use by the community.
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
PIs: David Meinke
Virginia
Bioinformatics Institute: Allan Dickerman
Syngenta
Agricultural Biotechnology Research, Inc.: David Patton
OSU
Plant Biotechnology Network
Interdepartmental activities in molecular plant
biology that are associated with the OSU Plant Biotechnology Network (BioNet).
Included are graduate student training, seminar and outreach activities, and
research interactions with the S.R. Noble Foundation.
Sponsor: S.R. Noble Foundation
PI: David Meinke
Molecular
Genetics of Arabidopsis titan
Mutants
Basic research
on a collection of Arabidopsis
mutants that exhibit striking defects in chromosome mechanics during seed
development. The long-term objective is to understand the genetic basis for
differences between embryo and endosperm development in flowering plants.
Sponsor:
National Science Foundation
PI: David Meinke
Analysis
of Fish Communities in the Mississippi River
Evaluation
of the relationship between fish distribution and river conditions.
Sponsor:
Missouri Department of
Conservation
PI: Michael Palmer
Tallgrass
Prairie Vegetation Monitoring
A long-term
vegetation-monitoring program at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve by establishing
and sampling permanently marked study plots.
Sponsor: The Nature Conservancy
PI: Michael Palmer
Expression
of Osmoprotectans in Wheat Seed and Their Potential for Improving Frozen Dough
Quality
The goal of this research is to manipulate the
concentration of mannitol in wheat seed by genetic engineering and evaluate its
influence on frozen dough quality.
A plasmid containing a bacterial gene will be constructed under the
control of a seed-specific promoter and transformed into wheat to allow
accumulation of mannitol only in the wheat seed. Flour containing small amounts
on mannitol will be tested for effects on bread=baking properties and frozen
dough storage. Equipment will be purchased for micro-scale evaluation of dough
properties.
Sponsors: Food
and Agricultural Products Research Initiative Program, OSU College of
Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
PIs: Kay
Scheets
Plant and Soil Sciences: Arron Guenzi
Oklahoma Food and Agricultural Products Research and
Technology Center: Patricia Rayas-Duarte
Genetic
Improvement and Varietal Release of Hard Red and Hard White Winter Wheat
The project enables the Wheat Improvement Team to develop
and release new varieties of wheat and to exchange information concerning the
wheat yields in Oklahoma.
Sponsor:
Oklahoma Wheat Research Foundation
PIs: Kay
Scheets
Plant and Soil Sciences: Arron Guenzi
The
Function of Vacuolar Potassium Channels in Plant Growth
This study gives insight into the molecular nature and
physiological function of vacuolar potassium channels, which will have a major
impact on plant physiology and on the understanding of plant growth in
particular. The long term goal of this project is to elucidate the molecular
mechanisms of vacuolar potassium transport and explore the function of
potassium channels using a combination of reverse genetic, biophysical, and
physiological approaches.
Sponsors:
Nation Science Foundation, Environmental Institute
PI:
Gerald Schoenknecht
Improving
Plant Physiology Teaching
For many students the plant pathology classes are
problematic and tough classes. To solve the existing problems two new types of
teaching materials were developed. Web-based multimedia learning aids for plant
physiology enabled each student to choose from a variety of materials that best
suited the student’s learning style. Improving the instructions for lab
exercises enabled students to get a better and more realistic impression about
the process of doing science and successfully experienced completing a lab
themselves.
Sponsor:
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
PI:
Gerald Schoenknecht
Floristic
Inventory of the Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge, Adair County, Oklahoma
Conduct
field surveys in the 3,000 acre refuge in order to: 1) Compile a list of the
vascular plants present; 2) Provide, using Global Positioning System (GPS)
coordinates, the geographical locations of the species listed
“rare” by the Oklahoma Natural Heritage Inventory; and 3) Prepare
two sets of herbarium voucher specimens.
The work will provide baseline information that can be used in making
decisions about the management of the refuge’s vegetation. Location information for the rare taxa
will facilitate monitoring of the species. The voucher specimens will provide a permanent record of the
refuge’s flora and provide a reference resource for refuge personnel.
Sponsor: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
PI: Ronald J. Tyrl
Status
of the Wildlife Habitats in Pushmataha Forest Habitat Research Area and
Pushmataha Wildlife Management Area
The
project’s objectives are to: 1) Evaluate the influence of fire frequency
and timber regimes on the understory plant species richness, diversity and
community composition in the Pushmataha Forest Habitat Area; 2) complete a
floristic survey and prepare herbarium voucher species encountered in the
Pushmataha Wildlife Management Area; and 3) identify habitats with sensitive
and/or invasive species.
Sponsor:
Oklahoma
Department of Wildlife Conservation
PIs: Ron Tyrl
Tall
Timbers Research Foundation: Ronald Masters
Oklahoma
Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: David Leslie
The
long-range goal of this project is to understand how cell cycle progression is
controlled in higher plants. Regulation of cell cycle progression,
arabidopsis tardy asynchronous meiosis
(TAM) and arabidopsis skp1-like1
(ASK1) mutants have been isolated and characterized. Experiments in identifying
the molecular identity of TAM, characterizing the defects of ASK1 and the
double mutant of ASK1 and TAM in cell cycle progression to determine whether
ASK1 and TAM belong in the same network, and identifying and analyzing new
mutations that suppress or enhance the TAM phenotype were applied. This
knowledge learned may aid the design of genetically modified plants that have
better yields and architecture.
Sponsor: Environmental Institute
PI: Ming Yang