Effects of foliarly applied amino acids on sunflower tolerance to arsenic and molybdenum, and DNA methods to characterize associated rhizosphere bacterial communities

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dc.contributor.advisorCammarata, Kirk
dc.contributor.authorRiis-Due, Stephanie
dc.contributor.committeeMemberMott, Joanna
dc.contributor.committeeMemberBuck, Gregory
dc.contributor.committeeMemberBalasubramanya, M.K.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberPezold, Frank
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-30T21:38:37Z
dc.date.available2024-01-30T21:38:37Z
dc.date.issued2011-08
dc.descriptionA Thesis Submitted In partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY – CORPUS CHRISTI, Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, Graduate Environmental Science Program, Corpus Christi, Texas
dc.description.abstractArsenic contamination of soil is a worldwide concern due to its impact on human health and agriculture. Phytoremediation is an emerging technology that uses plants to remediate metal contaminated sites in situ. Helianthus argophyllus is a sunflower plant that is native to South Texas, and is currently under study as a promising prospect for phytoremediation. This investigation focused on the use of foliarily applied amino acids, glycine or a mixture of cysteine and glutamate, to enhance the tolerance of Helianthus argophyllus to weekly treatments of arsenic+molybdenum (2 mM each). Plants typically died over a treatment period of 2-5 weeks, but foliar applications of glycine, in particular, reduced the yellowing of leaves and delayed the onset of toxicity symptoms and death. Other data suggests that the foliar amino acid effects are due to enhanced exclusion of the metalloids from the above-ground plant parts, possibly implicating amino acid-altered plant-rhizosphere interactions The second component of this study developed methods for the comparison of the rhizosphere communities of sunflower plants among the various treatment groups by using PCR amplification of 16S rRNA followed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Two DNA extraction kits were compared for their effectiveness at extracting amplifiable DNA from sandy and organic soils. Two sets of primers were also compared. Universal rRNA primers failed to produce any bands by DGGE. However, DGGE banding patterns form a second eubacteria-specific primer set revealed a more complex profile, including a number of unique bands, for a growth chamber soil containing a sunflower plant compared to a growth chamber control soil (without a plant) and a wild sunflower sample.
dc.description.collegeCollege of Science
dc.description.departmentPhysical and Environmental Sciences
dc.format.extent66 pages
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1969.6/97741
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.rightsThis material is made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used should be fully credited with its source. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards. Permission for publication of this material, in part or in full, must be secured with the author and/or publisher., This material is made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used should be fully credited with its source. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards. Permission for publication of this material, in part or in full, must be secured with the author and/or publisher.
dc.subjectarsenic
dc.subjectmolybdenum
dc.subjectsunflower
dc.subjecttolerance
dc.subjectfoliar amino acids
dc.subjectRhzosphere bacteria
dc.subject165 rRNA
dc.subjectDNA extraction
dc.titleEffects of foliarly applied amino acids on sunflower tolerance to arsenic and molybdenum, and DNA methods to characterize associated rhizosphere bacterial communities
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.genreThesis
thesis.degree.disciplineEnvironmental Science
thesis.degree.grantorTexas A&M University - Corpus Christi
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science

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