report of progress for - ohio state university · agriculture is the most distributed industry...

OHIO AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER

The OARDC Research Enhancement Competitive Grants Program

Report of Progress for Calendar Year 2012

SEEDS


SEEDS Report of Progress Calendar Year 2012

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Current Research Committee MembersMacdonald Wick, Animal Sciences, Chair

Andrew Michel, Entomology, Co-Chair

Larry Antosch, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation

Imed Dami, Horticulture and Crop Science

Richard Dick, School of Environment and Natural Resources

Gary Gao, Extension

Dennis Hall, Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center (OBIC)

Jason Kong, Ohio Department of Agriculture

Chang-Won Lee, Food Animal Health Research Program

Yebo Li, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Farnaz Maleky, Food Science and Technology

Gary Rawlings, TECH Columbus

Abdoul Sam, Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics

Robert Scharff, College of Education and Human Ecology

Gary Straquadine, Agricultural Communication, Education and Leadership

Christopher Taylor, Plant Pathology

F. William Ravlin, Associate Director and Administrative Advisor Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ex-Officio

Steven A. Slack, Director Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ex-Officio

Grant Development Support UnitLori Kaser, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

Sarah Elvey, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

For more information, visit our website: http://www.oardc.osu.edu/seeds

ContentsCurrent and Past Collaborators .......................................................................... 3

Introduction ...............................................................................................................5

Interdisciplinary Team Competition ...................................................................9

Matching and Industry Small Grant Competitions .......................................15

New Enterprise Competition ............................................................................ 25

Seed Grant Competition .................................................................................... 29

Student Projects ....................................................................................................37

Publications, Presentations and Graduate Students..................................43



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Current and Past Collaborators

3-I6062 Holdings LLCAccuDX Inc.Ag-SpectrumAlltechAlpaca Jack’s Suri FarmAmerican Aggregates Corp.American Berry CooperativeAmerican Coal Ashland AssociationAmerican Hosta SocietyAmpac Seed CompanyAntorchas FoundationArcher-Daniels-Midland CompanyArgus Control Systems Ltd.Around the World GourmetAsgrow Seed CompanyAthersys Inc.AviagenBASF Plant Science GmbH Agrarzentrum LimburgerhofBass EndowmentBayer CorporationBayer CropScience LP Environmental SciencesBedding Plants Foundation, Inc.Berlin Natural Baker, Inc.Biotechnology Research and Development CorporationBoehringer Ingelheim-NOBLBritish Columbia Greenhouse Growers’ AssociationBritish United Turkeys of AmericaCalifornia Avocado CommissionCamelid Health FoundationCampbell R and DCargill Animal Nutrition CenterCattlemen’s Carcass Data ServiceCenter for Aseptic Processing and Packaging StudiesCentral Ohio Hosta SocietyCertified Angus BeefCiba Crop ProtectionCinergyCity of ColumbusCognis Deutschland GmBH and Co.Consortium for Plant Biotechnology ResearchCooper Farms, Inc.

CultivaDairy Management, Inc.DanoneDeVentureDonlar CorporationDow AgrosciencesDynal BiotechE.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co.Eagle-Picher Minerals, Inc.EarthgroEdstrom Industries, Inc.Elanco Animal HealthEli Lilly and CompanyFarmland IndustriesFirst EnergyFloriculture Industry Research and Scholarship TrustFood Science AustraliaFremont Pickle Growers AssociationFruit Growers Marketing AssociationGarickGeneral ChemicalGeorge F. Ackerman CompanyGreat Lakes Hosta SocietyGregson Technologies, Inc.Gustafson, Inc.Harris Moran Seed CompanyHillshire Farm and Kahn’sHirzel Canning Co.Holmes Cheese CompanyHolmes Cheese TableHorticultural Research InstituteIams CorporationInfectech, Inc.Ingredient Innovations InternationalIntegrated Research Technology, LLVJ. Frank Schmidt Family Charitable FoundationJarrow IncorporatedJatco, Inc.Kamiasahi Feed Lot, Ltd.Kanter AssociatesKohlpyrKraft Foods Global, Inc.



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Kurtz Brothers, Inc.Lilly Research LaboratoriesLipha Tech, Inc.Lipton Tomato Research CenterLoveland Industries, Inc.Magical Farms, Inc.Maple Leaf Farms, Inc.Martel Biosciences CorporationMerial LimitedMicroBio LimitedMid-America Food ProcessorsMiddlefield CheeseMidtechMidwest Regional Hosta SocietyMinistry of Culture, Education, and Scientific Exchanges,

SpainMTD ProductsNational Fish and Wildlife FoundationNational Sea Grant ProgramNational Wildlife FederationNatural Fiber Composites CorporationNorth American Strawberry Growers Research

Foundation, Inc.Nourse Farms, Inc.Novartis Crop Protection, Inc.Nursery Growers of Lake County Ohio, Inc.N-Viron International, Inc.Ohio Bioprocessing Research ConsortiumOhio BioProducts Innovation CenterOhio Corn Marketing ProgramOhio Dairy Farmers Federation, Inc.Ohio Dairy ProducersOhio Floriculture FoundationOhio Fruit Growers SocietyOhio Lawn Care AssociationOhio Nursery and Landscape Association, Inc.Ohio Pork Producers CouncilOhio Poultry AssociationOhio Seed Improvement ResearchOhio Sheep and Wool ProgramOhio Soybean Council Ohio Space Grant ConsortiumOhio Vegetable and Small Fruit Research and

DevelopmentOntario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers

Optimum Quality Grains, LLCOtterbein UniversityOutbackPark FoundationPennington Seed, Inc. Oregon DivisionPetroseedPfizerPharmacia, Wyeth Ayerst ResearchPhilip Morris, Inc., Shared Solutions in AgriculturePhycotransgenicsPIC USAPig Improvement CompanyPioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.Polter Berry FarmProtein Technologies InternationalPurity Foods, Inc.Quality Liquid FeedsRainbow Treecare Scientific AdvancementsRainforest PhytoceuticalsRavenRhodia, Inc.Roche Vitamins Inc.SatlocSchmack Bio EnergySelect SiresSeminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc.Small Farm InstituteSmathers-Oasis CompanySyngentaThe Chef’s Garden, Inc.The Garland Company, Inc.The HANOR Company, Inc.The Scotts Company and SubsidiariesTheis Technology Inc.Thomas CookToh Products, LLCTop Soil Precision AgTree Research and Education Endowment FundTruGreen-ChemlawnTurkish Republic Harran UniversityValent USA Corp.Warner Endowment GrantWelch’sWest Texas A and MWilmington College



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Introduction

The oldest industry known to humankind is still the one driving Ohio’s economy. The economic powerhouse that is Ohio’s agbioscience industry is unparalleled. Agriculture is the most distributed industry across Ohio with operations in every county. It accounts for $105 billion, or 11.7%, of the state’s total economic output and generates more than 900,000 Ohio jobs. No other economic engine comes close to making the kind of impact generated by agricul-ture, food, and the nursery and landscape industry. This massive industry employs one in every seven Ohioans and supports a diversified and dynamic economic sector that touches the lives of everyone in the state. Annually, Ohio State University scientists in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences’ Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) conduct over 400 research projects supported by over $100 million in grants and contracts.

As a result of this research, the innovations produced drive economic opportunities in the form of new products, pro-cesses and knowledge. OARDC, the research arm of The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), is the nation’s largest and Ohio’s only comprehensive agbioscience research orga-nization, supporting the state’s $100+ billion agbioscience sector. Based on a recent Battelle study, OARDC research returns $7 for every state dollar invested. It is engaged with well over 100 companies and maintains a $100+ million portfolio of external grants and contracts.

Ohio OARDC generates 1,600 jobs; $156 million in economic output; $59 million in personal income; and $5.5 million in state and local taxes.

Addressing the differing challenges and vast opportuni-ties of Ohio’s agbioscience industry is the ultimate goal of SEEDS: The OARDC Research Enhancement Competitive Grants Program. SEEDS encourages excellence in OARDC research by promoting exploration that is consistent with the mission and vision of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and by encouraging connections across disciplines, with industry, and with other external partners.

Established in 1996 and supported by an appropriation from the Ohio General Assembly to OARDC, SEEDS: The OARDC Research Enhancement Competitive Grants Pro-gram is unique among U.S. state-assisted universities. In

fostering high-quality research among scientists supported by OARDC and CFAES, SEEDS enables those scientists to collect the preliminary data needed to give them a com-petitive edge in national programs, and it provides them with leverage to attract industry support. With eight field stations and more than 7,500 acres of land across the state devoted to research, the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center is the largest public and privately funded research organization in the state. Since its estab-lishment in 1882, OARDC has used science to find solutions to pressing problems, and identify new opportunities for Ohio.

OARDC’s SEEDS program is just one of the many ways in which The Ohio State University’s innovative research and development connects to industry and community on an eminent global scale. Currently, Ohio State is ranked 17th among the nation’s top public universities and has been among the top 25 public research universities in each U.S. News & World Report ranking. According to the National Science Foundation’s assessment of sponsored research expenditures, Ohio State ranks among the top 15 public research universities in the country.

SEEDS: The OARDC Research Enhancement Competitive Grants Program



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Intr

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ObjectivesSEEDS was created to encourage partnerships with indus-try and other stakeholders and to increase the competi-tiveness of OARDC/CFAES scientists in extramural grant programs. While these objectives remain as the program’s cornerstone, SEEDS has grown to include a total of seven objectives:

1. Increase the competitiveness of scientists in extramural grant programs.

2. Encourage partnerships with industry and other stake-holders.

3. Encourage the development of interdisciplinary teams.

4. Encourage international collaborations.

5. Support the exploration of enterprises that are potential-ly new to Ohio.

6. Provide undergraduate students with research experi-ence.

7. Provide graduate students with the opportunity to take part in the grant-writing/review process.

By providing SEEDS money to develop the necessary pre-liminary data for a strong grant application or by matching funds to leverage external funding, SEEDS has proved to be a valuable program for scientists in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Within the context of our global society, the SEEDS program looks forward to continued success and new partnerships with industry and other collaborators in Ohio and throughout the world.

Objective 1—Increase the competitiveness of scientists in extramural grant programs. The Seed Grant Competition and the Agency External Competitions specifically address Objective 1.

Of the 28 projects completed and reported in calendar year 2012, $7,690,543 was generated in extramural fund-ing. Over the life of SEEDS, OARDC has invested $957,133 in matching funds for Agency External Grants, which has generated $16,687,435 in extramural funding—a return of more than $17 for each dollar invested.

Objective 2—Encourage partnerships with industry and other stakeholders. The Matching and Industry Small grant competitions address Objective 2.

Of the eight grants requiring at least a dollar-for-dollar match and completed during calendar year 2012, OARDC provided a total of $150,160 while industry matched those dollars with $168,006.

Over the life of the program, OARDC has invested $3,174,061 while industry has matched these dollars with $6,974,227—a return of close to $2 on each dollar invested.

Objective 3—Encourage the development of interdis-ciplinary teams. The Interdisciplinary Team Competition specifically addresses Objective 3.

During calendar year 2012, four interdisciplinary teams completed projects. These teams reported receiving $1,000,000 in extramural funding.



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Introduction

Over the life of the program, 6 colleges and 23 depart-ments have participated in the interdisciplinary competi-tion, with OARDC investing $6,331,445 and teams report-ing $19,985,850 in extramural funding—a return of $3.16 on each dollar invested.

Objective 4—Encourage international collaborations. All competitions may involve international collaboration, and international relationships are encouraged. The SEEDS program has funded collaborations with Argentina, Austra-lia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Chile, France, Ireland, Italy, Mex-ico, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Switzerland, Taiwan, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Objective 5—Support the exploration of enterprises that are potentially new to Ohio. New Enterprises are consid-ered to be crops, animals, products, goods and services that currently are not produced for biological, physical, cultural, processing, economic or social reasons. The New Enterprise Competition is designed to explore new enter-prises and to eliminate the barriers that constrain existing

ones. The New Enterprise Competition has received 33 applications. Thirteen have been funded, and $971,780 in extramural funding has been received—a return of over $2.00 for each dollar invested.

Objective 6—Provide undergraduate students with research experience. A total of 84 applications to the Director’s Undergraduate Research Program have been received, and 56 students have received awards.

The Director’s Undergraduate Research Program provides undergraduate students with a professional grant-writing, research, and reporting experience. Projects are designed, submitted for review, and carried out with a faculty mentor. Once a project is completed, students take an indepen-dent studies class to write their research report in the form of a scientific journal article, using their faculty advisor as an editor. Some of these reports get published. In addition, many students present their research at professional meet-ings and at competitions such as the Denman Undergradu-ate Research Forum, a university-wide program presented by The Ohio State University Office of Research and The University Honors and Scholars Center.

Objective 7—Provide graduate students with the oppor-tunity to take part in the grant-writing/review process. Over the life of the SEEDS program 510 masters and doctoral students submitted proposals, and 224 received awards. The graduate competition is run exactly like a fed-eral competition. Graduate students who receive awards are asked to serve on a panel to review applications in the following year’s competition. This experience provides students with the opportunity to develop their skills in grant-writing and reviewing—skills that are essential to their careers.

Program Achievements

n Supported research projects of $20,941,081 in all categories and received over $80,939,871 in matching and extramural funds since 1996—a return of about $5 for each dollar invested.

n Invested $3.1 million in projects requiring matching funds, generating $6.9 million in industry matched—a return of over $5 for every dollar invested over the last five years.

n Enabled scientists to establish collaborations with colleagues from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, the Phillipines, Switzerland, Taiwan, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

n Applied for eleven U.S. patents, using results from initial findings. Five patent applications have been granted, and five licensing agreements have been obtained.

n Published a total of 782 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, abstracts, popular press articles, bulletins, and/or book chapters and made more than 1,393 presentations throughout the world.

n Produced 56 doctoral dissertations and 85 master’s theses.



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Interdisciplinary Team Competition

The Interdisciplinary Team Competition, funded at a maximum $100,000 level, is designed to stimulate new collaborative partnerships in multiple departments and colleges or build on existing programs of excellence. Interdisciplinary research provides expertise over several disciplines, bringing a more holistic approach to research questions and problems.

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Testing the systemic induced resistance hypothesis: Implications for plant defense theoryPierluigi Bonello, Plant PathologyRobert C. Hansen, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Daniel A. Herms, Entomology

Pine trees are important in nurseries, as Christmas trees, and as key species in ornamental landscapes, urban for-ests, and natural forested ecosystems. These are all vital parts of Ohio’s environment and economy. Hence, there is a critical need for integrated pest management strategies for the key insects and diseases that affect the health of pines, often severely limiting their ecological, environmen-tal and commercial value.

Soil fertility is known to affect tree resistance to pathogens and insects; however, the dynamics of this process remain unknown. This is a major economic and environmental issue, as millions of dollars are spent every year on fertil-izing trees to allegedly increase their resistance to pests, despite the overwhelming evidence that in most cases fer-tilization makes trees more susceptible. This phenomenon is captured by the growth differentiation balance hypothe-sis (GDBH). This hypothesis essentially states that there is a tradeoff between growth and defense. Fast growing plants, such as those under the influence of excessive fertilization, become more susceptible to pathogens and insects.

The systemic induced resistance hypothesis (SIRH) predicts that plant defense systems can be stimulated by pathogens or insects to a state of quasi-immunization. This causes the plants to become more protected against further attacks by damaging organisms. However, such protection varies over time, increasing for a while, and then decreasing as the initial induction causes excessive dam-age, eventually depleting the plant’s defenses.

The objective of this proposal was to investigate the inte-gration of the two hypotheses in Austrian pine trees, with a major focus on determining the impact of nutrient availabili-ty and infection status on induced resistance over time and the biochemical aspects of tree defense. To do this, two major studies were conducted. In the first study, a five-level nitrogen gradient was successfully established resulting in significant differences in measured growth parameters. Pre-attack defensive chemistry was impacted by nutrient availability, primarily conforming to the predictions of the GDBH. Systemic induced resistance was achieved in all time points; however, its strength did not vary over time nor was it affected by nutrient availability, contrary to the hypothesis. Analysis of the effects of nutrient availability and infection status on induced biochemical defenses is ongoing and will continue past the grant cycle.

The second study focused solely on the SIRH and is also continuing. In addition to examining time-related aspects of SIR, the phenomenon of systemic induced susceptibility (SIS) is also being investigated. This should provide import-ant information regarding the mechanisms of organ-specif-ic defense responses. Achieving a better understanding of the physiological and biochemical processes that influ-ence the outcome of tree interactions with pathogens and insects will guide strategies to improve tree performance under different soil fertilities and develop tools capable of harnessing the natural defense system of trees. n

Daniel Herms, Pierluigi Bonello, and Robert Hansen

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Earl Harrison

Occurrence and function of new carotene metabolites in human cells Earl Harrison, Human NutritionRobert Curley, PharmacyKen Riedl, Food Science and Technology

Epidemiological studies have suggested that the ingestion of carotenoids, the colored pigments found in fruits and vegetables, can have both positive and negative health consequences for humans. However, the mechanisms involved are obscure and are the object of intense interest and investigation in the nutrition and medical commu-nities. Until recently, it was thought that the major func-tion of carotenoids was their conversion to the essential micronutrient, vitamin A. Recent studies, however, have also associated carotenoids with cancer prevention, the inhibition of atherogenesis (plaque buildup in the arteries), and decreased risk of heart disease.

An interdisciplinary team of OARDC scientists has devel-oped a sensitive and accurate method for detecting and quantifying new metabolites of dietary carotenoids (called apocarotenoids) in foods and in human plasma. Since these compounds occur in very small quantities, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC/MS) methods were developed to detect and quantify them. Biochemical and molecular biological methods then revealed that some

of the apocarotenoids actually function as vitamin A antag-onists, i.e., they block the activity of vitamin A itself.

The human intestine is capable of absorbing most dietary carotenoids as intact molecules, including beta-carotene, one of the most abundant carotenoids in the human diet and the most potent vitamin A precursor. This project also developed another LC/MS method for determining the ex-tent of carotenoid absorption in humans and their efficiency in converting dietary beta-carotene to vitamin A.

The methods developed have allowed the determination of the occurrence and function of newly described me-tabolites of dietary carotenoids as well as their intestinal absorption.

The work will allow greater understanding of the basis of the health effects of dietary carotenoids in humans and may lead to more precise recommendations for the public in Ohio and around the world. Future research will explore the concentrations of these metabolites in foods and sup-plements and their biological activities. n

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Effects of saliva and oral microbiota on the metabolism of anthocyanins in the oral cavityMark Failla, Human NutritionMonica Giusti, Food Science and TechnologyPurnima Kumar, Peridontology

Anthocyanins (ACN) are compounds responsible for the red, purple and blue colors of many fruits and vegetables. These compounds are potent antioxidants that have been shown to possess anti-inflammatory activity, inhibit prolif-eration of cells and induce the death of cancer cells, act as vasodilators, and have anti-obesity activity. Despite their health-promoting benefits, the characteristics of uptake and metabolism by epithelial cells lining the GI tract and the efficacy of these compounds and their metabolites in the mouth, esophagus, stomach and small intestine remain largely unknown. Although the metabolism of ACN by microorganisms in the large intestine has been amply demonstrated, the role of oral microflora on this process has not been addressed.

This project was designed to examine the metabolism of ACN in the oral cavity. Relatively pure extracts of ACN were prepared and characterized from black raspberry, blueberry, chokeberry, red grape and strawberry. This pro-vided the ability to assess the effects of ACN structure on stability of ACN in human saliva. The extent and pattern of

salivary degradation of ACN varied between subjects, but remained relatively constant within each subject when col-lected on different days. Results showed that degradation of ACN in saliva was primarily due to enzymatic activity and associated with the presence of bacteria. The significance of the findings is that it provides an initial baseline for the identification of individuals who are expected to respond or be resistant to the preventative and therapeutic activi-ties of ACN in the oral cavity.

Another objective was to determine the relative contribu-tions of salivary secretions, oral bacteria, and epithelial cells lining the oral tissues on the metabolism of ACN. Volunteers retained 2/3 ounce of juice in their mouth for 5 minutes. The stability and the binding of ACN to the protective mucus coating of the cheek and cheek epithelial cells was affected by ACN structure in a similar manner as observed in saliva. Also, oral microflora contribute to the degradation of ACN within the mouth.

This project also sought to explore the anti-inflammatory activity of ACN-rich extracts from fruits on cancerous (SCC-25) and non-cancerous oral epithelial cell lines. Treatment with all extracts inhibited secretion of mediators of inflam-mation by SCC-25 cells, and the extent of the anti-inflam-matory activity was dependent on the source of ACN. Less robust effects were observed with the non-cancerous cell line.

Incubation of media containing ACN extracts for 24 hours in the absence of cells resulted in the spontaneous disap-pearance of approximately 90% of ACN. Surprising, this change did not decrease anti-inflammatory activity when added to cultures of the SCC-25 cells, supporting the need to identify specific degradation products of ACN and to test their anti-inflammatory activity. Preliminary studies also revealed findings of the effects that ACN-rich extracts from the tested fruits inhibited on the formation of “biofilms” by pathogenic oral bacteria. Such biofilms are associated with periodontal inflammation and disease. Results are ex-pected to facilitate strategic development of formulations containing ACN or their metabolites for promoting oral health. nMonica Giusti, Mark Failla, and Purnima Kumar

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Converting flour mill byproducts into bioenergyClay Sneller, Horticulture and Crop ScienceHarold Keener, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Frederick C. Michel, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Wheat millfeed is the byproduct of milling wheat grain into flour for human consumption. In 2006, Ohio milled 1.5 million tons of wheat, producing 1.2 million tons of flour, and 400,000 tons of millfeed. This byproduct must be disposed of and is typically sold as livestock feed for a fraction of its production cost. The growth in the corn-based ethanol in-dustry has led to an 80% increase in the supply of distillers grain, a byproduct of ethanol manufacturing that competes with millfeed in the livestock feed market. Continued growth in the ethanol industry will keep a downward pres-sure on the market price of millfeed. Therefore, alternative uses of millfeed that could return value to the flour mill are needed.

Millfeed has implicit advantages as a feedstock: it has been gathered into a facility with extensive handling capabilities; it has been ground in the course of processing; and the enterprise that owns the material has substantial energy requirements. The principal limitation of millfeed is that minimal data exists on the composition of this raw material in its commercial form. The objective of this project was to determine the chemical composition of Ohio-produced millfeed and assess its potential as a source of biofuel.

Millfeed was obtained from three Ohio flour mills: two that mill soft wheat and one that mills hard wheat. Soft wheat is lighter and generally used for pastry applications, while hard wheat is more likely used for bread and pasta prod-ucts. The composition of millfeed from each of the mills was analyzed for water and mineral content; protein, starch, and arabinoxylan concentration; and amylase activity. There were clear differences between the millfeeds, most of which can be attributed to the natural differences be-tween soft and hard wheat.

The hard wheat millfeed had more starch and arabinoxylan than the soft wheat millfeed. Arabinoxylans are high water absorption, non-starch polysaccharides that have been an indirect target of this selection pressure. The higher starch is an advantage, but the higher arabinoxylan is not because it is a largely insoluble fiber and may require extra steps to hydrolyze into energy. The hard wheat millfeed also had less ferulic acid, suggesting that its arabinoxylan may have less cross-linking and may be easier to degrade than the arabinoxylan of soft wheat. The difference in arab-

inoxylan concentration between hard wheat millfeed and soft wheat millfeed may have significant implications for the feed value of the two types of byproducts.

In conclusion, millfeed from both hard and soft wheat has potential for use in biofuels. It would appear, based on the chemical analysis, that millfeed from hard and soft wheat may have to be treated differently to obtain maximum con-version to biofuels. The hard wheat millfeed may require additional treatment as the arabinoxylan does not hydro-lyze as easily as starch. Soft wheat millfeed is abundant in Ohio, and while it has lower starch than the hard wheat millfeed, it should be easier to hydrolyze the carbohydrates to ethanol. Thus millfeed from soft wheat may be a very useful source of feedstock for biofuels. n

Clay Sneller



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Matching and Industry Small Grant Competitions

The Matching and Industry Small Grant Competitions are specifically designed to develop partnerships with private industry and non-profit foundations. Industry Small Grants provide up to $6,000 from the SEEDS program while Matching Grants provide up to $50,000. Investigators are required to obtain at least a dollar-for-dollar match from industry for both of these competitions.

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SEEDS The OARDC Research Enhancement Competitive Grants Program Report of Progress for Calendar Year 2012

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Claudio Pasian

Testing organic fertilizers to grow ornamental bedding plants in soilless mixesINDUSTRYClaudio C. Pasian, Horticulture and Crop Science

There are very few organic floriculture products on the market, but some growers have begun to grow plants in more sustainable ways (e.g., rice hull containers versus plastic containers). The incorporation of organic fertiliz-ers in the growing process of greenhouse ornamental plants would represent another step toward sustainability. Unfortunately, while organic fertilizer research has been documented with field crops, little information exists for floriculture crops.

Organic fertilizers can be produced from a variety of animal byproducts such as manure, bones, blood, feathers, etc. Large amounts of animal byproducts have been an en-vironmental problem in Ohio for quite some time. How these byproducts are managed has a major impact on the environment. When materials are dispersed in fields and not properly managed, the potential of producing contam-

ination due to runoff increases. Reducing animal waste by transforming it into usable fertilizer will reduce the dispersal of these materials in the fields and, as a result, reduce the potential for contamination.

An important component for the introduction of these fer-tilizers is marketing: greenhouse growers will adopt them only if they are reassured that they perform as well as the mineral fertilizers currently being used. This project was designed to compare the performance of organic fertilizers against the performance of standard controlled release (mineral) products currently on the market.

Petunia plants were grown in 4.5 inch diameter plastic containers filled with a custom made (no fertilizer charge) Fafard 3B soilless growing mix. Three fertilizers were used in addition to a mineral fertilizer already in the market that served as a point of reference: Osmocote 15-9-12 controlled release fertilizer (CRF); Sustane 8-4-4, a fertil-izer produced from turkey litter; and Miracle Gro Organic Choice, a fertilizer produced from poultry litter and feathers meal.

Each fertilizer was applied to four groups of plants at four different rates ranging from 0.7 to 2.7 grams per container for CRF; 1.3 to 5.1 grams per container for Sustane; and 1.5 to 5.9 grams per container for Miracle Gro Organic Choice. The experiment was repeated twice, once in the spring and the other in the summer to evaluate differences in sea-sonal ambient temperatures on nutrient release rates.

The most important finding from this project is that the two organic fertilizers tested produced petunia plants of mar-ketable quality comparable to those grown with the mineral fertilizer already on the market.

Plant dry weights and the number of flowers of plants grown with the two organic fertilizers were similar to those of plants grown with the controlled release fertilizer. The same can be said regarding the amount of leaf chlorophyll and plant width.

The next step is to evaluate the use of these fertilizers with other floricultural crops (e.g., geraniums, begonias, impa-tiens, etc.) to verify the universality of these results and to make adjustments to the rate of application. n

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Rate and volume of abscisic acid to control vegetable transplant height INDUSTRYMark A. Bennett, Horticulture and Crop Science

One challenge in transplant production is when plants become too tall in the normal 5- to 8-week window prior to field establishment. Plants stretch and can become weak and leggy, especially during cloudy days and as a result of delayed transplanting in the spring due to inclement weath-er. Mechanical control measures such as physical brushing can reduce transplant height but can be time-consuming and need to be done several times a day for much of the production period. Brushing can also spread plant disease, and may physically damage certain vegetable species.

Plant growth regulators (PGRs) applied directly to plants may reduce plant height, leading to a healthier, stockier transplant. Currently, Sumagic is the only PGR labeled for use on solanaceous crops (e.g., potato, eggplant, pepper, tomato). Preliminary results of previous studies demonstrat-ed that ABA (abscisic acid) can reduce tomato transplant height up to 67% when directly applied to seedlings in plug trays. Control with this naturally occurring compound should help reduce vegetable transplant height without adverse effects on field survival or marketable yield. This method is less costly to transplant producers since only one application is needed rather than daily treatments for most of the production cycle as with mechanical control measures.

The objectives of this study were to test single applications of S-ABA to tomato transplants prior to field establishment; to control height; and to measure effects on field survival, crop growth, and final marketable yield. S-ABA was applied directly to transplants in plug trays using several different rates and spray volumes 4–5 weeks after seedling emer-gence until transplanting to the field was possible.

Plants were established in the field in two locations: the Waterman Agriculture and Natural Resources Laboratory (WANRL) in Columbus, Ohio; and the North Central Agricul-tural Research Station (NCARS) in Fremont, Ohio. All treat-ments were replicated 4 times and established into raised beds spaced 5 feet apart with an in-row plant spacing of 12 inches. Plant heights and visual color assessment of plants based on a 1–10 scale (1 = yellow; 10 = green) were record-ed prior to transplanting.

There were significant differences in plant height prior to S-ABA treatment and the time of transplant. Plant height

measurements at the time of transplanting showed that gains in plant height decreased linearly as the volume of S-ABA increased. There were not significant differences in plant height, plant survival, red fruit yields at harvest, or cull and average fruit weight. There were differences in green fruit yields, and the percent of red fruit was significantly lower with high concentrations of treatment at WANRL. Excessive rainfall affected both sites during the growing period. Yields of red and green fruit were very good, how-ever, for WANRL. They were only fair at NCARS.

The results show important trends and results based on rate plus volume decisions. Expanded research is recom-mended to better target recommendations to a broader range of tomato germplasm. In addition, future research should expand to include additional crop species (i.e., pep-pers, cucurbits) that also experience stretching prior to field establishment. n

Mark Bennett

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Determining the distribution of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in key vegetable and small fruit crops INDUSTRYJames R. Jasinski, Ohio State University ExtensionCeleste Welty, Entomology

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) is a relatively new invasive insect found in Ohio that has the potential to become a major pest on millions of acres of vegetables, tree fruits, small fruits and field crops. Controlling this stink bug will increase the need for insecticides that can upset current IPM programs. This insect is also known to invade buildings in the fall and has become a general nuisance to renters, homeowners and building managers. By under-standing the distribution and density of this pest across Ohio, we can better prepare growers and homeowners to recognize and manage BMSB.

To determine the spread of this insect, a statewide network of 30 field locations was developed to monitor for BMSB using a combination of pheromone (insect sex attractants) and blacklight traps. The pheromone trap network consist-ed of 25 field sites planted in tomato, sweet corn, pepper and brambles. In addition to the pheromone traps, there were five blacklight traps in the monitoring network set up at OARDC research stations in Fremont, South Charleston,

Piketon, Ohio State’s Waterman Farm in Columbus, and at the Meigs County Extension office in Racine. The pher-omone traps were checked weekly, and blacklight traps were monitored every 1–4 days by Extension educators and state specialists from mid-May through mid-October. To speed compilation of the data collected from the traps, a BMSB data entry website was developed by the Informa-tion Technology staff at OARDC and utilized by all mem-bers of the trapping network.

Across all 88 pheromone traps in the network, only 18 BMSBs were captured at two locations: 15 were trapped in a pepper field at Ohio State’s Waterman Farm; and 3 were trapped in a tomato field in Scioto County. One reason for low BMSB catches in the pheromone traps may have been improper lure formulation at the manufacturer. The blacklight trap at Ohio State’s Waterman Farm caught 148 BMSBs; no other blacklight traps captured any BMSBs.

No stink bug damaged fruits or vegetables were found at any of the locations outside of Columbus. Brown Marmorat-ed Stink Bugs were observed damaging soybean pods and seeds at Ohio State’s Waterman Farm. Apples inspect-ed from an orchard at Ohio State’s Waterman Farm had signs of severe stink bug injury, likely due to BMSB as well as two other species.

Overall, based on the number of BMSB trapped in 2011, this new pest posed only a small risk of damaging fruit and vegetable crops this season. The populations appear to be low in Ohio except for a hot spot around Columbus. There is no way to predict the threat level of this insect in 2012, but this team is pursuing funding to continue the monitor-ing network, using both pheromone and blacklight traps. In 2012, the team expects a trial on a limited basis of a new pheromone lure that is much more attractive to BMSB than the original lure. For renters, homeowners and building managers, the website developed to track invasions of this pest into dwellings will be monitored to achieve a better understanding of where this pest exists outside of crop-lands. n

James Jasinski and Celeste Welty

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Evaluation of seed and seedling treatments to control angular leaf spot in pumpkinINDUSTRYSally A. Miller, Plant PathologyJames R. Jasinski, Ohio State University Extension

Seed-borne bacterial diseases cause great losses in production of vegetable crops worldwide. These types of diseases have increased in Ohio and other states in recent years for several reasons: the increase in rain events that spread the bacteria during the growing season; the pro-duction of seedlings for transplant inside greenhouses with overhead irrigation and cramped, humid conditions that favor bacterial multiplication and dispersal; and the pro-duction of many vegetable seeds in rainy, humid tropical or subtropical environments.

Bacterial diseases are extremely difficult, if not impossi-ble, to manage under humid, rainy conditions once they become established. Therefore, it is critical that bacterial populations not be allowed to increase on seedlings and spread through a crop. The use of disease-free seed in combination with effective and timely foliage treatments and/or resistant cultivars where available is the best man-agement strategy at this time.

Angular leaf spot (ALS), caused by the bacterium Pseudo-monas syringae pv. lachrymans (Psl), is a seed-borne dis-ease that can occur on most cucurbits including cucumber, muskmelon, pumpkin and winter squash. The disease can affect all parts of the plant including the fruit. In 2009 and 2010, vegetable Extension specialists in Ohio observed an increase in the number of pumpkin fruits harvested with ALS symptoms. Lesions on the fruit were larger in size than typical ALS fruit lesions and were soft to the touch. Con-trolling the disease is difficult, especially since there are no ALS resistant pumpkin varieties available, and the efficacy of copper-based bactericides is inconsistent. The goal of this study was to address Ohio growers’ concerns about the observed increase of ALS-infected fruit and to identify seed and foliage treatments that can effectively control the development and spread of ALS in the field with the long-term outcome of reducing yield losses associated with this disease.

We found that none of the sanitizing treatments designed to kill the ALS bacteria on pumpkin seeds reduced seed germination in the absence of bacteria. Sanitization treatments included chlorine dioxide; KleenGrow; so-dium hypochlorite; Virkon; hydrochloric acid; hot water; and dry heat. Except for seedlings grown from chlorine

dioxide-treated seed, disease incidence was significantly lower in seedlings produced from treated seed compared to the non-treated-infested control seedlings. A field trial inoculated with Psl was conducted to test several foliage applications against ALS and was affected by the natural development of a different bacterial pathogen, Xanthomo-nas cucurbitae, which predominated by the end of the season. However, results indicating a significant reduction in disease in plants treated with the plant activator Actigard are promising for management of both diseases.

Work on the development and testing of sanitizing seed treatments, focusing on treatments that do not require liq-uid, such as dry heat, will be continued. Liquid treatments, while compatible with most organic production systems, are sometimes impractical for farmers who purchase seed pre-treated with various fungicides and/or insecticides. The ultimate goal will be to develop a process that is both prac-tical and effective for many vegetable crop growers. n

Sally Miller

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Developing parasitoid enhancement as a component of cole crop managementINDUSTRYCeleste Welty, Entomology

Cabbage and other cole crops (broccoli, kale, and related plants) are an important component of many vegetable farms in Ohio, with a gross value of over $8.5 million. Un-fortunately, they are often attacked by a variety of caterpil-lar pests that reduce the quality and yield of the crops. The most common species found are the diamondback moth and the imported cabbageworm. Populations of these pests in commercial cabbage fields are usually controlled by the spraying of insecticides, which can be detrimental to other beneficial insects. Caterpillars can be attacked by a variety of wasp parasitoids that develop inside the body of the caterpillar and eventually kill it. The parasitoids can aid in control of the caterpillars, but they often have a short life span due to a shortage of nectar, their main food source. They are also often killed by commonly harsh insecticides.

Using less harsh insecticides is one way of enhancing the parasitoid population. Another way is to plant strips of flowering plants within the field so that the parasitoids are able to find nectar easily and stay in the field longer, thus being able to parasitize more caterpillars. Sweet alyssum is an ideal plant for these insectary strips as it is inexpen-sive, easy to maintain, and flowers all summer long. To test these two ways of enhancing parasitoids, a field trial was

set up at three sites in Ohio. Two large plots of cabbage were planted at each site, one with alyssum floral strips and one without. Within each large plot, smaller subplots were treated with cyfluthrin (a harsh insecticide), Bt (a parasitoid-friendly biological insecticide), or nothing in the control subplots. Every week, caterpillars were counted to determine pest density in the field and collected to deter-mine the parasitism rate.

In a related assessment, ten commercial cabbage farms in northern Ohio were surveyed to determine what kinds of parasitoids were present. At each farm, plants were surveyed once per month. All caterpillars that were large enough to be parasitized were collected and held in the lab to see whether the parasitoid or the adult pest would emerge.

The field trial had some interesting results. In general, par-asitism was higher in plots bordered with alyssum insec-tary strips than in those with no alyssum strips. Caterpillar density was significantly higher in untreated subplots that lacked alyssum strips than in any other subplot. There were fewer caterpillars in the plot with alyssum strips than in the plot without the alyssum strips.

Parasitoids were found on most commercial farms, includ-ing farms where insecticides are frequently used. The para-sitoid community that attacked diamondback moth was composed of four species of wasps. Diadegma insulare was the most common species found. Imported cabbage-worm was parasitized by three species of wasp parasitoids and some hyperparasitoids.

The results of this work will be valuable to cabbage growers in Ohio, particularly growers on small or organic farms who are looking for a way to decrease their pesticide usage by increasing biological control. Many growers know about Bt, but most do not know about use of insectary strips. Since parasitoid populations are enhanced by the insectary strips, their use along with Bt should allow a level of control similar to that usually seen with harsher insec-ticides. Reduced use of harsher insecticides would also benefit the environment since there would be less danger-ous runoff from agricultural fields into the water system. n

Celeste Welty

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A pilot study of evening primrose oil and weight control related processesMATCHINGRobert DiSilvestro, Human Nutrition

Being overweight impacts health in major ways and is rampant in the United States. In fact, this situation can be considered the most important nutrition problem facing the country. Weight control aids, real and imagined, speed off the shelves as people search for a magic cure despite evi-dence that lifestyle changes remain the most effective ap-proach. Nonetheless, people with certain genetic makeups may have to overcome inherent barriers, and finding the means to make lifestyle changes more effective becomes critical. Intake of gamma linoleic acid (GLA), which is found in a few types of vegetable oil, is thought to provide one of those means.

This research project tested the following hypothesis in young adults with a personal and family history of being overweight: a six-week intake of high GLA evening primrose oil (EPO) impacts body processes relevant to weight loss. A secondary hypothesis was that EPO could affect some of the negative consequences of being overweight such as inflammation and abnormal blood lipid compositions. Lastly, the effects of EPO were compared to two other high GLA oils (borage oil and black currant seed oil).

One of the biggest problems faced by people with genetic tendencies toward obesity is a low resting metabolic rate (RMR), or number of calories burnt on an empty stom-

ach, for their weight. For many people with a genetically induced weight problem, a certain body chemical pathway behaves sluggishly, which in turn lowers RMR. This path-way seems to get sped up by a high GLA intake, but it has not been fully confirmed that RMR is actually affected. A high GLA intake may also be able to counteract less-than-ideal blood lipid compositions and higher-than-normal inflammation.

Unfortunately, none of the high GLA oils tested made any impact on RMR related measures.

On the other hand, EPO and borage oil had beneficial effects on the readings for two blood molecules thought to be related to risk of certain diseases. Also, EPO raised body levels of a molecule that fights inflammation.

These positive results of these GLA oils justify subsequent research. Combining GLA oils with other proven ingre-dients could magnify the results. This product could be turned into a drug, but could also be sold as a dietary sup-plement product. For this envisioned product, the oil could be spray dried into a powder that could be put in capsules. In summary, although the main project hypothesis was not confirmed, other results have opened up several new lines of highly important research. n

Robert DiSilvestro

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Production of an infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) vaccine for poultryMATCHINGDaral J. Jackwood, Food Animal Health Research Program

Ohio is the second-leading egg producing state in the United States and, according to the Ohio Poultry Associ-ation, has 30 million laying chickens that produce more than 8 billion eggs per year, a product valued at over $600 million. This growing industry is threatened by pathogenic strains of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), an immu-nosuppressive disease frequently found in Ohio layer and broiler flocks.

The poultry vaccine industry currently makes inactivated IBDV vaccines for administration to breeder chickens. The annual market value for these vaccines is approximately $15.8 million in broiler breeders and $1.6 million in layers. In addition to keeping poultry in the United States and Ohio healthy, the results of this project will improve profit margins for poultry vaccine companies, reduce the price

of inactivated IBDV vaccines, and pass some of these cost savings on to Ohio consumers.

The goal of this research was to create a less expensive source of high-quality antigens for use in inactivated IBDV vaccines. Vaccinating parent breeder flocks produces maternal immunity in the chicks and protects them from IBDV during the first few weeks of life. The vaccines are prepared in young chicks rather than eggs or cell cultures because the quality of the antigen is superior. Unfortu-nately, this is an expensive and time-consuming process. Animal use issues have also increased the risk of losing these high-quality antigens. Using inferior antigens could reduce the efficacy of these vaccines and thus increase IBDV related morbidity, mortality and the cost of poultry meat and egg production.

Producing high-quality IBDV antigens using molecular biology is one solution to this vaccine production problem. Baculovirus vectors containing genes that encode the important immunogenic proteins of IBDV were created and used to express these proteins in insect-cell cultures. When two proteins (pVP2 and VP3) were expressed together, virus-like particles (VLP) were produced. Immu-nization of chickens with the VLPs induced an immune response in chickens to IBDV.

Replacing a chick-propagated vaccine with a baculovi-rus expressed VLP vaccine is appealing to the industry because the antigens are high quality, the production costs are lower, and there are no animal use issues. The VLPs are also safe vaccines because they are not infectious and do not need to be inactivated. Incomplete inactivation of live IBDV for a vaccine places the birds at risk of getting the disease. The baculovirus expression system also pro-vides an opportunity to incorporate proteins from different antigenic types of IBDV into the same VLP, thus creating an authentic multivalent vaccine, which has eluded the vaccine industry until now.

The next phase of this research will be to vaccinate chick-ens with the multivalent IBDV vaccine and challenge them with virulent classic and variant IBDV to determine the proper vaccine dose and to evaluate the efficacy of this vaccine compared to conventional vaccines. n

Daral Jackwood

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Properties of natural fibers used for plastics reinforcementMATCHINGRobert C. Hansen, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering

With the global market for reinforced plastics currently at approximately $25 billion and growing by 5% per year, replacement of glass fibers with renewable non-bast fiber sources that can be grown in Ohio are of great interest to the industry. This research was designed to benefit Ohio’s agricultural sector by providing a market for new crops as well as aiding the industrial sector, where a pilot-scale manufacturing plant was installed in Wooster, Ohio.

The goal of this project was to optimize the performance and efficiency of fiber processing equipment (FPE) with regard to the quality, consistency and production rate of the fibrillation process. Bast fibers, such as kenaf and jute, have the potential to replace glass fibers for reinforcement of plastics and composites in a variety of industrial applica-tions. These fibers have similar strength characteristics and have the added benefits of being lighter, renewable, safer and less costly.

Non-bast materials were also studied as potential sources of fiber for compounding with plastic resins. These mate-rials are byproducts of major food and feed production systems grown in Ohio. Yields, annual production, avail-ability/sources and costs for corn stover, wheat straw, soy hulls, chicken feathers, switch grass and Miscanthus were summarized and recorded. Miscanthus and switch grass, currently evaluated as potential energy crops for Ohio, are not usually consumed by humans, making them more available for ethanol, biofuel and/or fiber production than food or feed crops.

For efficiency and availability, baled wheat straw was purchased and shredded in preparation for fibrillation. The shredded straw was then fibrillated into fine particles that were blended with plastic resin and turned into a com-pounded pellet. The output of the shredder was capable of being adjusted to match the flow rate of the FPE so contin-uous flow could be established. Uniform, fibrillated wheat straw products were consistently produced. Fiber fineness was measured and evaluated. Preliminary tests indicated wheat straw and soy hulls failed to add tensile strength to plastic composites.

Because organic materials release volatile solids at elevat-ed temperatures, their off gassing can interfere with the injection molding process as they are used to strengthen or reinforce plastic parts. Based on the results of thermal

gravimetric analysis (TGA), kenaf fibers, soybean hulls, corn stover, wheat straw and Miscanthus could all be incorporat-ed in a reinforced plastic composite. However, specifically selected resins compatible with the temperature range of the fiber would be required to avoid excessive off gassing.

When using natural fibers in place of fiberglass for rein-forcing plastic composites, the fibers must be dry in order to avoid so called “gassing events” during incorporation/extrusion processes. These gassing events lead to equip-ment malfunctions and stoppages. Based on thin-layer drying research results, an in-line, hot air dryer for drying microfibers was designed, built and directly coupled to compounding equipment. It has been proven to be very successful in producing and feeding dry material to the compounding equipment. n

Robert Hansen



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New Enterprise Competition

The New Enterprise Competition is designed to support the exploration of new enterprises and the elimination of barriers that constrain existing ones. New enterprises are considered to be crops, animals, products, goods and services that currently are not produced for biological, physical, cultural, processing, economic or social reasons. New Enterprise projects are funded for up to $50,000.

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“Greening the highways”—Sustainable tree plantings of grown tree linersNEW ENTERPRISEHannah M. Mathers, Horticulture & Crop Science

Trees provide maximum environmental benefits after age 20; however, the average urban tree life span is less than 10 years. In high-stress environments such as highway right-of-ways (ROWs), their life span is less than five years. Particularly high plant mortalities along Ohio and Ontario, Canada, highways have prompted research to improve production practices, pre- and post-plant methodologies, and species selection for increased ROW transplant surviv-al. With over 60 million acres of ROW land associated with U.S. highways and 13 million acres in Canada, promoting tree life to greater than 20 years is critical to diminishing combustion engine pollution and storm-water runoff while increasing carbon sequestration and storm-water quality. Sites in Toronto, Ontario, and Gahanna, Ohio, were chosen for this long-term study.

In 2009, trees were grown in 3-gallon containers. These containers were filled with 60% composted softwood bark, 30% peat, 10% compost and amended with 0, 1, or 2% GeoHumus by volume. GeoHumus is a new, patented material proven effective in reducing water stress in arid climates, biodegrades in 3–5 years, and absorbs 40 times its volume in water. Trees were grown in one of several locations: a polyhouse; field-grown, balled and burlapped; a retractable roof greenhouse (RRG); or a gutter vented-roof greenhouse (VRG). Planting occurred in June 2010.

Honeylocust, English Oak, Redbud and Hackberry trees from the RRG with 2% GeoHumus had the largest calipers and heights. The growth improvement with 2% GeoHumus for caliper and height of Redbud RRG trees continued for one year after transplanting to non-irrigated, plowed fields. Caliper growth and survival were also improved for one year after transplant with 2% GeoHumus amended Honeylocust VRG-grown trees. It is suspected that the 2% GeoHumus helped the smaller VRG trees survive and grow after transplanting; whereas, the GeoHumus benefits to RRG trees were undetectable aside from those provided by the RRG production itself. One year after Tree Lilac RRG trees in 1% GeoHumus were transplanted, they were 19% taller and 30% more likely to survive than those from outdoor-grown containers (OGC) or field production. This marked increase in survival was attributed to the RRG environment in production of the transplants and a marked increase in plant water use efficiency provided by the GeoHumus.

By fall 2011, trees grown in the polyhouse environment had the lowest survival rate (39.8%), over the six planting sites and 34 species in Toronto. Field-grown trees had a survival rate of 57.5%. The highest survival rates were trees from the RRG (68.2%) and VRG (66.1%). Based on these survival rates, it can be generalized that if RRG trees had been used instead of polyhouse trees, 1440 more trees would have survived; an additional 100.8 pounds of oxygen would have been generated; 8640 pounds of air pollutants (nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide) would have been mediated; and an additional 2880 pounds of carbon would have been sequestered in each year of 2011 and 2012. These differentials in environmental benefits grow exponentially as the size of the tree increases, especially in canopy cover.

Evaluations of trees at both sites will continue yearly until sites reach five years of age, then every five years until age 15. The Vineland Research and Innovation Center in Vineland, Ontario, has hired a scientist to continue further roadside plantings as a result of this research. Additional plantings were established in Gahanna in 2012 by Ohio State University researchers, and funding is currently being sought to support determinations of tree-roadside planting on reduction of highway run-off. n

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The Seed Grant Competition is designed to encourage new and innovative research and to generate the preliminary data needed for successful application to competitive external funding sources. Seed Grants are supported at a maximum level of $50,000.

Seed Grant Competition

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Gene discovery in bed bugsOmprakash Mittapalli, Entomology

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) are nocturnal, blood-feeding ectoparasites that preferentially feed on humans. Bed bug infestations pose grave economic concerns and quality-of-life issues for households, as infestations are rampant globally, nationally and locally. The control of these medicinally important insect pests in urban environments costs billions of dollars annually and typically requires the use of large quantities of pesticides/insecticides. Individuals who are allergic to bed bugs often experience itching and scratching, which favors secondary bacterial infections. Bed bug infestations also result in anxiety, insomnia or worsening of an existing mental health condition. However, the risk of transmission of human disease by C. lectularius is still not clear. These ectoparasites are an important public health issue affecting all socioeconomic classes.

Despite its high-impact status, little knowledge exists at the gene/genomic level for C. lectularius. This project sub-jected the C. lectularius transcriptome to deep gene-se-quencing in order to identify potential genes involved in pesticide resistance and to decipher global patterns of gene expression between pesticide-susceptible and pesti-cide-resistant populations.

Initially, using a method known as 454 pyrosequencing, we obtained a total of 35,646 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) or portions of genes. Nearly 86% of the C. lectularius sequences showed similarity to other insect sequences. However, about 45% did not reflect similarities, potential-ly indicating that these sequences are bed bug specific. Next, a RNA sequencing experiment to find differentially expressed genes between pesticide-resistant and pesti-cide-susceptible strains of C. lectularius was performed. Statistical analysis revealed approximately 15,000 genes to be significantly and differentially expressed between the resistant and susceptible populations. Within the top differentially expressed genes, several defense-relat-ed, such as cuticular proteins, cytochrome P450s, and antioxidant genes—all of which are important players of insecticide resistance mechanism such as penetration and metabolism—were recovered. Lastly, molecular modeling and docking of a candidate cytochrome P450 that was higher in expression in the insecticide resistant population, revealed the flexibility of the deduced protein to metabo-lize a broad range of insecticide/pesticides including DDT, deltamethrin, permethrin, and imidacloprid.

Significant molecular resources for the bed bug have been developed. This study represents the pioneering genome-level efforts undertaken by The Ohio State University and was published in the journal PLoS ONE in 2010. Future research is being targeted towards RNA interference (RNAi) on the identified metabolic targets such as cytochrome P450s and cuticular proteins. This could lay the foundation for a better understanding of the genetic basis of insecticide resistance in C. lectularius and poten-tially lead to newer control methods. n

Omprakash Mittapalli

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Identifying genes involved in regulating adventitious hairy root-formationChristopher Taylor, Plant Pathology

Like primary and lateral roots, adventitious roots help in water acquisition, mineral uptake, and anchorage of the plant to the ground. However, adventitious roots differ from primary and lateral roots in that they form from non-root tissues in response to injury, humidity or proximity to soil. The mechanisms that control adventitious root formation are relatively understudied. A soil-borne bacterial plant pathogen called Agrobacterium rhizogenes can induce the formation of transgenic adventitious roots (also known as hairy roots) due to a piece of bacterial DNA containing the genes necessary for adventitious root induction that is transferred (T-DNA) from the bacteria into a plant cell. For years, A. rhizogenes induced hairy roots have been used by researchers to study gene function in plants. Although widely used, virtually nothing is known about the mecha-nisms that lead to adventitious hairy root formation. The aim of this project was to determine what pathways in the plant are important for induction process of transgenic ad-ventitious roots. Knowledge gained from these studies will better help plant scientists understand the processes that regulate root formation.

Persistent efforts in the Taylor lab to understand the fun-damental process resulting in hairy root production using Arabidopsis, sweet potato and soybean model systems has led to the generation of promoter, gene silencing, and over-expression constructs for all T-DNA encoded genes in A. rhizogenes. These experiments have resulted in the identification of several root loci and open reading frame genes (rolC, rolA, rolB and orf13) that regulate the formation of hairy roots in plants. These genes share limited homol-ogy and are collectively called plast genes for their ability to alter plant plasticity (i.e., exhibit altered morphology). Arabidopsis plants over-expressing individual plast genes are dwarf, exhibit curled leaves, flower early, and are highly branched.

For many years, hairy root production was thought to be due to auxin (plant growth hormone) biosynthesis. How-ever, gene expression data generated in the Taylor lab suggest that auxin biosynthesis is not altered. What was observed instead was the alteration of the gene expres-sion for gibberellic acid (GA) metabolism and auxin trans-port proteins. Two genes associated with gibberellic acid (GA) metabolism were identified as being regulated in hairy roots; a down-regulated gene whose encoded protein is

involved in GA biosynthesis and an up-regulated gene that encodes a protein that deactivates GA. In Arabidopsis, loss of GA production or increasing GA degradation results in the formation of dwarf plants that exhibit alteration in root formation. Interestingly, auxin transport protein placement in plant membranes is also regulated in part by GA. Com-bined with the results of over-expression of plast genes, this suggests that GA is a major factor influencing adventi-tious hairy root formation.

The results provide insight into how a plant-interacting microbe can influence gene expression in the root and impact important root properties including root-growth and architecture, water and nutrient uptake, and root-biotic interactions. From the findings of this project, a testable model of how GA regulates adventitious hairy root forma-tion was developed. This model suggests that GA levels in hairy roots are reduced, resulting in regulation of auxin transport, which then leads to auxin-induced root forma-tion. Future research will test this model and characterize a potentially new developmental pathway that leads to adventitious root formation. n

Christopher Taylor

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Soy isoflavone absorption from bakery products Yael Vodovotz, Food Science and Technology

Obesity and diabetes often occur concurrently, and both conditions are major contributors to the chronic disease burden that faces the citizens of Ohio and the nation as a whole. There are important linkages between specific foods in the diet and factors that promote these chronic diseases. Properties of foods such as glycemic index (GI), energy density, and macronutrient content are important factors in the prevention or management of diabetes and in weight control. For example, frequent use of low GI foods improves overall blood glucose control in diabetes. Low GI foods may also be helpful in weight control by promot-ing satiety and enhancing fat oxidation at the expense of carbohydrate oxidation. Soy foods are of particular interest because they have the combined attributes of low GI, low energy density, high dietary fiber, and high protein content.

The long-term goal of this project was to develop new dietary strategies for the maintenance of healthy blood glu-cose levels, especially with regard to diabetes and pre-dia-betes. This was studied by exploring how the consumption of a soy-enhanced soft pretzel affected blood glucose levels and insulin responses. It also explored the pretzel’s effect on satiety, or feeling of fullness.

Approximately 50 participants were asked to evaluate the overall acceptability of both a wheat pretzel and a soy pretzel. They then consumed one of the two after an overnight fast. They reported their level of satiety immediately after they ate the pretzel and 30 minutes, 1 hour, and 2 hours later. During the 2-hour period they were not allowed to eat or drink anything besides water.

Twelve participants were recruited for the glycemic index and insulin index studies. After an overnight fast, partici-pants consumed either a glucose drink, white bread, a soy pretzel, or a wheat pretzel (all totaling 50g carbohydrates). The glucose drink was consumed three times and the solid samples were all consumed once. Blood samples were drawn immediately before consumption and after con-sumption at regular intervals over the next 2 hours.

Results indicated that short-term satiety and sensory acceptability were high for both wheat and soy pretzels, but no statistical difference was found. This suggested that the soy pretzel was as acceptable as a wheat counterpart, and that the individuals consuming these products felt the same degree of fullness from both varieties. Glycemic index was found to be significantly lower for the soy pretzel as compared to the wheat pretzel, although insulin values were not statistically different for the two products. A lower glycemic index may significantly contribute to weight con-trol and decrease in diabetes.

This preliminary clinical trial demonstrated great potential for transforming snack foods into health-promoting alter-natives. Future goals will be to lower the soy-enriched pretzel’s glycemic index and to optimize its quality by adding healthy fats such as olive oil or monounsaturated fats. The addition of fats will not only improve mouthfeel, but also potentially improve texture during reheating in the microwave from the frozen state. Additionally, the type of fat added will be analyzed for its impact on the availability of phystochemicals found in soy, namely the isoflavones, through in-vitro digestion. n

Yael Vodovotz

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A virus-induced gene silencing vector for model plant ArabidopsisFeng Qu, Plant Pathology

Arabidopsis is a fast-growing model plant that has served as the key platform for the dissection of thousands of genes with essential functions in the processes of plant reproduction, development, photosynthesis, and defense against pathogens and pests. Knowledge gained from Arabidopsis research has already made tremendous contributions to our understanding of the biology of crop plants and allowed for improvements such as higher yields and better resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. However, the functions of thousands more Arabidopsis genes remain to be explained, partly due to the lack of a fast, high-throughput tool to knock down the expression of these genes. The goal of this project was to develop such

a tool so that the function of other unknown Arabidopsis genes can be investigated.

Arabidopsis genes can be made nonfunctional (knocked down) by disrupting their coding sequences. This is often accomplished by inserting non-plant DNA segments into the genes. However, it is not yet possible to focus the insertion in a specific gene-of-interest. Another drawback of this procedure is that it cannot reveal genes that are essential for the early development of plant embryos as insertions into such genes will lead to the death of the em-bryo, making it impossible to recover viable mutant plants for evaluation. Finally, this procedure also cannot identify genes whose functions could be complemented by other homologous genes, a phenomenon commonly referred to as functional redundancy.

Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) achieves the knock-down of plant genes using modified viruses that carry a segment of the gene-of-interest that would then trigger the silencing against the target gene. VIGS overcomes the drawbacks of insertion mutagenesis and holds great prom-ise as a high-throughput genomics tool.

This project was focused on developing Turnip crinkle virus (TCV), a small RNA virus that infects Arabidopsis, into a versatile VIGS vector. The advantage of this virus is that the infection can be easily initiated by rubbing in vitro transcribed infectious RNA onto the Arabidopsis leaves. Furthermore, a 5-prime end cap is not needed for TCV infectious RNA, thus greatly reducing the cost of inoculum production.

Results revealed that TCV, with slight modifications inside the coat protein (CP) gene, can be developed into a robust VIGS vector by placing the fragments of plant genes within the 3-prime untranslated region (UTR). It has been demon-strated for the first time that TCV-based VIGS requires a mere 21 nucleotide insert to achieve knock-down of an Arabidopsis gene. This opens up the possibility for inves-tigating the functions of all Arabidopsis genes by simply incorporating a short nucleotide into TCV, a process that is easily scaled up for high-throughput use.

Future research will further fine-tune the vector and devel-op a VIGS library. There is also a possibility of developing similar vectors for use with other crop plants. n

Feng Qu

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Development of an efficient method of Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression in soybean (Glycine max)Leah McHale, Horticulture and Crop Science

As a $27 billion crop in the United States, and a $1.5 billion crop in Ohio, soybean is economically important. More than half of soybean losses are the result of patho-gens that are the agents of root and stem rot. Pathogens secrete proteins whose primary function is to suppress plant defense. As a counter-measure, plants have evolved receptor proteins that recognize the pathogens and signal the plant defense, resulting in resistance. Understanding these pathogen interacting proteins can aid in predicting which resistances will be durable, and which will easily be overcome by the pathogen.

The development of a system for the transient (non-her-itable, short-term) expression of full length genes could be a powerful tool for the rapid analysis of gene function in soybean. Infiltration of A. tumefaciens, a bacteria with the ability to transfer DNA into plant cells, is routinely used for rapid analysis of gene function in a number of plant species including switchgrass, lettuce, tomato, grapevine, tobacco, and the model plant Arabidopsis. However, previ-ous attempts at infiltration with A. tumefaciens in soybean have been inefficient and unsuccessful.

The goal of this research was to develop a robust system for the transient expression of individual foreign genes

within soybean. This will be used to evaluate the ability of soybean cultivars to recognize individually expressed pathogen proteins. Towards this goal, researchers sys-tematically varied and combined additives and techniques including application of surfactants; application of reducing agents; infiltration with different strains of A. tumefaciens; and micro-wounding of soybean tissue by applying sound energy (sonication). The result was the development of an efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression system for soybean.

The optimized method utilizes a reducing agent in combi-nation applications of sonication and vacuum to seedlings submerged in cultures of A. tumefaciens. This system re-sulted in a 127-fold increase in the area of the soybean leaf expressing a reporter gene (β-glucuronidase). Our next step is to use this system to screen cultivars for their ability to recognize individually expressed pathogen proteins and mount a defense response. This research may lead to im-proved methods of breeding for resistance to pathogens, understanding the mechanisms of resistance, and predict-ing the durability of resistance. n

Leah McHale

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Examination of estrogen-responsive proteins in bovine mammary gland: Potential impacts on developmentKristy Daniels, Animal Sciences

In 2008, the estimated economic impact of Ohio’s dairy in-dustry was $5.9 billion and includes almost 300,000 cows living on over 3,000 farms across the state. Milk production depends on the udder, which grows and develops in dis-tinct stages as animals age, become pregnant, give birth, and begin lactating. There is a direct correlation between mammary cell numbers and milk yield. Thus, any factor that promotes mammary epithelial growth in young dairy heif-ers can be assumed to have an impact on milk production once the animal reaches lactation.

This study investigated known and suspected estrogen-re-sponsive proteins and their impact on developing bovine mammary tissue. Mammary glands are composed of two tissue types: secretory parenchyma (PAR) and non-secreto-ry stroma. The amount of PAR is positively correlated with milk production, and growth of PAR is estrogen-depen-dent.

Estrogen signaling in PAR from dairy heifers was more fully characterized using an ovariectomy (OVX) model. Estrogen regulates bovine mammary growth and development and acts mainly through estrogen receptors (ER), specifically ERα, to regulate estrogen-responsive genes. One such gene, CREB1, has recently been identified but not charac-terized in bovine mammary tissue. The CREB1 gene codes for cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB). OVX of prepubescent heifers inhibits mammary development while causing an increase in ERα-positive cells. It also increases the abundance of myoepithelial cells, which are identifiable by staining for ERα-smooth muscle actin (SMA).

This work was largely based on immunohistochemistry, a technique that uses antibodies to stain tissue for specif-ic proteins of interest, which can then be visualized on a microscope. Contrary to expectations, the abundance of CREB in bovine mammary PAR was not influenced by ovar-ian status. The abundance of CREB in bovine mammary PAR was not influenced by exogenous estrogen treatment. This too was contrary to our expectations.

CREB was more abundant in the luminal and embedded layer as compared to the basal layer, demonstrating a difference in spatial localization of CREB within PAR. Also, as expected, ERα was present almost exclusively in the lu-minal and embedded cell layer in animals not receiving es-trogen treatment and not present in animals that received exogenous estrogen. SMA was present almost entirely in

the basal layer. CREB occurs in the same cell as ERα, but not 100% of the time. Colocalization of CREB and SMA was not determined.

While CREB has previously been identified as being estrogen-responsive at the transcript level, the results of this project indicate that tissue abundance of CREB protein does not show the same pattern. Additional post- transcrip-tional, translational, or post-translational modifications may account for this discrepancy. It has been previously shown that estrogen-responsive genes and their proteins do not always follow the same pattern. Although not elucidated here, CREB may still play a key role in signaling pathways that influence development of the bovine mammary gland because it was constitutively present in all treatment groups examined. n

Kristy Daniels



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The Director’s Undergraduate Research Competitive Grants Program, funded to a maximum of $3,300 per award, provides undergraduate students with a professional grant-writing, research and reporting experience. Projects are designed, submitted for review and carried out with a faculty mentor. Once a project is completed, students take an independent study class to write their research report in the form of a scientific journal article, using their faculty advisor as an editor. Some of these reports get published, and many students present their research at professional meetings and competitions.

The Graduate Research Competitive Grants Program offers two categories of funding. Doctoral students may receive up to $5,000 per award, and master’s students up to $3,000 per award. Graduate students who receive awards are asked to serve on a panel to review applications in the following year’s competition. This experience provides students with the opportunity to develop their skills in grant-writing and reviewing—skills that are essential to their careers.

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Molecular markers for breeding of resistance to Phytophthora sojae in soybean UNDERGRADUATERhiannon Schneider, Horticulture and Crop ScienceLeah McHale (Advisor), Horticulture and Crop Science

One of the most destructive diseases of soybean is Phytophthora root and stem rot caused by Phytopthora sojae, which thrives in wet conditions and poorly drained soils. P. sojae has been successfully controlled by genet-ic resistance in soybean cultivars, known as Rps genes. This resistance is critical to Ohio agriculture because of the soybean’s importance as an export, animal feed and industrial product. Current breeding methods for selecting P. sojae resistant soybean lines involves time-consuming disease assays and requires a large amount of seed and space. Disease assays are very labor intensive and can only evaluate a small number of soybean lines at a time. Alternatively, molecular markers can be applied to a single plant from large numbers of breeding lines. This project was designed to develop a molecular marker for selection of resistance to P. sojae.

A single class of resistant genes, known as nucleotide binding site–leucine rich repeat (NBS–LRR) encoding genes, are frequently responsible for dominant race-specific resistance. NBS–LRR proteins are one of the largest plant protein families, and play a role in the plant’s defense against pathogens.

In order to develop these molecular markers, the project identified differences in the DNA sequence of NBS–LRR encoding genes. Several DNA differences identified in the NBS–LRR encoding sequences Glyma13g25420 and Glyma13g26420 were correlated with a specific Rps gene. These SNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms) are poten-tially useful markers for distinguishing resistant lines from susceptible lines for a specific Rps gene.

In addition, sequences from the eight previously known and tightly linked molecular markers were analyzed. None of the DNA sequence differences in these molecular mark-ers distinguish the resistance and susceptible phenotypes, indicating that they would not be useful as diagnostic markers.

Once candidate markers have been determined to be diagnostic, they can be implemented in soybean breeding programs. This is a benefit to agriculture and the soybean industry because it is improving the efficiency of the breed-ing program by screening a large number of F2 individuals and selecting for only the homozygous resistant lines to

advance to yield trials. In addition, molecular markers can also screen for multiple Rps genes, allowing these genes to be combined for more durable resistance.

The accomplishments from this research project will allow more resistant soybean lines to be developed in a shorter period of time and provide soybean farmers with newly developed, resistant soybean varieties. In addition, these varieties can provide a more durable resistance against virulent P. sojae strains for many years. Overall, this can prevent devastating yield loss for soybean farmers and increase soybean production for industry. n

Rhiannon Schneider

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Comparing personal and social discount ratesDOCTORALGregory Howard, Agricultural, Environmental and Development EconomicsBrian E. Roe (Advisor), Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) has been influential in determining government regulatory policy for at least the last 30 years. The goal of CBA is for the benefit to society to outweigh the cost. When conducting CBA, the discount rate, which determines how one should currently value costs and benefits that occur in the future, is of critical importance. This is especially true when costs and benefits accrue over long time horizons, a common feature of many environmental policies and regulations. Such policies often incur costs today in order to provide benefits or avoid damages over a long period. Examples of environmental policies with these qualities include carbon mitigation, biodiversity protection, agricultural land use decisions, and investment in water management.

This project asked a simple question: Do individuals apply different discount rates to different kinds of benefits? To explore this question, lab experiments were conducted in which subjects were asked questions to determine discount rates for two different payment types: one payment directly to the subjects, and one anonymous donation to charity. The goal was to determine whether people discount money that they receive personally differently than money that benefits society in general.

The expectation was that social payments would have slightly lower discount rates, meaning individuals are more willing to delay benefits with social projects than with their own personal finances. For example, an individual is likely to reject delaying a personal payment for ten years unless the size of the payment increases substantially, while individuals may be willing to delay payment or benefits that accrue to society in general for ten years in exchange for more modest payment increases. The data received supported this hypothesis, with discount rates for charitable donations being 20–40% lower than discount rates for personal payments.

This result has relevance to public policy decisions, both in Ohio and elsewhere. Environmental policies tend to improve quality of life for most or all members of society. Improvements in air quality are a good example. These projects are currently discounted using rates that relate to how individuals discount their own money. This research showed that, in practice, people tend to discount their own money at higher rates than money that benefits others or society in general. This result suggested that a lower discount rate should be used to evaluate environmental programs, which would make the adoption of these programs more appealing.

This research will be continued through experiments that take a closer look at the general differences found in this first round. Will people discount money and gift cards at different rates? How do people discount money that goes to a friend or to a fellow subject in the experiment? A plan will be developed to provide a better understanding for why people may be discounting different benefits at different rates. Is this a case of people acting irrationally, or are there valid reasons behind this behavior? n

Gregory Howard

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Towards a better understanding of microbial growth efficiency to improve efficiency of livestock feed useDOCTORALTimothy Hackmann, Animal SciencesJeffrey L. Firkins (Advisor), Animal Sciences

Cattle production is a keystone of Ohio’s economy and generates $1.37 billion in gross income from milk and beef. However, production also draws public scrutiny because of the releasing of nitrogen into the environment. Cattle ex-crete more than 0.1 kilogram of nitrogen for every kilogram of protein they are fed. Dairy cattle in the United States alone excrete 790,000 metric tons of nitrogen annually. This nitrogen poses an environmental concern, accounting for two-thirds of the total of industrially produced NO₂ (a potent greenhouse gas) and NO₃ (which lowers atmospher-ic visibility among other concerns).

Reducing the amount of protein fed to cattle would help reduce the amount of nitrogen excreted into the environ-ment and lower feed costs for livestock producers. Protein in feed is expensive; high-quality protein sources such as blood meal and meat and bone meal can cost more than double the price of low-protein sources, such as corn.

Cattle are unique in that more than half of the protein they digest is not directly from feed but from protein-rich microbes growing in their rumen (forestomach). This project aimed to better understand the efficiency with which these microbes grow and thus produce protein available for digestion. Microbes do not grow with perfect energetic efficiency. Instead, they direct some energy for maintain-ing their cells (maintenance) and waste some energy by producing heat (energy spilling). Microbes also direct some energy towards storage, which, unlike energy for mainte-nance and energy spilling, can be used later for growth. By diverting energy from growth, maintenance and energy spilling reduce efficiency of microbial growth, decrease microbial protein available to cattle, and require more protein to be provided through feed. Though important, maintenance and energy spilling have been measured in only bacterial microbes, but not in another abundant group: protozoa. This project focused on maintenance and energy spilling in protozoa, mixed populations of microbes with protozoa, and mixed populations without protozoa.

Based on results, maintenance of protozoa appeared much lower than expected from bacterial studies. Using energy for maintenance releases heat, and slowly growing proto-zoa produced less heat (2-fold less) than expected if they had maintenance similar to bacteria. Another key finding was that mixed populations of microbes can spill energy, but they spill less than some bacteria. When dosed with a large amount of energy (glucose), mixed microbes first direct no energy towards spilling, but rather direct it entire-ly for maintenance and storing energy as carbohydrates (glycogen). Only later do they produce heat not related to maintenance or storage, indicating they can spill some energy.

Experiments measuring the maintenance of rumen proto-zoa have focused only on slowly growing cultures. For a more rigorous estimate of maintenance, further research will focus on fast-growing cultures. Further, energy spilling experiments have focused only on mixed rumen microbes with protozoa and will need to incorporate protozoa alone and mixed rumen microbes without protozoa. n



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Sharing knowledge through publications and professional meetings is an important part of research, as is training graduate students for careers in research. Using data from SEEDS projects, OARDC scientists have reported the publications of 782 peer-reviewed articles, bulletins, abstracts, and popular press articles. More than 1,393 presentations have been made in locations throughout the world. A total of 141 graduate students have been supported on SEEDS projects, thus being provided with the skills needed to move forward with scientific research in the future.

Publications, Presentations and Graduate Students

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Presentations, Posters, Conference ProceedingsAhn-Jarvis, J., Frank, S., Schwartz, S., Vodovotz, Y. A rheological study of amorphous functional confections constructs in synthetic saliva. International Symposium on Food Rheology and Structure. Louserne, Switzerland. 2009.

Andrews, J., Lyvers Peffer, P. Real Time RT-PCR Analy-sis of Glucose Utilization Enzymes in Skeletal Muscle of Preterm vs. Full Term Neonates. CFAES Undergraduate Research Forum. Columbus, OH. April 25, 2012.

Andrews, J., Lyvers Peffer, P. Real Time RT-PCR Analy-sis of Glucose Utilization Enzymes in Skeletal Muscle of Preterm vs. Full Term Neonates. Denman Undergraduate Research Forum. Columbus, OH. May 9, 2012.

Boesche, K.E., Capuco, A.V., Daniels, K.M. Effects of Ovarian Status and Estrogen Treatment on the Distribution of cAMP Response Element-Binding Protein in Developing Bovine Mammary Gland. MS Defense Seminar. Wooster, OH. August 9, 2011.

Daniel, K., Mathers, H. Liner production. 3rd Joint VRIC, U of G and Landscape Ontario Research Day. Vineland, Ontario, Canada. September 16, 2010.

Echaiz, C., Doohan, D. Brambles sensitivity to herbicides and weed control response to applications made at trans-plant. XX Latin American Weed Science Society. Via del Mar, Chile. December 9, 2012.

Fisher, E.L., Ahn-Jarvis, J., Uhrig, L., Vodovotz, Y., Schwartz, S.J., Clinton, S.K., Weghorst. C.M. The use of functional confections in promoting oral health in men and women. The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Annual Meeting. Columbus, OH. 2011.

Fisher, E.L., Ahn-Jarvis, J., Vodovotz, Y. Physicochemical characterization and in vitro and in vivo dissolution of a functional fruit confection. Russell Klein Memorial Nutrition Research Symposium. Columbus, OH. 2011.

Jasinski, J., Welty, C. Is Ohio the Gateway for Brown Mar-morated Stink Bug into the North Central Region? North Central Branch of the Entomological Society of America. Lincoln, NE. June 5, 2012.

Linkous, E., Welty, C. Developing parasitoid enhancement as a component of cole crop management. Entomological Society of America. Reno, NV. November 12, 2011.

Mamidala, P., Jones S.J., Mittapalli, O. Functional Ge-nomics of the bed bugs: An update. Annual Entomological Society of America. Reno, NV. November 12–16, 2011.

Mathers, H. Greening the Highway. Iowa State University Shade Tree Short Course. Ames, IA. February 26, 2012.

Mathers, H. Restoring the woodlands into the urban land-scapes. Sustainable Landscapes, Cincinnati Zoo. Cincinna-ti, OH. February 29, 2012.

Mathers, H. Shocked or Not. Michigan Nursery and Land-scape Association Urban Tree Survival Workshop. East Lansing, MI. March 13, 2012.

Mathers, H. The First Years. Landscape Alberta Nursery Trades Association. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 2010.

Mathers, H. Tree Liner Production for Transplant Survival. Landscape Ontario Growers Meeting. Oakville, Ontario, Canada. November 21, 2009.

Mathers, H. What the World Needs Now: Urban Tree Sur-vival. Summit County Workshop. Richfield, OH. March 26, 2011.

Mathers, H.M., Bigger. M. What the World Needs Now: Urban Tree Survival. Great Lakes Trade Exposition. Grand Rapids, MI. January 9, 2012.

Miller, S.A. 2011. Managing bacterial diseases of vine crops. Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo Summaries. 2011.

Mittapalli, O., Mamidala, P., Jones, S.J. Transcriptomics of the bed bug. Annual Entomological Society of America. Reno, NV. November 12–16, 2011.

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Rivera, D., Mathers, H. Development of a double crop production system using retractable roof houses. 2nd Joint VRIC, U of G and Landscape Ontario Research Day. Vine-land, Ontario, Canada. October 1, 2009.

Sherwood, P., Bonello, P. Austrian pine phenolics, likely contributors to systemically induced resistance in Austri-an pine. APS North Central Division Annual Conference. Wooster, OH. June 13–15, 2012.

Sherwood, P., Bonello, P. Austrian pine phenolics, likely contributors to systemically induced resistance in Austrian pine. Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Annual Research Conference. Wooster, OH. April 26, 2012.

Sherwood, P., Bonello, P. Testing the growth/differentiation balance and systemic induced resistance hypotheses in Austrian pine. 4th International Ecosummit. Columbus, OH. September 30–October 5, 2012.

Sherwood, P., Gargrave, J., and Bonello, P. Characterizing the induced defense response in Austrian pine to fungal pathogen Diplodia pinea. Center for Microbial Interface Biology Research Retreat. Columbus, OH. September 2011.

Simmons, A. The effect of soy addition on the satiety, gly-cemic index, and insulinemic index of a soft pretzel. Hayes Graduate Forum. Columbus, OH. 2011.

Simmons, A., Miller, C.K., Vodovotz, Y. A new twist on low glycemic index snack foods. American Association of Cereal Chemists International Annual Meeting. Savannah, GA. 2010.

Simmons, A. and Vodovotz, Y. Addition of soy increases soft pretzel dough stability during frozen storage. The Rus-sell Klein Symposium. Columbus, OH. 2009.

Simmons, A. and Vodovotz, Y. The assessment of water mobility in soy-based bread dough by Magnetic Reso-nance Imaging (MRI). American Association of Cereal Chemists International Annual Meeting. Palm Springs, CA. 2011.

Abstracts Bigger, M., Mathers, H., Sage, L. 2011. Greening the highways: Out-plant survival of deciduous trees in stressful environments. ASHS Annual Meeting. HortScience. 46(9): 265–266.

Gordon, P., Mathers, H. 2011. Technologies to shorten tree whip production time in Ohio. ASHS Annual Meeting. Hort-Science. 46(9): 323.

Jackwood, D.J. 2012. Production and use of a multivalent vaccine for infectious bursal disease using virus-like parti-cles. Abstract 149th AVMA meeting. 12616.

Mathers, H., Gordon, P. 2010. Technology for improved tree liner production in Ontario, Canada. ASHS Annual Meeting. HortScience. 45(8): 234.

Qu, F. et al. 2010. The capsid protein of Turnip crinkle virus overcomes two separate defense barriers to facilitate viral systemic movement in Arabidopsis. Scientific Programs and Abstracts of American Society for Virology 29th Annu-al Meeting. 55: W11-6.

Rivera, D., Mathers, H. 2010. Using retractable roof green-houses and pot-in-pot systems for the development of double cropped tree liners. ASHS Annual Meeting. Hort-Science. 45(8): 273.

Rivera, D., Mathers, H., Case, L. 2009. Development of a double crop production system using retractable roof houses. ASHS Annual Meeting. HortScience. 44 (4): 1564.

Bulletin or Technical ReportMathers, H., Bigger, M. 2011. Greening the highways: Out-plant survival of deciduous trees in stressful environments. Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. Yearly Research Summary.

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Mathers, H., Gordon, P. 2011. Midwestern tree liner pro-duction with technologies new to the nursery industry. Yearly Research Summary.

Mathers, H., Sage, L., Bigger, M., Case, L. 2010. Greening the highways: Increasing survival of out-planted trees in stressful environments. Yearly Research Summary.

Rivera, D., Mathers, H. 2009. Development of a RRG dou-ble crop production system and GeoHumus amendments. Yearly Research Summary.

Rivera, D., Mathers, H. 2010. Double crop system for tree liners using retractable roof greenhouses. Yearly Research Summary.

Article Peer ReviewedBai, X., Mamidala, P., Rajarapu, S.P., Jones, S.C., Mittapal-li, O. 2011. Transcriptomics of the bed bug (Cimex lectulari-us). PLoS ONE. 6: e16336.

Cao, M., Ye, X., Willie, K., Lin, J., Zhang, X., Redinbaugh, M.G., Simon, A.E., Morris, T.J., and Qu, F. 2010. The cap-sid protein of Turnip crinkle virus overcomes two separate defense barriers to facilitate viral systemic movement in Arabidopsis. Journal of Virology. 84: 7793–7802.

Eroglu, A., Hruszkewycz, D.P., Curley, R.W., Harrison, E.H. 2010. The eccentric cleavage product of carotene, β-apo-13-carotenone, functions as an antagonist of RXRα. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 504: 11–16.

Eroglu, A., Hruszkewycz, D.P., dela Sena, C., Narayana-samy, S., Riedl, K.M., Kopec, R.E., Schwartz, S.J., Curley, R.W. and Harrison, E.H. 2012. Naturally-occurring eccentric cleavage products of provitamin A β-carotene function as antagonists of retinoic acid receptors. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 287: 15886–15895.

Fleshman, M.K., Lester, G.E., Riedl, K.M., Kopec, R.E., Narayanasamy, S., Curley, R.W., Schwartz, S.J., Harrison, E.H. 2011. Carotene and novel apocarotenoid concentra-tions in orange-fleshed Cucmis melo melons: Determi-nations of β-carotene bioaccessibility and bioavailability. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 59: 4448–4454.

Fleshman, M.K., Riedl, K.M., Novotny, J.A., Schwartz, S.J., Harrison, E.H. 2012. An LC/MS method for d8-β-carotene and d4-retinyl esters useful in studies of β-carotene ab-sorption and its conversion to vitamin A in humans. Journal of Lipid Research. 53: 820–827.

Jackwood, D.J. 2013. Multivalent virus-like-particle vac-cine protects against classic and variant infectious bursal disease viruses. Avian Diseases.57: 41–50.

Kopec, R.E., Riedl, K.M., Harrison, E.H., Curley, R.W., Hruszkewycz, D.P., Clinton, S.K., Schwartz, S.J. 2010. Identification and Quantification of Apo-lyopenals in Fruits, Vegetables, and Human Plasma. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 58: 3290–3296.

Mamidala, P., Wijeratne, A.J., Wijeratne, S., Kornacker, K., Sudhamalla, B., Rivera-Vega, L.J., Hoelmer, A., Meulia, T., Jones, S.C., Mittapalli, O. 2012. RNA-Seq and molecular docking reveal multi-level pesticide resistance in the bed bug. BMC Genomics. 13: 6.

Marsh, R.S., Yan, Y., Reed, V.M., Hruszkewycz, D., Curley, R.W., Harrison, E.H. 2010. Apocarotenoids do not signifi-cantly activate retinoic acid receptors α or β. Experimental Biology and Medicine. 235: 342–348.

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Mathers, H.M, Case, L.T, Struve, D.K., Riversa, D., Sven-son, S.F., Zondag, R. 2010. Growth acceleration and increased outplant survival of Ontario and Ohio tree liners. Acta Horticulturae. 880: 243–252.

Qu, F. 2010. Antiviral role of plant-encoded RNA-depen-dent RNA polymerases revisited with deep sequencing of small interfering RNAs of virus origin. Molecular Plant-Mi-crobe Interaction. 23:1248–1252.

Qu, F. 2010. Plant viruses versus RNAi: Simple pathogens reveal complex insights on plant anti-microbial defense. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: RNA. 1: 22–33.

Shmarakov, I., Fleshman, M.K., D’Ambrosio, D.N., Piant-edosi, R., Riedl, K.M., Schwartz, S.J., Curley, R.W., von Lintig, J., Rubin, L.P., Harrison, E.H., Blaner, W.S. 2010. Hepatic stellate cells are an important cellular site for β-car-otene conversion to retinoid. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 504: 3–10.

Simmons, A.L, Miller, C.K., Clinton, S.K., Vodovotz, Y. 2011. A comparison of satiety, glycemic index, and insulin-emic index of wheat-derived soft pretzels with or without soy. Food and Function. 2: 678–683.

Simmons, A.L., Smith, K., Vodovotz, Y. 2012. Soy ingredi-ents stabilize bread dough during frozen storage. Journal of Cereal Science. 56: 232–238.

Simmons, A.L., Vodovotz, Y. 2012. The effects of soy on freezable bread dough: A magnetic resonance study. Food Chemistry. 135: 659–664.

Graduate StudentsBoesche, K.E. Masters. Unique Aspects of Mammary Growth and Development in Dairy Heifers and Ewe Lambs. Summer 2011.

Fisher, E. Masters. Physicochemical Characterization of a Novel Strawberry Confection for Delivery of Fruit Bioac-tives to Human Oral Mucosa. Fall 2011.

Simmons, A. PhD. The Functional and Nutritional Benefits of Soy in Snack Foods. Summer 2012.

Singh, J. Masters. Molecular interactions between silenc-ing pathway components. Spring 2012.

Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center

1680 Madison AvenueWooster, Ohio 44691

115 Agricultural Administration Building 2120 Fyffe Road

Columbus, Ohio 43210

http://www.oardc.osu.edu/seeds

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