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Ohio University Department of Environmental and Plant Biology Newsletter 2014
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environmental and plant biology today / 2014
02 F a l l
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I S S U E environmental and plant biology today for alumni and friends of the department of environmental and plant biology at ohio university
this issue
Report from the Chair P.2
Faculty / Postdoc / Staff / News P.3
Student News P.16
Student Internships P.20
Department Highlights P.22
Department Outreach P.31
Department Facilities P.33
Publications / Grants / Honors P.35
THE DEPARTMENT ENHANCES
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
with internship program:
Students gain hands-on experience while
interning at top field sites.
Taylor Macy, The Wilds, Cumberland, OH
Garrett Shull, Franklin Park Conservatory, Columbus, OH
Evan Apt, Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Coral Gables, FL
Chris Benson, US National Arboretum, DC
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Dear Alumni and Friends,
The department of Environmental and Plant Biology (PBIO as we call ourselves) has had many changes and much
good news this year to share with you. My goal here is just to highlight a few of the many accomplishments that you
will read about further in this newsletter.
Changes – First, Dr. Brian McCarthy was appointed Associate Dean for Faculty, Graduate Studies and Research in
the College of Arts and Sciences early last Fall Semester. With Dr. McCarthy’s new position, I have assumed the
position of Chair – a role I take great pride in given the excellence of PBIO. We have also welcomed Ms. Jamie Dew-
ey to PBIO as an Accounting Associate. We had two successful faculty searches and Dr. Zhihua Hua, Assistant
Professor and Dr. Kim Thompson, Lecturer have joined PBIO.
Good News – we have lots of accomplishments of our undergradu-
ates, graduate students, faculty and staff to celebrate and here are
just a few highlights. From our undergraduates, Avery Tucker who
just graduated received a Fulbright Award and is headed to China
for the year. Debarati Basu, MCB-PBIO PhD candidate received the
Clippinger Fellowship for this coming year. Ben Gahagen, PhD
candidate was awarded the prestigious Ohio University Graduate
Associate Outstanding Teaching award. Dr. Sarah Wyatt received
the Presidential Teaching award for the second time. Martha Bishop,
PBIO lab coordinator was named a 2014 Outstanding Administrator,
one of three awards throughout OU. A NSF MRI grant was obtained
by five faculty members and is the final piece to the Porter Hall addition.
Lastly, I would like to draw your attention to an initiative started in 2013 by Dr. Harvey Ballard to provide structured
Summer Internships for our undergraduate majors. Our majors are now interning at the National Arboretum, Fairchild
Tropical Botanical Garden, and Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest as well as other institutions. These intern-
ships have been extremely positive experiences for our undergraduates and have provided them with new skills as
well as networking opportunities. And speaking of networking opportunities … one of our departmental goals is to
have more interaction between our students and our alumni. So, if you would like become more involved in PBIO,
maybe share your experience with our students, provide guidance on careers or just reconnect with the department,
please send me (or your favorite PBIO faculty member) an email.
Sincerely,
Morgan Vis
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 740-593-1125
Dr. Morgan Vis
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
My own research program has
begun a “transitional” phase. With collaborating scientists, I have been completing
numerous long-standing projects on violet family-wide classification and evolution-
ary relationships that we started several years to decades earlier. We have also
been gradually finishing up studies on individual Latin American and African violet
lineages. This year witnessed two major research accomplishments. The first was
a broad molecular phylogenetic survey of the complex but intriguing African tree
violets of the genus Rinorea by former grad student Greg Wahlert and I, that set
the stage for the rest of his career studying these challenging woody violets. Next
was a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic appraisal of the violet family
(Violaceae), where we demonstrated the existence of nearly a dozen additional
lineages deserving generic status. On the heels of that came our third accomplishment,
a synoptic overview of the violet family—the first detailed account of the Violaceae since
1925! My colleagues, Dr. Juliana de Paula-Souza (in residence for a year on a postdoc from Brazil) and former graduate
students Greg Wahlert and Ben Flicker have been working madly with me to complete and publish descriptions of each
new or resurrected genus with the necessary new names for the last year. We have made considerable headway on this
multi-year venture, with four genera in press and manuscripts with several more nearly finished. Late last year, after nearly
20 years, one of my PhD mentors and I finally published a description of one of the world’s smallest violets from the incredi-
bly species-rich high Peruvian Andes. (See the story in Faculty Highlights).
Spring semester of this year was my faculty fellowship leave (sabbatical), and I used it largely to conduct many visits with
Juliana to herbaria (plant museums) to complete studies on Latin American violets, so that we could wrap up and publish a
dozen manuscripts shortly. These herbarium trips were funded by a generous John Baker Memorial Fund grant from OU.
One of our most productive and personally satisfying (and fun!) trips was to Mexico for three weeks, where we studied the
extensive violet collections at the national university in Mexico City and the Institute of Ecology in Xalapa. As usual, Juliana
found yet another new species of Hybanthus in the national museum specimens. The Mexican herbarium staff were ex-
ceedingly gracious and accommodating, and we garnered data and study materials to keep us busy with manuscripts for
the next two years.
As part of my gradual shifting focus on North American violet systematics and evolution, I launched field studies last year in
the mountains of western Virginia. On my first early May week-long foray, led by prominent Virginia botanist Johnny Town-
send, I found not only a northern violet species hundreds of miles out of range from New York and western Ohio but a
wholly new species of violet growing on steep shaley woodland slopes. This latter critter had been considered by Virginia
botanists to be a few isolated populations of the Midwestern prairie violet, Viola pedatifida. As soon as I saw the first plants,
I just knew they represented an undescribed species (I’ve studied the prairie violet and its relatives for over 35 years)! It
took two more field visits in June and early August with the Virginia botanists before I was able to convince them that we
had a new shale barrens endemic on our hands, one of the most geographically restricted plant species of all, found only in
two small mountain ranges straddling two counties of western Virginia. My Master’s grad student Bethany Zumwalde has
been studying the prairie violet, the new shale barrens violet and two other relatives ecologically, physically and genetically
for her thesis research. Our late April pilgrimages to the Virginia mountains caught the shale barrens violet in bloom (it
flowers earlier than other violets) and provided Bethany a wealth of new ecological data. I brought my outdoors-oriented 13
-year old grandson on the long-weekend field trips as an assistant, to introduce him to the delights and rigors of botanical
field research. Next year I will complete field and lab studies of all the violet species found in various habitats of western
Virginia and will begin similar studies further south, in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. What I’ve learned
from recent field, lab and museum studies in regions further south recently is that we really know very little about violets in
the southeastern U.S., and there are many revelations yet to come!
My relatively new PhD student Harlan Svoboda is completing the first of several studies on a poorly known but extremely
diverse passionflower group, section Dysosma. His initial morphological and statistical studies are making sense of former
chaos, revealing several distinctive species complexes for him to focus on in the next few years. Finishing PhD student Ben
Gahagen has been completing and submitting manuscripts on the long-neglected Latin American genus Tovomita in the
Clusiaceae, a family related to St. John’s-worts. His morphological, anatomical and statistical studies have revealed distinc-
tions for many undescribed species and described but ignored species in yet another poorly understood tropical plant
group.
Harvey Ballard with Juliana de Paula Souza visiting the herbarium at the
University of Mexico
Dr. Harvey Ballard
Plant Molecular
Systematics
and Evolution
Porter Hall 406
740.593.4659
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
News from the DeForest Lab: Dr. DeForest is starting his 9th year at Ohio University and
is currently enjoying his first faculty fellowship leave (sabbatical). He plans to expand his research efforts to
include aquatic ecosystem and trophic dynamics in context of biogeochemistry. He will add to his methods
tool chest by learning molecular techniques to investigate changes in soil microbial communities due to chem-
ical climate change. He published 5 papers in the last two years; one received an award for best review paper
in Soil Biology & Biochemistry of 2013.
He is proud to announce that Anna Peters (MS ’14) graduated spring semester in record time. Her thesis is
being prepared for submission to Nature where we provide evidence that acid rain may help explain the in-
creasing abundance of red maple in Eastern Deciduous Forest. In short, the changes acid rain has on soil is
shifting red maple sex expression towards more seed-bearing trees. Ryan Dorkoski (PhD) is starting his third
year and was awarded an OCEES fellowship. He is using his semester off of TA duties to advance his disser-
tation and submit a few papers from his dissertation for publication. Nicole Kirchner (MS) joined the DeForest lab in
summer 2014 and will investigate how microbial communities will respond to environmental stress in aquatic and terres-
trial ecosystems.
News from the Faik Lab: This year the Faik lab welcomes three new students: Yunyi Feng
(new PhD candidate), Jingwen Song (CNU visiting research scholar), and Bofei Zhang (undergraduate stu-
dent, PACE). Four undergraduate students (Travis Johnson, Theresa Condo, Aaron Soya, and John Elmore)
graduated this year. Travis and John are now PhD candidates (at Ohio State University and Ohio University,
respectively), and Theresa is on her way to get a job. Nan Jiang is finishing up writing his PhD chapters, and
we are in the process of finishing a manuscript on most of his hard work. Nan not only has been instrumental
in moving forward our NSF-funded project on xylan biosynthesis, but he also kept the lab floating and trained
new students. I am certainly most grateful to him. Kevin (Honglei) Zhang (Post-doc 2013-2014) initiated a new
project on xylan biosynthesis in rice endosperm. He went back to China in July, but we will continue the pro-
ject. Richard Wiemels (MS student) graduated at the end of 2013 and stayed in the lab as a technician until
June 2014 before deciding to leave the lab and touring Europe for two months. Aaron is now working, taking
over the technician job in the lab, and he is working on the rice project.
The lab is still very active and research oriented, and we hope to tell you in the future nice and interesting discoveries,
so stay tuned. It has been and still is a great pleasure to work with these amazing students.
Dr. Jared DeForest
Ecosystem and Soil Ecology
Porter Hall 419
740.593.0742
Forest Soil Ecology Lab
Dr. Ahmed Faik
Plant Biochemistry
Functional Genomics
Porter Hall 512
740.593.1121
Subcellular localization of YFP-tagged proteins in epidermal cells of N. tabacum leaves.
Co-localization GFP fluorescence YFP fluorescence
Anna Peters MS ‘14 and Nick Evans UG Ryan Dorkoski PhD Candidate in the field Ryan Dorkoski PhD Candidate in the field
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
News from the Hermsen Lab: This year has been a busy year
in the Hermsen lab. I have continued collaborating with colleagues from other
institutions in the United States and Argentina to document the diversity of Late
Cretaceous and Paleogene (ca. 84 to 52 million years old) fossil floras of Chubut
Province, Patagonia, Argentina. For the past 12 months, much of this work has
focused on the plants of the Late Cretaceous La Colonia Formation, which repre-
sent an interesting wetland flora. Our paper describing new semi-aquatic fern
fossils from this formation received the cover image for the February 2014 issue
of Plant Systematics and Evolution. We have continued working on the younger
(Eocene, ca. 52 million-year-old) Laguna del Hunco flora and are planning re-
search on fossil fruit remains from this flora for the upcoming year. I am also
currently expanding my research horizons to North America, where I am working on fossil water clover (Marsilea, a
fern) leaves from the famous Green River Formation of Colorado and Utah as well as on a similar-looking plant known
as Fortuna, an extinct flowering plant from Canada and the United States.
I have done a lot of travelling this year in order to participate in conferences and further my research agenda. I attend-
ed the 10th North American Paleontological Convention held in Gainesville, Florida, in February, where I chaired and
presented in a symposium organized by M.A. Gandolfo (Cornell University) and myself on Southern Hemisphere fos-
sils. I gave a presentation to the Geology Club at San Jose State University (California) in March. As part of my re-
search on the water clover, I visited several paleobotanical collections over the spring and summer, including those at
the University of California Museum of Paleontology (Berkeley, California), Fossil Butte National Monument
(Kemmerer, Wyoming), the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (Denver, Colorado), and the Field Museum of
Natural History (Chicago, Illinois). I attended the Botany 2014 meeting in Boise, Idaho, in late July in order to present
some of the early findings on my North American projects and afterwards went on a conference-related field trip to
Miocene fossil plant localities of Idaho, where I collected fossil specimens that I plan to use in my classes at OU.
Elizabeth Hermsen, Fossil Butte National Monument
Dr. Elizabeth Hermsen
Paleobotany
Porter Hall 401
740.593.0716
Fossils, rock trimmer and supplies,
Clarkia flora, Idaho Miocene fossil leaves
Sheep Creek Geological Area, Utah
Miocene fossil leaves, Clarkia flora Idaho
Bridge over Snake River, 2014
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
News from the McCarthy Lab: Despite Brian McCarthy stepping down as
Chair, and assuming the position of Associate Dean for Faculty, Research, and Graduate
Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, his lab continues to be active.
Cory Kapolka successfully defended his M.S. thesis looking at vegetation changes over sever-
al decades at Buffalo Beats Prairie here in Athens County. Alexander Anning completed his
Ph.D., looking at tree growth and productivity in the face of various prescribed fire and thinning
regimes in regional mixed oak forests. He produced a model dissertation resulting in five pub-
lished papers.
Two new students began this past year, Bailey Hunter and Kathleen Gabler. Bailey’s M.S. research is well under
way. She is looking at the competitive and allelopathic interactions between invasive plants and American chestnut—
a significant issue as we consider reintroducing American chestnut hybrids onto the landscape. Likewise, Kathleen is
beginning her Ph.D. research on the relationship between fire and American chestnut growth and regeneration. Her
work will be critical in understanding chestnut survival in managed forest landscapes. Brian continues on as Vice
Chair of the Science Cabinet and member of the Executive Board of the American Chestnut Foundation, which fuels
his continued interest in American chestnut
restoration.
Dr. Brian McCarthy
Forest Ecology
Porter Hall 416
740.593.2979
McCarthy Lab & Students
Dr. Glenn Matlack
Plant Population Biology
Forest Ecology
Porter Hall 405
740.593.1131
News from the Matlack Lab: The Matlack lab focuses on spatial variation in
forest communities, how wildflower populations experience this variation, and how it changes
on long time scales. This year we approached the question from several angles: Glenn pub-
lished a review of the historical role of fire in Eastern forests, concluding that fire has been
relatively unimportant notwithstanding the activities of Native Americans. With former student
Peter Schweizer he also published a history of land use on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, an
area still recovering from the Lumber Boom in the early 20th century. Peter is currently living
back in Switzerland with his young family. Marion Holmes began her study of long-term land
use effects in forest communities by surveying vegetation and soils in an 80-year chronose-
quence. She compared forest on formerly cultivated land with former pasture, and discovered a difference even 80
years after abandonment. Eric Niederhauser is winding up his project looking at the movement of mayapple seeds by
deer and raccoon. Training wildlife cameras on seeds embedded in raccoon poo, he documented at least eight small
animal and insect species which potentially move seeds including opossum which seem to enjoy rolling around in the
poo. Both Eric and Marion presented their work at the Ecological Society meeting in Sacramento in August
2014. Glenn continues to edit for the Journal of Ecology, and teach several ecology courses.
Plant and animal dispersal agent
OH-ACF Members explore progeny test sites for the American Chestnut in Ohio
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
News from the Rosenthal Lab: The Rosenthal lab has been up to many things since its
inception in January 2013. The overarching goal in my lab’s research is to assess how plant responses to
environmental stressors (temperature, water, climate change) affect plant performance or fitness. I have
been equipping the lab to gear up a new research program in plant physiological ecology. In addition, I
have taught three new courses, developing two from scratch. I have also been fortunate to recruit two
fantastic graduate students that are motivated and hardworking. Three undergraduates are also involved
in various aspects of the lab’s research.
We have several ongoing projects. I am assessing how the legacy of acid deposition is changing carbon
gain and losses in eastern deciduous forests. The precise amount of carbon which forests keep or lose,
particularly below ground, is not fully resolved. To assess this we are quantifying if, and how much, acid
deposition has altered the rate of carbon loss from the soil (see picture, yup that's me under the hat!) and
if this legacy has altered the rate at which carbon is gained in the trees (i.e. tree growth). This project is
being done in collaboration with PBIO faculty member Dr. Jared DeForest.
Hailey Schurr, a doctoral student in my lab, is studying environmental challenges related to the potential reintroduc-
tion of hybrid American chestnut trees which are resistant to the chestnut blight that virtually wiped out the American
chestnut. While the new blight resistant hybrids look like American chestnut, the question remains whether they
possess the same ecological amplitude, and thus the capacity to survive in the same habitats as the American
chestnut.
Nick Tomeo, another doctoral student, studies processes that limit plant photosynthesis to pursue new ways to im-
prove crop productivity in the context of climate change. Earlier this year, Nick was awarded a competitive university
Student Enhancement Award to fund his dissertation work. You can see him hard at work preparing to measure
carbon assimilation rates in red maple.
We also have three undergraduate students, two of whom are working closely with Hailey and Nick. The third is
spearheading a project in close collaboration with Dr. Wyatt, with the goal to use improve photosynthetic
rates with the goal to improve yields without added fertilizer inputs.
News from the Rothwell Lab: The 2013-14 academic year was a busy one for t he
Rothwell lab. Although most current students are now being co-advised with Dr. Ruth Stockey (M.S. in
Botany at O.U., 1972) at our Oregon State University lab, Maddie Ray’s (B.S. 2013) undergraduate re-
search project on fossil seed plant leaves is scheduled to appear in the Journal of Paleontology this fall
(i.e., Ray, Rothwell and Stockey, 2014).
Brian Atkinson (PBIO B.S. 2012) is now well into his PhD program at Oregon State, where he recently has
been awarded a National Science Foundation Doctoral Fellowship and has just published his O.U. under-
graduate research project as part of our studies of the evolution of conifer seed cones (i.e., Atkinson, Roth-
well and Stockey, 2014). Mike Dunn (O.U. PhD 2003; now faculty at Cameron University) spent a week in
The “Ridges” paleobotany lab. this summer, where we continued our work on early evolution of seed
plants (e.g., Dunn and Rothwell, 2012), as did fellow O.U. faculty member Dr. Michael Millay (Southern
Campus), where we initiated a major project on the systematics and phylogeny of marattialean ferns. The most
recently initiated focus of our research agenda (viz., paleo-evolutionary developmental plant biology) has been co-
developed with fellow PBIO (Athens Campus) faculty member, Sarah Wyatt and Dr. Miahi Tomescu (O.U. PhD
2004; now faculty at Humboldt State University), and has resulted in the publication of two major studies in 2014.
The first presented a new hypothesis for the origin of the vascular plant body plan (i.e., Tomescu, Wyatt, Hasebe
and Rothwell, 2014), and the second was a review of paleo-evolutionary developmental plant biology published as
an invited American Journal of Botany Centennial Review (i.e., Rothwell, Wyatt and Tomescu, 2014). Lastly, GWR
was honored in 2014 by being elected a Fellow of the Paleontological Society of America.
Dr. Gar Rothwell Organismal Botany
Paleontology
Evolution and Phylogeny
The Ridges Bldg.#7
740.593.1118
Dr. David Rosenthal Physiological Plant Ecology
Porter Hall 309
740.593.0792
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
News from the Trese Lab: This year has seen a considerable expansion
of the West State Street gardens, with my spring semester University Professor class,
From Farm to Table, working to develop the larger fenced garden space as a model pro-
duction garden. We had an abundance of spring vegetables to donate to the Community
Food Initiative who then distributed it to local food banks. This summer my Sustainable
Agriculture class chose to follow that model, and rather than individual garden beds we all
worked together to plant and maintain an extensive garden. This fall, the Food Matters
student club is marketing some of that produce through the biweekly campus Mini-Farmer’s
Market. We are also running the third fall Sustainable Agriculture class, and I am still learning how to plan and imple-
ment a fall planting schedule of crops. I am actively involved, along with Theresa Moran, in developing a Food Studies
curriculum theme, and that includes developing a summer Food Experience we plan to offer next summer. This will be a
concurrent combination of a course, internship opportunities, and a seminar with a cohort of students. Exciting, and
challenging to plan all the details.
This fall I am finishing a three year involvement with faculty in the College of Education where we were training students
who had earned a BS in a science or math field return to earn a Masters in Teaching, through a program called the
Woodrow Wilson Fellows. It has been a great pleasure to work with these students as they develop into the next gener-
ation of high school science and math teachers. This fall will also mark the graduation of my most recent graduate stu-
dent, Josh Crosier. Josh has been studying the agriculture uses of spent brewer’s grain, from Jackie O’s brewery. Josh
has been a key to my success at building a more productive garden space, and I am most grateful for all his help.
Art Trese in the West State Street Gardens
Dr. Art Trese
Molecular Plant-Microbe
Interactions
Porter Hall 423
740.593.0260
News from the Showalter Lab: The Showalter lab continues to work on
arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs) and DNA barcoding of medicinal plants used in Paki-
stan. The AGP project is going well and was recently funded by an Ohio University Baker
Fund Award. The research team which includes three graduate students: Debarati Basu,
Xiao Liu, and Lu Tian, as well as several undergraduates, Emily Poirier, Tayler DeBrosse,
and Eric Soukup, is focusing on characterizing the genes, genetic mutants and enzymes
associated with placing the first sugar onto the AGP protein backbone. This work will
allow us to understand the biosynthesis of this important cell wall molecule and to eluci-
date the functional contribution of the sugar side chains to AGP function. More important-
ly, this work has implications in using the plant cell wall for biofuel production.
The DNA barcoding work is funded by the United States Department of State and is going very well. Postdoctoral fellow
Melanie Schori has been working hard on this project for several years along with a dedicated undergraduate student,
Kirk Emch. This work has shown that it is possible to conclusively identify medicinal plant species by isolating and
sequencing small regions of chloroplast DNA from a wide variety of plant material. This work has important implications
in verifying medicinal plant products and in the detection of possible adulteration or contamination of medicinal plant
products by undesirable or toxic plant material.
Finally, I took a most welcome break from the laboratory and classroom by spending
the month of June in Kauai with my family. We always enjoy visiting the “Garden Isle”
and find it to be one of the most beautiful and awesome places on the planet.
Dr. Allan Showalter
Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry
Porter Hall 504
740.593.1135
Showalter Lab Group
Dr. Showalter in Kauai
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
News from the Vis Lab: It’s been another great year in the Vis lab.
We all had to adjust to my being chair, but I think that went smoothly. This aca-
demic year, Sam Drerup, PhD candidate, Emily Keil, PBIO Senior, Jessica Lind-
ner, HTC Junior and David Gonzalez, PBIO Junior all were contributing to the lab
productivity. Sam completed his comps this year and is working on completing his
PhD chapters along with the numerous side projects that are just too fun to give
up. Emily finished her Undergraduate thesis and graduated in May; this summer I
am submitting sequences and getting her thesis ready for publication. Jessica
completed the lab work for the grazer study done the previous summer. We are
combining that study with Lauren Fuelling’s (MS 2013) thesis work for a paper.
Jessica, Sam, Lauren, Kelly Johnson and I are almost done with the manuscript.
Jessica will be returning this fall to work on her thesis – stay tuned next year for more on that. David helped out Sam,
Jessica and Emily with general lab work this past academic year and then this summer stayed as a NSF Research Ex-
perience for Undergraduates fellow. He conducted research on the photosynthetic capacity, carbon: nitrogen content
and desiccation tolerance of freshwater red algae. He will be continuing that work this coming year.
At the OU Student Expo, Sam, Emily and Jessica all won first place awards for their posters. The whole lab went to the
Northeast Algal Symposium in April. Reminisced with Nate Smucker , (PhD 2010) and Eric Salomaki (MS 2010). Sam
took home the Best Graduate Student Presentation award. Sam, Wayne and I went to the Joint Aquatic Science Meeting
in May and saw other lab graduates — Emily Johnston (MS 2012), Dale Casamatta (PhD 2002), Bob Verb (PhD 2001),
and Nate (again). Bob had a whole herd of undergraduates who presented posters – it was great. All in all a good year
of research, presentations and publications (check out in another part of the newsletter).
Dr. Morgan Vis
Freshwater Algal
Ecology and Evolution
Porter Hall 400
740.593.1134
Vis Lab
News from the Wyatt Lab: The Wyatt lab has had a busy year. Highlights include: I’m
back at OU after a year at NSF, Kaiyu Shen completed his PhD and got an industry job in Pittsburg,
Sean Fenstemaker completed his bachelors and took a job with the National Forest Service in Califor-
nia, Avery Tucker completed his bachelors and won a Fulbright to study and do research in China,
Megan Osika won the Grasselli-Brown UG Research Award, and we have an undergraduate visiting
from Brazil doing research in the lab. And maybe the biggest news, we won a spaceflight opportunity to
do a proteomics analysis of Arabidopsis seedlings flown to the International Space Station. So the lab
has an exciting group of new graduate and undergraduate students working on that project and others.
You can follow our progress and catch up on all the lab news at http://wyattlab.wordpress.com/
Dr. Sarah Wyatt
Molecular Biology/Genomics
Porter Hall 508
740.593.1133
The Wyatt Lab
Wyatt Lab Group
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Dr. Philip Cantino: Since Phil’s retirement in 2011, he has remained active in re-
search and has served on graduate committees in Plant Biology and Environmental Studies. In
addition to his continuing work as editor of two books dealing with phylogenetic nomenclature
(the PhyloCode and Phylonyms), he has coauthored three recent papers with Chinese col-
leagues dealing with Asian Lamiaceae (mints and their relatives) and two papers on other sub-
jects with his former students.
Phil devotes a lot of time and energy to the Athens Conservancy, an organization he helped
found in 2002. As a conservation land trust, its mission is to preserve natural areas in Athens County through
land acquisition, conservation easements, and education. In 12 years, the Conservancy has used state grants
and private donations to help preserve over 1,200 acres of green space, including the old-growth Hawk Woods, now
a dedicated State Nature Preserve owned by the City of Athens. The Conservancy’s 65-acre Bluebell Preserve next
to the Hockhocking-Adena Bikeway protects an exceptional display of native spring wildflowers, which is used by
both this department and Hocking College for class field trips. The Conservancy’s 269-acre Baker Preserve is a
conservation easement on a property owned by the family of former Ohio University President John Calhoun Baker,
which is open to the public for hiking and nature study. The organization developed a five-mile trail system on the
property, which is maintained by volunteers, including Phil and PBIO student intern Emily Spearman (BA 2016).
Sara Wiggins (BS 2013) (Assistant Greenhouse Manager), a former Athens Conservancy intern, is now a member of
the organization’s board.
Phil and Martha Bishop also serve on the board of Friends of Strouds Run State Park, a group of volunteers who
collaborate with park staff to maintain and improve the park, which is extensively used for Ohio University field trips.
Dr. James Cavender: I am working with cellular slime mold (dictyostelid) isolates which were ob-
tained from soils of wet and dry forests, savannah and grassland of central and south eastern Madagascar as part
of the NSF Global Biodiversity Survey. Working with me are individuals in Spain (Romeralo- DNA sequencing),West
Virginia (Landolt- isolation and photography), Argentina (Vadell-technical descriptions) and Arkansas (Stephenson-
organization and publication). Our previous paper on ten small species of Dictyostelium from Belize and Guatemala
showed progressive evolution as it applies to the phylogenetic tree which is based mostly on DNA sequencing. The
current work on Madagascar species is concerned with Polysphondylium where we are describing thirteen new ones
indicating a very high diversity probably resulting from the past history and isolation of the island. Completed pro-
jects were a chapter on Global Dictyostelid Distribution and Ecology for The Dictyostelids (Ed. Romeralo) as well as
The Dictyostelids of Costa Rica with Landolt, Romeralo and Stephenson which combines data collected beginning in
1962.
Dr. Jim Braselton: My last (and final) publication has finally arrived from the printer. It was an invited
contribution that I co-authored with one of the rising stars doing research on the plasmos, Simon Bulman. I can't
imagine writing anymore of this stuff given that I haven't been in a lab for almost 20 years although I stumble over
plants infected with plasmos occasionally on our walks in Georgia. Ann continues to enjoy her position as a Senior
Executive Assistant for an international consulting firm, and I keep
busy corresponding with researchers about the plasmos in be-
tween walks with our loyal hounds, Patches and Pibb. They are
such fun-loving and photogenic characters that I have attached
photos of them during one of our weekend excursions to the high-
est mountain in Georgia, Brasstown Bald.
www.ohio.edu/people/braselto/
Phil Cantino, Brazil
Jim Braselton, Brasstown Bald, Georgia
Dr. Phil Cantino
Plant Systematics
Porter Hall 411
740.593.1128
Dr. James Cavender
Cellular Slime Molds
Porter Hall 307C
740.593.4551
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Dr. Sarah Davis: Dr. Davis has several active areas of research related to bioenergy and land-
scape-climate feedbacks. She maintains trial plots of next-generation bioenergy crops in the Land Lab
(located on The Ridges of the OU campus) where she is testing the viability of biomass production that
also achieves greenhouse gas reduction on abandoned agricultural land. Her first graduate student at OU,
Jonathan Grennell, earned his MSES degree in 2014 and completed his thesis work using these trial
plots, finding that biomass yields from abandoned agricultural land in southeastern Ohio may be competi-
tive with yields from prime agricultural lands in the Midwest. Undergraduate BIOS major Kelsey
Scheutzow was also beginning research in the plots this summer.
Also in the Land Lab, Dr. Davis is dating trees in sections of the forest that have established at different
points in history, and examining how growth responses to climate variables differ with age. Dr. Davis was
awarded an OURC grant in the spring that funds similar work in a chronosequence of forest sites in the
Vinton Furnace State Experimental Furnace. Graduate Scott Comisford is working on this project for his
thesis.
Dr. Davis was also awarded an 1804 Fund grant this summer that will support the development of facilities on
campus to experiment with anaerobic digestion. The trial anaerobic digestion unit will be established at the com-
posting facility located on The Ridges, making use of the abundant waste and compost generated on campus to
produce electricity and fertilizer by-products. This project is being accomplished in collaboration with Dr. Kim
Miller in the Voinovich School, Dr. Ben Stuart in the Russ College of Engineering, and Mr. Steve Mack, Director
of Facilities Management.
In other work, Dr. Davis recently contributed to a special issue in the Journal of Experimental Botany that reex-
amines Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) and draws comparisons between this photosynthetic pathway and
the more commonly studied C3 and C4 pathways. She addressed this topic as a keynote speaker at an interna-
tional conference convened by the 34th New Phytologist Symposium this summer. Dr. Davis has an on-going
experiment in the southwestern US to study the potential for the CAM plant Agave to be used as bioenergy
feedstock in semi-arid regions. This project is funded by the Energy Biosciences Institute, and graduate student
Emily Kuzmick spent the summer on-site to carry out data collection for her thesis.
Dr. Barbara Andreas: Barb Andreas was part of a NSF-sponsored expedition to the Cape
Horn Archipelago. Her goal was to search for members of the moss genus Blindia. Scientists on the ship,
in addition to the PI (William Buck, New York Botanical Garden), were from the University of Concepcíon,
the Missouri Botanical Garden, the University of Alaska, and the Field Museum. She collected approxi-
mately 440 specimens, which included Blindia torrentium, whose range previously, was limited to the Falk-
land Islands. To date, Dr. Andreas has found 3 new species of Blindia.
She is co-founder of the Ohio Moss and Lichen Association, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in Octo-
ber 2014. This organization has added 10 species to the list of Ohio bryophytes since its inception.
Dr. Barbara Andreas Bryophye Systematics
Dr. Sarah Davis
Ecosystem Ecology
Bioenergy Production
Systems
Voinovich School
The Ridges 224
740.597.1459
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Dr. Kim Thompson Dr. Kim Thompson recently joined the faculty of the Department of Envi-
ronmental and Plant Biology as a lecturer. She has degrees in Social Work (Thomas More College),
Education, and Biology (University of Cincinnati). Her two grown children have both fledged, facilitating
her enthusiastic move to Athens from Cincinnati. During her dissertation research, she studied the tropical
forest of Tikal, Guatemala, at one time an extensive city built by the ancient Maya where their grand tem-
ples still stand. Kim also explored the genetic structure of a fruit and timber tree valued by the ancient
Maya and modern cultures. This tree, known as sapodilla, was used to manufacture the first chewing gum.
Publications:
Thompson K, Culley TM, Zumberger AM, Lentz DL. (Under Revision, 2014) Discerning anthropogenic and
ecological influences on genetic variation and structure in the neotropical tree, Manilkara zapota (L) P.
Royen (Sapotaceae). Tree Genetics & Genomes.
Thompson K, Hood A, Cavallero D, Lentz D. 2014. Connecting Contemporary Ecology and Ethnobotany
to Ancient Plant Use Practices of the Maya at Tikal. In Tikal and Maya Paleoecology (eds. Lentz D, Dunning N,
Scarborough V). Cambridge University Press.
Lentz D, Lane B, Thompson K. 2014. Food, Farming and Forest Management Practices of the Late Classic Maya at
Aguateca. In Life and Politics at the Royal Court of Aguateca: Artifacts, Analytical Data, and Synthesis (eds. Inomata
T, Triadan D). University of Utah Press.
Dr. Zhihua Hua I am amazed by how thousands of molecules are programmed
to coordinate with each other making a cell. One of these programs is managed by the
ubiquitin-26S proteasome system (UPS). Ub is a small peptide with 76 amino acids. The
UPS either modifies the functions, localization, or activities of numerous intracellular pro-
teins by ligating them with one or multiple Ub moieties, or degrades them through the 26S
proteasome. This process has been demonstrated to rival gene transcription in maintaining
the homeostasis of a eukaryotic cell, including the cells in our body. In plants, the UPS is
particularly important in part evidenced by its large size, which normally occupies ~6% of a
predicted plant proteome. The research in my lab applies plants as a model system to un-
derstand 1) how the UPS-regulatory network controls plant growth and development, and 2) how this network is
integrated into a plant cell through cross talk with transcriptional regulation and epigenetic modification. To tackle
these questions, my lab is using an interdisciplinary research program that includes big data mining, omics anal-
yses, and molecular and functional characterization of specific UPS-regulatory pathways.
Publications
Hua, Z., Pool, J.E., Schmitz, R.J., Schultz, M.D., Shiu, S.H., Ecker, J.R., and Vierstra, R.D. (2013). Epigenomic
programming contributes to the genonomic drift evolution of the F-Box protein superfamily in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl
Acad Sci USA 110, 16927–16932.
(Link: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/09/25/1316009110.abstract)
Dr. Zhihua Hua
Plant Omics
Porter Hall 500
740.593.1123
Dr. Kim Thompson
Undergraduate Teaching
Pedagogy
Porter Hall 414
740.593. 1127
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Dr. Juliana de Paula Souza Plant Systematics Porter Hall 411
Juliana joined the PBIO department in June of 2013 through May 2014. She received her Ph.D.
from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. De Paula Souza has been working with neotropical
violets since she was a graduate student in Brazil. She's been collaborating on research with Dr.
Ballard for the past 15 years. Her postdoc research deals with a genus of Violaceae called Hy-
banthus, which is widely spread all over the world. Although recent molecular studies have re-
vealed nine distinct lineages, de Paula Souza is seeking to find equally consistent morphological
and/or anatomical characteristics to help recognize these plants, focusing primarily on the spe-
cies growing in South America and Central America, where most of the lineages are found.
Juliana’s postdoc was funded through a Brazilian "Science Without Borders" scholarship. Additionally, a grant
from the Baker Fund to Dr. Ballard helped to fund travel to dried plant collections in the United States and Mexi-
co to further their work on violets.
Dr. Melanie Schori Plant Systematics Porter Hall 433
Dr. Melanie Schori (PhD 2010) has been working as a postdoctoral fellow in the Showalter lab
since June 2011. During the past year, Melanie has been working on DNA barcoding of me-
dicinal plants from Pakistan. The research compares DNA from voucher specimens and mar-
ket material to check for adulteration of plant parts sold in markets in Pakistan, for more than
100 different species. Dr. Schori has been collaborating with Wei Lin in Mathematics and Yi-
chao Li and Lonnie Welch in Bioinformatics on a program to analyze reference sequences
from voucher specimens. The program, Barcoding Cleaning & Analysis Tool (BCAT), calcu-
lates variation within and between species and determines how many positions can be used to
distinguish species based on their barcodes. In October 2013, Dr. Schori presented a talk on
BCAT at the fifth International Barcoding Conference in Kunming, China, and in July 2014, she
presented the overall results of the barcoding project at the Botanical Society of America’s
conference in Boise, ID.
While in China, Dr. Schori met with a collaborator to work on a paper describing the floral mor-
phology and development of Cardiopteris, a genus of lianas found from Asia to Australia. Their
joint paper was published in the Journal of Systematics and Evolution. This publication
stemmed from her post-doctoral research at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. She also had a
publication on pollen diversity in Aquifoliales, which was published with a collaborator at Kew in
the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. Dr. Schori has been active with outreach and
service as well. She served as volunteer coordinator for Tech Savvy, a STEM outreach pro-
gram for middle school girls in SE Ohio that was sponsored by AAUW and the university. Many members of
PBIO contributed to the program, which was a great success and will be a yearly event. In June, she represented
the Floyd Bartley herbarium and the department at Appalachia Ohio Alliance’s dedication of the Bartley preserve
in Circleville, where a farm will be restored to the native Pickaway Plains prairie ecosystem. Finally, Dr. Schori
has joined the editorial board of Applications in Plant Sciences as a reviewing editor.
Light.ece.ohio.edu/bcat/
Dr. Melanie Schori at Kunming, China
Dr. Juliana de Paula Souza
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Martha Bishop Laboratory Coordinator Porter Hall 302 [email protected]
Martha Bishop is the Laboratory Coordinator for our department. In March this year she was honored to re-
ceive the Outstanding Administrator Award from Ohio University Administrative Senate. Each year three
administrators are chosen university-wide to receive this award. Since then Martha and her team of student
workers have ensured the smooth operation of the stockrooms and teaching labs, providing and maintaining
equipment and materials for class labs. In May Martha presented a talk on fungi for the Marietta Natural His-
tory Society at Marietta College. She also participated in AAUW’s Tech Savvy program to increase girls’
awareness of the fields of science, math, engineering and technology. This summer she taught PBIO 3030
Medicinal Plants of Ohio, and hosted a mushroom foray at Lake Hope State Park for the Ohio Mushroom
Society.
Martha is currently teaching PBIO 3100/5100 Biology of Fungi with Art Trese. In September she presented a
talk on trees and fungi for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources annual Tree Care Conference in Athens.
Also in September, Martha led a plant tour at Stroud’s Run State Park as a preview of the University’s Ohio:
Sense of Place Theme, as her Medicinal Plants of Ohio course will be included in this Theme next year. She
currently serves on the departmental safety committee, and on the boards of directors of the Ohio Mushroom
Society and the Friends of Stroud’s Run State Park.
Harold Blazier Greenhouse Manager Botanical Research 204 [email protected]
This year I was fortunate to be able to do some international “botanizing” in Okinawa, Japan.
The hiring of Sara Wiggins as a part-time temporary greenhouse assistant allowed me to be
away from my position at the greenhouse for five weeks. During this time I visited with my
daughter and her family living in Okinawa. My son-in-law Jeffrey Golloway (Staff Sgt. USMC),
daughter Janelle and grandsons William (age 4) and Weston (8 mos.) were subjected to my
incessant prattling about the local flora and fauna. It was amazing to observe coning Cycas
revoluta growing wild on the mountainside alongside fruiting Pandanus and all manner of other
“greenhouse” plants. Palm trees of all types, Typhoon pruned Araucaria, ferns, orchids and
more were in overabundance at the Botanical Garden, Emperor’s Palace, private venues and
in their natural settings. I also developed a new curiosity for marine life as low-tide provided a
great opportunity for William and I to explore the sea floor and its stranded creatures. Ample
amounts of sea glass to collect, shells to gather and observe as well as literally hundreds of
‘adorable’ hermit crabs (according to William) to pick up and watch filled in to somewhat bal-
ance the time I made everyone spend plant trekking.
Eileen Schulz
Martha with baskets of mushrooms
Southeast Botanical Gardens Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Southeast Botanical Gardens Lotus Pond feeding the carp
Ovulate structure of Cycas revoluta
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Jamie Dewey Accounting Support Specialist Porter Hall 315A
Jamie Dewey joined the department in December 2013 as an Accounting Support Specialist. She
comes to Environmental and Plant Biology from the Classics and World Religions department,
where she was an Administrative Associate for six years. Jamie has extensive experience working
in hospitality travel management, customer relations, and personnel training and development.
Jamie was attracted to her position in PBIO because she wanted to experience a research-intensive
science department and learn how a graduate program works.
Jamie is no stranger to plants. She grew up working in a family-owned flower shop in west Tennes-
see and says that being in PBIO brings back pleasant memories.
Connie Pollard Department Administrator Porter Hall 315B
The highlight of the year for Connie Pollard, Department Administrator, was the addition of an Ac-
counting Support Specialist position to the Department Office. Jamie Dewey, from Classics and
World Religions in the College of Arts and Sciences, joined the Department in December, 2013.
Eileen Schulz, Administrative Services Associate in MCB, who also supports the Department Office
10 hours each week, moved to the former PBIO Chair’s Office in January 2014. The Department
Office suite on the third floor of Porter Hall is now fully staffed, and along with Harold Blazier, Green-
house Manager, and Martha Bishop, Lab Coordinator, the team takes great pride in contributing to
the success of faculty and students.
Connie was honored to nominate Martha Bishop for an Outstanding Administrator Award, and de-
lighted when Martha received it. All administrative staff in the Department have now won this pres-
tigious University award.
Connie continues to serve on Administrative Senate for District 7. She also sits on a College of Arts
and Sciences networking/professional development and advisory committee with other College
Eileen Schulz Administrative Services Associate Porter Hall 317A
While my primary work is tied to the interdisciplinary program in Molecular and Cellular Biology
(MCB), I have enjoyed working with the PBIO department this year focusing on admissions and
graduate student services. The department has recruited some outstanding graduate students
and it has been a pleasure being part of that process.
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Graduate Students
Alexander Anning, PhD—advisor,
Dr. Brian McCarthy “Prescribed Fire and Thinning Effects on Tree Growth and Carbon Sequestration in Mixed-Oak Forests)”
After graduation Alex returned to Ghana where he is a Senior Lecturer in Plant Ecology, Department of Theo-retical and Applied Biology, Kwame Nkrumah Universi-ty of Science and Technology.
Lauren Bizzari, MS—advisor, Dr. Brian
McCarthy “An Experimental Assessment of Blight-Resistant American Chestnut Success on Reclaimed Mine Lands Across Central Appalachia”
Since graduation Lauren is now working at Colby College, Maine as a Research Technician in the lab of Dr. Cathy Collins.
Lauren Fuelling, MS—advisor, Dr. Mor-
gan Vis “Interactive Effects of AMD and Grazing on Periphyton Productivity, Biomass, and Diatom Diversity”
Keith Gilland, PhD—advisor, Dr. Brian
McCarthy “Early Successional Processes of Experimentally-Reclaimed Mine Sites in Eastern Ohio and the Resto-ration of American Chestnut”
Since graduation Keith has taken a visiting assistant professor position at Miami University.
Cory Kapolka, MS—advisor, Dr. Brian
McCarthy “Assessment of Prairie Restoration and Vegetation Change at the Buffalo Beats Research Natural Area, Athens County, OH”
Jeremy Keene, PhD—advisor, Dr. Har-
vey Ballard “A Reassessment of Monopyle (Gloxinieae: Gesneria-ceae)”
Jeremy has taken a position as a Visiting Scholar, with the Department of Biology at Missouri State University.
Anna Peters, MS—advisor, Dr. Jared
DeForest “The Effects of Soil Phosphorus on Acer rubrum Fe-cundity”
Anna is currently a research scientist at Quidel in Athens.
Alastair Plant, MS—advisor, Dr. Stefan
Gleissberg “The Regulation of Ontogenetic Diversity in Papavera-ceae Compound Leaf Development”
Kaiyu Shen, PhD/MCB—advisor, Dr.
Sarah Wyatt “Gravitropic Signal Transduction: A Systems Approach to Gene Discovery”
After graduation Kaiyu took a position with kWantera in Pittsburgh as a Data Scientist
John Wiley, MS—advisor, Dr. Brian
McCarthy “Bryophyte Community Response to Prescribed Fire and Thinning in Mixed-Oak Forests of the Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau”
John is currently a PhD student at SUNY ESF, Syra-cuse
Undergraduate December 2014
Sarah Acomb
Sarah would like to teach high school Biology. She headed for an internship in Utah after graduating, and plans to start with Teach for America in Fall 2014 and earn her MEd degree
Julian Boaler
After graduation Julian is traveling in Japan and Cen-tral Asia
Theresa Condo
Theresa is a Habitat Biology Technician for the Wyo-ming Game and Fish Department.
Kyle Grubbs
Kyle is working at the National Arboretum, were he completed his undergraduate internship.
Avery Tucker
Avery is in China on a Fulbright Award.
Undergraduate May 2014
Elizabeth Clay
After graduation Elizabeth would like to pursue gradu-ate school after serving as a summer park guide at the Lake Louisa State Park in Florida.
Donnie Day
Donnie is a graduate student at the University of Ne-braska .
Richard Janssen
Richard returned to the organic farm in Michigan where he completed his undergraduate internship.
Travis Johnson
Travis is in graduate school at Georgia Tech .
Emily Keil
Emily is pursuing graduate school and is back in the Vis lab currently conducting research.
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Passiflora incarnata by H. W. Blazier
Jane Robertson
Jane is currently seeking a horticultural position.
Matthew Shisler
Matthew is currently working at Dills Greenhouse in Groveport, OH and would ultimately like to own his own commercial greenhouse.
Undergraduate Summer 2014
Emily Usher
After graduation Emily traveled to Wyoming to com-plete an internship. She would like to pursue a career in conservation science or outreach in an extension office.
Brian Atkinson, BS ‘12
Brian is pursuing a PhD at Oregon State University. In March, he was awarded a Graduate Research Fellow-ship by the National Science Foundation.
Matthew Albrecht, PhD ‘06
Matthew has been at the Missouri Botanical Garden ever since graduation in their Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development. He was recently pro-moted to Associate Scientist. Matthew returned to OU in September as a guest speaker at Colloquium.
Lauren Bizzari, MS ‘13
Lauren stopped by the Department in early August on her way back east from a trip to Kansas. She is a Research Technician in the lab of Dr. Cathy Collins at Colby College in Maine
Sean Fenstemaker, BS ‘13
Sean is currently at BAER at USDA (USFS) Stanislaus National Forest in Groveland, CA
Betsy Justus Briju, PhD ‘12
Betsy and her husband Briju welcomed their second son, Caleb Daveed, October 13. Caleb joins 4-year-old brother Rufus.
Nathan Jud, BS ‘07
Nathan completed his PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2014 and is now a post doc at the Museum of Paleontology at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Badger Johnson, BA ‘13
Badger is currently a Graduate Research Assistant in Natural Resources with emphasis in Agroforestry at University of Missouri.
M. Madeline Ray, BS ‘13
Madeline published “Anatomically preserved Early Cretaceous bennettitalean leaves: Nilssoniopteris corrugate n. sp. From Vancouver Island, Candada” in the Journal of Paleontology with co-authors Gar Roth-well and Ruth Stockey (88(5): 1085-1093. 2014)..
Betsy Justus Briju Nathan Jud
Matthew Albrecht Lauren Bizzari
Sean Fenstemaker
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
2014 marks the first year for the Medal Ceremony honoring graduating seniors. At the annual Department Awards Ceremony, the Department Chair presents each graduating senior with a medal of achievement which can be worn during Commencement. Each year the image on the medal will change; for 2014, the image was of a Wild Passion Flower (Passiflora incarnata) grown in the Department botanical garden.
Undergraduate Student Recognition
Professor Arthur Blickle Botany Scholarship for Women Given annually to a female undergraduate Botany major of demonstrated academic ability. The scholarship was established in 1995 by Mrs. Jacqueline McCalla Smith in honor of Professor Blickle, who taught in Ohio Universi-ty’s Botany Department from 1940 to 1980.
Rachel Anderson
Haley McAleer
Lela A. Ewers Science Scholarship Given each year to an undergraduate Botany major and based upon academic merit. The scholarship was a be-quest of Dr. Ewers’ estate in 1992. A trail blazer for women in science, Dr. Ewers, an alumna of Ohio University (1917), earned a Ph.D. in Biology from Ohio State University in 1929. She taught at Cottey College, a small junior college for women located in Missouri, from 1933 to 1958.
Christopher Benson
Charles E. Miller Scholarship Given annually to an undergraduate or graduate Botany major of outstanding academic merit showing potential for a career in teaching or research. The scholarship was endowed in 1986 in Dr. Miller’s memory through gifts from the faculty and Dr. Miller’s family. Chair of the Botany Department from 1970 to 1983, Dr. Miller was a strong advocate for student research.
Andrew Pasquale
C. Paul and Beth K. Stocker Scholarship Several awards given annually to undergraduate Botany majors with excellent academic credentials and demonstrat-ed qualities of personal initiative and self determination. The Stockers, both Ohio University alumni with a long history of commitment and generosity to the university, created the scholarship in 1974.
Morgan Varner
Haley Hershman Distinguished Professor Scholarship The Distinguished Professor Award is the highest distinction for faculty members at Ohio University. Established in 1958 by Edwin and Ruth Kennedy as a designated component of the John C. Baker Fund, the award recognizes exceptional research and scholarly or artistic achievements. As an Awardee, Dr. Gar Rothwell also has the honor of naming one student annually to receive the Distinguished Professor Scholarship, a scholarship that covers a full year's tuition.
Haley Hershman
Young Botanist Award The Young Botanist Award is given annually by the Botanical Society of America to recognize outstanding graduating seniors in the plant sciences. Nationally, only 25 students are given a Certificate of Special Achievement.
Emily Keil
Dr. Vis presenting at the Medal Ceremony to Emily Keil
with other medal recipients: T. Johnson, E. Clay D. Day
L to R: E. Usher, T. Johnson, E. Clay, D. Day, E Keil, A. Lester, J. Robertson
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Graduate Student Recognition
Environmental and Plant Biology Outstanding TA for 2013-2014 Each year, the College of Arts and Sciences asks departments to nominate one of their graduate students who repre-sents outstanding service as a teaching assistant. This year’s winner was nominated by three different people in the department.
Ben Gahagen
Ohio University Graduate Associate Outstanding Teaching Award 2013-2014 Given annually this unique program was established in 1987 to recognize the high quality in teaching of gradu-ate teaching assistants. Undergraduate students are asked to vote for their favorite graduate teaching associ-ates through an online ballot. The Graduate Associate Outstanding Teaching Award Selection Committee interviews the top nominees and observes them during their classes. Afterward, the list of potential recipients is narrowed down to four winners.
Ben Gahagen
The Donald Clippinger Graduate Fellowship The Donald Clippinger Named Graduate Fellowship is one of five named fellowships awarded annually by the Graduate College. The prestigious fellowship includes a full tuition scholarship and a $15,000. award. The fellowship honors Dr. Donald R. Clippinger, a professor of Chemistry and Dean of the Graduate College for over a decade, begin-ning in 1952.
Debarati Basu
Dr. Vis presenting to Ben Gahagen Poster Presentations
L to R: R. Anderson, H. Hershman, M. Bishop, A. Pasqual, C. Benson, E. Keil,
B. Gahagen, D. Basu Dr. Showalter presenting to Debarati Basu, Clippinger Fellowship winner
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
During the last two summers, under the able and enthusiastic guidance of Dr. Harvey Ballard, the
Department’s undergraduate internship program has grown by leaps and bounds. Internship sites
range from the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. to the Bernheim Arboretum and Research
Forest in Clermont, KY. At the beginning of fall semester, students present their experiences at the
annual Internship Symposium. Please see the internship Web site at http://www.ohio.edu/plantbio/
internships/. It includes blogs and symposium presentations from past student internships. Also
see the Arts and Sciences Forum story at http://www.ohio-forum.com/2013/10/plant-biology-
internships-available/
Evan Apt ’15 interns at the Fairchild Botanic Garden in
Coral Gables, FL.
Hello, my name is Evan Apt and I am currently a 4th year student at Ohio University.
This summer I decided it was time to get out and explore possibilities for future employ-
ment. I’ve always been fascinated by tropical plants so it was only natural that when it
came time to find an internship for the summer, I chose as tropical of a location as possi-
ble while still being in the continental U.S. That’s how I ended up here in Southern Miami,
Florida, working for the world renowned Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
I arrived here in Florida around one month ago, and since that time I have been very busy
assisting the horticulture and conservation staff in their day-to-day activities as well as
helping out with numerous other research projects. My goal for the next few weeks is to
slowly begin updating this blog with all the activities I have participated in.
Evan’s Blog: http://www.ohio-forum.com/2014/07/the-22nd-annual-international-mango-festival/
Chris Benson ’15 interns at the USDA ornamental research lab in
Washington, DC.
One of the things that pleased me most about my internship was that I felt like it was “my”
project. My supervisors and co-workers at the USDA provided me with the support and
tools I needed to be successful, but it was up to me to drive the effort. Having prior experi-
ence at the Ballard Lab enabled this degree of independence.
My research at the USDA was focused on an ornamental plant called Corylopsis. Corylop-
sis is an Asian shrub that is cherished for its bright yellow early spring flowers. The confus-
ing thing about Corylopsis is that the morphologic characteristics between species are so
minuscule that it is hard to differentiate species. Little genetic research has been done in
the past with Corylopsis. This experience gave me an opportunity to see what life will be
like after college when I’m working forty hours a week and coming home to a place where
the walls aren’t shaking from my roommate’s stereo system. Although I had a great time in
DC, I’m not quite ready to leave college and enter “the real world”. I have many things left
to learn at Ohio University, and besides, I can’t say I’ve had my fill of loud music just yet!
Chris’s Blog: http://www.ohio-forum.com/2014/08/usda-summer-internship/
Evan Apt at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden,
Coral Gables, FL.
Chris Benson
Washington DC
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Sean Deme at Bernheim Arboretum
Clermont, KY
Sean Demme, ‘16 interns with the Bernheim Arboretum
and Research Forest in Clermont, KY.
Hello, I’m Sean Demme and I am currently a Horticulture Intern at the
Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Clermont, KY. My first
couple days here were wildly exciting as this is my very first intern-
ship. After getting a tour of the arboretum and seeing the wonderful,
historic collections here, I was asked to do what’s referred to as
“What’s in Bloom?” This is where a horticulture technician or intern goes around various sections of
the park and picks plants that are in bloom to go on display in the visitors center at Bernheim. The
plants on display are labeled by their common and scientific names. Luckily each plant has a tag
with its scientific name to help identify and learn the flora in the park.
Sean’s Blog: http://www.ohio-forum.com/2014/06/the-first-couple-days-horticulture-intern-at-bernheim/
Jeremy Held ’17 interns at Edge of Appalachia Preserve,
Adams County, OH
For my summer internship, I chose the Edge of Appalachia Preserve in Adams County,
Ohio. Perhaps the most exciting and vigorous thing I’ve done so far this summer is ex-
amining a population of Paxistima canbyi. Commonly known as cliffgreen or Canby’s
mountain lover, this low-growing, evergreen species is found at only one other location
in Ohio.
Besides counting the plants, a colleague and I had the goal of doing some habitat man-
agement on the site. We know from records that the plant used to be present in greater
numbers here at the Edge of Appalachia Preserve. We also surmise that increased can-
opy cover may be responsible for the decline due to a high amount of young trees.
Thus, we have removed the smaller trees and photographed some of the clumps to see
how they respond in the coming years to more sunlight. The clumps corre-
spond to a map we drew of the site. One of the biggest challenges at Edge
of Appalachia, and any preserve for that matter, is invasive plants. For a
large preserve like EOA, the most effective way to treat these invasive plants
is herbicide application.
Over the course of several days, some colleagues and I worked a recently
acquired property by the Nature Conservancy. It was a former farm, and the
fields were teeming with autumn and Russian olive. We would apply a small
amount of herbicide around the base of each tree using a backpack sprayer.
Doing my part in the battle against invasives! Our hard work was rewarded
less than a week later when the leaves on the olive trees began turning brown.
Jeremy’s Blog: http://www.ohio-forum.com/2014/07/paxistima-canbyi-ohios-rarest-plant/
Edge of Appalachia Preserve
Adams County, OH
Jeremy Held , Edge of Appalachia Preserve
Adams County, OH
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Botanists’ tiny violet find attracts international scientific interest
By Andrea Gibson
Hugh Iltis was searching for wild potato plants in the high, arid slopes of the Peruvian Andes when he found what may
be the world's smallest violet. The scientist had paused to photograph wildlife, but dropped his camera filter. As he
combed through the dry brush to retrieve it, he pulled up tufts of a tiny, flowering plant. Upon later inspection at his
camp that evening, he recognized it as a type of violet, but had never seen anything like it before.
The discovery languished for 30 years until Iltis showed the specimen to Harvey Ballard, then a doctoral student in
botany at the University of Wisconsin focused on violet research. The two scientists searched the literature for a match
for the diminutive plant, which is only 1 centimeter high. They concluded, however, that the 1962 find was "utterly dis-
tinct and undescribed."
Today the scientists have a name for the violet: Viola lilliputana, in honor of the small folk featured in Jonathan Swift's
Gulliver's Travels. In 2012, the duo finally published their description of the plant, which boasts unique characteristics.
Why did it take so long? First, a gap between finding a specimen and describing it for the larger
scientific community isn't so unusual, says Ballard, now an associate professor of environmen-
tal and plant biology at Ohio University. And when they do, scientists are required to write it in
Latin.
"But for the first time in hundreds of years, the Botanical Congress has allowed scientists to
submit descriptions in English to speed up the process of describing and publishing new spe-
cies," he explains.
The two scientists also have spent the past two decades pursuing other lines of research. For
Iltis, professor emeritus of botany at University of Wisconsin-Madison, that's agricultural plants,
including work on how humans first cultivated corn. Ballard has built a career as a global violet
diversity expert. He's traveled internationally to collect and study viola in a variety of habitats,
such as Hawaii or Bolivia, where the plants live in extreme conditions or may be endangered.
But the duo never forgot the strange little flower that had been collected in the Andes Moun-
tains.
Iltis and Ballard aren't the only ones who thought the find was cool. The International Institute of Species Exploration at
Arizona State University voted it one of the top 10 interesting biodiversity discoveries of 2012. The institute releases its
list, deliberated by a team of scientists, to raise public awareness of the vast diversity of plant and animal life on our
planet. It's a snapshot of some of the amazing creatures and organisms that reside on this globe, as well as a reminder
of what's at stake if we don't protect nature.
"Worst-case scenarios suggest that as many as 50 percent of species might not survive the 21st century. Unless we
know what species exist to begin with, how are we to detect or respond to their loss? Only knowledge will prepare us
to minimize extinction, maximize sustained biodiversity, and understand the wondrous history of the origin and diversifi-
cation of the biosphere of which we are a part," said Quentin Wheeler, the institute's executive director.
The top 10 list, which also includes a glow-in-the-dark cockroach, a monkey with human-like eyes, and a sea sponge
that's an architectural beauty, was featured in National Geographic and other national media outlets earlier this year.
The ten discoveries were selected from more than 140 nominated species out of an estimated 18,000 species named
last year, according to the institute.
Viola Lilliputana
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Harvey Ballard and Juliana de Paula Souza. Photo: Rachael Stanley, College of Arts and Sciences
But back to lilliputana. Other than being one of the smallest violets in the world, it also has unique leaves and other
characteristics, such as a pair of long, gauzy appendages that wrap around the young flower bud. Although Ballard can
only speculate about the function of these features, he suggests that they probably evolved to help the tiny violet sur-
vive in the harsh climate of the Andes.
"It's an amazingly hostile environment," Ballard says. "Everything that grows there is the size of your thumb or smaller.
It bakes in the sun all day and freezes at night."
Although the Lilliputian violet is unique, Ballard notes that he expects to describe and publish at least seven other new
species from this region of Peru in the next year. A new grant from Ohio University's Baker Fund will allow him and
longtime collaborator Juliana de Paula Souza, a postdoctoral fellow from Brazil now working at Ohio University for the
next year, to study collections of other Latin American violets at various herbaria (plant museums) around the United
States and in Mexico.
Ballard confirms that the Andes, the discovery site of lilliputana, is one of the top "hot spots" on the planet for violet
diversity; the mountains of China and the Swiss Alps also rank high. But you don't have to go that far to find unique new
species of viola, the scientist notes. During a trip to Virginia last year, Ballard informed state natural resources officials
that the plant they'd been identifying as a Midwestern prairie violet for decades was, in fact, a completely different and
unique species inhabiting shale barrens, another harsh and exposed habitat that has yielded many other species new
to science in the previous century.
A different violet blooming between cracks of the crushed limestone gravel at the Mountain Lake Biological Station, the
base camp for Ballard and assistants during his Virginia violet hunting, also turned out to be something unexpected. It
was a population of the northern bog violet Viola nephrophylla, known previously from very old specimens in three
counties of West Virginia and thought to be extinct south of western Ohio and New York.
"There are still a lot of discoveries," Ballard says, "to be made right here in the United States."
This article appears in the Autumn/Winter 2013 issue of Ohio University's Perspectives magazine.
Violet image, courtesy of Harvey Ballard http://www.ohio.edu/research/communications/lilliputian.cfm
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
How Much Appetite Does Soil Have for Climate Change?
By A&S Forum March 25, 2014
Above the soil, trees and crops are dining on carbon dioxide—even grabbing more than scientists originally expected
from the atmosphere. They might suck some of that carbon into their roots, or lay it down upon the soil as they wither with
winter.
While one Ohio University researcher is studying how much carbon farmland and forests absorb from the atmosphere,
another is looking at what happens to carbon in the soil—with implications for the climate change conversation. Will the
blanket of earth on the planet continue to hold more carbon? Or might the soil eventually belch more CO2 back into the
atmosphere if its digestive enzymes get out of balance?
“In the last decade, a growing concern about the potential consequences of climate change on soil processes, coupled
with a desire to develop methods of improving carbon sequestration, have stimulated experimental research, modelling
and theorizing,” writes Dr. Jared DeForest in “Soil enzymes in a changing environment: Current knowledge and future
directions.” DeForest is Associate Professor of Environmental and Plant Biology at Ohio University. His co-authored arti-
cle won the 2013 John S. Waid Review Award and is now freely available online.
DeForest has set the table for how researchers might look at decomposition in the soil and even how they might manipu-
late its appetite for digestion. His dinner companions might be a diverse group—mathematicians, aquatic specialists,
genetic bioengineers, even nanotechnology developers.
The Main Actors—Enzymes
The recycling of carbon-rich plant material in the soil depends on “an aggressive consortia of microorganisms.” The
agents of organic matter decomposition are extracellular enzymes (EEs for short). The food web depends on the depoly-
merisation (breakdown) of the carbon and nitrogen components of plants, microbes and animals and the production of
minerals in the soil. This creates “the trophic base for detritus food webs, drives global carbon and nutrient cycles, and
mediates plant production and atmospheric composition,” says DeForest.
Increased soil temperatures, elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide, and more frequent wetting and drying cycles will affect
how the microorganisms do their job of dealing with litter decomposition and root exudation (think sap). “Soil organic mat-
ter is an often recalcitrant complex that is both synthesized and degraded by microbial enzyme activities. The balance
between these two competing processes determines how much carbon is sequestered,” DeForest says. “Those attempt-
ing to quantify or even manipulate the outcomes of global warming must now take into account the microbial responses,
including soil enzyme activities, that may affect recalcitrant humic matter.”
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Adding or Subtracting Carbon?
Researchers need to find out more about how microbes in the soil regulate enzymes in order to be able to predict how
changes in temperature and rainfall might disrupt the breakdown of carbon into the soil. Think of pools of tiny cells for-
aging in the soil for “food” (substrate). How much energy does it take to find it? How much energy goes to producing the
enzymes needed for decomposition? And how much goes to other cell functions? What happens when soil tempera-
tures rise? The rate of enzyme activity may increase with temperature, but microbes may decrease enzyme production
in response to warming. Similarly, during drought, enzyme production might go down even as the size of the microbial
pool grows.
“We urgently need more information on microbial regulation of enzyme synthesis, secretion and survival in order to pre-
dict how enzyme pool sizes, stability and activities are likely to change with changes in temperature and precipitation
frequency,” DeForest says.
“There is increasing evidence that root exudation rates will increase with elevated atmospheric CO2, altering the relative
availabilities of soil carbon and nutrients, particularly nitrogen, in soils,” DeForest says. “This has the potential to modify
heterotrophic soil respiration which, in turn, may further increase atmospheric CO2 concentrations. However, we need
more detail as to how microbial enzyme production and turnover are altered by changes in root exudation and plant litter
deposition in order to be able to predict changes in the net ecosystem exchange of CO2.”
Managing the Soil?
“Given what we know about extracellular enzymes, from the molecular processes of their generation and how their exter-
nalization is controlled to their locations and activities in the environment, the question arises: Do we have enough infor-
mation to manipulate activities in order to promote specific ecosystem services?” DeForest asks. “The answer to this
depends on our level of understanding regarding the particular enzyme(s) involved and the large number of abiotic and
biotic factors affecting activity.”
“For example, should we manage environments to promote the abundance, gene expression and/or protein assembly by
organisms that generate the desired enzyme(s) or should we attempt to create optimal conditions for the activity of extra-
cellular enzymes functioning broadly independently of cells?”
Biostimulation, for example, might include adding nutrients or promoting fungal growth by reducing tilling. Bioaugmenta-
tion might include culturing bacterial strains in order to harvest the enzymes that need to be added to the soil. Another
option might be to engineer plants as vectors to distribute the needed enzymes.
Read more of Dr. DeForest’s thought provoking questions and the nine key research priorities he identifies in his article.
“Soil enzymes in a changing environment: Current knowledge and future directions”
This article appeared in the Arts & Sciences Forum May 29, 2014 .
http://www.ohio-forum.com/2014/03/how-much-appetite-does-soil-have-for-climate-change/
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
How DNA barcoding can boost quality control for medical plant products
By Andrea Gibson
In Pakistan, about 70 percent of people use herbal medicines because they don't have the money for or access to
pharmaceutical drugs. More than 350 companies produce inexpensive, effective natural treatments for these consum-
ers, and there are 60,000 registered traditional healers who prescribe such medicines.
But is the plant advertised on the product bottle always what's inside? To boost quality control, herbal medicine compa-
nies in Pakistan reached out to university scientists.
An Ohio University alumnus connected Professor Zabta Shinwari of Pakistan's Quaid-i-Azam University with Professor
Allan Showalter, an expert on plant molecular biology in the Department of Environmental and Plant Biology and the
Molecular and Cellular Biology Program. With funding from the Pakistan government and the U.S. National Academy
of Sciences, the researchers have worked over the last three years to sequence specific segments of DNA for 43 plants
commonly used in herbal medicines and to create a database of their findings.
The concept, known as DNA barcoding, is used by scientists around the globe to catalog genetic material from thou-
sands of different living things, including various bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals, Showalter explains. Similar to the
unique pattern of bars in a universal product code that identifies each consumer product, a DNA barcode is a unique
pattern of DNA sequence that identifies each species of life on the planet.
Showalter and Shinwari hope that their database will be used by the Pakistan companies, which are now
required by law to verify the contents of their products.
"With barcoding, you also eliminate the need for continual native plant expertise," Showalter says. "If you
have a DNA sequence, you don't need to see the plant and have the taxonomist identify it."
Although the database is designed for quality control in the laboratory, Showalter notes that scientists
hope that a handheld device also could be developed to verify the identity of plants right in the field.
The database could be useful beyond the borders of Pakistan. There are other countries around the
globe where 50 to 80 percent of the population relies on herbal medicines, Shinwari says. And even in
nations—including the United States—where people may have good access to pharmaceutical drugs,
some choose natural treatments for religious or other personal reasons, Showalter adds.
The project not only could help improve product safety for the industry and its consumers, Shinwari says,
but could have economic impacts as well. Most of the herbs used by companies are harvested from the
wild by women and children. As this activity can make up about 20 percent of their total annual household income, he
says, the new database could support the jobs of many rural people below the poverty line.
This story appeared in the Spring/Summer 2014 issue of Ohio University's Perspectives magazine,
http://www.ohio.edu/research/communications/upload/Perspectives_Sp-S14_web.pdf
Illustration By Christina Ullman
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
NASA Announces Wyatt Flight Experiment on International Space Station
By A&S Forum May 29, 2014
Among the 31 space biology research proposals NASA announced on May 29 for
immediate implementation is an experiment with Arabidopsis seedlings by Dr.
Sarah Wyatt, Professor of Environmental & Plant Biology at Ohio University
NASA will fund the “Research Opportunities in Space Biology” proposals to help
investigate questions about how cells, plants and animals respond to changes in
gravity. Nine flight experiments will be conducted on the International Space
Station, 14 ground-based studies are designed to lead to the development of
hypotheses to be tested on the space station, and 8 proposals to collect prelimi-
nary data by investigators new to space biology. Selected proposals are from 21
institutions in 13 states and will receive a total of about $14.9 million over a one- to four-year period. Scientific and
technical experts from academia and government reviewed the proposals.
Wyatt’s experiment is an International Space Station flight experiment on “Proteomics Analysis Of Arabidopsis Seed-
lings In Microgravity.”
“This is a big adventure. Just figuring out what it takes to do a spaceflight experiment is monumental: the acronyms, the
hardware, the paperwork, refining and detailing the experimental parameters, the timeline, the pressure,” Wyatt says.
“It’s not like we can just redo this if something doesn’t work. It’s a steep learning curve! But really exciting. Our stuff is
going to fly!”
It’s also a great opportunity for the graduate and undergraduate researchers in Wyatt’s lab, some of whom will be able
to go to the Kennedy Space Center.
“During the definition phase of the project, we counted a bazillion seedlings,” says Marilyn Hayden ’13, now a graduate
student working in the Wyatt Lab. “I’m definitely looking forward to seeing these guys fly. Can’t wait to get to Kennedy.”
Experiment Abstract: The space flight environment provides a unique environment to understand how gravity informs
plant growth, development and physiological processes. The central objective of this study is to determine what pro-
teins are differentially expressed during space flight in developing Arabidopsis seedlings. A body of research has evalu-
ated the differential gene expression on space flight vs ground controls, but gene expression provides an indirect
measure of what proteins are expressed. Genes may be transcribed but the transcripts degraded, or translated proteins
may be regulated through post translational modifications. Our hypothesis is simple: Some components of plant physi-
ology that are informed by gravity are regulated by post transcriptional or post translational mechanisms. Proteomic
analysis is the best/only method to identify these components. We propose to use BRIC-PDFU hardware on a Rapid
Turn-Around Space Flight Experiment to gain insights into differences in protein profiles between Arabidopsis seedlings
grown during space flight and ground based controls. Arabidopsis seedlings will be germinated, grown and tissues
fixed on orbit. Once returned to Earth, total protein will be extracted, labeled with iTRAQ reagents and analyzed for
differences in protein profiles. These data will complement the gene expression data currently available from space
flight experiments and also provide novel insights by supplying data on differences in post-transcriptional regulation.
They will also provide a foundation to generate additional hypotheses as to the mechanisms involved in gravity percep-
tion/response in plants.
This article appeared in the Arts & Sciences Forum May 29, 2014 .
http://www.ohio-forum.com/2014/05/nasa-announces-wyatt-flight-experiment-on-international-space-station/
“This is a big adventure.
Just figuring out what it
takes to do a spaceflight
experiment is
monumental”
Wyatt says.
Arabidopsis seeds
Dr. Sarah Wyatt
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Restoration Ecology students transform landscape of
Radar Hill
By Kristyn Repke April 15, 2013
An Ohio University plant biology course has caught spring fever as they work to increase the
biodiversity of Radar Hill
Students in Jared DeForest’s Restoration Ecology course (PBIO 3/5330) have spent spring se-
mester working on a biodiversity project on Radar Hill, a site on The Ridges. Instead of having a
lecture each class, the students apply class principles in the field on Mondays, gaining real-world
experience in restoration ecology methods.
The project’s main goal is to increase biodiversity on Radar Hill by introducing and maintaining
plant species in the area. In order to become a prairie, the area must be able to maintain grasses
and herbaceous plants rather than primarily tree growth. “One of the problems is there aren’t
seeds up there and it’s not like good plants are going to get up on Radar Hill, invasive or other-
wise,” said DeForest, associate professor of ecosystem and soil ecology in the College of Arts and
Sciences. “This project is the start of providing that gene pool and increasing the biodiversity of
Radar Hill.”
Students were in charge of the project, with only a few restrictions: a $50 spending limit, the plants
must require full sunlight and plants must be able to grow in clay soil. Additionally, students had to
select seeds from a list assembled by DeForest, choosing plants that would grow well together
and pollinate year-round in order to support the bugs in the area, furthering growth on Radar Hill.
“The species we really went for are big blue stem, purple coneflower and butterfly weed,” said
DeForest. “Students still had free rein to an extent, but butterfly weed already grows on the hill.
These plants are also the dominant species of a prairie.” The class maintained their plots through
manual labor, using rakes and shovels to dig trenches, distributing seeds by hand and even get-
ting on their hands and knees to clear away invasive grasses. They worked through all types of
weather this semester, from heavy snowfall and pouring rain to warm, sunny days. DeForest
merely observes the students’ work and makes occasional suggestions.
DeForest developed the idea for the project through personal experiences working on Radar Hill.
He noticed that most plants there were consumed by deer or were not supported by the soil and
weather conditions on the hill. DeForest said that the area would not diversify on its own and thus
developed the project, with financial support from the Plant Biology Department, to do so. The
project is expected to span several semesters and years of DeForest’s Restoration Ecology cours-
es. Once this semester’s students move on, the next group of students will track the plots’ pro-
gress and gather the seeds from these plots to spread all over Radar Hill. Each plot will have a
plaque that will tell future students what seeds and plants are located there.
“This is just the start,” said DeForest. “With this being the first time we’ve done this project, it’s just
an experiment. Some things might work or might not. That’s what restoration is though—you just
do it and see what happens.”
“There may be some results early on depending on the weather, but it will be at least a year to
fully see visible growth and what worked or didn’t,” said graduate student Ryan Dorkoski
When asked if she would come back and check on the progress of the project in the future, soph-
omore Shannon Walzer-Kuharic said she might, “just to see how the plants are progressing and
spreading.”
This article appears Compass April 15, 2013 http://www.ohio.edu/compass/stories/12-13/4/
Restoration-ecology.cfm
Andrew Pasquale (left) and Amanda Lester use rakes to clear their soil
plot of invasive grass species.
“I was interested in
restoration ecology
as a career so I
thought that this
course and project
would be a good fit
for me,”
“It’s been a cool class
to be out in the field
for too.”
Junior Kyle Grubbs
Emily Usher (left), Cody Feiler, Jessica Linder and Sean Fenstemaker disperse
seeds in their area. Students selected their own seed types, which vary by
plot.
The above photo shows what Radar Hill is expected to look like in three years
if the biodiversity project goes as planned. Photo by Jared DeForest.
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Vis Names Newly Discovered Red Algae After California Professor
By A&S Forum February 28, 2014
From California State University San Marcos News Center
Researchers at Ohio University in collaboration with European col-
leagues have named a new group of red algae Sheathia after CSUSM
professor Dr. Bob Sheath, an aquatic biologist and one of the preemi-
nent experts on North American freshwater algae.
The newly identified genus, or collection of species, can be found in
freshwater streams both locally and worldwide. This is the first time an
organism has been named after a CSUSM professor.
“The total number of species on earth is estimated to be 8.7 million,”
explained College of Science and Mathematics Dean Katherine Kantardjieff. “To
have an organism named after you is a distinct honor that places Dr. Sheath in
very distinguished company as a scientist. CSUSM is extremely proud of his achievement. Dr. Sheath joins a group of
notable individuals who have organisms named for them, including naturalist David Attenburough, as well as Presi-
dents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.”
The new group of Sheathia algae was formerly lumped in with the Batrachospermum genus, until a research team led
by Dr. Morgan Vis, Professor and Chair of Environmental and Plant Biology at Ohio University, recently discovered a
subgroup within the species that shared a distinct morphological characteristic, known as heterocortication, and is
distinct on DNA sequence gene trees. A term coined by Dr. Sheath, heterocortication describes a mix of spherical and
cyclical cells that cover the main axis or branch of the organism. The varied cell-structures are believed to help protect
the algae from breaking apart in the moving current of the stream.
The splitting of the Batrachospermum genus, as well as the unveiling of the new Sheathia genus, will be published in
an upcoming issue of the Journal of Phycology and can be read online. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/
jpy.12179/abstract
“We think it is fitting to name this genus after Dr. Bob Sheath as it has many of the North American taxa that he has
worked to elucidate the systematics as well as the ecology,” said Dr. Vis.
Having the new name published in the Journal of Phycology, one of the most cited journals in aquatic botany, is also a
touching tribute for Dr. Sheath after serving five years as the editor-in-chief of the publication.
“It’s a big honor to have my work in the field of freshwater algae be recognized in this way,” said Dr. Sheath.
Dr. Sheath has been studying freshwater algae for almost 40 years. In 2012 his lab at CSUSM was certified as the
California Primary Algae Laboratory, the only lab in the State of California to collect and catalog freshwater algae sam-
ples.
Read more about Dr. Sheath’s work in Clean Water, Green Water. response in plants.
Note: Eric Solomaki (MS 2013) was first author on the paper which was a culmination of his theses.
This article appeared in the Arts & Sciences Forum February 28,, 2014 .
http://www.ohio-forum.com/2014/02/vis-names-newly-discovered-red-algae-after-california-professor/
Magnified image of Sheathia, a soft-bodied red algae found in freshwater streams.
Photo by Dr. Bob Sheath.
"We think it is fitting
to name this genus
after Dr. Bob Sheath
as it has many of the
North American taxa
that he has worked
to elucidate the sys-
tematics as well as
the ecology,”
said Dr. Vis.
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Plant Bio’s Martha Bishop Named Outstanding
Administrator
Compass March 20, 2014
Only three outstanding administrators are honored each year across the Athens and
Regional campuses. Bishop and two others were honored on Monday, March 10, at
the annual Outstanding Administrator and Administrative Service Awards Ceremo-
ny . “Martha is in good company as Connie Pollard, Departmental Administrator,
and Harold Blazier, Greenhouse Manager, have previously won the award,” says
Dr. Morgan L. Vis, Professor & Chair of Environmental & Plant Biology. “Our depart-
ment is truly lucky to have such talented and dedicated staff.”
As laboratory coordinator, Bishop manages Plant Biology lab classrooms and two
stockrooms. She prepares, sets up, takes down and cleans all the materials needed
teaching multiple sections of labs. In Plant Biology, this includes mixing chemical
solutions, culturing and maintaining living plants, protists, fungi, and bacteria, and
field collecting and preserving plant, fungal, cyanobacterial, and algal specimens.
She also supports teaching assistants and lab instructors while the labs are in pro-
gress.
Bishop maintains and ensures safe handling of chemicals and operates the water
distilling unit. Training faculty, graduate students, and student workers in safe and
proper operation of all teaching equipment in the labs is part of her role. She also
oversees the storage, maintenance and repair of scientific teaching equipment .
“I strive to create an environment for students and teachers that allows them to
attend to the work at hand in a safe, clean and efficient way. I try to be available
throughout the day to troubleshoot emergencies arising in the labs and in the build-
ing. I have been very pleased with comments of professionals visiting from other
departments and other universities that very favorably compare the condition and
organization of our teaching labs to those they have experienced elsewhere. Also
when graduate students have started their careers at other colleges they have con-
tacted me for advice in setting up their own labs. They have remarked that they
never realized how much work went in to preparing for operating teaching labs, and
just how good our organization here is, until they were faced with having to search
for supplies and protocols that were not as readily accessible,” Bishop says. Bishop
supports the teaching mission of the Department by co-instructing the Biology of
Fungi class with Dr. Trese, and she teaches the Medicinal Plants of Ohio class
during Summer.
She also is active in community conservation efforts as well as in professional my-
cological organizations. She served on the Board of Directors and was Vice Presi-
dent of Buckeye Forest Council; currently serves on the Board of Directors of the
Friends of Stroud’s Run and of the Ohio Mushroom Association; and is a Volunteer
Emergency Mushroom Identifier with the North American Mycological Association.
Martha Bishop with her husband Ed Newman
Martha Bishop and OU President, Dr. Roderick McDavis
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Tech Savvy Conference hosts middle school girls and
parents.
By Erica Molfetto Compass May 27, 2014
The Baker University Center was buzzing with excitement on Saturday, May 17, for Ohio
University’s first-ever Tech Savvy conference.
Fifty four middle-school girls from 13 counties in Ohio and West Virginia gathered on
campus to learn more about the rewarding careers that math, science and engineering
have to offer.
The mission of the day, according to event chair and keynote speaker Dr. Sarah Wyatt,
Professor of Environmental & Plant Biology, “was to encourage middle school girls to
continue their education in science, math and engineering. It is important because they
are good paying jobs with solid futures, jobs that are increasing now with great potential
for the future.”
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) and their sponsors at Praxair
selected Ohio University to host its first Tech Savvy event this year because of its prestig-
ious math and science departments.
The students’ day began at 10 a.m. with fun, engaging workshops such as “Physics is
Phun” and “CSI Athens,” in which the girls processed a crime scene and caught criminals
based on their data.
As for their parents, the 30 participants engaged in workshops about college admissions
and financial aid after finishing a tour of the Athens Campus.
At lunch, the girls and their parents attended a resource fair that featured representatives
from the Russ College of Engineering, graduate students from ‘the Department of Mathe-
matics, as well as other representatives from Hocking College and Ohio University. This
workshop gave the girls and their parents an opportunity to meet current students and
faculty with backgrounds in math, science, and engineering to gain insight into what their
future may hold.
The day concluded with another series of workshops for the girls and a guidance panel for
adults.
While the girls learned about the Myers-Briggs personality test, internet responsibility and
“The Teenage Brain and Decision Making,” parents discussed the importance of support-
ing their teenage daughters during this crucial time of transition.
PBIO department facilitators included: Anna Brito, Martha Bishop, Dr. Melanie Schori, Dr. Harvey Ballard, Dr. Morgan Vis, Dr. Sarah Wyatt, Dr. Kim Thompson, Jamie Dewey, Eileen Schulz. Undergraduate Students: Adam Cook, Alyssa Dawson, Kevin Green and Megan Osika. Graduate Students: Marilyn Hayden, Proma Basu, Debarati Basu, Marion Holmes, Nick Tomeo. Plants supplied by the PBIO Green House.
Read the full story: http://www.ohio.edu/compass/stories/13-14/5/tech-savvy-2014.cfm
Shifra Narasimhan, left and Abigail Tadlock learn to build a simple circuit during the
Tech Savvy workshop on May 17, 2014. The event exposed girls from sixth through
ninth grade to the field of science, technology engineering and math.
Photo by Jonathan Adams.
Students examine bloody footprints from a mock crime scene
Photo by Jonathan Adams.
Raven Braglin examines finger prints recovered from a mock crime scene
Photo by Jonathan Adams.
Professor Sarah Wyatt talks with the students and parents about her programs
research studies for NASA
Photo by Jonathan Adams.
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Logan High School Students Learn about Plant Biology
By Gretchen Gregory Compass April 11, 2014
Fifty-five Logan High School students from Autum Barry and Alyssa Burns’ biomedical science
class and advanced placement biology class learned about plant biology and biomedical re-
search at Ohio University during a recent visit to the Athens Campus.
Acid mine drainage mediation, photosynthesis and climate change, gravitropism, microgravity
and genomics were some topics of discussion and afforded students an opportunity to learn
more about each subject to find out if it sparked enough interest to start a career in a particular
field.
“This experience gave students the opportunity to explore various science-related careers and to see real-world appli-
cation of content and laboratory skills they have learned in the classroom,” Barry explained.
The trip was made possible by a Duke Energy grant through the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio and also included a
visit to the OHIO Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Students asked a variety of questions related to the education and experience needed to pursue a career in plant
biology, and intently listened as Environmental and Plant Biology Professor Dr. Morgan Vis, Assistant Professor Dr.
David Rosenthal, Professor Dr. Sarah Wyatt, and Graduate Student Ben Gahagen led discussions about their latest
research.
Wyatt was a first-generation college student who developed an interest in plants at a young age, she said, primarily
because her parents were heavily involved in their farming community. Her interest in plants sparked an imagination
that led her to seek a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctoral degree and later conduct research with NASA.
“Think about all the science fiction movies you’ve ever seen,” Wyatt told a group of eager LHS students. “In every one
of them and in every science fiction drawing, they always have a greenhouse. Somehow the science fiction authors
have figured out that we’re going to have to take plants into space.”
Plants are taken on long-term space flights in order to understand how they grow within microgravity, she noted.
“When you’re doing a long-term space flight, how much stuff would it take for you to live for a year?” she asked the
class. “All the food, all the water, and with all the stuff needed, the reason why you need to take plants—and why we
need to understand how plants grow in modified gravity—is so we can take them along. They will provide us with
medicines, food, clothing, and ultimately everything else we need, including air.”
Wyatt detailed that experiments can be tested in microgravity on Earth inside a KC135 airplane during parabolic flight
in order to replicate the conditions in space.
“We get about 40 seconds of microgravity to test equipment,” she noted. “It’s really fun to be in microgravity.”
Wyatt’s research is trying to determine how bioregenerative life support in space might work and find the best mecha-
nisms needed to support life. “We’re trying to figure out how we can best utilize plans in a small environment, and find
out how we can best manage our plans and manage the ones we want to use and not completely destroy all the
land,” she said.
Rosenthal told students about his work with photosynthesis and climate change and detailed how undergraduate
students have a unique opportunity to participate in research at Ohio University.
“I really enjoyed speaking to the Logan High School students,” he said. “This was a unique opportunity to reach an
audience I do not usually interact with. The sense I got from the students is that they were excited to be here.”
This article appears in Compass April 11, 2014
http://www.ohio.edu/compass/stories/13-14/4/2014-Logan-High-School.cfm
Sarah Wyatt stands on a table to demonstrate the effects of a drop tower by
pouring water from an aluminum can into a trash can below.
Photographer: Gretchen Gregory
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
The greenhouse and garden area continues to remain a popular destination point for classes from
various disciplines. Several classes from Fine Arts utilize the area as well as Anthropology, OPIE,
Recreation Sciences and others. Several local amateur and professional photographers also frequent
our site. Our own department has several courses meeting and/or maintaining class projects in the
facility. The facility supplies living plant material to approximately twenty-five or more PBIO courses
per year many with multiple sections at both the undergraduate and graduate level. We also provide
several hundred starter plants yearly as give away material for student recruitment events such as;
Major’s Fair, Discovery Day and Scholars Day.
In the garden area we have been able to remove the forty year old juniper hedge enclosing the garden
from the Scott Quad alley side. This really increases the visibility of the garden to passers-by. Hope-
fully we will be able to capitalize on this aspect and further increase the awareness of the greenhouse
and garden to the public as we begin to develop new plantings. We are adding the finishing touches to
the patio seating area connected to our recently constructed carnivorous plant bog in the upper garden
level. Work progress photos can be viewed on the Greenhouse and Garden Facebook page. This
bog construction replaces the wooden bog structure that was located in the lower garden level and
built twenty-four years ago. The down side to the garden news story is that as of this summer we have
been chosen by six deer to set up residence in our area. This includes a six point buck, a doe and twin
fawns, and two young does! Of course they are just assisting the resident groundhogs, rabbits, squir-
rels and chipmunks in seeing that the plants are all well pruned at all times. The greenhouse also
benefits greatly this year from the department purchase of a 2014 Ford F150 pickup truck to replace
the old red Chevy S10 that served faithfully for many years. This vehicle joins the 2002 GMC cargo
van for use in support of various greenhouse tasks.
The greenhouse is able to maintain several very interesting and somewhat unique plant collections.
These specimens can be utilized for teaching, research, general interest, or for aesthetic purposes.
Some of the groups aren’t as obvious as others and their special traits can be easily overlooked. The
following is just a brief overview of a few of these groups that exist within our large and diverse plant
population.
Ant/Plant Mutualism – This fairly recent grouping of interesting plants contains genera that demon-
strate (sans ants) the symbiosis that has developed between these two organisms. The plants include:
ferns, Acacia, bromeliad, Dischidia, Hydnophytum, Myrmecodia, and others.
Aroids – Numerous genera of temperate and tropical specimens with flower sizes ranging from that of
the genus Pistia to the enormous spathe and spadix of the Amorphophallus titanum are represented in
this large grouping.
Carnivorous Plants – Possibly the largest and most diverse collection of this plant type in the region is
maintained at our facility. Both temperate, some native to Ohio, and tropical growing examples exist
within the collection. We have aquatic examples, bog plantings, ones that would be happy growing as
epiphytes, several with passive trapping mechanisms, and some that exhibit active trapping. Plant
movement, hybridization, morphological specialization, adaptation, and human curiosity are all well
able to be observed with these plants.
Cycads – We house several very nice specimen size plants that are utilized heavily in teaching and
with research projects.
Epiphyte Collection – Various ferns, orchids, and bromeliads are the main contributors to this unique
group of plants with specialized growing requirements.
Please consider being a ‘friend’ of the greenhouse on Facebook! Hopefully, as time allows, I will be able to post updates more frequently
that will show off more of the greenhouse and garden area including many of the other specific plant collections that we maintain. Check us
out and add your comments at www.facebook.com/oupbiogreenhouse I would love to hear from former students that had a greenhouse
connection over the last twenty-five years while I’ve been the manager so drop me a line! Harold Blazier, Greenhouse Manager
Amorphophallus Titanum
Nepenthes Alata
Venus Flytrap Seedlings
Cycad and Fern Room
Epiphyte Wall
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
After several years of hard work in databasing and imaging Ohio specimens, we now have the Ohio University herbarium collections data-
base online. And, we now have a regional network linking our online database with Marietta College, Muskingum University and Youngstown
State University. This Appalachian Ohio Herbarium Database Network is one of the first online database networks in the Midwest region. We
hope to expand the network in the near future to include databases of Miami University, Ohio State University, Kent State University and
other herbaria, to create the Ohio plant specimen database network. We have databased all Ohio specimens and, in some institutions, we
have completed databasing of all specimens. We are continuing with imaging of specimens to link to online records later.
The database is available for online searches including images of most North American specimens including specimens representing all
Appalachian Ohio species.
The Floyd Bartley Herbarium of Ohio University www.ohio.edu/plantbio/herbarium
Vijay Nadella, Genomics Facility Manager
Porter Hall 511
Vijay Nadella, Director of the Genomics Facility since Fall 2006, accepted a position with Nationwide Children’s Hospi-
tal Research Institute’s Biomedical Genomics Core in Columbus and began his new duties in June.
Under Vijay’s leadership, the Genomics Facility added a technician, a graduate student biostatistician, a PACE posi-
tion, and significant equipment and upgrades. Along with the increase of Facilities resources came a comparable in-
crease in services available to researchers.
Vijay contributed to the educational mission of the University as well as to the research community. He developed and
taught a course on advanced genomics techniques, taught a module for an annual MCB course, mentored undergradu-
ate student projects, and often toured groups through the Facility.
We wish him every success and thank him for the great work he has done at Ohio University.
Vijay Nadella with award for service
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Honors
Presidential Teacher Award 2011-12 to 2014-15
Publications
Ballard, Jr., H. E., Zmarzty, S. (2014). Violaceae. In Utteridge, T. and G. Bramley (Ed.), Tropical Plant Families Identification Handbook
(pp. 88-89). Kew: Royal Botanic Garden.
Ballard, Jr., H. E., de Paula-Souza, J., Wahlert, G. A. (2014). In Klaus Kubitzki (Ed.), Violaceae, in "Families and genera of vascular
plants". Springer.
Ballard, Jr., H. E. (2013). In G. Yatskievich (Ed.), Violaceae, in, "Flora of Missouri" (vol. 3, pp. 1218-1243). St. Louis, MO: Missouri
Botanical Garden Press.
Wahlert, G. A., Marcussen, T., de Paula-Souza, J., Feng, M., Ballard, Jr., H. E. (2014). A phylogeny of the Violaceae (Malpighiales)
inferred from plastid DNA sequences: Implications for generic diversity and intrafamilial classification. Systematic Botany, 39(1), 239-
252.
McCauley, R. A., Ballard, Jr., H. E. (2013). Viola calcicola (Violaceae), a new endemic violet from the Guadalupe Mountains of New
Mexico and Texas. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 7(1).
Grants
February 2014: (co-PI) Ohio Board of Regents, Porter Hall Growth Chambers, $60,000
September 2013: USDA, Plant Biology Student Internship, $21,450
August 2013: (co-PI) NSF, MRI: Acquisition of a Controlled Environment Plant Growth Chamber, $388,977
September 2009-2013: NSF, ARRA: The Appalachian Ohio Herbarium Database Network, $494,019
Publications
Xiang, C.-L., Zhang, Q., Scheen, A., Cantino, P. D., Funamoto, T., Peng, H. (2013). Molecular phylogenetics
of Chelonopsis (Lamiaceae: Gomphostemmatae) as inferred from nuclear and plastid DNA and morphology. Taxon, 62, 375-386.
Chen, Y.-P., Li, B., Olmstead, R. G., Cantino, P. D., Liu, E.-D., Xiang, D.-L. (2014). Phylogenetic placement of the enigmatic ge-
nus Holocheila (Lamiaceae) inferred from plastid DNA sequences. Taxon, 63, 355-366.
Honors
Awarded the 2013 John Waid Review of the Year prize by Soil Biology and Biochemistry
Publications
Stone, M., DeForest, J., Plante, A. (2014). Changes in extracellular enzyme activity and microbial community structure with soil depth
across contrasting parent materials in two tropical forests. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 75, 327-247.
Jin, L., Son, Y., DeForest, J., Yu, K. J., Kim, W., Chung, H. (2014). Single-walled carbon nanotubes alter soil microbial community
composition. Science of the Total Environment. 466-467, 533-538.
Rinkes, Z. L., DeForest, J., Grandy, A. S., Moorhead, D. L., Weintraub, M. N. (2014). Interactions between leaf litter quality, particle
size, and microbial community during the earliest stage of decay. Biogeochemistry, 117:153-168.
Burns, R., DeForest, J., Marxen, J. C., Sinsabaugh, R. L., Stromberger, M. E., Wallenstein, M. D., Weintraub, M. H., Zoppini, A.
(2013). Soil enzyme research: current knowledge and future directions. Soil Biology and Biocehmistry, 58: 216-234.
Shaw, A. N., DeForest, J. (2013). The cycling of readily available phosphorus in response to elevated phosphate in acidic temperate
deciduous forests. Applied Soil Ecology, 63: 88-93.
Grants
Jared DeForest, February 2014: (co-PI) Ohio Board of Regents, Porter Hall Growth Chambers, $60,000
August 2013: (co-PI) NSF, MRI: Acquisition of a Controlled Environment Plant Growth Chamber, $388,977
August 2009-2013: NSF, ARRA: LIT: Collaborative Research: What Lies Beneath, $200,914
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Publications
Faik, A. (2013). In Tingyue Gu (Ed.), “Plant Cell Wall Structure-Pretreatment” the Critical Relationship in Biomass Conversion to Fermenta-
ble Sugars (pp. DOI:10.1007/978-94-007-6052-3). Springer.
Faik, A., Jiang, N., Held, M. (2014). In Carpita, NC; Buckeridge, MS; McCann MC (Ed.), Xylan biosynthesis in plants, simply complex. pp
153-181 (DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-9329-7_10) New York: Springer.
Gu, T., Held, M., Faik, (2013) A. Supercritical CO2 and Ionic Liquids for the Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass in Bioethanol Produc-
tion. Environmental Technology (34), 1735-1749.
Liang, Y., Basu, D., Pattathil, S., Xu, W.-l., Venetos, A., Martin, S. L., Faik, A., Hahn, M. G., Showalter, A. M. (2013). Biochemical and
physiological characterization of fut4 and fut6 mutants defective in arabinogalactan-protein fucosylation in Arabidopsis. Journal of Experi-
mental Botany, 64(18), 5537-5551.
Basu, D., Liang, Y., Liu, X., Himmeldirk, K. B., Faik, A., Kieliszewski, M. J., Held, M., Showalter, A. M. (2013). Functional Identification of a
Hydroxyproline-O-Galactosyltransferase Specific for Arabinogalactan-Protein Biosynthesis in Arabidopsis. Journal of Biological Chemistry,
288, 10132-10143.
Grants
April 2014: NSF, Functional Characterization of a Multi-Enzyme Complex, $6,000 (REU)
March 2014: NSF, Functional Characterization of a Multi-Enzyme Complex, $130,000
February 2014: (co-PI) Ohio Board of Regents, Porter Hall Growth Chambers, $60,000
August 2013: (co-PI) NSF, MRI: Acquisition of a Controlled Environment Plant Growth Chamber, $388,977
April 2013: Functional Characterization of a Multi-Enzyme Complex, $5,999 (REU)
February 2013: NSF, Functional Characterization of a Multi-Enzyme Complex, $130,000
Publications
Cúneo, N. R., Gandolfo, M. A., Zamaloa, M. C., Hermsen, E. (2014). Late Cretaceous aquatic plant world in Patagonia, Argentina. PLoS One, 9(8), e104749.
Hendricks, J. R., Saupe, E. E., Myers, C. E., Hermsen, E. J., Allmon, W. D. (2014). The generification of the fossil record. Paleobiology, 40(4), 511-528.
Gandolfo, M. A., Cúneo, N. R., Hermsen, E. J. (2014). Reporte preliminar sobre la paleoflora de la Formación La Colonia (Campaniano-Maastrichtiano, Cretácico tardío), Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina. Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, 66(1), 11-23.
Hermsen, E. J., Gandolfo, M. A., Cúneo, N. R. (2014). New marsileaceous fossils from the Late Cretaceous of South America and a reevaluation of Marsileaceaephyllum. Plant Systematics and Evolution, 300, 369-386.
Carvalho, M. R., Wilf, P., Hermsen, E. J., Gandolfo, M. A., Cúneo, N. R., Johnson, K. R. (2013). First record of Todea (Osmundaceae) in South America, from the early Eocene paleorainforests of Laguna del Hunco (Patagonia, Argentina). American Journal of Botany, 100(9), 1831-1848.
Cúneo, N. R., Hermsen, E. J., Gandolfo, M. A. (2013). Regnellidium (Salviniales, Marsileaceae) macrofossils and associated spores from the Late Cretaceous of South America. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 174(3), 340-349.
Hermsen, E. J. (2013). A review of the fossil record of the genus Itea (Iteaceae, Saxifragales) with comments on its historical biogeogra-phy. Botanical Review, 79(1), 1-47.
Publications
Matlack, G. R. (2013) Re-assessment of fire as a management tool in temperate deciduous forest. Conservation Biology, 27, 916-926.
Grants February 2012-14: USDA, Propagule Pressure and Spread Rates, $14,000 December 2009-August 2013: USDA, Propagule Pressure and Spread Rates, $38,032
Publications
Anning, A. K., D. L. Rubino, E. K. Sutherland, and B. C. McCarthy. (2013). Dendrochronological analysis of white oak growth patterns across a topographic moisture gradient in southern Ohio. Dendrochronologia 31: 120-128.
Bauman, J. M., C. H. Keiffer, S. Hiremath, and B. C. McCarthy. (2013). Soil preparation methods promoting ectomyccorrhizal colonization and American chestnut Castanea dentata establishment in coal mine restoration. Journal of Applied Ecology 50: 721-729.
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Anning, A. K. and B. C. McCarthy. (2013). Long-term effects of prescribed fire and thinning on residual tree growth in mixed-oak forests of southern Ohio. Ecosystems 16: 1473-1486.
Anning, A. K. and B. C. McCarthy. (2013). Competition, size and age affect tree growth response to fuel reduction treatments in mixed oak forests of Ohio. Forest Ecology and Management 307: 74-83.
Anning, A. K., J. M. Dyer, and B. C. McCarthy. (2014). Tree growth response to fuel reduction treatments along a topographic moisture gradi-ent in mixed-oak forests of Ohio, USA. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 44: 413-421.
Gilland, K. E. and B. C. McCarthy. (2014). Microtopography influences early successional plant communities on experimental mine land recla-mation. Restoration Ecology 22: 232-239.
Murphy, S. J. and B. C. McCarthy. (2014). Temporal changes in the herbaceous understory community of an old-growth forest: from seasons to decades. Plant Ecology 215: 221-232.
Grants April 2012-13: American Chestnut Foundation, Comparative Analysis of Chestnut Growth and Survival, $3,132 May 2012-13: Ohio Biological Survey, Assessment of Prairie Restoration and Community Change, $500 September 2009-2013: (Co-PI) NSF, ARRA: The Appalachian Ohio Herbarium Database Network, $494,019
Publications
Rosenthal, D. M. (2014). Biochemical acclimation, stomatal limitation and precipitation patterns underlie decreases in photosynthetic stimula-tion of soybean (Glycine max) at elevated [CO2] and temperatures under fully open air field conditions. Plant Science. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168945214001472
Ruiz-Vera, U. M., Siebers, M., Gray, S. B., Drag, D. W., Rosenthal, D. M., Kimball, B. A., Ort, D. R., Bernacchi, C. J. (2013). Global Warming Can Negate the Expected CO2 Stimulation in Photosynthesis and Productivity for Soybean Grown in the Midwestern United States(1[W][OA]). Plant Physiology, 162(1), 410-423.
Bernacchi, C. J., Bagley, J., Serbin, S., Ruiz-Vera, U. M., Rosenthal, D. M., Vanlooke, A. (2013). Modeling C3 photosynthesis from the chloro-plast to the ecosystem. Plant Cell & Environment. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23590343
Rosenthal, D. M., Tomeo, N. (2013). Climate, crops and lacking data underlie regional disparities in the CO2 fertilization effect. Environmental Research Letters. iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/3/031001/pdf/1748-9326_8_3_031001.pdf
Grants February 2014: (co-PI) Ohio Board of Regents, Porter Hall Growth Chambers, $60,000 August 2013: (co-PI) NSF, MRI: Acquisition of a Controlled Environment Plant Growth Chamber, $388,977
Publications
Rothwell, G. W., Wyatt, S. E., Tomescu, A. M.F. (2014). Plant evolution at the interface of paleontology and developmental biology: an organ-ism centered paradigm. American Journal of Botany, 101(6), 899-913. www.amjbot.org/cgi/doi/10.3732/ajb.1300451
Atkinson, B. A., Rothwell, G. W., Stockey, R. A. (2014). Hubbardiastrobus cunninghamioides gen. et sp. nov., evidence for a Lower Cretaceous diversification of cunninghamioid Cupressaceae. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 175, 256-269.
Romescu, A. M.F., Wyatt, S. E., Hasebe, M., Rothwell, G. W. (2013). Early evolution of the vascular plant body plan – the missing mecha-nisms. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 17, 123-136.
Rothwell, G. W. (2013). Conceptual advances in fossil plant biology: Introduction and dedication. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 174, 267-268.
Rothwell, G. W. (2013). Cunninghamia taylorii sp. nov. a structurally preserved cupressaceous conifer from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Western North America. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 174, 471-488.
Rothwell, G. W. (2013). Evolution and phylogeny of gnetophytes: evidence from the anatomically preserved seed cone Protoephedrites eamesii gen. et sp. nov. and several species of bennettitalean seeds. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 174, 511-529.
Rothwell, G. W. (2013). Paleobotany and paleoecology of Gao Mine, a Late Paleocene fossil locality near Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Canadi-an Journal of Plant Sciences, 50, 235-248.
Rothwell, G. W. (2013). Pararaucaria carrii sp. nov., anatomically preserved evidence for the conifer family Cheirolepidiaceae in the Northern Hemisphere. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 174, 445-457.
Rothwell, G. W. (2013). Pararaucaria delfueyoi from the Late Jurassic Cañadón Calcáreo Formation, Chubut, Argentina: insights into the evo-lution of Cheirolepidiaceae. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 174, 458-470
Rothwell, G. W. (2013). Diversity of ancient conifers: the Jurassic seed cone Bancroftiastrobus. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 174, 937-946.
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Publications Schori, M., Appel, M., Kitko, A., Showalter, A. M. (2013). Engineered DNA polymerase improves PCR results for plastid DNA. Applications in Plant Sciences. 1, 1-7.
Liang, Y., Basu, D., Pattathil, S., Xu, W.-l., Venetos, A., Martin, S. L., Faik, A., Hahn, M. G., Showalter, A. M. (2013). Biochemical and physio-logical characterization of fut4 and fut6 mutants defective in arabinogalactan-protein fucosylation in Arabidopsis. Journal of Experimental Botany, 64(18), 5537-5551.
Basu, D., Liang, Y., Liu, X., Himmeldirk, K. B., Faik, A., Kieliszewski, M. J., Held, M., Showalter, A. M. (2013). Functional Identification of a Hydroxyproline-O-Galactosyltransferase Specific for Arabinogalactan-Protein Biosynthesis in Arabidopsis. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 288, 10132-10143.
Grants February 2014: Ohio Board of Regents, Porter Hall Growth Chambers, $60,000 August 2013: NSF, MRI: Acquisition of a Controlled Environment Plant Growth Chamber, $388,977 October 2010-14: National Academy of Sciences, Standardization and Quality Assurance of Medical Plants, $288,512 July 2012-13: OPBC, Arabinogalactan-Protein O-Glycosylation in Arabidopsis, $10,000
Grants February 2014: (Co-PI) Ohio Board of Regents, Choose Ohio First Program: Choose Appalachian Teaching: Building a Community of Mathe-matics and Science Teachers for Southeastern Ohio, $80,000
Honors Chair of Environmental and Plant Biology 2013 Frank Shipley Collins Award, Northeast Algal Society, for outstanding service, 2014.
Publications
Drerup, S. A., Vis, M. (2014). Varied phenologies of Batrachospermum gelatinosum gametophytes (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta) in two low-order streams. Fottea, 14, 121-127.
Chiasson, W., Salomaki, E. D., Vis, M. (2014). New Collections of Freshwater Red Algae (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta) from historically important areas in France. Cryptogamie Algologie, 35, 303-316.
Shea, T., Sheath, R., Chhun, A., Vis, M., Chiasson, W., Muller, K. (2014). Distribution, seasonality and putative origin of the non-native red alga Bangia atropurpurea (Balgiales, Rhodophyta) in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 40, 27-34.
Smucker, N. J., Drerup, S. A., Vis, M. (2014). Roles of benthic algae in the structure, function, and assessment of stream ecosystems affect-ed by acid mine drainage. Journal of Phycology 50: 425-436.
Salomaki, E. D., Kwandrans, J., Eloranta, P., Vis, M. (2014). Molecular and morphological evidence for Sheathia Gen. Nov. (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta) and three new species. Journal of Phycology, 50(3), 531-547.
Johnston, E. T., Lim, P.-E., Buhari, N., Keil, E. J., Djawad, M. I., Vis, M. (2014). Diversity of freshwater red algae (Rhodophyta) in Malaysia and Indonesia from morphological and molecular data. Phycologia., 53, 329-341.
Pool, J., Kruse, N., Vis, M. (2013). Assessment of mine drainage remediated streams using diatom assemblages and biofilm enzyme activi-ties. Hydrobiologia, 709, 101-116.
Smucker, N., Vis, M. (2013). Can pollution severity affect diatom succession in streams, and could it matter for stream assessment? Journal of Freshwater Ecology 28: 329-338.
Necchi, O., Garcia Silva, A., Salomaki, E., West, J., Aboal, M., Vis, M. (2013). Global sampling reveals low genetic diversity within the genus, Compsopogon (Compsopogonales, Rhodophyta). European Journal of Phycology, 48, 152-162.
Lam, D., Garcia-Fernandez, M., Aboal, M., Vis, M. (2013). Polysiphonia subtilissima (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta) from freshwater habitats in North America and Europe is confirmed as conspecific with marine collections. Phycologia, 52, 156-160.
Gray, J., Vis, M. (2013). Reference diatom assemblage response to restoration of an acid mine drainage stream. Ecological Indicators, 29, 234-245.
Sheath, R. G., Vis, M. (2013). Biogeography of Freshwater Algae (pp. DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0003279.pub3). Wiley Blackwell: Ency-clopedia of Life Sciences.
Grants March 2014: NSF, Collaborative Research: RedToL (REU), $6,253 March 2013: NSF, Collaborative Research: RedToL (REU), $6,250 September 2009-2014: NSF, Collaborative Research: RedToL—Phylogenetic and Genomic Approaches, $362,424 September 2009-2013: (Co-PI) NSF, ARRA: The Appalachian Ohio Herbarium Database Network, $494,019
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
Honors: Outstanding Faculty Leadership and Service Award
Presidential Teaching Award 2013-2016
Publications
Rothwell, G. W., Wyatt, S. E., Tomescu, A. M.F. (2014). Plant evolution at the interface of paleontology and developmental biology: an organ-ism centered paradigm. American Journal of Botany, 101(6), 899-913. www.amjbot.org/cgi/doi/10.3732/ajb.1300451
Tomescu, A. M.F., Wyatt, S. E., Hasebe, M., Rothwell, G. W. (2013). Early evolution of the vascular plant body plan – the missing mecha-nisms. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 17, 123-136.
Wyatt, S. E., Kiss, J. Z. (2013). Plant Tropisms: From Darwin to the International Space Station. American Journal of Botany, 100(1-3).
Wang, Y., Ballard, Jr., H. E., McNally, R. R., Wyatt, S. E. (2013). Gibberellic acid is involved in, but not sufficient to invert the closed status of the cleistogamous flowers in Viola pubescens. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, 140, 1-8.
Withers, J. C., Shipp, M. J., Rupasinghe, S. G., Sukumar, P., Schuler, M., Muday, G. K., Wyatt, S. E. (2013). GRAVITY PERSISTENT SIGNAL 1 (GPS1) reveals a novel cytochrome P450 involved in gravitropism. American Journal of Botany, 100, 183-193.
Schenck, C. A., Nadella, V., Clay, S. L., Lindner, J., Abrams, Z., Wyatt, S. E. (2013). Proteomics analysis identifies novel proteins involved in gravitropic signal transduction. American Journal of Botany, 100, 194-202.
Grants June 2012-May 2015: NSF, Gravitropic Signal Transduction, $250,000 February 2014: (co-PI) Ohio Board of Regents, Porter Hall Growth Chambers, $60,000 August 2013: NASA, Proteomics Analysis of Arabidopsis Seedlings in Microgravity, $144,278
environmental and plant biology today / 2014
The promise of OHIO lives within the potential of every incoming student. Within the achievements of alumni who graduated years ago . Within the vision of distinguished facul-ty and staff.
And within the generosity of those we are proud to call friends of Ohio University
LEARN MORE MAKE A GIFT
Porter Hall 315
Athens, Ohio 45701
740.593.1125 ph
740.593.1130 fax
www.plantbio.ohiou.edu
Keeping in touch with faculty, staff and friends
The newsletter represents the people, past and present, of the Department. Please let us know what
is going on in your life. We especially are interested in items to share with fellow alumni, faculty, staff
and students, as well as feedback about how your experience in Plant Biology at Ohio University
have influenced your lives.
You can support your fellow Bobcats As they seek professional experience by posting internship and job openings on Bobcat
CareerLink, an online resource available through the Career and Leadership Development
Center (CLDC). Bobcat CareerLink is a key tool for OHIO students and alumni in finding
information on jobs, employers, workshops, and events related to professional develop-
ment. For additional information, please visit the Career and Leadership Development
Center website or contact the CLDC at 740.593.2909.
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