Farms, Fungi, and Climate: Drivers of Pathogenic Fungi Abundance in Corn Seeds
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Date
2017
Authors
Jaffe, Catherine Mackenzie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Seedborne pathogenic fungi in the genus Fusarium are prevalent in corn populations and pose human health risks due to their production of carcinogenic mycotoxins. Although much is known about the large scale effects on domestic maize agriculture, less is understood about the impacts of agricultural management and climate on the distribution of microbes such as Fusarium that live in and around these plants. Our research aims to better understand how crop management and regional climate affect the abundance and distribution of seedborne fungi, specifically fungi in the genus Fusarium. We gathered samples through a citizen science based initiative in which seed savers from a variety of locations in the United States sent us their corn seeds. We used Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) to amplify and quantify the abundance of Fusarium in theses samples. Using multivariate statistics, we generated a model that explained the relative contribution of factors such as seed type, climate, and agricultural practices to variation in seedborne Fusarium abundance. The results of our research may have wide reaching implications due to the ubiquity of Fusarium, the potential to impact methods of sustainable agriculture, and the consequences of a rapidly changing climate.
Description
44 pages. A thesis presented to the Departments of Biology and Environmental Science and the Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor of Science, Spring 2017
Keywords
Microbial ecology, Citizen science, Agriculture, Maize, Fungi, Fusarium