Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Award Date

2020

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Science

First Advisor

Heike Bücking

Keywords

Biofuel, Cordgrass, Endophytes, Prairie, Salinity, Tolerance

Abstract

Prairie Cordgrass (PCG) Spartina pectinata is a native grass to North America that survives saline conditions, can be harvested multiple times in a year, and can be used as biofuel. Endophytes are bacteria that reside in plant tissues and often have growthpromoting capabilities. They can assist plants by obtaining nutrients by improving the tolerance of plants against a broad range of stresses, such as plant pathogens, viruses, flooding, drought, acids, or bases. PCG can survive ocean levels of salinity. Endophytes that naturally bond with PCG may not only be able to not only help PCG but be transferred to other plants and confer the same salt tolerance to others. Several PCG plants from salt sites were harvested, and several possible endophytes were then tested for their ability to survive in salt solutions. Sixteen of the most promising endophytes were tested in three short term greenhouse experiments to determine their viability. Unfortunately, none of the endophytes tested outperformed the controls by statistical analysis, but there are endophytes that performed similarly to the controls in some metrics of the experiments. R3B Agrobacterium tumefaciens, L4A1 Bacillus haynesii, R4B1 Bacillus cereus, and R5A1 Bacillus pumilus were some of the best and the most valuable for others to test in future experiments.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Endophytes.
Spartina.
Winter wheat -- Varieties.
Salt-tolerant crops.
Biomass energy.

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

78

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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Rights Statement

In Copyright