| Abstract Detail
Physiological Section Wall, Ryan C. [1]. Salt tolerance in plants native to the Great Salt Lake ecosystem. The salinization of arable land is an increasing problem throughout the world. Agricultural practices such as irrigation and land clearing, particularly in arid climates, lead to an accumulation of salts in soil. Plants use several different mechanisms to deal with salinity. The best understood of these is sodium ion exclusion, where plants actively transport sodium out of their cells using membrane bound proteins pumps. The high-affinity potassium transporter (HKT) family of proteins is among the most studied groups responsible for contributing to salt tolerance via sodium exclusion. The Great Salt Lake ecosystem is a natural source of diversity for salt tolerant plants. For my project I am collecting native Utah species from around the lake and isolating the genes that encode HKT proteins. I am using the sequence data obtained from these plants to construct a phylogenetic tree relating these genes to other known HKT sequences. It is my hope that examining native species adapted to saline environment may contribute to new methods for dealing with the increase in soil salinity worldwide and the development of plants capable of coping with greater levels of salt within the soil.
Log in to add this item to your schedule
1 - Weber State University, Botany, 3772 North Campus Drive, Department 2504, Ogden, UT, 84408-2504, USA
Keywords:
salt tolerance.
Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Eyrie/Boise Centre
Date: Monday, July 28th, 2014
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PPS005
Abstract ID:757
Candidate for Awards:Physiological Section Best poster presentation,Physiological Section Physiological Section Li-COR Prize |
