1990 pbio newsletter

Ohio University

Botany4bCCC” 11

ews e er Athens, Ohio 45701

REPORT FROM THE CHAIR

The department continues to prosper thanks tothe efforts of faculty, students and support personnel,and the continued support of alumnae, alumni andfriends. Two alumni received major university awardsfor outstanding research accomplishments; RalphQuatrano was awarded the University AlumniAssociation’s Medal of Merit, and Mark Littler wasnamed Outstanding Alumnus in the College of Artsand Sciences. The most exciting news of the year hadto be approval of the Porter Hall renovation, which willunify all instructional and research activities in asingle building. Specifically, the department will haveclassrooms as well as teaching laboratories and thefaculty in the greenhouse will return from their exile.

The university will soon publicly announcea major fund-raising effort, the Third CenturyCampaign, in which individual departments areexpected to play a major role. The two areas for whichwe seek support are the botanical garden project andthe student scholarship fund. The appearance of thebotanical garden and greenhouse significantlyimproved last year due to the efforts of Harold Blazierand the acquisition of botanically important plants,donated by alumni or purchased using alumnidonations. The aim of the student scholarship fund isto provide partial support for travel necessitated bycourses or research, particularly to developingcountries. We hope that you will “stand up and becounted” by making at least a small gift, designatedto the Department ofBotany, when Dean Eckelmanninvites you to participate in this year’s College of Artsand Sciences Annual Roll Cailfor Excellence.

k/a1Ivan K. SmithProfessor and Chair

Dr. Jan Salick (Photo by Stan Kokotajlo, Athens News,reprinted with permission)

2 Botany Newsletter 1990

NEW FACULTYThe department has strengthened Its program in

molecular biology by the addition of DR. ARTHUR T.TRESE. Art specializes in molecular plant pathologyand he is currently a Research Associate in thelaboratory of Dr. James Schoelt, University ofMissouri, Columbia. He wilijoin our faculty thiscoming September.

Art received his B.A. degree in biology fromAlbion College, Michigan, in 1977, and his Ph.D. fromthe University of Missouri in 1989. During his doctoralwork at Missouri he was named “OutstandingGraduate Student” In plant pathology. His currentwork deals with the genetic control of a movementprotein in a species of tobacco, Nicotiana biglovia.This protein allows certain strains of virus to movethroughout the plant. His work may ultimately providekeys for control of viral movement in economicallyimportant plants. He is also studying “resistancealleles” in tomato. Plants with these alleles upon beinginfected with a virus rapidly die. By the use of genetichybrids, Art hopes to determine the genetic regioninvolved in this “killer” effect, ultimately sequencingthe gene.

Previous to his work with Dr. Schoelt, Art workedwith Dr. Steven Pueppke as a Research Assistant. Thiswork involved host gene expression during noduleinitiation (by Rhtzobium) in the cowpea root. Nodulation is an important event in roots of legumes as it isinvolved with the agriculturally important atmosphericnitrogen fixation. The work involved characterizing thepattern of nodulation and led to an inoculationprocedure which induces rapid, synchronized andconcentrated nodulation. He also compiled a cDNAlibrary and screened for genes with altered expressionduring nodulation.

At the University of Florida, Art worked withDr. David Loschke on resistance in corn to thenorthern corn leaf blight. His main goal was to lay thegroundwork for molecular studies of the interactionbetween plants differing in major resistance alleles.During these studies he developed a novelfluorescence staining technique for higher contrastresolution of fungal mycelia in Intact corn leaf tissue.With Dr. L. H. Purdy at Florida, he documented theinfection processes of Puccinia melanocephala (rust)and Ustilago as pathogens of sugar cane, usingfluorescence microscopy and scanning electronmicroscopy. This work involved evaluation of fungicidetreatments in field plots. Other plant/fungalinteractions he has studied include the infection ofcacao (Theobroma cacao) by the basidiomyceteCrinipellis pemiciosa. Prior to his work at Florida Artworked at Michigan State University with Dr. DonaldRamsdell, determining annual ascospore releasepatterns of Eutypa armeriiacae in Michigan vineyardsand correlating these release patterns withenvironmental parameters.

NEW STAFFIf you visit the greenhouse and garden, please

introduce yourself to our new greenhouse and gardenmanager, HAROLD BLAZIER. After talking withHarold for only a few minutes you will realize that hehas brought a wealth of experience and knowledge tothe department. His areas of interest for gardeninginclude perennials, herbs, and garden design; for thegreenhouse, he is interested in general conservatoryplants, succulents, and orchids. Harold owns a farmwith more than 200 acres, on which he maintains alarge vegetable and herb garden, a perennial flowergarden for propagation, and registered dairy andcommercial angora goats. He is an Athens native andgraduated from Athens High School in 1972. In 1976,he received an associate degree from Ohio StateUniversity in floriculture and greenhousemanagement. Harold is a member of several national,professional horticultural organizations, including theNational Horticultural Society, the Perennial PlantAssociation, the National Herb Society, and the OhioFlorists Association. Harold and his wife, Linda, havetwo children, ages 6 and 14.

BOTANICAL GARDEN ANDGREENHOUSE

The Ohio University Botanical Garden has beena small garden with limited resources. Until 1988, itserved as an underused facility by the general public.During the past two years, there has been asignificant increase in its activities, facilitated by anactive departmental advisory committee, increasedresearch activity, and direct community involvement.Our new greenhouse and garden manager, HAROLDBLAZIER, has quickly become acquainted with ourresearch projects and teaching needs. With volunteerlabor, including faculty, students and staff, the gardenhas been greatly improved with the goal that it will bea showplace for the campus and part of the campustree tour that is in the planning. The mission of thegarden is to use the scientific collection of plants tosupport research and teaching as well as publiceducation and community enrichment. With thismission in mind we seek to present plants in anaesthetically pleasing fashion while illustratingvarious themes of ecology, history, evolution,taxonomy and ethnobotany.

There has been a large, rapidly growing researchcollection of mints (Labiatae) and vervains(Verbenaceae), assembled by DR. PHILIP CANTINOand doctoral candidate STEVEN WAGSTAFF. Anattempt has been made to assemble as many generaas possible, as well as representatives from the fullgeographical range of the two families. Some of ourplants may not be in cultivation anywhere else in theUnited States. These include Teucridium, a raremonotypic genus endemic to New Zealand, and the

Botany Newsletter 1990 3

beautiful Chelonopsis moschata from Japan. Duringthe visit of Dr. Ray Harley of the Royal BotanicGarden, Kew, this past April, we were able to providehim with several unusual plants of mints from Hawaiiand Ohio, and vervains from eastern Asia. Theseplants will enrich his world-famous collection of livingplants at Kew. In addition to providing an appealingdisplay of color and aromatic scents, the specialtycollection is used by Dr. Cantino and his students intheir research on phylogeny and systematics of thetwo families.

The garden has also received several plants asgifts. These include a kousa dogwood (Comus kousa“milky way”), and two plants of franklinia (lostcamellia), Franklirtia alatamaha. Franklinia wasprobably a Pleistocene relict which was native to theeastern United States. It is extinct in the wild and isnow maintained only in various public and privategardens. We have also received several insectivorousplants and a variety of herbaceous perennials. Sinceour space is limited we are working with the Directorof Physical Plant (buildings and grounds), Mr. CharlesCulp, to plant trees of educational value on campus.

When you visit campus, please stop by ourgarden and greenhouse to review the improvementsand to enjoy a few moments with the plants. Althoughwe have made progress toward meeting our mission,there is much work to be done and we welcome adviceand assistance from our former colleagues. Generaltours of the garden are conducted by Harold Blazier,other members of the department, and volunteers.Tour groups this spring have included three groups ofelementary school children from Athens City Schools,a group from the ATCO, Inc. (an enclosed workshopfor multi-challenged adults), and professionalsattending a local forestiy forum. Tour information isavailable by mail, ifyou wish to receive it.

This past spring the garden was made availableto eight volunteer propagators from the 65-memberAthens chapter of the Ohio Native Plant Society.Under supervision of Harold Blazier, the volunteerpropagators held their meetings in the greenhouseand propagated native plants from seeds. Choiceseedlings were given to the garden for planting in theperennial display area currently being developed. Aportion of the remaining seedlings were given to theNative Plant Society for their Earth Day wildflower saleat the County Fair Grounds. The remaining seedlingswere donated to the Athens Herb Guild for theirannual plant exchange.

AWARDS AND HONORSDR. RALPH S. QUATRANO (MS, 1964) has been

awarded the Ohio University Alumni Association’sMedal of Merit for his “Outstanding achievement ineducation and botany.” Ralph is the John CouchProfessor of Biology at the University of NorthCarolina.

DR. MARK S. LITTLER (MS. 1966) received theOutstanding Alumnus of the Year Award from theCollege of Arts and Sciences for scholarly research inthe area of algal systematics and ecology. Mark is aSenior Scientist at the Smithsonian Institution.

DR. IRWIN A. UNGAR was nominated by thegraduate students for the Outstanding GraduateFaculty Award for “major contributions to ourgraduate program.” Irwin has one of the most activeresearch programs in terms of scholarly productivityand number of graduate students directed. Studentevaluations of his two ecology courses place him at thetop of the graduate instructors in this department andoutside evaluations mention that “He is a dedicatedand caring teacher.” Irwin’s commitment to educationin environmental biology was recently confirmed byhis nomination for (and acceptance of) the directorshipof the interdisciplinary graduate program inEnvironmental Studies.

MARY L. TRIVETT (Ph.D. , 1990), a student ofGar Rothwell in paleobotany, was named OhioUniversity’s “Outstanding Graduate Student,” anaward given to a single graduate student each yearby the Graduate Student Senate.

STEVEN WAGSTAFF, graduate student in thelaboratory of Philip Cantino, has been selected as theDonald Clippinger Named Graduate Fellow of 1990-1 99 1 . The fellowship carries a service-free stipend of$6540.

Our annual awards ceremony, organized byDr. Lloyd, was held this year at Baker Center. Theevent was attended by sixty people including most ofour faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates.Departmental guests in attendance were awardeesand their families, Dr. Don Eckelmann, Dean of theCollege ofArts and Sciences, and Dr. Margaret Cohn,Director of the Honors Tutorial College. Followingan introduction by our chair, DR. IVAN SMITH,DR. NORMAN S. COHN served as Master of Ceremonies. C. Paul and Beth K. Stocker Scholarshipsfor the 1990-91 academic year were awarded tosophomore students TODD CHADWELL and STEVENWOODWARD. Todd is a botany major in the HonorsTutorial College and Steven is a botany major in theCollege ofArts and Sciences. Wolfe Awards, given eachyear to students with an interest in conservation andecology, were given to junior JEFFREY GOCHNAUERand seniors CAROLYN KEIFFER and HEIDISCHOCH. Keiffer is a student in the Honors TutorialCollege with a major in environmental botany. She willbecome a graduate student of Irwin Ungar this fallquarter, after completing the summer course in“Tropical Diversity and Conservation” given by theOrganization for Tropical Studies in Costa Rica. Shehas also been honored by her election to Phi KappaPhi, Gamma Pi Delta and Delta Kappa Gamma HonorSocieties. She will graduate in June, Summa CumLaude. Schoch will complete her BS degreerequirements this coming winter.


Outstanding Graduating Senior Awards werepresented to SUNG HAN KIM (cell biology) andFRANK MARTIN (field biology). Kim and JACQULYNJARDINE were named Outstanding GraduatingSeniors in Botany from the Honors Tutorial Collegeand College of Arts and Sciences, respectively. Martinhas a joint major in botany and history and will attendgraduate school in history. Jardine will be attendinglaw school, specializing in environmental law.

The Botanical Society of America recognizedMARTIN, KIM, KEIFFER and JARDINE with their“Young Botanist Award.” This award honors“excellence and outstanding promise as a contributorto the advancement of knowledge in the botanicalsciences.”

GRANTSDR. ALLAN SHOWALTER was the recipient of

a grant for $102,000 from the USDA CompetitiveResearch Grant Program. This grant will support hisstudy on “Plant lectin genes: structure, evolution andexpression.” In addition, the Ohio University ResearchCommittee awarded $5120 to Allan for his work on the“Expression of a tomato glycine-rich protein instressed plant tissue.”

DR. PHILIP CANTINO was awarded a grant of$55,000 from the Systematic Biology section of theNational Science Foundation to support his study of“Phylogeny of the Lamiales and the origin of theLabiatae.”

DR. JAN SALICK was awarded a $65,000 grantto be administered by the Central American TropicalResearch Center. She will be a member of a teamworking on a project entitled “Si-a-Paz InternationalPeace Park: A study of non-timber forest products for

conservation, extraction and long-term economicreturn.”

DR. JAMES CAVENDER has received a grant of$3500 from the Ohio University Research Committeeto support his research on the ‘Taxonomy, ecologyand conservation of the cellular slime molds of Tikal.”

The Baker Awards Committee has funded aproposal by DR. IRWIN A. UNGAR for his researchon the “Ecophysiology ofvascular halophytes.” Thisaward is In the amount of $5400. He also received aResearch Challenge Award for his project on “Seedphysiological ecology for the halophyte Spergulariamarina.” During this award, an investigation of theseed bank dynamics and germination ecology wascarried out at the Rlttman, Ohio, salt marsh.

DR. ROBERT LLOYD has received a ResearchChallenge Award of $5,000 for his work on “Patternsof isozyme variability and systematics in Sagittaria L.,subgenus Sagittaria (Alismataceae). This award willallow him to purchase some needed equipment andsupplies, pay for an undergraduate student for thesummer, and do field collecting during the summerand fall quarter.

STEVEN WAGSTAFF has received a $600 Grant-in-Aid of Research from Sigma Xi, The ScientificResearch Society and $350 from the John Houk Fundto support his research on “Phylogenetic analysis ofchloroplast DNA in the tribe Mentheae (Labiatae)”under the direction of Dr. Philip Cantino.

RUDY SERBET, a student of Dr. Gar Rothwell,has received an award of $500 from the GeologicalSociety of America to continue his work on early seedplants.

TROPICAL STUDIESOrganization For Tropical Studies

Ohio University has been elected into member-ship in The Organization For Tropical Studies, Inc.(OTS). 0Th is a nonprofit consortium of 52 universities and research institutions from the United States,Puerto Rico, and Costa Rica. It was founded in 1963and “is dedicated to providing quality leadership ineducation, research, and wise use of natural resourcesin the tropics.” OTS uses three field stations forgraduate training and research. These include stationsin the Atlantic lowland rainforest (La Selva), the Pacificdeciduous dry forest (Palo Verde), and the Robert andCatherine Wilson Botanical Garden in the premontanerainforest only a few miles from the border withPanama. Courses are conducted in Spanish andEnglish in tropical biology, agroecology, and managedecosystems. Some of our faculty have participated in01-S courses in the past. GAYLE E. MUENCHOW andROBERT M. LLOYD were students in past ecologyand pteridology courses, and JAN SALICK led a

Undergraduate award recipients (left to right), SteveWoodward, Jackie Jardine, Frank Martin, HeidiSchoch, Carolyn Keiffer, JeffGochnauer, Sun Han Kim


course in tropical managed ecosystems during thesummer of 1989. Jan’s course focused on theapplication of ecological principles to applied problemsin agriculture, forestry, rangeland management andconservation biology. This included an introduction tothe biota, systems, techniques and concepts of appliedtropical ecology. The course was attended by 20students, from universities such as UC-Berkeley,Michigan, Cornell, Yale, Stanford and Ohio University.They were described as a “fascinating group”; manyhad extensive overseas experience as Peace Corpsvolunteers, and all had superlative academiccredentials. One of Irwin Ungar’s students, JUDITHJARDINE, was a parUcipant. Jan and CAROLYNKEIFFER will participate in 0Th this summer.

Integrative Tropical Botany

In December, DR. JAMES CAVENDERconducted a course in integrative tropical botanyin the Central American countries of Belize andGuatemala. This course was initiated to give studentsfamiliarity with the tropical rainforest biota and tointegrate this knowledge with sustainable use of theland. The five students who attended were exposed toseveral tropical ecosystems. This included three dayson the Caribbean coast of Belize, home of the world’ssecond-largest barrier reef. This reef abounds innatural life, and the use and importance of tidalvegetation and the coastal ecosystem was studied withsnorkel and sunscreen. Inland at San Ignacio on thenorthern edge of the Maya Mountains, the classvisited a highland region “Mountain Pine Ridge,” homeof the Caribbean pine, Pinus caribbea. They alsovisited the lx Chel farm, a tropical medicinal plantresearch center and home of the Panti Maya MedicineTrail. Medicinal and edible rainforest plants aremaintained at the farm by the curator, Dr. RositaArvigo.

From San Ignaclo, the group traveled intoGuatemala to the Mayan ruins at Tikal. The tropicalforest surrounding Tikal is host to a variety ofanimals, including spider monkeys, toucans, jaguarsand the poisonous fer-de-lance. The last part of thetrip was devoted to studies at the Belize AgroforestryResearch Center in southern Belize. This station iscoordinated in part by MARK COHEN, a former OhioUniversity student. The station is ideal for the study ofshifting cultivation and traditional humid tropicalagriculture.

Although Integrative Tropical Botany has onlybeen taught in 1988 and 1989, five undergraduatesand five graduates have participated. Their overallreaction has been extremely positive, e.g. educationand fun, “an experience you can’t afford to miss.”Above all, the course gives our students a chance toexperience the tropical rainforest first-hand and towonder at its beauty and diversity of life. If currenttrends in tropical deforestation continue, the tropicalforest will soon be lost forever. With this hands-onexperience we hope that our students will develop a

personal and long-standing relationship with therainforest which will carry into conservation efforts.Members of the 1989 class included EDUARDOVADELL, MICHAEL HOLMES, D. BRYAN BISHOP,HANK HUGGINS, and ANDY SWANSON.

FACULTY NEWS

Cell and Molecular Biology

Research in the lab of DR. ALLAN M.SHOWALTER is focusing on three related cell wallproteins (extensins, glycine-rich proteins, solanaceouslectins) in the search for the regulation of genes bywounding and pathogenic activities. To date, theyhave identified and characterized five classes ofextensins. Graduate student JIN ZHOU has completedthe DNA sequencing and transcript mapping of twotomato clones, one of which is an extensin-like DNAwhich encodes a glycine-rich protein. In tomato stemwounding, the messenger RNA for this glycine-richprotein accumulates, but apparently water stress andABA may mediate this wound response as well.Graduate student WUQIAO YUAN is interested inobtaining a DNA clone of a potato lectin which may beimportant in the cell-to-cell interaction and the plant-pathogen interaction. He and Dr. Showalter arecurrently constructing a cDNA library of potato lectinclones, which includes identifying and sequencing. Hislab has recently been joined by Research AssociateSIMONA AIZICOVICI. Simona is originally from lasi,Romania, and currently is working on the isolation oftomato glycine-rich protein genes. Dr. Showaltercontinues his teaching in plant molecular biology. Hehas also recently served as the organizer of the annualMolecular and Cell Biology retreat at Burr Oak StatePark, held each September.

DR. NORMAN S. COHN spent last fall quarter ona faculty fellowship leave to Great Britain. Among thelaboratories he visited were those of Robert Lyndon inEdinburgh, Dennis Francis in Cardiff, and PeterBarlow and John Lenton at Long Ashton ResearchStation, Bristol. During this leave he had a chance tosee the exhibit of the Royal Microscopical Society’s150th anniversary celebration at the Science Museumin London and presented a formal lecture in Cardiff.

DR. WAN K. SMITH continues to focus hisresearch on the role of glutathione (GSH) andglutathione reductase (GR) in cold tolerance. GSH, asulfur-containing tripeptide, is an important reductantand it has been suggested that elevation of cellularGSH and/or GR could prevent oxidative damageresulting from cold temperatures. Ivan has twograduate students working in his lab. CAROLTHORNE, who coauthored two publications with Ivan,has now completed all requirements for her M.S.degree. TOM VIERHELLER successfully defended hisdoctoral research and is working on the final copy ofhis dissertation. Tom has found that despite adequate


levels of NADPH and GR activity in the cells, a chill-sensitive cultivar of soybean accumulates oxidizedGSH when exposed to low temperature. This is incontrast to Alaska peas, which he showed hadincreased levels of GSH with chill stress, but main-tamed GSH in the reduced form. He also found that amore chill-tolerant soybean cultivar from Switzerlandmaintained GSH levels intermediate to the chill-sensitive soybeans and Alaska peas. Ivan and Tomattended the plant physiology meetings (ASPP) inToronto, Canada, last summer. This summer, theywill travel to Indianapolis for the meetings.

Systematics and Morphology

DR. PHILIP CANTINO returned in August froma year’s faculty fellowship leave to Britain, where hecontinued his research on mints and vervains at theoutstanding herbaria and living collections of theRoyal Botanic Gardens at Kew and Edinburgh. Thedata he collected, along with additional data he willcollect this summer at major U.S. herbaria, will besubjected to computer analysis with the goal ofclariVying the phylogenetic relationships of Verbena-ceae and L.abiatae. This project has been stimulated inpart by the doctoral research of MONES ABU-ASAB,who recently completed his doctorate in Dr. Cantino’slab. Mones’s survey of pollen morphology with SEMand transmission EM has yielded intriguing evidencethat the mint family is polyphyletic (with some parts ofthe family evolving from different subgroups ofVerbenaceae). This conflicts with the traditional viewthat the mint family is a natural group sharing asingle ancestor. If this novel hypothesis is correct,some substantial changes in the taxonomy of bothfamilies will be required in order to produce a morenatural, predictive and widely useful classification.

The hypothesis that the mint family is polyphyletic will be tested through a three-pronged approach:further investigation of pollen morphology by Dr. AbuAsab at the Smithsonian Institution (where he hasbeen awarded a one-year postdoctoral fellowship tocontinue his research); a computer-assistedphylogenetic analysis of a wide variety of characters;and an investigation of variation in chloroplast DNA inthe two families by Dr. Richard Olmstead (IndianaUniversity). These three approaches should yield agreatly improved understanding of the evolutionaryhistory of I.abiatae and Verbenaceae, and acorrespondingly improved classification.

Another graduate student, STEVEN WAGSTAFF,is studying the systematic relationships within tribeMentheae of Labiatae using both morphological andDNA data. His research is supported by grants fromSigma Xl and the John Houk Fund. Dr. Cantino,Wagstaff and Abu-Asab have been invited to presentthe results of their work at an internationalsymposium on mints in England in April, 1991.

JON HAMER has completed his research on thesystematics of the mountain mints, Pycrtartthemumincartum and related species. He will receive his Ph.D.

in August of this year and willjoln the faculty atOakwood College, Huntsville, Alabama, this fall. Jon’sexpertise in computer technology will be sorely missedby all of us.

DR. GAR W. ROTHWELL spent several weeks inEdmonton, Canada, working on the second edition ofWilson Stewart’s excellent and popular textbookPaleobotany and the Evolution ofPlants. He is alsocontinuing his studies on Tertiary ferns from westernCanada with his wife, DR. RUTH STOCKEY (MS.1984), who is on the faculty at the university inEdmonton. One study is on the sensitive fern, Onocleasensibilis, which has remained unchanged for at least62 million years, a marvelous example of stasis withinliving species. This work was presented at asymposium on Canadian Paleobotany in Ottawa lastOctober, and similar studies are planned forEdmonton this summer. Gar is also working on theorigin of seed plants, and he and graduate studentRUDOLPH SERBET recently presented results of ajoint study on the most ancient seeds at theInternational Symposium in Paleobotany, held inFrankfurt, Germany, May-June, 1990.

This summer, all of his laboratory will be inRichmond, Virginia, at the annual Botanical Society ofAmerica meetings, presenting results of their currentwork. MARY LOUISE TRJVETT will complete herdoctoral work this summer.

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Much of DR. IRWIN A. UNGAR’s previous workin salt marsh plants has been related to the effect ofthe primary stress factor (salinity) on growth anddistribution. Recently, he and his students have alsobeen studying the demography of plants and theeffects of both interspecific and intraspecificcompetition on biomass yields and reproductiveallocation of species growing in stressful habitats.Much of Irwin’s time this past year has been devotedto writing an invited text manuscript entitled“Ecophysiology of Vascular Halophytes” for CRC Press.JAMES NELLESSEN completed and defended hisdissertation “Population differentiation in Andropcçonvirginicus L. between abandoned coal strip mine andold field habitats in Ohio.” Jim is currently on apostdoctoral appointment in the laboratory ofDr. John Fletcher at the University of Oklahoma.JIRA KATEMBE completed his M.S. thesis, “Influenceof salinity on seed germination and nuclear area inradicle tips of the halophytes Atriplex patula andA. prostrata (Chenopodiaceae).” He is currentlyworking on his doctorate with Dr. John Mitchell.JUDITH JARDINE (BS, 1989) joined Irwin’s lab thisyear and will initiate basic research at Dysart WoodsLaboratory, developing a vegetation map. She willdetermine the relationship between different size andage gaps and the diversity and succession of woodyplants in different stands of vegetation in the woods.

This coming fall, Irwin will be on a facultyfellowship leave in the Plant Ecology Laboratory at


Oxford University, completing his book manuscriptand continuing his seed bank research on Britishcoastal marshes. last August, he presented a paper tothe Botanical Society ofAmerica at the University ofToronto on “Seasonal change In the seed bank of aplant community dominated by the halophyteSpergularia marina.”

DR. JAN SALICK spent six weeks in CentralAmerica last fall working to establish the Si-a-Pazpeace park. The park Is located on the boundary ofCosta Rica and Nicaragua and has a primary goal ofprotecting natural resources on both sides of theborder and promoting economic development insurrounding zones. The park contains Nicaragua’s lastremaining rainforest and some of Costa Rica’s lastrainforest. Jan is trying to coordinate research withconservation groups in both Costa Rica andNicaragua. This research involves the testing of someof the different models of natural forest managementwhich are used throughout the world. This summer,she is supervising “ecologically restricted” rainforestlogging by a Nicaraguan logging company as part ofthe experiment. Jan says that the tropical diversity isdisappearing and that it is really a world problemwhich must balance conservation with respect fornational sovereignty and indigenous rights. If youwant to help in conservation efforts, she suggests you“write letters, keep the pressure on. If people onlyknew the power that they had.” Inform your electedrepresentatives that you are aware of and concernedabout both the loss of tropical diversity and the rightsof the indigenous people who live there.

RECENT FACULTYAND STUDENT PUBLICATIONSAbu-Asab, M. S. , and P. D. Cantino. 1989. Pollen

morphology of Trichostema (Labiatae) and itssystematic implications. Systematic Botany 14:359-369.

Badger, K. S., and I. A. Ungar. 1989. The effects ofsalinity and temperature on the germination ofthe inland halophyte Hordeumjubatum.Canadian Journal of Botany 67: 1420-1425.

Cantino, P. D. 1990. The phylogenetic significance ofstomata and trichomes in the Labiatae andVerbenaceae. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum71: 323-370.

Cavender, J. C. , and K. Kawabe 1989. Cellular slimemolds ofJapan. 1. Distribution andbiogeographical considerations. Mycology 81:683-691.

Donoghue, M. J., and P. D. Cantino. 1988. Paraphyly,ancestors and the goals of taxonomy: a botanicaldefense of cladism. Botanical Review 54: 107-128.

Drake, D. R. , and I. A. Ungar. 1989. Effects of salinity,nitrogen, and population density on the survival,growth, and reproduction of Atriplex triangularis(Chenopodiaceae). American Journal of Botany76: 1125-1 135.

Hamilton, R. G. 1989. Too many thoughts, too fewobservations? Evolutionary Trends in Plants 3: 7-8.

Karimi, S. H. , and I. A. Ungar. 1989. Development ofepidermal salt hairs in Atriplex triangularis Willd.in response to salinity, light intensity, andaeration. Botanical Gazette 150: 68-7 1.

Leisman, G. A., W. H. Gillespie, and G. Mapes. 1989.Plant megafossils from Hartford limestone in G.and R. Mapes (Eds.), Regional Geology andPaleontology of Upper Paleozoic Hamilton Quarryin Southeastern Kansas. Kansas GeologicalSurvey Guidebook Series 6: 203-212, Lawrence,Kansas.

Lloyd, R. M. 1989. Tropical ferns, or their relatives, inOhio. Journal, Ohio Native Plant Society 7 (5): 3-10.

Rothwell, G. W. , and D. C. Wight. 1989. Pullarithecalongii gen. nov. and Kerryia mattenii gen. et. sp.nov. , Lower Carboniferous cupules with ovules ofthe Hydraspemia tenuis type. Review ofPaleobotany and Palynology 60: 295-310.

Rothwell, G. W., S. E. Scheckler and W. H. Gillespie.1989. Elkmnsia gen. nov., a late Devoniangymnosperm with cupulate ovules. BotanicalGazette 150: 170-189.

Salick, J. 1989. Variation and change in Amueshaindigenous agricultural systems. Advances inEconomic Botany 8: 199-223.

Salick, J. 1989. Ecological basis of Amueshaagriculture. Advances in Economic Botany 7:189-2 12.

Salick, J. 1989. Environmental problems ofKalimantan, Indonesian Borneo: Their causes,effects and the search for solutions. Report ofEcologist, Natural Resources Management PIDTeam, USAID, Indonesia.

Salick, J. 1989. Cocona (Solarium sessilflorum): Anoverview of production and breeding potentials ofan underexploited tropical crop, in New Crops forFood and Industry. Allen and Unwin Press.

Showalter, A. M. , and D. Rumeau. 1989. Molecularbiology of the plant cell wall hydroxyproline-richglycoproteins, mW. S. Adair and R. P. Mecham(Eds.), Recognition and Assembly ofAnimal andPlant Extracellular Matrix, Academic Press, N.Y.

Smith, I. K., T. L. Vierheller and C. A. Thorne. 1989.Properties and function of glutathione reductasein plants. Physiologia Plantarum 449-456.


Smith, I. K. , A. Polle and H. Rennenberg. 1990.Glutathione, in Stress Responses in Plants:Adaptation and Acclimation, pp. 201-215, Wiley-Liss Pubi.

Stubblefield, S. , and G. W. Rothwell. 1989. Cecropsisluculentum gen. nov. evidence for heterosporousprogymnosperms in the Upper Pennsylvanian ofNorth America. American Journal of Botany 76:1415- 1428.

Ungar, I. A. 1990. Dysart Woods: An outstandingexample of a mature forest community. Journal,Ohio Native Plant Society 8(3): 5-9.

STUDENTS COMPLETINGGRADUATE DEGREES

M.S. : D. Bryan Bishop, Thomas Brennan, MichaelHolmes, William Jira Katembe, David Kurz,Nandini Ramachandra, Dennis Rhinehart,Tonya Selby, Carol S. Thorne

Ph.D. : Mones Abu-Asab, John Hamer, Janelle Pryor,Mary L. Trivett, Thomas L. Vierheller

VISITORS TO THE DEPARTMENT

Robert Cruden, University of IowaLouis Feldman, University of California, BerkeleyAlan Graham, Kent State UniversityRay M. Harley, Royal Botanic Gardens, KewDavid Inouye, University of ColoradoJohn Jeavons, Ecology ActionKathleen Keeler, University of NebraskaMark Lagrimini, Ohio State UniversityBridgitte Meyer-Berthaud, Ohio State UniversityElizabeth Pixley, Monroe Community CollegeJack B. Rasmussen, Michigan State UniversityBeryl Simpson, University of TexasDrake C. Stenger, Ohio State UniversityRuth A. Stockey, University of AlbertaBoyd Strain, Duke UniversityEdith Taylor, Ohio State UniversityArthur T. Trese, University of Missouri, ColumbiaJoseph Varner, Washington University (St. Louis)

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANYPERSONNEL

Faculty

James E. Braselton, ProfessorPhilip D. Cantino, Associate ProfessorJames C. Cavender, ProfessorNorman S. Cohn, Distinguished ProfessorJ. Herbert Graffius, Associate ProfessorRobert M. lloyd, ProfessorJohn P. Mitchell, ProfessorGayle E. Muenchow, Assistant ProfessorGar W. Rothwell, ProfessorAllan W. Showalter, Assistant ProfessorIvan K. Smith, Professor and ChairIrwin A. Ungar, Professor*Resigned effective June, 1990

Adjunct Faculty

Theodora Lee Gregg, Adjunct Assistant ProfessorGene K. Mapes, Adjunct Associate Professor

Faculty Emeriti

Arthur H. Blickle, Associate Professor EmeritusLaurence A. Larson, Professor EmeritusMonroe T. Vermillion, Associate Professor EmeritusWarren H. Wistendahl, Professor Emeritus

Postdoctoral and Research Associates

Simona Aizicovici

Staff

Judith Dowler, Department SecretaryBrenda S. Ingraham, Technical TypistCarolyn H. Keiffer, Technical AssistantElizabeth D. Moore, Technical AssistantHarold Blazier, Greenhouse Curator

Graduate Students

Doctoral StudentsMones Abu-Asab, Jackie M. Hardy Adams, Finley A.Bryan, Jon J. Hamer, Robert G. Hamilton, ChenzhaoJian, William Jira Katembe, Janelle Pryor, MaryLouise Trivett, Thomas Vierheller, Steven Wagstaff,Liulal Wu, Wuqiao Yuan, Jin Thou

Master’s StudentsD. Bryan Bishop, Thomas H. Brennan, Michael T.Holmes, Judith K. Jardine, David Kurz, Bai Li, MaryPeders, Nandini Ramachandra, Tonya M. Selby,Rudolph Serbet, Andrew Swanson, Carol A. Thorne,Eduardo Vadell


NEWS OF ALUMNIKEM BADGER (Ph.D., 1989) is enjoying his teachingexperience at Missouri Valley College. He says It isquite a challenge to teach three or four courses asemester.

DAVID BARNES (BS, 1979) is a Senior EngineeringRepresentative/Loss Control Representative for AetnaInsurance Company in Denver, Colorado. He writesthat “In the last two years I have completed the dataprocessing program and am beginning to prepare fortwo 8 hour exams to become a Certified SafetyProfessional. I continue to enjoy meeting and workingwith people from all different walks of life, frompresidents of large corporations to school districtcustodians.”

MAYNARD E. BATES, Ph.D. (BA, 1965) is workingas a scientist (biometeorology and research anddevelopment in controlled ecological life supportsystems) for the Bionetics Corporation, NASA/AmesResearch in Moffett Field, California. He writes that hehas just moved from Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, toPleasanton, California. “This year I will be celebrating25 years since graduation and 25 years of marriage toPatricia Henning Bates (BSEd, 1966).” They have adaughter Kelly, 16 years old, and a son Jeff, soon tobe 10. “We’re enjoying our first warm winter sinceleaving North Carolina in 1975. Can’t beat pickingcitrus in the back yard in January!”

CAROLE (MORGAN) BROWN (BSEd, 1957) is aLecturer in the Department of English, Ohio StateUniversity, Mansfield. She also is Coordinator of theOSU-Mansfield Writing Center and Instructor forGallon Basic Education. She writes that “I am stilldeeply involved in teaching English, writing, and otherrelated courses. My newest position is that ofadministrator as our branch has decided to set up aWriting Center to assist those many students havingdifficulty writing. We teach writing across thecurriculum and also function to assist faculty andstaff with reports, letters, and other areas of concern.Occasionally, one of the biology people has othercommitments, so I am enlisted to teach a generalbotany or general biology class, and I do enjoy that asI try to keep up to date with developments in science.One summer, though, I taught both freshmancomposition and general botany, and I felt as if I wereturning switches off and on in my brain. The twoclasses are so very different!” They have four sons,three in college, and the youngest is a sophomore inhigh school. “I am proud of what is being accomplished by members of the botany department at O.U.now.”

DONALD P. BUCKLEY (Ph.D., 1986) is now anAssistant Professor of Biology, University of Hartford,Connecticut. Prior to this he served as a PostdoctoralFellow with Dr. F. A. Bazzaz at Harvard University. Hehas also been a Visiting Assistant Professor at TuftsUniversity and a Research Geneticist and Postdoctoral

Research Associate with Dr. K. S. Bawa at the ArnoldArboretum of Harvard University and the University ofMassachusetts, Boston.

DIANE M. ERWIN (MS, 1987) will complete her Ph.D.in botany at the University ofAlberta in August. Herdoctoral research is on the evolution of aquaticmonocots. Diane has accepted a position in theDepartment of Geology, University of Pennsylvania.

DAVID B. FELDMAN, M.D. (BS, 1977). In April, 1989,David became Chief of Adult Services at LaurelwoodHospital, a psychiatric facility affiliated with Mt. SinaiHospital of Cleveland. He is currently finishing a yearas President of the Cleveland Psychiatric Society. Priorto his appointment at L.aurelwood, he served asDirector, Psychiatric Inpatient Unit at Metro HealthMedical Center in Cleveland.

TERRENCE K. FOX (BS, 1974) teaches biology and isCoordinator of the Science Department at CoventryHigh School in Akron, Ohio. He writes that “Sinceleaving O.U. , I have spent the last 15 years teaching inthree school systems: Logan City, North Central Local,and for the last ten years, Coventry Local. I receivedmy master’s degree in biology from Kent StateUniversity in 1983. In June, 1988, I was appointed tothe City of Cuyahoga Falls Tree Board and helped tooversee the planting, care, and removal of trees onpublic property. My wife, Mary, a former O.U.employee, now works for Kent State Air Force ROTCand we have two sons, Corey and Adam.”

FRED GILDOW (MS, 1974) has joined the ranks of thetenured faculty in the Department of Plant Pathology,Pennsylvania State University. He has recentlyreceived a grant of $105,000 over three years from thePennsylvania Department of Agriculture for the studyof tomato spotted wilt virus, including a statewidevirus survey, and identification of virus-vectorinteractions.

PAUL GOLDSTEIN (MS, 1975) is a Professor ofGenetics in the Department of Biological Sciences,University ofTexas, El Paso. He was recentlypromoted to full Professor and has received a four-year grant from NIH to study gametogenesis in thenematode Caenorhabditis elegans. This past year Paul“received a number of invitations to give seminars butthe two most exciting ones came from Alaska andHawaii!”

E. RAYMOND HUNT (BS, 1978) is In the School ofForestry at the University of Montana, working as apostdoctoral fellow and Research Assistant Professorin the laboratory of Professor Steve Running. Hisresearch is on remote sensing, ecosystem modeling,and tree physiology. Raymond received his doctoratein 1984 from the University of Michigan. He hasworked at the University of California Laboratory ofBiomedical and Environmental Sciences and mostrecently at the California Institute of Technology JetPropulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.


AJMAL ICHAN (Ph.D. , 1985) is continuing hisresearch activities at the University of Karachi. Hewill be attending a special program in mathematicalecology at Trieste this summer.

NATHAN G. LAFER (MS. 1968) is National SalesManager for the Fairfield American Corporation,owned by Weilcome Foundation (UK). He writes, “I amone of the lucky ones that went to college to studyentomology and botany using this in myjob everyday.The environmental concerns of selling a naturalinsecticide such as pyrethrum is easily handled basedon my background and experiences (my thesis atDysart Woods keeps me in tune with customerconcerns).” Traveling is a big part of his job and hetravels around the United States several times a year,with occasional trips to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand,France, and the UK, where the corporate office islocated.

A. LEE LANG (BS, 1988) is a graduate student inplant molecular and cell biology at the University ofArizona, Tucson. He is keeping very busy and hasrecently become a member of the Mountain Searchand Rescue Team in Tucson. He is working with maizeand has recently assisted in courses in recombinantDNA and has been head teaching assistant for thebasic molecular and cell biology class.

ROBERT MARTIN (Ph.D. , 1984) is working with KraftGeneral Foods, Glenview, Illinois. During his first yearhe was a Research Scientist in the Microstructure Labof Basic Science doing freeze fracture technology onmilkfat globules. He was then promoted to SeniorResearch Scientist and published two papers(“Dressings and Sauces” in Food Emulsions, whichdealt with their microstructure; and “Food micro-structure, new techniques in food science” inEncyclopedia ofFood. Bob then moved to productdevelopment in the Dairy Products Laboratory wherehe worked on fat-free replacement products, and hewas appointed Group Leader. His responsibilitiesinclude developing new frozen desserts. He reportsthat he has had tremendous success at Kraft, “thesenorthern types need southern leadership,” and thattheir motto is “For God’s sake, it’s only ice cream ...“

MARIA BOERLAGE OVERHOLT (BS, 1939) attendedthe annual meeting of the Ohio Native Plant Society,April 20-2 1 , at Hueston Woods just north of Oxford,Ohio. Following her undergraduate education, shereceived a master’s degree in library science and amaster’s from Miami (Ohio) University as a specialistin education supervision. During her career she hasbeen a teacher and librarian, specializing in referencenetworking. Maria is currently a volunteer trail guideand author of articles for the newsletter of theBrukner Nature Center, Horseshoe Bend Road, Troy,Ohio 45373.

BRUCE PATTERSON (BS, 1982) is working on apostdoctoral appointment at Stanford University,investigating the molecular biology of slime molds. Hispaper (co-authored with C. Guthrie) on “Spliceosomal

snRNAs” In the Annual Review ofGenetics has beencited as a stand-out “Hot Paper” in the June 11edition of The Scientist. This paper was written tomake an snRNA sequence compilation available to thesplicing field and to summarize current knowledgeabout the Identified functions of conserved sequences;a starting point for modeling snRNA structure andfunction which facilitates tapping into millions ofyears of mutation filtered through natural selection.

JAY TISCHENDORF (BS, 1984) has spent two yearsworking on a cougar study in Yellowstone NationalPark and this past spring signed on to a helicopter-borne backcountry fire-fighting team that Yellowstonemaintains every summer. He finds this work to bementally stimulating and physically invigorating. Inbetween summers he hopes to enter veterinary schoolin Colorado.

ANNE WESTMAN (BS, 1981). After completing her MSin vegetable crops at Cornell in late 1984, Anne spentalmost four years in Kinshasa, Zaire, as an urbanagriculturalist with the Mennonite Central Committeeand Habitat for Humanity. Her work involved helpinglow-income families develop gardening, fish culture,and erosion control/reforestation programs. Shereturned to the US in March, 1989, and has “sincebeen adjusting to the fast-paced automatic low-cholesterol, oat-bran USA. A summer position as anassistant with Cooperative Extension in New York Cityshowed me how similar these two urban centers (i.e.,Kinshasa with 5 million people and NYC) really are. Iam now a Research Technician at Cornell in theVegetable Crops Department and work primarily onfarm or extension-related research in onion andlettuce production in New York State.” In two to threeyears she plans to start a doctoral program in botanyor plant breeding and hopes eventually to work inCentral Africa again.

NECROLOGY

ALBERT KATKO (BS, 1959) passed away on July 8,1989, while on vacation with his wife, Caron, andyounger son, Steven. His daughter, Denise, graduatedwith a degree in Hotel Management and lives inMinneapolis while his older son, Keith, is a junior atthe University of Minnesota. Steven is a sophomore inhigh school. Albert was an aquatic biologist for theEnvironmental Protection Agency. He was transferredfrom the E.P.A. in the Corvallis, Oregon, lab toDuluth, Minnesota, three years ago. He formerly livedin San Diego, San Francisco and Cincinnati.

VERNE H. LYNCH (BS, 1922) passed away on May 9,1986, at the age of 91 . His wife, Ruth, writes that “Henever lost his love for botany—still identified trees,butterflies, etc.” Verne was a school adminisator for35 years, and after he retired he went into realty foranother 25 years. He received an MA from theUniversity of Akron and did other graduate work atOhio State University.

1990 pbio newsletter

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