Jason Stettler

The North American endemic genus Penstemon (Mitchell) has a recent geologic origin of ca. 3.6 million years ago (MYA) during the Pliocene/Pleistocene transition and has undergone a rapid adaptive evolutionary radiation with ca. 285 species of perennial forbs and sub-shrubs. Penstemon is divided into six subgenera occupying all North American habitats including the Arctic tundra, Central American tropical forests, alpine meadows, arid deserts, and temperate grasslands. Due to the rapid rate of diversification and speciation, previous phylogenetic studies using individual and concatenated chloroplast sequences have failed to resolve many polytomic clades. We investigated the efficacy of utilizing the plastid genomes (plastomes) of 29 species in the Lamiales order, including five newly sequenced Penstemon plastomes, for analyzing phylogenetic relationships and resolving problematic clades. We compared whole-plastome based phylogenies to phylogenies based on individual gene sequences (m...

Bacteriophages are a major force in the evolution of bacteria due to their sheer abundance as well as their ability to infect and kill their hosts and to transfer genetic material. Bacteriophages that infect the Enterobacteriaceae family are of particular interest because this bacterial family contains dangerous animal and plant pathogens. Herein we report the isolation and characterization of two jumbo myovirus Erwinia phages, RisingSun and Joad, collected from apple trees. These two genomes are nearly identical with Joad harboring two additional putative gene products. Despite mass spectrometry data that support the putative annotation, 43% of their gene products have no significant BLASTP hit. These phages are also more closely related to Pseudomonas and Vibrio phages than to published Enterobacteriaceae phages. Of the 140 gene products with a BLASTP hit, 81% and 63% of the closest hits correspond to gene products from Pseudomonas and Vibrio phages, respectively. This relatedness...

ABSTRACT Utah lotus (Lotus utahensis Ottley) is a North American leguminous forb that may hold promise for rangeland revegetation in the western United States for diversifying planting mixtures, attracting pollinators, providing high-quality forage, and expanding habitats for insects needed by sage-grouse chicks. Fourteen wildland seed collections of Utah lotus originating from Nevada and Utah were assessed for genetic variation of a wide range of phenotypic traits and genetic relationships. Population structure estimates defined by 552 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers identified three primary subgroups within the Utah lotus collections, which corresponded to their geographic origin. Two collections of Utah lotus (LU-5 and LU-20) were among the top-performing collections for the phenotypic traits examined, including dry-matter yield, pod production, number of stems, canopy height, and persistence. No significant Pearson's correlations or canonical correlations were observed among the phenotypic traits and environmental characteristics at the collection sites. Significant correlations were detected between genetic and geographic matrices, and phenotypic and geographic distance matrices (r = 0.89, P = 0.001 and r = 0.24, P = 0.04, respectively). Condensed tannin (CT) contents of Utah lotus were between 146 and 199 g kg-1 dry matter, which was nearly 10 times higher than CT content of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) with 17.3 g kg-1 dry matter. Because of our phenotypic and genotypic evaluations, one pooled germplasm source of Utah lotus comprising collections LU-5 and LU-20 could be developed for use in rangeland revegetation in the southern Great Basin and Colorado Plateau.

Erwinia amylovora is the causal agent of fire blight, a devastating disease affecting some plants of the Rosaceae family. We isolated bacteriophages from samples collected from infected apple and pear trees along the Wasatch Front in Utah. We announce 19 high-quality complete genome sequences of E. amylovora bacteriophages.

Abstract. Penstemon × jonesii is described as having flowers with the colors of “Tyrian rose,” “amaranth purple,” or “red-purple to maroon.” It has been recorded only in localized areas of southwestern Utah and just over the border of Arizona, where both putative parents commonly occur in sandy soils. Penstemon × jonesii has been reported and widely accepted as a natural hybrid of P. laevis × P. eatonii, though no research has been conducted to verify this assumption. We examined claims of its hybrid origin by making interspecific reciprocal first-generation hybrid plants from the 2 suspected parental species (P. eatonii and P. laevis) as well as by making second-generation hybrids through backcrossing to both parental species. Using 9 Penstemon simple sequence repeat (SSR), or microsatellite, markers, we examined the allelic variation among natural populations of P. × jonesii, P. eatonii, and P. laevis in southwestern Utah. These SSR data, in conjunction with our controlled crosses...

Fire and invasive weeds have increased the demand for native seed for restoration across the Great Basin region of the US. Cultivation of native forbs could provide lessexpensive seed in necessary quantities to meet restoration needs that cannot be harvested from wildland populations alone. We evaluated 2 cultivation methods of 4 lupine species (Lupinus (Tournefort) [Fabaceae])—hairy bigleaf lupine (L. prunophilusM.E. Jones), silky lupine (L. sericeus Pursh), silvery lupine (L. argenteus
Pursh), and longspur lupine (L. arbustus Douglas ex Lindl.)—to evaluate emergence, establishment, and seed production. We compared the conventional cultivation method of row crop production (control) using direct drilling to an experimental cultivation method of broadcast seeding with a mulch covering of sawdust and N-Sulate fabric (covered treatment). Under covered treatment conditions, emergence was significantly improved compared to conventional cultivation for all 4
lupine species, with P values of < 0.0001 for all 4 species. Similar results were found in 2nd-year establishment rates for silvery lupine, hairy bigleaf lupine, and silky lupine with all P values < 0.0001. Longspur lupine showed symptoms of iron deficiency chlorosis during the 1st growing season and consequently no plants established in subsequent years. Silvery lupine and silky lupine produced significantly more seed in the covered treatment than in the control with P values of < 0.0001 for
both species. Our mulch treatment effectively increased emergence, establishment, and seed production in all surviving cultivars compared to the control method.

Bacteriophages are a major force in the evolution of bacteria due to their sheer abundance as well as their ability to infect and kill their hosts and to transfer genetic material. Bacterio-phages that infect the Enterobacteriaceae family are of particular interest because this bacterial family contains dangerous animal and plant pathogens. Herein we report the isolation and characterization of two jumbo myovirus Erwinia phages, RisingSun and Joad, collected from apple trees. These two genomes are nearly identical with Joad harboring two additional putative gene products. Despite mass spectrometry data that support the putative annotation , 43% of their gene products have no significant BLASTP hit. These phages are also more closely related to Pseudomonas and Vibrio phages than to published Enterobacteria-ceae phages. Of the 140 gene products with a BLASTP hit, 81% and 63% of the closest hits correspond to gene products from Pseudomonas and Vibrio phages, respectively. This relatedness may reflect their ecological niche, rather than the evolutionary history of their host. Despite the presence of over 800 Enterobacteriaceae phages on NCBI, the uniqueness of these two phages highlights the diversity of Enterobacteriaceae phages still to be discovered.

The genus Penstemon is an emerging model for the study of continental adaptive radiation. We report here the first complete plastome sequence for this genus. The P. fruticosus (shrubby, or brush penstemon) plastome is 152,704 bp in length with a quadripartite structure consisting of a large single-copy region (83,693 bp) and a small single-copy region (17,820 bp) that are separated by two inverted repeats (25,594 bp). The plastome contained 24 tRNA genes, 8 rRNA genes, and 83 protien coding genes for a total of 115 unique genes. Phylogenetic analysis of whole chloroplast sequences shows that the nearest relatives of P. fruticosus are Plantago and Veronica genera in the Plantaginaceae family.

Lotus wrightii rangeland legumes rangeland plant materials restoration Utah lotus (Lotus utahensis Ottley) is a North American leguminous forb that may hold promise for rangeland revegetation in the western United States for diversifying planting mixtures, attracting pollinators, providing high-quality forage, and expanding habitats for insects needed by sage-grouse chicks. Fourteen wildland seed collections of Utah lotus originating from Nevada and Utah were assessed for genetic variation of a wide range of phenotypic traits and genetic relationships. Population structure estimates defined by 552 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers identified three primary subgroups within the Utah lotus collections, which corresponded to their geographic origin. Two collections of Utah lotus (LU-5 and LU-20) were among the top-performing collections for the phenotypic traits examined, including dry-matter yield, pod production, number of stems, canopy height, and persistence. No significant Pearson's correlations or canonical correlations were observed among the phenotypic traits and environmental characteristics at the collection sites. Significant correlations were detected between genetic and geographic matrices, and phenotypic and geographic distance matrices (r = 0.89, P = 0.001 and r = 0.24, P = 0.04, respectively). Condensed tannin (CT) contents of Utah lotus were between 146 and 199 g kg −1 dry matter, which was nearly 10 times higher than CT content of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) with 17.3 g kg −1 dry matter. Because of our phenotypic and genotypic evaluations, one pooled germplasm source of Utah lotus comprising collections LU-5 and LU-20 could be developed for use in rangeland revegetation in the southern Great Basin and Colorado Plateau. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Society for Range Management.

Seeds of most Great Basin lupine (Lupinus spp. [Fabaceae]) species are physically dormant and thus, difficult to establish in uniform stands in seed production fields. We designed this study to examine 5 seed scarification techniques, each with 11 levels of application (including a non-scarified control), to reduce the physical seed dormancy of longspur lupine (L. arbus-tus Douglas ex Lindl.), silvery lupine (L. argenteus Pursh), hairy bigleaf lupine (L. prunophilus M.E. Jones), and silky lupine (L. sericeus Pursh). These 4 perennial Great Basin lupine species are of interest for both rehabilitation and restoration of degraded rangelands. We evaluated 10 treatments of each of 5 scarification methods, one mechanical, 2 thermal, and 2 chemical (sulfuric acid and sodium hypochlorite) techniques on the above-mentioned species. The sulfuric acid and the mechanical scarification treatments significantly improved germination for both silvery and silky lupine. Additionally, one thermal scarifi-cation method (60 s at 95 °C [203 °F]) was effective for silvery lupine. Both sulfuric acid and sodium hypochlorite scarification methods had treatment levels that significantly improved germination of hairy bigleaf lupine. For longspur lupine, all treatments within the 5 scarification methods either decreased or were not a significant improvement of germination as compared with the control, except for the treatment of soaking the seeds for 35 s at 95 °C (203 °F). We found scarification to be an effective tool for reducing physical dormancy in silvery lupine, hairy bigleaf lupine, and silky lupine, thus allowing for a more efficient use of limited seeds.

Our primary focus is on improving native lupin cultivation in our pH soils. Iron deficiency chlorosis is a major causes of decreased seedling vigor and plant mortality. We tested the use of four iron chelate applications with four species of lupin (Lupinus arbustus, L. argenteus, L. prunophilus, and L. sericeus). We also report our research efforts on improving propagation protocols for native forb germination.

Progress update on the forb island study. In 2009 and 2010 four sites Tooele County, Sanpete County, and Carbon County were selected. The sagebrush was removed in strips 5 m wide and 100 m long using a dixie pipe harrow. Plots were seeded with two seed mixes, covered with N-Sulate fabric mulch or left uncovered (control). Emergence was measured the following spring and establishment was measured during the second growing season.

We are continuing to work on developing cultural practice guidelines and procedures for several forbs native to the Great Basin and the Intermountain West including Lupinus spp., Sphearalcea spp., and Eriogonum ovalifolium. Our research also includes experimental plantings of "forb islands" within the sagebrush steppe to improve germination, emergence, and establishment of native forbs under restoration conditions.

Ecological Niche Models were created for two native forb species through a basic 5 step process: 1. Data extraction for the target area (Great Basin) 2. Extracted climatic DEMs and species location data entered into the MaxEnt 3.  Raw Model outputs  4. Maps refined in ArcMap and field test sites identified 5. Field testing of model accuracy.

Mountain hollyhock, Iliamna rivularis (Douglas ex Hooker) Greene (Malvaceae) is a native wildflower of the intermountain west that commonly occurs in    aspen-fir communities. I.rivularis seed have high dormancy rates that limit its use in restoration and commercial seed production. We examined the germination of this species using scarification and stratification treatments commonly used to enhance germination of other forb species. Batches of seed were treated and stratified for 0, 8, or 16 weeks and then placed in an incubator. Germination was counted after 7, 14, and 21 days. The highest germination rates were achieved with a 15 sec. boiling water treatment, a 9 min. sulfuric acid treatment, and a 7 sec. mechanical scarification treatment reaching 41, 59, and 99% germination respectively. The study control reached a maximum of 5% germination.

Utah lotus (Lotus utahensis Ottley) is a North American legume related to the Eurasian birdsfoot trefoil (L. corniculatus L.), which is an economically valuable forage legume for pastures. Our objectives were to describe the genetic variation within Utah lotus seed collections by measuring adaptive phenotypic traits at three common garden sites in northern Utah, and to determine the genetic structure of populations and the extent of local adaptation through AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphisms) analysis. We evaluated 14 Utah lotus seed collections from Nevada and Utah, and five seed collections of scrub lotus (L. wrightii (A. Gray) Greene) from Arizona. Significant variation was observed among collections for all phenotypic traits measured. Spring emergence date, flowering date, survival, dry-matter yield, and canopy width discriminated these two species with 100% accuracy. Population structure estimates from 552 AFLP markers of Utah lotus, scrub lotus, and the birdsfoot trefoil check resulted in five genetically differentiated groups. The three primary groups were the three species; within the Utah lotus collections three sub-groups were identified, which corresponded to geographic locations of the collection sites. Two collections of Utah lotus (LU-5 and LU-20) were among the top-tier collections for important phenotypic traits, including dry-matter yield, pod production, number of stems, canopy height, and survival. No significant Pearson’s correlations or canonical correlations were found among the phenotypic traits and environmental characteristics at the collection sites. Significant correlations were detected between genetic and geographic, and phenotypic and geographic distance matrices (r = 0.888, P = 0.001 and r = 0.235, P = 0.044, respectively). No other significant distance matrix correlations were found. Despite the significant isolation by distance correlation, both the genetic and phenotypic evaluations provide little evidence to support local adaptation. Based on these results, one pooled germplasm source of Utah lotus could be developed for use in rangeland restoration and revegetation of the southern Great Basin. Collections LU-5 and LU-20 would be good candidate collections that would represent minimal risk of maladaptation and out-breeding depression with natural populations.