Michele N Konschuh

University of Lethbridge · Department of Biological Sciences

Powdery scab, a potato tuber disease caused by the plasmodiophorid pathogen Spongospora subterranea f.sp. subterranea poses a significant threat to the potato industry. It causes tuber lesions and root galls in potato plants. It is also the only known vector of potato mop-top virus (PMTV), which causes internal necrosis (spraing) in stored potato t...

Spiral nematodes (Helicotylenchus spp.) are polyphagous parasitic species exhibiting a broad host range and geographical distribution. However, their diversity in the cultivated regions of southern Alberta remains understudied. Hence, we conducted a comprehensive survey of the region’s arable lands for the presence of spiral nematodes and revealed...

Powdery scab is an emerging potato disease caused by the fungal-like pathogen Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea. The visible symptoms include root galls and tuber blemishing on potatoes. Study of pathogen population levels in soils and its impact on potato pro-duction is necessary to manage this disease. Currently, no effective treatments...

Improved N management is needed in intensive agriculture to mitigate nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions while sustaining high yields. We assessed the effectiveness of polymer‐coated urea (PCU); nitrification inhibitor 2,4‐dimethylpyrazol succinic acid (DMPSA), a biostimulant; and their combinations with granular urea and ammonium sulfate nitrate (ASN) f...

Improving nutrient and water use efficiencies by optimizing field management practices are important strategies to increase economic and environmental sustainability of canola production in North America. The objective of this study was to review recent research publications and quantitatively assess the impact of field management practices on the...

Potato chips are among the highest contributors to the dietary intake of acrylamide, a potent neurotoxin and likely carcinogen in heat-processed foods. The present study aimed to determine the effects of frying conditions and additive treatments on reducing sugars, asparagine levels, and acrylamide formation in fried potato chips. Three commerciall...

An in vitro regeneration protocol for Stellaria longipes Goldie was developed using young hypocotyl explants. Optimal regeneration was obtained using Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with 0.5 µM N6-benzyladenine and 1 µM indole-3-butyric acid. Three different patterns of shoot regeneration were observed: (i) "direct shoot" formati...

Current agronomic practices for potato production in the irrigated areas of southern Alberta involve a hill/furrow configuration that was adopted from elsewhere, and designed to shed rainfall away from the hill and into the furrow. However, the principal intent of supplemental irrigation is to capture as much of the applied water into the hill, whe...

Aspartate metabolism was investigated in excised cotyledons of radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don). These cotyledons were cultured under shoot-forming (plus N6-benzyladenine, SF), non-shoot-forming (minus N6-benzyladenine, NSF) and unresponsive (plus N6-benzyladenine, OLD) conditions, then incubated with [14C]-aspartate for 3-h pulse treatments fol...

This study was undertaken to determine whether there was genetic diversity among isolates of Botrytis cinerea (teleomorph Botryotinia fuckeliana) collected from greenhouses and field locations in Alberta, Canada, and whether genetic diversity could be attributed to collection location and (or) host plant species. The study was conducted to provide...

An in vitro regeneration protocol for Stellaria longipes Goldie was developed using young hypocotyl explants. Optimal regeneration was obtained using Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with 0.5 µM N 6 -benzyladenine and 1 µM indole-3-butyric acid. Three different patterns of shoot regeneration were observed: (i) "direct shoot" forma...

Canola (Brassica napus cv. Westar) cotyledons have been transformed with an antisense construct of a type I cab gene of Photosystem II in an attempt to achieve the industry priority of reducing green seed. A napin promoter was used to target antisense gene expression to the seed. Northern blot analyses indicate that sense cab mRNA is suppressed dur...

Winter Brassicas must be exposed to extended periods of low temperature to flower and set seed in a reasonable time frame. This low temperature exposure also results in the acquisition of freezing tolerance. To investigate the relationship between freezing tolerance and vernalization, homozygous microspore-derived lines were developed from reciproc...

Aspartate metabolism was investigated in excised cotyledons of radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don). These cotyledons were cultured under shoot-forming (plus N6-benzyladenine, SF), non-shoot-forming (minus N6-benzyladenine, NSF) and unresponsive (plus N6-benzyladenine, OLD) conditions, then incubated with [14C]-aspartate for 3-h pulse treatments fol...