The Honors College is pleased to announce yet another undergraduate research opportunity . . .

Dr. Carina Barth from the Eberly College (Department of Biology) has provided us with the following information:

“I am looking for Honors students who would be interested in a BIOL 386 (independent study) project with a possible continuation of the project in form of a 486 project (Honors Thesis). There are two projects that would be suitable for students who are seeking research experience. Below please find a short summary of the two projects.”

Project 1:
This project seeks to investigate the role of vitamin C on plant root development. We recently discovered that the vitamin C-deficient mutant, vtc1, develops shorter roots than the wild type. However, the vtc1 mutant forms more adventitious roots than the wild type. The root developmental phenotype in vtc1 resembles a root growth phenotype that is caused by phosphate deficiency. Furthermore, our preliminary data suggest that the vtc1 mutant has altered ethylene responses that presumably relate to the root developmental phenotype, because ethylene has been associated with phosphate stress. Therefore, we are interested in elucidating a possible relationship between phosphate stress, ethylene signaling, vitamin C deficiency and root development in the vtc1 mutant. The student will gain experience in a wide variety of laboratory techniques, including tissue culture, gene expression analysis, and biochemical assays. For more information, please contact Carina Barth preferably via E-mail (carina.barth@mail.wvu.edu). Further contact information is provided below.

Project 2:
The antioxidant vitamin C is known to protect plants from adverse abiotic stresses, such as cold temperatures, drought, salinity and the air pollutant ozone. However, vitamin C also plays an important role in protecting plants against virulent, i.e. disease-causing, bacterial pathogens. We have recently shown that the vitamin C-deficient mutant, vtc1, is more resistant to infection by the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola, the cause of leaf spot disease. In response to bacterial infection, plants turn on a complex plant hormone-mediated signal transduction network that regulates the induction of defense genes that fight off invading pathogens. Hormones involved in this signaling network include salicylic acid, ethylene, and jasmonic acid. Our recent data show that the enhanced resistance response in the vtc1 mutant is mediated by the salicylic acid-dependent pathway. We are currently in the process of elucidating as to why vitamin C deficiency causes high basal levels of salicylic acid and whether there are possible interactions between auxin and salicylic acid signaling conferring enhanced disease resistance. Interested students should contact Carina Barth preferably via E-mail (carina.barth@mail.wvu.edu) for further information. Detailed contact information is provided below.

Carina Barth
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
West Virginia University
5228 Life Sciences Building
53 Campus Drive
Morgantown, WV 26506-6057

Phone Office: 304-293-5201 ext 31099
Phone Lab:     304-293-5201 ext 31541
Fax:                304-293-6363
Email: Carina.Barth@mail.wvu.edu
URL: http://www.as.wvu.edu/~cbarth/