Date of Award
Spring 2018
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Department/Major
Biology
First Advisor
Dr. Karen L. Koster
Second Advisor
Dr. Bernard W. M. Wone
Third Advisor
Ms. Kumudu N. Rathnayake
Keywords
Physcomitrella patens
Abstract
The goal of this research was to test the dehydration tolerance of two ecotypes of the moss species Physcomitrella patens. I compared the newly isolated Reute ecotype, originating from Baden-Württemberg, Germany, to the laboratory standard Gransden ecotype, originally isolated from Little Gransden, England, to determine if they differ in their ability to survive water loss. My hypothesis was that the Gransden ecotype would display greater dehydration tolerance than the Reute ecotype due to the higher average rainfall in the region where the Reute ecotype was isolated. Dehydration tolerance was tested by exposing the moss to varying atmospheric relative humidities and measuring water loss, then measuring chlorophyll fluorescence as an estimate of photosynthetic recovery after rehydration. After comparison of dehydration rates and chlorophyll fluorescence, no significant differences were measured between the ecotypes; thus, it is inconclusive if one ecotype is more dehydration tolerant than the other.
Recommended Citation
Lippert, Clay, "The Old, the Young, and the Dehydrated: comparing dehydration tolerance of ‘Gransden’ and ‘Reute’ ecotypes of Physcomitrella patens" (2018). Honors Thesis. 18.
https://red.library.usd.edu/honors-thesis/18