Interested Members of the University Community are invited to attend the Final Oral Examination for the Degree of Master of Science of Luis Peña Barrena of the Department of Plant Agriculture

Date: Wednesday, September 13, 2023
Time: 10:00 AM
Method: ZOOM Meeting - https://zoom.us/j/95748460220?pwd=TG1LNUM0Tyt1UmJGVnczeVVObThuZz09
Meeting ID: 957 4846 0220
Passcode: 714370

Thesis Title: The Relationship between Phenylpropanoid Metabolism and Drought in Phaseolus vulgaris     

Advisory Committee 
Dr. Gale Bozzo, Advisor
Dr. Istvan Rajcan
Dr. K. Peter Pauls

Examination Committee
Dr. Katerina Jordan, Chair
Dr. K. Peter Pauls
Dr. Eric Lyons
Dr. Gale Bozzo                                              

ABSTRACT

Drought events are expected to become more frequent and more severe with climate change. To date, the extent of metabolic changes in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) that are associated with drought are largely unexplored. This thesis investigated whether alterations in flavonol, isoflavone and phenolic acid metabolites are linked to the drought response in two white bean recombinant inbred lines BT6 and BT44 when cultivated under severe drought relative to well-watered conditions. In general, the fresh weight and dry weight biomass of both RILs was reduced under severe drought, but root-to-shoot dry weight ratios were increased. Drought stress culminated in the accumulation of isoflavone-derived phytoalexins in the roots of the white bean plants. Some phenolic acids and a flavonol glycoside accumulated at higher concentrations in the leaves of drought-stressed plants relative to those grown under well-watered conditions. This research identified key metabolic indicators of severe drought in white bean plants.