Cloning and Sequencing
Robert Zdor (Biology)
Cloning & Sequencing of Weed Deleterious Rhizobacterial Genomic Sequences Associated with Production of the Plant Hormone Auxin
The study of weed deleterious rhizobacterial (WDR) interactions with velvetleaf has demonstrated the ability of plant hormone-producing bacteria to reduce weed growth. The current hypothesis under study is that the hormone indole acetic acid (IAA) is the agent of growth inhibition. Consistent with that hypothesis is the presence of genes encoding enzymes involved in the production of IAA. Previous work has shown the ability of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify DNA sequences in two WDR strains homologous to genes known in IAA synthesis. This proposal seeks to further this observation by cloning and sequencing this amplified DNA giving the opportunity to strengthen the proposed hypothesis by examining the precise nature of the amplified DNA.