1950-1959 Dissertations (MU)
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Item A study of fusarium wilt resistance in tomato plants(University of Missouri--Columbia, 1953) Baumgardt, John Philip"Several strains of tomatoes, Lycopersicon esculentum, Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium, and hybrids of the two, were subjected to races 1 and 2 of Fusarium oxysporum f. lycopersici. The method of treatment was to excise a lateral root (in most cases), expose the wounded portion to some preparation of the fungus, either a mycelium pad, a cell free suspension of Richard's solution in which the fungus had been grown for three weeks, or a homogenate prepared by grinding in a Waring Blender a mycelium mat along with the Richard's solution in which it had been grown for three weeks. After various periods of exposure to the fungus preparation the plant roots, and in some cases the stems Just above the first internode, were dissected and portions of the primary root (and stem) were furthered sectioned, free hand, and microchemical tests were run on the fresh tissues. In all cases several serial sections were taken and any given test was considered unsatisfactory unless all the sections gave identical results. The xylem reactions were of prime interest in this study. Since one aim of the research was to elaborate further the findings of Finley concerning plugging material found within xylem elements special care was taken to seek out and attempt to identify the compounds comprising this obstruction. Two sorts of tests were run: the first series were intended to identify large organic groups of material present, and the second series was designed to give some idea of inorganic ions and radicals that may be found in the xylem. During the course of the investigation it became evident that two effects wore being expressed using the Finley technique: i.e., a wound response was being expressed in the same general area of the primary root that any sort of resistance reaction capable of being produced by the plant was also realised. In an effort to circumvent this difficulty Haymaker’s technique of utilising an almost undisturbed root system and still obtaining the resistance reaction was adopted. The general indications from the microchemical tests of the roots from a histological aspect were remarkably consistent. The basic distribution of pentoses and pentosans and of the polyphenols identified as such by the Hoepfner-Vorsats test seemed to correlate exactly with the degree of resistance expressed by the plants. In metabolically active cells surrounding the mature xylem these substances, in resistant plants, seemed to occur in amounts far exceeding those found in susceptible plants. Furthermore, plants shown to be capable of developing plugging within parasitised xylem elements were invariably shown to contain the above described distribution of pentoses, pentosans, and poly-phenols. The plugging material produced by almost all tomato plants subsequent to excision of a lateral root was identiÂfied tentatively as Molisch's and Tunmann’s wound gum. This material was produced at such a time as to be beyond conÂsideration as a basis of Fusarium resistance, but acted solely as a wound protecting cicatrix. However the so-called resistant plants were observed to produce further plugging of quite a different nature (in this case, apÂparently a pectic gel) far in advance of the fungus inÂvasion. Furthermore, simultaneously a sudden flush of polyphenols appeared in the active xylem sheathing cells. It was tentatively concluded that these latter effects, the intracellular pectic gelling and the surrounding mobilisation were active expressions of a resistance reÂaction capable of discouraging further advance of the fungus, and inhibiting any expression of pathogenicity of those hyphae already present in the host. Since it was also noted that living Fusarium did often occur within the plant body of a healthy host, it is suggested that these plants be referred to as Fusarium tolerant, rather than Fusarium resistant."--Summary.Item Pierre Wibaux, Bad Lands rancher(University of Missouri--Columbia, 1955) Welsh, Donald Hugh; Atherton, Lewis E."The passage of time has, in a large sense, served to make the name of Pierre Wibaux legendary. He has been called the largest individual cattle owner in the United States, which is not true. He has been pointed out as the only rancher having the wisdom to profit from circumstances following the winter of 1886-1887, which is not fact. He has been spoken of as living in circumstances of splendor, with a host of servants at hand at all times to fulfill his every command. This, also, is false. The writer developed an interest in Pierre Wibaux many years ago. Eight years of his education were received in a building whose windows overlook the statue of the wily Frenchman. He heard the legends which had grown about the W Ranch, its owner, and its operations. He decided that if the possibility should present itself he would someday attempt to dispel the myth and portray the man and his ranch as they really existed. This study is the fruit of that attempt. Unfortunately, this work was begun forty years too late. Those who knew Wibaux well during his first years on the ranch are no longer living. Those who are familiar with Wibaux's later years have not discussed him recently and the years have obscured their memories. Unfortunately too, the main body of Pierre Wibaux's correspondence and business documents remains in Roubaix, France, and has not been available to the writer. Neither could he secure any response from Wibaux's only child, a son who lives in Paris. This picture of Pierre Wibaux and the W Ranch has, then, been produced from a study of some 400 pieces of Wibaux's correspondence, which were made available to the writer, from a careful reading of contemporary newspapers, and from interviews with those who recall Wibaux personally. It is an attempt to portray Wibaux realistically--a young man, born into a wealthy industrial family, who turned down a life of ease among cultured friends and came to the American West to engage in the range-stock industry; an individual capable of undergoing periods of extreme physical exertion, who familiarized himself with the heat and dirt and sweat of the roundup; a person capable of choosing his help wisely and then turning responsibility over to those whom he selected; a foreigner who, although he loved the West, remained in many ways a Frenchman. The story of Pierre Wibaux and the W Ranch departs from the typical ranch account in many ways. It is, rather, a study of a Frenchman who came to America, adopted much of that which he saw about him, but retained some Old World ideas of living and comfort. Pierre Wibaux succeeded as a rancher because he proceeded in a careful and intelligent fashion, because he secured adequate financial support, and because at times fortune seemed to smile upon him. His neighbors coined the term, "Wibaux's luck," in speaking of some of the fortunate events which befell him. Unhampered by tradition, Wibaux became a progressive rancher. Many of the practices which he inaugurated on the W Ranch in the eighties and nineties are common practice in the range country today."--Preface.Item The survivals of medieval religious drama in New Mexico(University of Missouri--Columbia, 1959) Martin, Charles B.; Craig, HardinEvery year in many remote villages in New Mexico people gather at Christmas and Easter to witness dramatic productions of Biblical stories concerning these two seasons. Although these religious performances have taken on many new characteristics through the centuries, they are not, as many critics think, a new and quaint form of folk drama but instead are a curious remnant of a very old form of religious drama which was transported from medieval Spain to colonial Mexico and finally up the Rio Grande valley to New Mexico. Certainly these plays have come a long way from their medieval ancestors, the religious mysteries that were part of the 'liturgical services within the church, and have disintegrated and beoome secularized through their transmission from the church to the laity. Of the ten extant plays in New Mexico today, three treat subjects from the Old Testaments Adam y Eva, Cain y Abel, and Lucifer y San Miguel. Plays of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel were not new, having been presented in Mexico, Spain, and central Europe. Five of the extant plays present subjects from the New Testaments El Coloquio de San Joa, Los Pastores, Auto de los Reyes Magos, El Nino Perdido, and La Pasion. There are two others not liturgical in origin, which can be traced back to the Middle Ages, Los moroa y loa cristianos and las Cuatro Apariciones de la Virgen de Guadalupe....Item The metabolism and localization of glycerol by bovine spermatozoa(University of Missouri--Columbia, 1958) Pickett, B. W; Merilan, Charles Preston, 1926-1994Since the discovery that glycerol, a trihydroxy alcohol, would provide protection for spermatozoa during the freezing and thawing process, many questions have arisen concerning its metabolism and mode of action. Most of the recent work, with various types of single cells ans tissues, has shown that the cells are permeated by glycerol and that entry must occur before full protection is afforded. However, the methods employed in the majority of these studies have not proven successful for bovine spermatozoa, possibly due to its extremely inflexible cellular membrane and/or the slow rate at which glycerol enters the cell. The majority of the information concerning glycerol entry into bovine spermatozoa bas been supplied by metabolic studies. These studies have indicated that glycerol is metabolized by spermatozoa both anaerobically and aerobically in quantities too large to attribute the action to extracellular enzymes alone. However, relatively little information is available concerning the intracellular loci of glycerol action. Thus, this investigation was undertaken to provide additional information concerning the metabolism and localization of glycerol in the bovine spermatozoa.