Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) provides protein, complex carbohydrates, and other valuable nutrients for more than 300 million people in the tropics and around the world. Common bean is particularly known for its ability to provide fiber, with some studies showing that it aids in the lowering of blood sugar. It is also used as a model species for more complex plant species, as it is easy to grow and make genetic crosses for studying gene linkage. In this project, the goal was to identify if there was a significant difference in the quality and quantity of DNA isolated from fresh versus frozen leaf tissue. Fresh, young, trifoliate leaves were directly collected from newly grown common bean plants for DNA isolation using CTAB (Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) buffer to help break down leaf tissue. The same procedure was used with common bean leaf tissue that had been stored in the -80 degrees deep freezer for more than five years. Differences in color, texture, and ease of grinding the leaf tissues were some physiological comparisons identified between fresh and frozen tissue. Both isolated DNA were run on a gel electrophoresis to visualize results. Of two fresh and frozen samples each, the results indicate that the frozen samples were more concentrated by visualization as well as quantification with a Nanodrop. Ultimately, the frozen tissue provided higher concentrations of DNA. Keywords: Common bean, DNA, CTAB, Gel Electrophoresis, Nanodrop Acknowledgements: We acknowledge USDA NIFA Capacity Building Grant Awards# 2016-06642 and 2016-06476 for funding my internship and the project as part of the student experiential learning goal and the Project Director, Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay for providing this internship opportunity.

Does Prolonged Storage of Plant Tissue have a Negative Effect on DNA Quality?

Hybrid capacitive deionization (HCDI) is emerging as an energy-efficient alternative for brackish water desalination with low expenditure cost and favourable ion removal effectiveness by adopting battery-type electrodes in the traditional capacitive deionization (CDI) system. Herein, an unscalable electrospinning method is introduced to contrive cathode material for HCDI system. Co3O4 and nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube decoration are formed successfully and uniformly distributed with the hollow structure of free-standing carbon nanofibers (Co3O4@CNF@CNT). The conductive “bridges” provided by the CNF matrix significantly shorten the diffusion length of Na+ and promote the electrical conductivity of the Co3O4 nanoparticles. Moreover, benefiting from the incorporation of nitrogen-doped CNTs as the “medium”, the contact between electrolyte and electrode material is improved and the electrical conductivity is further enhanced. The as-prepared Co3O4@CNF@CNT cathode shows excellent pseudocapacitive performance of 395 F g-1 at a scan rate of 1 mV s-1 and superior rate performance of 279 F g-1 at 100 mV s-1. The HCDI system delivers an outstanding salt adsorption capacity (SAC) of 58.6 mg g-1 and a highest salt adsorption rate (SAR) of 12.27 mg g-1 min-1 with a potential difference of 1.4 V, indicating the great potential of applying Co3O4@CNF@CNT in the practical HCDI system.

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Does Prolonged Storage of Plant Tissue have a Negative Effect on DNA Quality?

Hierarchical tubular Co3O4/CNT structures for Efficient Hybrid Capacitive Deionization

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