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Research Interests:
Plant -insect
interactions, genomics, agro-ecosystem physiology, ecology and evolution,
and global change
I
am interested in understanding the effects of herbivory under future
scenarios of global change on the molecular level. Most plants are
sedentary organisms that must continuously respond to challenges in a
fluctuating environment. In addition to adapting to naturally fluctuating abiotic challenges (e.g. light, temperature, water
availability) and biotic challenges such as herbivory and
infection, plants must now cope with new changes in the global climate and
environment. Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and ozone
concentration are increasing in the troposphere, producing phytochemical
changes that may alter plant-insect interactions in agro-ecosystems. These
changes will influence future climate, agricultural productivity,
well-established defense responses of plants to insects and possibly alter
the coevolutionary trajectory between plants and herbivores in the future.
My research applies emerging and well-established molecular, genomic, and
biochemical tools to understand plant defenses and plant insect interactions
in a constantly changing environment.
I utilize the
SoyFACE (Soybean Free Atmosphere gas Concentration Enrichment)
system. At SoyFACE, CO2 and O3
are elevated alone and in combination within a continuous canopy of soybean
(Glycine max). Present and future work utilizes the
combination of protein, metabolite and microarray analysis in order to
characterize and map the allelochemical, hormonal and molecular changes that
potentially control plant responses in agro-ecosystems to herbivory under
projected atmospheric conditions.
First-Authored
Publications:
Casteel, C.L., C.M. Ranger
E.A. Backus.
M.R. Ellersieck and D.W. Johnson.
(2006) Influence of plant ontogeny and
abiotic factors on resistance of glandular-haired alfalfa to the potato
leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). Journal
of Economic Entomology. 99(2) 537-543.
Casteel, C.L., L.L.Walling,
and T.D. Paine. Behavior and Biology of the Tomato Psyllid Bactericerca
cockerelli (Sulc) (Hemiptera: Psyllidae)
in Response to the Mi-1.2 Gene. Entomologia Experimentalis
et Applicata 121(1)
67-72.
Casteel,
C.L., L.L.Walling, and T.D. Paine. Effect of Mi-1.2 gene in natal host
plants on behavior and biology of the tomato psyllid Bactericerca
cockerelli (Sulc) (Hemiptera: Psyllidae). The Entomological Journal. Accepted
April 17 2006: In Press.
Casteel, C.L., T.D. Paine
and L.L.Walling. Changes in RNA Profiles During Tomato-Tomato Psyllid
Interaction. In Prep.
Casteel, C.L., J. Zavala,
M.R. Berenbaum, and E. H. De Lucia. Transcriptional responses of soybean (Glycine max) to continuous herbivory by
Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica)
under ambient and projected atmospheric conditions. In Prep.
Co-Authored Publications:
O’Neill, B., Casteel, C.L.,
M.R. Berenbaum, and E. H. De Lucia. Chemical and transcriptional changes in
soybean (Glycine max)
in flavonoids after herbivory by Japanese beetles (Popillia
japonica) under ambient and projected atmospheric
conditions. In Prep. |
