2 CapitalPress.com Friday, April 22, 2022 People & Places Using microbes to help sagebrush By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press BOISE — Researcher Leonora Bittleston and her team at Boise State Uni- versity are hunting for the microbes and fungi that help sagebrush plants thrive during drought. 7KHLUZRUNFRXOGEHQH¿W sagebrush and other native plants and wildlife, and even reduce the risk of catastrophic ZLOG¿UH ³,IZH¿QG beneficial microbes that help sage- brush to tol- Leonora erate stress Bittleston better, then it could lead to better resto- ration of the sagebrush eco- system across the Sagebrush Steppe that covers much of the West,” said Bittleston, an assistant professor at Boise State. “We’re trying to encour- age the right type of micro organisms that can help the plant in stressful condi- tions,” she said. Sagebrush, a “nurse” plant that helps native grasses and other plant spe- cies to become established, can itself be hard to re-estab- lish, Bittleston said. Many transplants don’t survive much past a year. “If we were able to improve restoration success for sagebrush, it could lead to a healthier overall ecosys- tem,” she said. Once they are identi- ¿HG VDJHEUXVKEHQH¿WLQJ microbes could be collected and cultured to create larger Established 1928 Capital Press Managers Joe Beach ..................... Editor & Publisher Anne Long ................. Advertising Director Western Innovator Carl Sampson .................. Managing Editor Samantha Stinnett .....Circulation Manager Entire contents copyright © 2022 LEONORA BITTLESTON Occupation: Assistant professor, Boise State University Department of Biological Sciences John C. Kelly/BSU Leonora Bittleston at work in the foothills northwest of Boise. populations. The microbes in turn could be added to sagebrush seedlings before planting, increasing the sur- vival rate. ³:H ¿UVW KDYH WR ¿JXUH RXW ZKLFK PLJKW EH EHQH¿- cial,” Bittleston said. She and students have spent about a year tak- ing samples in the foothills northwest of Boise. They sampled healthy sagebrush leaves that showed no sign of disease. That boosts the odds the microbes and fungi are ben- H¿FLDO²EXWLWLVDOVRSRV- VLEOHWKH\KDYHQRH൵HFWRQ the plant the researchers are studying. During last year’s espe- cially hot summer in Boise, “our plants all survived,” Bittleston said. “But they are mature adult plants.” It is likely seedlings or more vulnerable plants died in the heat wave, she said. The heat also enabled the researchers to explore how the microbial communities fared. Bittleston said the researchers have found fungi that are mostly yeasts, a sin- gle-cell form of fungi. Many of the yeasts are also found in other dry environments. Some of these yeasts have substantial melanin, which provides ultraviolet protection. “We know it helps fungi. We don’t know if it helps the host plant,” a topic of continued study, Bittleston said. Next steps include pro- cessing samples, analyz- ing data, extracting DNA, DNA-sequencing microbial communities and exploring correlations with weather variables. The team is look- ing at how the presence of particular microbes cor- relates with weather station data on a site’s temperature, humidity, precipitation and other measures. DNA-se- quenced microbial com- munities also are studied in relation to weather data. Researchers are also studying how seedlings are D൵HFWHG E\ DGGLQJ D ZKROH community of microbes ver- sus a single microbe. A doctoral candidate is introducing microbial com- munities in growth cham- bers to determine if they help the sagebrush plant grow, or tolerate drought. “Our ability to look at microbes through DNA sequencing has increased a lot in recent years, as has our appreciation of their impor- tance beyond just being Education: B.S., mo- lecular environmental biology, University of California-Berkeley, 2007; Ph.D., organismic and evolutionary biology, Harvard University, 2016; postdoctoral fellow, envi- ronmental microbiology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016-19. Age: 37 Hometown: Santa Cruz, Calif. Lives in Boise, Idaho. Family: Husband Dan Beyer, an engineer and artist. They have one child. Hobbies: Hiking, swim- ming, cooking, mountain biking, pottery. EO Media Group dba Capital Press An independent newspaper published every Friday. Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 2870 Broadway NE, Salem OR 97303. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR, and at additional mailing ooces. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Capital Press, P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048. To Reach Us Circulation ...........................800-781-3214 Email ........... Circulation@capitalpress.com Main line .............................503-364-4431 News Staf Idaho Carol Ryan Dumas ..............208-860-3898 Boise pathogens,” Bittleston said. The project is part of the larger Idaho Genes for Envi- ronment, Modeling, Mech- anisms and Mapping — GEM3 — project funded through the National Sci- ence Foundation’s Estab- lished Program to Stimu- late Competitive Research initiative. Brad Carlson .......................208-914-8264 Western Washington Don Jenkins .........................360-722-6975 Eastern Washington Matthew Weaver ................509-688-9923 Oregon George Plaven ....................406-560-1655 Mateusz Perkowski .............800-882-6789 Sierra Dawn McClain ..........503-506-8011 S.I. Livestock Hall of Fame honors inductees Capital Press TWIN FALLS, Idaho — The Southern Idaho Livestock Hall of Fame honored its newest inductees at its 61st annual banquet on Tues- day evening at the Turf Club. The inductees were Guy and Sherry Colyer, Larry Hayhurst, Don and Patricia Pickett and John Reit- sma (posthumously). The Colyers operate Colyer Her- eford and Angus in Bruneau, which consists of 300 registered Hereford cows and 75 replacement heifers. They have been producing embryo transfer calves since 1983, and 90% of WKHLUFDOIFURSLVWKHUHVXOWRIDUWL¿FLDO insemination or embryo transplant. The Colyers have produced the world record-selling Hereford bull, and four of their Hereford bulls have been two-time champions at the Denver Stock Show. Guy Colyer was awarded the U.S. Livestock Industry Leader of the Year for 2017 by the National West- ern Stock Show. He has represented The newest inductees to the Southern Idaho Livestock Hall of Fame at the inductee banquet in Twin Falls on April 12. From left are Larry Hayhurst, Sherry and Guy Colyer, Don and Patricia Pickett and John Reitsma9s children Dirk Reitsma, Heidi Jarvis and Sean Mallett (accept- ing the award for their father posthumously). the Hereford breed in many capac- ities including serving on the board of the American Hereford Associa- tion. The operation was recognized as the U.S. Senate Small Business of the Month for March 2018, and the family has been active in Hereford youth programs. Hayhurst served as a brand inspector with the Idaho State Brand Department for 27 years and was appointed state brand inspector in 1991, overseeing as many as 25,000 registered brands. During his tenure, he served a term as president of the Western State Livestock Investiga- tion Association and as president of WKH,QWHUQDWLRQDO/LYHVWRFN,GHQWL¿- cation Association. Don Pickett operates Pickett Ranch and Sheep Company, head- quartered in Oakley, with his two brothers, David and Doug. In addi- tion to the sheep operation, the fam- ily runs cattle in Idaho, Utah and Nevada and farms in areas around Oakley, Kenyon and Murtaugh. Pickett also maintained a law practice for many years and was noted as a Lawyer of Distinction in agricultural law by the National Law Journal. He has served as chairman of the Idaho State Animal Damage Control Board and chairman of the Idaho Sheep and Goat Health Board. He has also served on the boards of Water District 140, the Southwest Irrigation District and the Oakley Canal Company. Reitsma, now deceased, immi- grated from the Netherlands to Cal- ifornia in 1967 at the age of 19 and worked in the agriculture indus- try. In 1984, he moved to Jerome DQGVWDUWHGWKH¿UVWRIPDQ\GDLULHV including organic. Along the way, KH EURXJKW WKH ¿UVW URWDU\ SDUORU WR Idaho, put robotic milkers on one of his dairies and started other business ventures. Designer Randy Wrighthouse .............800-882-6789 To Place Classioed Ads Telephone (toll free) ............800-882-6789 Online ............................CapitalPress.com Subscriptions Mail rates paid in advance Easy Pay U.S. $4 /month (direct withdrawal from bank or credit card account) 1 year U.S. ...........................................$ 65 2 years U.S. ........................................$115 1 year Canada.....................................$230 1 year other countries ...........call for quote 1 year Internet only.............................$ 52 Visa and Mastercard accepted To get information published Mailing address: Capital Press P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048 News: Contact the main ooce Oregon Ag Fest returns to state fairgrounds April 23-24 Oregon Ag Fest returns on Saturday and Sunday, April 23-24, with a heaping help- ing of fun and upclose expe- riences aimed at introducing children and their parents to the world of agriculture. The 35th edition of Ag )HVW NLFNV R൵ 6DWXUGD\ IURP 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and wraps up Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Children 12 and under will be admitted for free. Admission is $9 for ages 13 and over. Parking is free. “Our goal is to help kids gain a better understanding of the importance of agriculture to Oregon’s rural landscape, and to emphasize that most food starts on a farm some- where and in Oregon we’re lucky enough to grow over 200 varieties of crops,” Leah Rue, Oregon Ag Fest chair, said in a statement. “We are really proud that a large part of Ag Fest’s family appeal is that it is very inexpensive to attend and almost everything inside the event is completely free.” Ag Fest 2022 starts at 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. on Sat- urday, April 23, with an old-fashioned ranch-style breakfast. Hotcakes, siz- zling ham on the grill, Ore- gon-grown fruit toppings, scrambled eggs, juice, cof- fee and milk will be prepared by Linn County 4-H groups. Cost is $8 for adults, and chil- dren under 3 years are free. Proceeds from the breakfast provide scholarships for 4-H camp and leader training. There will be plenty to do and see at this year’s event. All activities center around locally grown products, which allows families to celebrate the wonderful and diverse world of Oregon agriculture. The family fun includes: • Meet “Nosey” the cow, goats, rabbits, pigs and other farm animals. • Watch a llama show. • Race a mini pedal tractor. • Watch chicks hatch. • See a sheep get a “haircut.” • Listen to live music and enjoy family entertainment. • Plant seedlings. • Ride a pony. • See logging demonstrations. • Take a horse-drawn wagon ride. • Watch dog-herding demonstrations. • Visit garden and craft booths. • Watch cooking demon- strations and taste local foods. Oregon Ag Fest is spon- sored in part by Oregon Farm Bureau, Tillamook, Wilco, Oregon Dairy Women, Ore- gon Department of Agriculture and Oregon Women for Agri- culture, among many others. $J )HVW LV D QRQSUR¿W 501©(3) volunteer organiza- tion dedicated to educating the public about the impor- tance of agriculture. For more information go to www.orag- fest.com. or news staf member closest to you, send the information to newsroom@capitalpress.com or mail it to