Yonic Michaca, Utah Valley University
Physical Sciences
It is well known that some of the worst air pollution in the country each winter is found along the Wasatch front in northern Utah. This study examines the effects of environmental pollutants on the production of the novel compounds produced by the endophytes found in Rumex crispus. The Rumex crispus plant was selected due to its natural medicinal uses. It is anticipated that environmental pollutants have an effect on the production of bioactive compounds in order to protect their plant host from foreign pathogens. The theory is that the more stressful environment a plant lives in, i.e. desert climates, high altitude, and man-induced stresses such as pollution, the more bioactive compounds the endophytes produce as a response to protect their plant host. This study analyzes the effects of environmental pollutants along the Wasatch front on the production of novel bioactive compounds produced by the endophytes found in Rumex crispus. Plant samples are also collected from sites near the Wasatch front, but they are not exposed to the same amount of air pollution to be used as a control.
Since endophytes release novel chemical structures that protect their host plant from foreign pathogens, some of these structures have also been used as anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-cancer agents in other organisms. The endophytes are extracted from their Rumex crispus host, their bioactive compounds are isolated utilizing separation methods and various chromatography techniques, including TLC and HPLC. Then, their chemical composition and structures are determined through multiple spectroscopic methods, such as mass spectrometry, IR spectroscopy and NMR spectroscopy.