India’s Evergreen Revolution in Cereals

Photosynthetic differences contribute to competitive advantage of evergreen angiosperm trees over evergreen conifers in productive habitats

• Here we explore the possible role of leaf-level gas exchange traits in determining growth rate differences and competitive interactions between evergreen angiosperms and conifers. • We compared relationships among photosynthetic capacity ( A max ), maximum stomatal conductance ( G s ), leaf life span, nitrogen concentration (N) and specific leaf area (SLA), in sun leaves of 23 evergreen angio...

Cholesterol: An evergreen molecule in biology

Cholesterol, an essential component of higher eukaryotic membranes, was discovered more than two centuries ago. The development and progress of cholesterol research in the last 200 years has been truly fascinating, with elements of surprise, serendipity and intrigue. In this review, we trace this journey the way we see it, and follow it up with the role of membrane cholesterol in crucial areas ...

Modeling branching in cereals

Cereals and grasses adapt their structural development to environmental conditions and the resources available. The primary adaptive response is a variable degree of branching, called tillering in cereals. Especially for heterogeneous plant configurations the degree of tillering varies per plant. Functional-structural plant modeling (FSPM) is a modeling approach allowing simulation of the archi...

Vernalization in cereals

How vernalization - exposure to a period of cold - induces flowering in Arabidopsis has been intensively investigated at the genetic and moleular levels. Recent papers, including one in BMC Plant Biology, shed light on changes in gene regulation that occur on vernalization in cereals.

Indias last bastion of polio at "tipping point".