Somaclonal variation for morphological traits was studied in both control and mutagen (chemical and physical) treated progenies of two varieties of Solanum viarum. The SC1, SC1M1 (first generation following tissue culture) and SC2, SC2M2 (second generation) of both 2n and 4n varieties on field evaluation showed bidirectional variation for plant height, plant spread, number of flowers and fruits...

Reproduction in rare plants may be influenced and limited by a complex combination of factors. External threats such as invasive species and landscape characteristics such as isolation may impinge on both pollination and seed predation dynamics, which in turn can strongly affect reproduction. I assessed how patterns in floral visitation, seed predation, invasive ant presence, and plant isolatio...

Moles et al. (1) showed, through a sophisticated phylogenetic analysis, that the greatest divergences in seed size among the flowering plants (the angiosperms) have been associated overwhelmingly with the differentiation between (i) shorter and taller plants and (ii) temperate and tropical plants. Although we support the general thrust of their paper, we disagree about one of the key points mad...

Plant-animal interactions imply costs and benefits with net balance depending on interacting species and ecological context. Ungulates, in particular, confer costs (e.g., plant leaf consumption, flower bud predation) and benefits (e.g., plant overcompensation, seed dispersal) to plants. Magnitude of costs and benefits may be altered by habitat management or ecological conditions favoring high d...

BACKGROUND Triacylglycerols (TAGs) are the most abundant form of storage oil in plants. They consist of three fatty acid chains (usually C16 or C18) covalently linked to glycerol. SDP1 is a specific lipase for the first step of TAG catabolism in Arabidopsis seeds. Arabidopsis mutants deficient in SDP1 accumulate high levels of oils, probably due to blockage in TAG degradation. We applied this k...

of N. coenophialum mycelial proteins was first proposed by Gwinn et al. (1991) using polyclonal antiserum proA reliable, efficient, and accurate detection method for presence duced in rabbits. This technique worked equally well of the endophytic fungus Neotyphodium coenophialum (MorganJones and Gams) Glenn, Bacon, and Hanlin comb. nov. in tall fescue with either seed or plant tissue but seed an...

Plant volatiles play important roles in attraction of certain pollinators and in host location by herbivorous insects. Virus infection induces changes in plant volatile emission profiles, and this can make plants more attractive to insect herbivores, such as aphids, that act as viral vectors. However, it is unknown if virus-induced alterations in volatile production affect plant-pollinator inte...

Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) contains two related and abundant proteins, VSP alpha and VSP beta, that have been called vegetative storage proteins (VSP) based on their pattern of accumulation, degradation, tissue localization, and other characteristics. To determine whether these proteins play a critical role in sequestering N and other nutrients during early plant development, a VspA antisen...

The genus Jatropha is distributed through out the tropics and sub-tropics growning in marginal lands and is a potential biodiesel crop world wide. The plants can prevent soil erosion, grown as a live fence and used as an alternate commercial crop. The seed oil can be used as a feed stock for biodiesel. Alternatively Jatropha oil is used in soap, glue or dye industry. The seed cake is rich in ni...