Hiroyoshi Kubo, a,1,2 Anton J. M. Peeters, b,1 Mark G. M. Aarts, c Andy Pereira, c and Maarten Koornneef b a Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shinshu University, Matsumoto 390-8621, Japan b Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen Agricultural University, Dreijenlaan 2, 6703 HA Wageningen, The Netherlands c Department of Molecular Biology, DLO-Centre for Plant Breeding and Reproduction Rese...

1 PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America, 3 Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America, 4 The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, United Kingdom, 5 Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics,...

Minichromosomes offer an enormous potential for plant breeding and biotechnology, because they may simultaneously transfer and stably express multiple genes. Segregating independently of their host chromosomes, they provide a platform for accelerating plant breeding. Minichromosomes can be established from cloned components in vivo (bottom up) or via engineering of natural chromosomes (top down...

1 Plant Biotechnology Lab, Division of Molecular Biology, IPICYT, 78216 San Luis Potośı, SLP, Mexico 2 Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potośı, 78290 San Luis Potośı, SLP, Mexico 3 National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, National Center of Crop Molecular Breeding, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China 4 Stress Physiology & Molecular Biology Lab...

1800 PERSPECTIVES camps, Varricchio et al. show that the thero-pod origin of avian breeding behavior is consistent with male parental care as the primitive breeding system of birds, thus resolving the conflict between ecological and phylogenetic ornithologists. These researchers have an excellent track record of establishing details of extinct thero-pod biology that have changed our views of th...

A symposium was hosted 10 to 11 Mar. 2005 at Michigan State University to discuss the future of plant breeding education at public institutions. Plant breeding remains a vibrant, multidisciplinary science characterized by its ability to reinvent itself by absorbing and utilizing novel scientific findings and technical approaches. A contemporary breeding curriculum should include hands-on experi...

The fundamental discoveries of Darwin and Mendel established the scientific basis for plant breeding and genetics at the turn of the 20th century. Similarly, the recent integration of advances in biotechnology, genomic research, and molecular marker applications with conventional plant breeding practices has created the foundation for molecular plant breeding, an interdisciplinary science that ...

Max-Planck-Institute for Plant Breeding Research, 50829 Cologne, Germany (N.F.d.F., M.K., D.A., H.H., B.H., R.P., S.R.); The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich NR4 7UH, United Kingdom (M.M., H.H., R.L.-D., S.R.); Wageningen University, Laboratory of Biochemistry, Microspectroscopy Centre, 6703HA Wageningen, The Netherlands (L.N., J.W.B.); Department of Plant Systems Biology, Flanders Institute for B...

—We provide substantial new information on the breeding biology of the Rusty-breasted Antpitta (Grallaricula ferrugineipectus ferrugineipectus) from 40 nests during four consecutive breeding seasons at Yacambú National Park in Venezuela. Vocalizations are quite variable in G. ferrugineipectus. Nesting activity peaked in April when laying began for half of all nests monitored. The date of nest i...

—The Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia) has a mating system characterized by monogamy and biparental care, and has the broadest breeding distribution of any Dendroica species. When faced with a short breeding season and unpredictable conditions at high latitude, they display physiological responses to help optimize the tradeoff between individual risk and reproductive success. Because these ci...