Phylogenetic interrelationships among all 18 families of Poales were assessed by cladistic analysis of chloroplast DNA rbcL and atpB sequences from 65 species. There are two well-supported main clades; the graminoid clade with Poaceae (grasses), Anarthriaceae, Centrolepidaceae, Ecdeiocoleaceae, Flagellariaceae, Joinvilleaceae, and Restionaceae; and the cyperoid clade with Cyperaceae, Juncaceae,...

The seasonal concentrations of pollen and spores of selected fungi taxa in the area of the Main Square Market in Cracow, in 2011 were analysed using the volumetric method of sampling in order to compare these concentrations with results obtained in the continuous monitoring. The highest percentages of pollen in total pollen were noted for Urtica, Pinus and Poaceae. The fungal spore concentratio...

The Pseudomonas syringae species complex has recently been named the number one plant pathogen, due to its economic and environmental impacts, as well as for its role in scientific research. The bacterium has been repeatedly reported to cause outbreaks on bean, cucumber, stone fruit, kiwi and olive tree, as well as on other crop and non-crop plants. It also serves as a model organism for resear...

A salient feature of genomes of higher organisms is the birth and death of gene copies. An example is the alpha prolamin genes, which encode seed storage proteins in grasses (Poaceae) and represent a medium-size gene family. To better understand the mechanism, extent, and pace of gene amplification, we compared prolamin gene copies in the genomes of two different tribes in the Panicoideae, the ...

The study investigations were focused on assessing the influence of a 35-year-old municipal waste landfill on environmental mercury pollution. The total Hg content was determined in the soil profile, groundwater, and the plants (Solidago virgaurea and Poaceae sp.) in the landfill area. Environmental pollution near the landfill was relatively low. The topsoil layer, groundwater and the leaves of...

A study was conducted in Missoula, Montana to compare local pollen counts from 1978 with those measured nearly 30 years later in 2006 using two different measurement techniques (Durham gravimetric sampler and a Burkard volumetric sampler). Trends in peak pollen times measured during the spring, summer and autumn, respectively, were compared between the two years by Pearson's correlation and fre...

The grass family (Poaceae) comprises about 10,000 species distributed in some 785 genera, seven large subfamilies and a few small ones. The distribution of species in genera appears skewed toward monotypic genera and those with few species. This pattern follows the hollow curve distribution documented by Willis 1 . Explanations of the pattern have been attributed to statistical, biological and ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Thesium chinense is a hemiparasitic plant that is common in grassland habitats of eastern Asia. Although the physiology of Thesium has been well studied in attempts to control its weedy habit, there have been few ecological investigations of its parasitic life history. Thesium chinense is thought to parasitize species of Poaceae, but evidence remains circumstantial. METHOD...

The aerodynamics of wind pollination selects for an intimate relation between form and function in anemophilous plants. Inflorescence architecture and floral morphology vary extensively within the Poaceae, but the functional implication of this variation remains largely unknown. Here we quantify associations between floret, culm, and inflorescence characteristics for 25 grass species in Kananas...

Bowman-Birk Inhibitors (BBIs) are a well-known family of plant protease inhibitors first described 70 years ago. BBIs are known only in the legume (Fabaceae) and cereal (Poaceae) families, but peptides that mimic their trypsin-inhibitory loops exist in sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) and frogs. The disparate biosynthetic origins and distant phylogenetic distribution implies these loops evolved i...