Plants accommodate a specific microbiota on and in their roots that, similar to the microbial communities in human or animal guts, supports the host in nutrient acquisition (1). Beneficial associations with fungi are widespread in the plant kingdom and probably best known are so-called mycorrhizal symbioses (Fig. 1), which are formed between soil fungi and ∼90% of land plants (2). In these part...

As a complement to morphological research on the genus Isatis (Brassicaceae), an anatomical study was conducted on the fruit, leaf and stem of 18 species and four subspecies of this genus, as well as two species belonging to the genusPachypterygium. Inclusion of the members of the later genus in the study was to clarify the evidences that supported their affinity to the genus Isatis. As a resul...

A revision of the New Zealand endemic Lepidium oleraceum and allied species is presented. Sixteen species are recognised, 10 of these are new. The new species are segregated on the basis of morphological characters supported by molecular data obtained from three DNA markers (two rDNA and one cpDNA). One species, Lepidium castellanum sp. nov., is endemic to the Kermadec Islands where it is sympa...

Despite the major progress made in the field of cancer biology, cancer is still one of the leading causes of mortality, and prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most encountered malignancies among men. The effective management of this disease requires developing better anticancer agents with greater efficacy and fewer side effects. Nature is a large source for the development of chemotherapeutic...

Brassicaceae crops display strong hybrid vigor, and have long been subject to F1 hybrid breeding. Because the most reliable system of F1 seed production is based on cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS), various types of CMS have been developed and adopted in practice to breed Brassicaceae oil seed and vegetable crops. CMS is a maternally inherited trait encoded in the mitochondrial genome, and the ...

We report studies of seven members of the S-domain gene family in Arabidopsis lyrata, a member of the Brassicaceae that has a sporophytic self-incompatibility (SI) system. Orthologs for five loci are identifiable in the self-compatible relative A. thaliana. Like the Brassica stigmatic incompatibility protein locus (SRK), some of these genes have kinase domains. We show that several of these gen...

While phenotypic plasticity has been the focus of much research and debate in the recent ecological and evolutionary literature, the developmental nature of the phenomenon has been mostly overlooked. A developmental perspective must ultimately be an integral part of our understanding of how organisms cope with heterogeneous environments. In this paper I use the rapid cycling Arabidopsis thalian...

Raphanus sativus, Brassicaceae, Sinapic Acid Esters, Phenylpropanoids, High Performance Liquid Chromatography Five sinapic acid esters were isolated from cotyledons of Raphanus sativus and have been iden­ tified with the aid of electron impact (El)-, field desorption (FD)-mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy: 6,3'-disinapoylsucrose, sinapoylcholine (sinapine), 6 -sinapoylglucoraphenine, 1 -si...

Identification and characterization of the self-incompatibility genes in Brassicaceae species now allow typing of self-incompatibility haplotypes in natural populations. In this study we sampled and mapped all 88 individuals in a small population of Arabidopsis lyrata from Iceland. The self-incompatibility haplotypes at the SRK gene were typed for all the plants and some of their progeny and us...