Citrus contains nutrients and phytochemicals that may be beneficial for health. We collected citrus production and consumption data and estimated the amount of these compounds that are consumed. We then compared the amounts of citrus and citrus-derived compounds used in studies that suggest a health benefit to the amounts typically found in citrus. Data is scarce, but suggests that citrus consu...

Lignin, a major component of secondary cell walls, hinders the optimal processing of wood for industrial uses. The recent availability of the Eucalyptus grandis genome sequence allows comprehensive analysis of the genes encoding the 11 protein families specific to the lignin branch of the phenylpropanoid pathway and identification of those mainly involved in xylem developmental lignification. W...

Lateral Organ Boundaries Domain (LBD) proteins are plant-specific transcription factors playing crucial roles in growth and development. However, the function of LBD proteins in Eucalyptus grandis remains largely unexplored. In this study, LBD genes in E. grandis were identified and characterized using bioinformatics approaches. Gene expression patterns in various tissues and the transcriptiona...

For the purposes of forest restoration, carbon (C) fixation, and economic improvement, eucalyptus (Eucalyptus urophylla) has been widely planted in South China. The understory of eucalyptus plantations is often occupied by a dense community of the fern Dicranopteris dichotoma, which intercepts tree canopy leaf litter before it reaches the ground. To understand the effects of this interception o...

Data on trichomycete biodiversity in China is expanded with the description of three new fungal species, Legeriomyces grandis, Legeriosimilis elegans, Smittium shaanxiense, and a protist, Paramoebidium bacillare. The geographical distribution for the harpellid species, Glotzia ephemeridarum, Smittium culicis and Stachylina gravicaudata, is extended with their collection in western China, and fi...

This paper examined the effects of the combined product, Citrus e fructibus/Cydonia e fructibus (Citrus/Cydonia; Citrus and Cydonia: each 0.01 g/mL), and separate products of Citrus (0.01 g/mL) and Cydonia (0.01 g/mL) on the immunological pathways involved in seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from five healthy and five grass pollen-allergic donors were...

Iron-sulfur [Fe-S] clusters are prosthetic groups required to maintain life processes including respiration, photosynthesis, metabolic reactions, sensing, signaling,and gene regulation. In plants the biogenesis of Fe-S proteins is compartmentalized and adapted to specific needs of the eukaryotic and photosynthetic cell. Although critical to so many fundamental metabolic pathways and drastically...

Background We coin the term "taxon expeditions" for citizen scientists' field courses to carry out publishable taxonomic work in close association with trained taxonomists. New information During the first-ever taxon expedition, in Maliau Basin Studies Centre, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, the participants sampled leaf litter beetles from lowland dipterocarp forest using the Winkler apparatus. The...