Plant traits can be used to understand a range of ecological processes, including competition with invasive species. The extent to which native and invasive species are competing via limiting similarity or trait hierarchies has important implications for the management of invaded communities. We screened 47 native species that co-occur with Festuca perennis, a dominant invader in California ser...

We studied effects of inbreeding on the early fitness measures seed production and germination in Swertia perennis L. (Gentianaceae), a locally abundant specialist of fen grasslands, which have been greatly fragmented in Switzerland. We further tested whether such effects differed between populations of different size and isolation. We studied effects of free pollination, hand-outcrossing and h...

Two patterns of plant defense gene evolution are emerging from molecular population genetic surveys. One is that specialist defenses experience stronger selection than generalist defenses. The second is that specialist defenses are more likely to be subject to balancing selection, i.e., evolve in a manner consistent with balanced-polymorphism or trench-warfare models of host-parasite coevolutio...

The involvement of nuclear genes in mitochondrial gene expression was investigated by identifying alterations in mitochondrial gene expression that occur when teosinte cytoplasms are introduced into certain maize inbred nuclear backgrounds. The cytoplasms from the teosintes Zea perennis, Zea diploperennis, and Zea luxurians were introduced into the maize A619 or W23 lines by recurrent backcross...

Objectives: The purpose of this work was development, formulation and testing of new herbal ointment for the treatment of mild to severe atopic dermatitis in infants and children (4 to 56 months old) as possible alternative therapy to standard corticosteroids and immunomodulants. Patients and methods: 50 patients were treated 8 weeks (every four hours) with the ointment containing the following...

Hybrids between maize (Zea mays L.) and perennial teosinte (EuMaena perennis Hitchc.) offer a favorable opportunity to follow the behavior of triplicate sets of chromosomes in a triploid hybrid. Maize, the diploid parent, has been carefully analyzed both genetically and cytologically. Perennial teosinte seems to be unquestionably a true tetraploid. Its tetraploid character is evident from (1) t...