Abstract The cultivation of kelp typically involves two stages, where an indoor hatchery phase preceedes the grow-out at-sea. in situ adhesion microscopic propagules onto specifically designed substrates using binders has been proposed as alternative to conventional methods juvenile seaweeds are cultured on seeded twine, aimed at saving resources while increasing productivity it obviates phase....

Macroalgal blooms occur worldwide and have the potential to cause severe ecological and economic damage. Narragansett Bay, RI is a eutrophic system that experiences summer macroalgal blooms composed mostly of Ulva compressa and Ulva rigida, which have biphasic life cycles with separate haploid and diploid phases. In this study, we used flow cytometry to assess ploidy levels of U. compressa and ...

An anther includes sporophytic tissues of three outer cell layers and an innermost layer, the tapetum, which encloses a locule where the gametophytic microspores mature to become pollen. The sporophytic tissues also comprise some vascular cells and specialized cells of the stomium aligning the long anther axis for anther dehiscence. Studies of the anther sporophytic cells, especially the tapetu...

Selective grazing by herbivores can have large effects on the population dynamics and community structure of primary producers. However, the ecological impacts of within-species herbivore preference for tissues of different phases (e.g., ploidy levels) or reproductive status remain relatively poorly known, especially among algae and other species with free-living haploid (gametophyte) and diplo...

Small non-coding RNAs are essential for development of the sporophyte, the somatic diploid phase of flowering plants. They are integral to key cellular processes such as defense, generation of chromatin structure, and regulation of native gene expression. Surprisingly, very little is known of their presence and function in the male haploid phase of plant development (male gametophyte/pollen gra...

The Aleutian Archipelago coastal ecosystem has undergone a dramatic change in community composition during the past two decades. Following the removal of ∼99% of the sea otters, Enhydra lutris, from the ecosystem, changes to the benthic communities resulted in widespread losses to most of the region's kelp beds and corresponding increases in the prevalence of urchin barrens. Within the urchin b...

Sporopollenin is the main constituent of the exine layer of spore and pollen walls. Recently, several Arabidopsis genes, including polyketide synthase A (PKSA), which encodes an anther-specific chalcone synthase-like enzyme (ASCL), have been shown to be involved in sporopollenin biosynthesis. The genome of the moss Physcomitrella patens contains putative orthologs of the Arabidopsis sporopollen...

The MADS genes encode a family of transcription factors, some of which control the identities of floral organs in flowering plants. To understand the role of MADS genes in the evolution of floral organs, five MADS genes (CMADS1, 2, 3, 4, and 6) were cloned from the fern Ceratopteris richardii, a nonflowering plant. A gene tree of partial amino acid sequences of seed plant and fern MADS genes sh...