Very few studies have investigated interactions at the plant surface and cellular levels for infection of Brassica napus by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Garg et al. demonstrate for the first time that resistance results from retardation of pathogen development on and within host tissues, and the mechanisms include impeded fungal growth, suppressed formation of appresoria and infection [...]
The Phytophactor has a post on the appeal of Botany, and it’s something that needs saying. Plants are interesting, but your typical school student has little way of finding that out. He does point to a solution though, using plants in class to explore basic biology. In an era when Health & Safety and litigation [...]
Molecular phylogenetics of Ruscaceae Previous phylogenetics studies of the monocot order Asparagales, although extensive and generally well supported, have left several sets of taxa unclearly placed and have not addressed all relationships within certain clades thoroughly. Kim et al. collect a totally new set of data for a large sampling of species and find that [...]
Chilling-induced closure of plasmodesmata in maize The exchange of photosynthetic intermediates between Kranz mesophyll and bundle sheath cells in C4 plants may be affected by low temperatures. Bilska and Sowiński study chilling-tolerant and chilling-sensitive varieties of Zea mays and find that low temperatures result in changes in the ultrastructure of plasmodesmata, which inhibit transfer of [...]
Comparative genomics of domestication in Asian Vigna Rice bean (Vigna umbellata) was domesticated in Southeast Asia and is a scientifically neglected crop with under-exploited potential. Isemura et al. compare its domestication QTLs with those of azuki bean (V. angularis) of East Asian origin. The inheritance of domestication-related traits is found to be so simple that [...]
Cytotype distribution and evolution of a polyploid complex The distribution of cytotypes on different spatial scales provides valuable insights into evolutionary processes of a polyploid complex. Sonnleitner et al. determine ploidy levels of more than 5000 individuals of Senecio carniolicus (Asteraceae) in the Eastern Alps and show that the three main cytotypes are either distributed [...]
I’m just writing a quick post here to point to another blog post at Vaviblog by Jeremy Cherfas on the recent paper Did backcrossing contribute to the origin of hybrid edible bananas?. Banana domestication revisited is well worth your time because the post connects de Langhe’s banana research to other domestication. In particular he connects [...]