Life Sciences Commons^™

Risk Assessment And Decision-Making For Genetically Modified Foods, Aynsley Kellow

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The author examines concerns about genetically modified foods and how those concerns have developed into policy responses markedly different in Europe than in the United States.

Genetic Control Of Self-Incompatibility In Centromadia (Hemizonia) Pungens Subsp. Laevis (Madiinae, Asteraceae), Elizabeth A. Friar, Tasha Ladoux

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The presence of self-incompatibility was tested in Centromadia pun gens subsp. laevis and the genetic basis of the self-incompatibility response was explored using crossing studies. We performed full diallel crossing experiments among 10 individuals from one natural population and four F₁ families. We observed a strong self-incompatibility response in all individuals tested, with a significant difference in seed set between selfed and outcrossed matings. Most pairwise matings among parental plants were compatible, with some nonreciprocally incompatible matings (i.e., the matings were successful in one direction, but not the other), and only one reciprocally incompatible mating. The full diallel crossing …

The Chromosome Number Of Schaffnerella Gracilis (Gramineae, Chloridoideae), J. Travis Columbus, Nancy F. Refulio-Rodriguez

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The first ever chromosome report for the monotypic genus Schaffnerella (Grarnineae, Chloridoideae) is 2n = 20 (10 II) from pollen parent cells at diakinesis, which indicates diploidy and a base number of 10. The close relative Lycurus likewise has x = 10, but is tetraploid (2n = 4x = 40).

Contents 21(2)

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

No abstract provided.

Checklist Of The Pteridophytes Of Aguascalientes, Mexico, María Elena Siqueiros-Delgado, Gabriel González-Adame

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Ferns and fern allies from Agu ascalientes, Mexico were s tudied. Fifty-five localities distributed in all municipios of the state were surveyed. Seventy-seven taxa were found: seventy species of ferns, five species of Selaginell, one species of Equisetum, and one species of Isoëtes. Forty taxa are new records for Aguascalientes. Among the ferns, Cheilanthes and Polypodium are the most diverse and abundant genera, usually occurring in xerophytic associations or dry forests. Selaginella is also common in Aguascalientes, and inhabits rocky cliffs in dry environments. Equisetum and lsoëtes are restricted to marshy places.

Developmental Failure And Loss Of Reproductive Capacity As A Factor In Extinction: A Nine-Year Study Of Dedeckera Eurekensis (Polygonaceae), Delbert Wiens, Loreen Allphin, Donald H. Mansfield, Glenn Thackray

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Many long-lived perennial species exhibit lowered reproductive capacity. Early studies of reproductive success in Dedeckera eurekensis (Polygonaceae) demonstrated that the species exhibited extremely low reproductive success, low seed/ovule (S/O) ratios (i.e., the percentage of ovules that produce filled seeds; 2.5 %), low germinability of filled seeds (3.5%), low seedling survivorship (11 .1%), and lack of recruitment in natural populations. These results were attributed to genetic load, but this elicited controversy, prompting long-term studies of the relationship between the S/O ratio and environment. After nine years of monitoring, however, the S/O ratio had not changed significantly (2 .7%), and there was …

The History Of The Discovery And Initial Seed Dissemination Of Metasequoia Glyptostroboides, A "Living Fossil", Jinshuang Ma

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Ever since the "living fossil ", Metasequoia glyptostroboides, was discovered during the 1940s in China, accounts of its mysterious discovery and introduction throughout the world have been told many times in different languages. However, information has often departed considerably from the true story. This paper represents a synthesis of more than 1000 original letters, manuscripts and publications both in Chinese and other languages, and addresses two main questions about details of the story: (1) how was the living fossil really discovered , and (2) who introduced the seeds into the U.S.A. and the rest of the world? Several controversies surrounding …

Detecting Stress In Animals, Sharon Durham, Ted H. Elsasser

Agricultural Research Magazine

When people get stressed, they seek relief in many ways. Some exercise, some practice specific breathing techniques, and some eat chocolate. Farm animals become stressed, too. In domesticated food animals, stress can affect meat quality, milk production, and general health. But animal stress must often be intuited from clues such as lower-than-anticipated weights and increased illness.

Certain stressful events can be anticipated, for example, birth and weaning. But how do you know if an animal is stressed for some other reason? Ted H. Elsasser of ARS’ Growth Biology Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, is investigating nitrated protein as a biomarker of …

Giving Baculoviruses A Better Edge, Arthur H. Mcintosh, Cynthia L. Goodman, James J. Grasela, Ben Hardin

Agricultural Research Magazine

Scientific advancements built on an understanding of what nature already provides are leading to environmentally friendly crop-pest control by either biological agents or specifically designed synthetic antiinsect compounds. A case in point: research on baculoviruses.

Baculoviruses are rod-shaped DNA viruses, many of which begin their life cycle reproducing inside cells. In the nuclei of caterpillar cells infected with baculoviruses, viral progeny multiply and are incorporated into protective polyhedronshaped protein structures called occlusion bodies. Infected caterpillars die and contaminate the leaf surfaces with the occlusion bodies. Then, healthy caterpillars ingest the occlusion bodies and release the virus when feeding on contaminated …

Getting Atop Climbing Fern, Marcia Wood, Jesús García

Agricultural Research Magazine

A team of two tiny moths might help stop the spread of Old World climbing fern, an aggressive vine that’s on the march in central and south Florida. With further research, a third moth, a hungry mite, a small beetle, and perhaps other hardworking organisms as well may qualify to join the coterie of pint-sized weedeaters.

Known to botanists as Lygodium microphyllum, Old World climbing fern makes its way up stems and trunks of other plants, forming blankets of lightgreen vegetation.

On the ground, climbing fern creates tough, spongy mats that can easily smother grasses, low-growing shrubs, and small …

Speeding Up Breeding Of Superior Plants, Judy St. John

Agricultural Research Magazine

That oatmeal you ate for breakfast this morning is loaded with healthful compounds known as antioxidants. They help to protect your body from damage caused by molecules known as free radicals. Oats, for instance, are rich in the antioxidants alpha-tocopherol and alpha-tocotrienol.

But what if tomorrow’s oats could provide even more of these health-imparting compounds? That’s a goal of ARS oat researchers at laboratories in several states. Aiding this research is an invaluable tool of modern biotechnology. Known as biomolecular markers, gene markers, or DNA markers, these pieces of genetic material are signposts or clues. They are telltale indicators that, …

Protecting Peanuts From Aflatoxin, Jan Suszkiw, Joe W. Dorner, Marshall C. Lamb

Agricultural Research Magazine

Peanut farmers could soon have a biological pesticide for protecting their crop’s prized seed from fungi that produce aflatoxin—the chief culprits being Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus.

Circle One Global, Inc. (COGI), of Cuthbert, Georgia, has applied for an exclusive license on an ARS technique for making the biopesticide from spores of a nontoxigenic, or benign, strain of A. flavus.

In Florida, Georgia, and Alabama—top peanut-producing states— aflatoxin outbreaks from 1993 to 1996 caused losses averaging $26 million annually, ARS economist Marshall C. Lamb estimates. The Peanut Administrative Committee strictly regulates the sale or use of shelled peanuts …

Ars Researchers Winning Battle With Noxious Weed, Daniel Gandolfo, Jesús García

Agricultural Research Magazine

Small victories are being reported by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in the war against tropical soda apple (Solanum viarum), a nonnative, invasive weed of pastures, row crops, forests, and urban areas throughout the southeastern United States.

Tropical soda apple (TSA) was first observed in Florida in 1988, causing little concern with fewer than 2,000 acres affected. Just 6 years later, however, researchers estimated that more than 1 million acres were infested. Charles T. Bryson, an ARS research botanist with the Southern Weed Science Research Unit in Stoneville, Mississippi, says researchers believe the resilient weed has now been …

Science Update January 2002, Consuelo M. De Moraes, Brad Morris, Steven M. Valles, Yvette Alonso

Agricultural Research Magazine

Caterpillars—Agents of Their Own Demise

Bean Plants Repel Nematodes

Unlocking the Keys to Cockroach Resilience

Everything You Wanted To Know About Food Safety

Fighting Insect Pests Of Stored Foods, Michael A. Mullen, Franklin H. Arthur, Linda Mcgraw

Agricultural Research Magazine

Anyone who has ever been to a picnic knows insects are drawn to food. That’s why developing new methods to keep insects out of food in packages, warehouses, and processing plants is critical for food manufacturers. New and innovative methods are needed because the industry is challenged to reduce pesticide use while ensuring that food products are insect-free. To meet these challenges, a team of ARS scientists at the Grain Marketing and Production Research Center in Manhattan, Kansas, is working closely with industry.

Keep Out, Bug!

Keeping food in containers is one of the oldest ways to protect food from …

Shortcuts To Disease-Resistant Wheats, Gina L. Brown-Guedira, John P. Fellers, Linda Mcgraw

Agricultural Research Magazine

Everyone likes to take shortcuts in time-consuming tasks. And wheat breeders are no exception. Someday, wheat breeders may be able to use new molecular tools being developed by ARS in collaboration with Kansas State University and the Kansas Wheat Commission.

These tools show promise for reducing the time it takes breeders to move important quality and resistance traits into breeding populations of wheat using conventional breeding techniques. Currently, it can take as long as 10 or more years to develop new wheat varieties.

“Using molecular (or DNA) markers may shorten the task of improving insect and disease resistance while maintaining …

To Keep Rivers Within Bounds : A Channel Erosion Guide, Hank Becker, Jill Lee, Andrew Simon, Doug Shields Jr.

Agricultural Research Magazine

In the world of finance, bank failures tend to get press coverage. But there’s another kind of bank failure that affects the American West: Missouri River bank failures in eastern Montana involve lost soil—not dollars—but still hurt farmers financially.

Just ask Boone Whitmer, who farms 3,000 acres of wheat and alfalfa near Wolf Point. Like most farmers bordering the Missouri River downstream from the Fort Peck dam, he places irrigation pumps along the banks to get water for his crops. But the shifting sand bed of the river can clog pumps with sediment and hit growers like him hard.

“In …

Wood And Bark Anatomy Of Myricaceae: Relationships, Generic Definitions, And Ecological Interpretations, Sherwin Carlquist

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Wood anatomy of the single species of Canacomyrica (hitherto not studied) shows that it belongs in Myricaceae, although it differs from other genera in several respects (axial parenchyma grouped in bands or columns as well as diffuse; Heterogeneous Type I rays; more numerous bars per perforation plate). The latter two features are primitive for the family. The four genera (Canacomyrica. Comptonia, Morella, and Myrica s.s.) differ from each other not only by qualitative features but by quantitative features (feature means in genera mostly non- overl apping). Wood of Comptonia and Myri ca s.s. lacks chambered crystals in axial parenchyma and …

New Species Of Phoradendron (Viscaceae) From Mexico And Guatemala And A Synopsis Of Species In Section Pauciflorae, Delbert Wiens, Frank Hawksworth

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

As presently interpreted Phoradendron section Paucifiorae consists of 15 species. These mistletoes parasitize primarily conifers. We describe seven new species, make status changes for four species, and provide information on the hosts and distribution of all members of the section. New species described are: Phoradendron abietinurn Wiens, on Abies durangensi s in Chihuahua, Durango, and Jalisco, Mexico; P. acuminatum Wiens, on Cupressus lusitanica in Guatemala; P. flavomarginatum Wiens, on Juniperus fiaccida in Nuevo León, Mexico; P. lta wksworthii Wiens, on Juniperus in New Mexico, west Texas, and Coahuila, Mexico; P. olivae Wiens, on Cupressus lusitanica in Colima and Jalisco, Mexico; …

Field Research 2002, Dale L. Fjell

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Plant Biotechnology I, Tissue Culture And Its Applications, Kemal Kazan

Turkish Journal of Botany

No abstract provided.

The Flora Of Upper Ceyhan Valley (Kahramanmaraş/Turkey), Adem Tatli, Hasan Akan, A. Zafer Tel, Cemi̇l Kara

Turkish Journal of Botany

This investigation was carried out between 1994 and 1995 in order to determine the flora of Upper Ceyhan Valley. The research area is situated in the province of Kahramanmaraş and within C6 of the grid system. In the area, 412 taxa belonging to 68 families and 262 genera were determined. Twenty-eight (6.7%) taxa are endemics for Turkey. In the distribution of the taxa according to the floristic regions, Mediterranean elements with a rate of 23.5% are the most common. Irano-Turanian elements with a rate of 17.2% and Euro-Siberian elements with a rate of 3.4% were found. The families which have …

Native Plants: The Preservation And Restoration Of Native Plants In Designed Landscapes In Northwest Arkansas, Janet Coleman

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

A decline in Northwest Arkansas's native plant population has occurred over the past 50 years, as documented by the U.S. Forest Service in the Ozark-Ouachita Highlands Assessment. This decline has been caused by increased human development in natural areas and the replacement of native plants with exotic, non-native plants. As a result, a generation has grown up not knowing what an Ozark wake Robin trillium (Trillium pusillum var. ozarkanum) or Blood root (Sanguinaria canadensis) Look like, because these plants are difficult to find in nature, are not commonly grown in designed landscapes, and are Largely unavailable in garden centers. The …

Characterization Of Wound-Inducible Genes Encoding Enzymes For Terpenoid Biosynthesis In Medicago Truncatula, Mandy M. Cox

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

In addition to having numerous applications as food flavorings and pharmaceuticals, terpenoids are an important class of defensive compounds that can accumulate in plants after pathogen infection or injury by insects. Sequences of DNA encoding putative terpene synthases and an oxidosqualene synthase, isolated from insect-damaged Medicago truncatula leaves, were selected from an expressed sequence tag (EST) database. The eDNA clones were used as radiolabeled probes to analyze gene expression in leaves treated with factors known to trigger a defense response in plants. Transcript levels for all of the genes examined increased in response to artificial wounding, insect herbivory, and methyl …

Contents, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Instructions For Authors, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Bradyrhizobium Japonicum And Soybean Symbiotic Response To Glyphosate In Glyphosate-Tolerant Soybeans, Jodie M. Scheele, C. Andy King, Marilynn K. Davies, Larry C. Purcell

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Soybean (Glycine max) grain contains approximately 40% protein and 6.5% nitrogen (N) on an elemental basis. Therefore, the plant requires an abundant N supply throughout its life cycle, and symbiotic N fixation of soybean with Bradyrhizobium japonicum provides 40 to 85% of the soybean N. Although soybean cultivars have been genetically engineered to withstand the herbicide glyphosate, B. japonicum grown in culture is sensitive to glyphosate. We hypothesized that glyphosate applied to glyphosate-tolerant soybean would inhibit nodulation by B. japonicum unless B. japonicum could also be selected for glyphosate tolerance. Cultures of B. japonicum were challenged with sublethal doses of …

Fire Effects On Three Trophic Levels In A Central Arkansas Grassland, Laura Skelton, Amy Polk, Brenna C. Fitzgerald, Matthew D. Moran

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

We studied the effect of a late growing-season fire on the plant and foliar arthropod communities in a naturally occurring grassland. In central Arkansas, these grasslands are common on south-facing slopes where shallow soils and hot/dry weather conditions during the summer cannot support the growth of a forest community. Patches of grassland were burned in the autumn (4 November, late growing season), often the time of natural fires in Arkansas, and compared to unburned areas. Fire increased the biomass of forbs and decreased the biomass of grasses, although overall biomass was not different between treatments. Among the foliar arthropods, herbivores …

The Moss Flora Of Ankara - Kızılcahamam - Çamkoru And Çamlıdere Districts, Barboros Çeti̇n, Egemen Unç, Güray Uyar

Turkish Journal of Botany

In this study carried out in Ankara-Kızılcahamam Çamlıdere and Çamkoru districts, 82 taxa were identified by the authors. These belong to 20 families and 42 genera of bryophytes. of these, 10 taxa are new for the A2 grid-square adopted by Henderson.

Tibetan Medical Plants, Kemal Hüsnü Can Başer

Turkish Journal of Botany

No abstract provided.