The ability of invasive plants to achieve higher relative growth rates (RGR) than their native counterparts has been widely documented. However, the mechanisms allowing invasives to achieve higher RGR are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to determine the basis for RGR differences between native and invasive forbs that have widely invaded nutrient-poor soils of the Intermountai...

Aquatic hyphomycetes dominate leaf decomposition in streams, and their biomass is an important component in the diet of leaf-eating invertebrates. After 2 weeks of exposure in a first-order stream, maple leaf disks had low levels of fungal biomass and species diversity. Spore production by aquatic hyphomycetes also was low. Subsets of these disks were left in the stream for another 3 weeks or i...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS In a leaf canopy, there is a turnover of leaves; i.e. they are produced, senesce and fall. These processes determine the amount of leaf area in the canopy, which in turn determines canopy photosynthesis. The turnover rate of leaves is affected by environmental factors and is different among species. This mini-review discusses factors responsible for leaf dynamics in plant ca...

Recently the role of nitrogen monoxide (NO) in iron homeostasis has been proved by means of exogenously-applied different NO donors that can provoke leaf re-greening under conditions of iron deficiency. It was also supposed, that Fe-deficiency itself could stimulate the endogenous production of NO in stressed plants (Graziano and Lamattina, 2007). In this study, the comparison between effects o...

The Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. is the dicotyledonous herbs of the Asteraceae family that is important in medical industry. The biological active compound of S. marianum is a mixture of several flavonolignals generally known as silymarin. The purpose of this study was to optimize S. marianum tissue culture for callus induction, silymarin production and comparison of some biochemical traits be...

BACKGROUND Dendropanax morbifera Léveille has been employed for the treatment of infectious diseases using folk medicine. In this study, we evaluated the antioxidant effects of a leaf extract of Dendropanax morbifera Léveille in the hippocampus of mercury-exposed rats. METHODS Seven-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats received a daily intraperitoneal injection of 5 μg/kg dimethylmercury and/or oral ...

Temporal and spatial expression patterns of genes encoding 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase (ACS1 and ACS2) and ACC oxidase (ACO), ACC concentration, and ethylene production in leaves and fruit of 'Valencia' orange (Citrus sinensis [L.] Osbeck) were examined in relation to differential abscission after treatment with 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid (ethephon) alone or in combinatio...