Segundo-Ortin & Calvo provide a comprehensive overview of the many aspects plant behavior examined to date. In our view, multiple lines evidence make it difficult deny sentience. We add further support conclusion that plants are sentient organisms. As in animals, can be seen and studied as an evolutionary trait, subject consequence increasing complexity interactions with their environment. Our ...

Abstract The structure of phylloclades and true leaves in Phyllocladus was investigated with emphasis on function, ecology evolution. Only the earliest ontogenetic stages are true, needle developed. comprise a fusion product shoot axis first order its inserted leaves. Later, this is augmented by expansion axillary short shoots from base some fused Phylloclades mature individuals entire systems,...

How will the emerging possibility of inferring ultra-large phylogenies influence our ability to identify shifts in diversification rate? For several large angiosperm clades (Angiospermae, Monocotyledonae, Orchidaceae, Poaceae, Eudicotyledonae, Fabaceae, and Asteraceae), we explore this issue by contrasting two approaches: (1) using small backbone trees with an inferred number of extant species ...

How fast does biodiversity respond to climate change? The relationship of past and current climate with phylogenetic assemblage structure helps us to understand this question. Studies of angiosperm tree diversity in North America have already suggested effects of current water-energy balance and tropical niche conservatism. However, the role of glacial-interglacial climate variability remains t...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Expansins are plant cell wall loosening proteins important in a variety of physiological processes. They comprise a large superfamily of genes consisting of four families (EXPA, EXPB, EXLA and EXLB) whose evolutionary relationships have been well characterized in angiosperms, but not in basal land plants. This work attempts to connect the expansin superfamily in bryophytes w...

Analysis of LTR retrotransposon structures in five diploid angiosperm genomes uncovered very different relative levels of different types of genomic diversity. All species exhibited recent LTR retrotransposon mobility and also high rates of DNA removal by unequal homologous recombination and illegitimate recombination. The larger plant genomes contained many LTR retrotransposon families with >1...