Triallel crosses can be readily exploited as breeding tool for developing commercial hybrids with traits of genetical and importance by acquiring information on specific combining ability effects along general if the experimentation size is reduced to an economical extent. In this paper, methods constructing designs involving partial triallel in smaller blocks using different types lattice have...

OBJECTIVES Physique traits and their relationship to competitive success were assessed amongst lightweight rowers competing at the 2003 Australian Rowing Championships. METHODS Full anthropometric profiles were collected from 107 lightweight rowers (n = 65 males, n = 45 females) competing in the Under 23 and Open age categories. Performance assessments were obtained for 66 of these rowers bas...

In approximately 3.2% of bird species individuals regularly forgo the opportunity to breed independently and instead breed cooperatively with other conspeci¢cs, either as non-reproductive `helpers' or as co-breeders. The traditional explanation for cooperative breeding is that the opportunities for breeding independently are limited owing to peculiar features of the species' breeding ecology. H...

The Mildew resistance Locus O (MLO) family is unique to plants, containing genes that were initially identified as a susceptibility factor to powdery mildew pathogens. However, little is known about the roles and functional diversity of this family in rice, a model crop plant. The rice genome has 12 potential MLO family members. To achieve systematic functional assignments, we performed a phylo...

Asymmetries in competitive ability can determine the outcome of social interactions in animals and are often expressed through differences in sexual traits. Competitive ability (resource holding potential, RHP), trait expression and ultimately reproductive success may vary with an individual's age or experience. In some species, reproductively mature males delay acquisition of some adult traits...

Species' life history traits, including maturation age, number of reproductive bouts, offspring size and number, reflect adaptations to diverse biotic and abiotic selection pressures. A striking example of divergent life histories is the evolution of either iteroparity (breeding multiple times) or semelparity (breed once and die). We analysed published data on salmonid fishes and found that sem...

C. elegans, both in the wild and in the lab, live on a diet of live bacteria. The bacterial diet provides nutrients for C. elegans, but can also play a number of other roles in C. elegans physiology. Recently, we compared the effects of different bacterial diets on life history traits and gene expression. Here, we discuss our recent findings in the context of other dietary studies and highlight...