We have identified an active Medicago truncatula copia-like retroelement called Medicago RetroElement1-1 (MERE1-1) as an insertion in the symbiotic NSP2 gene. MERE1-1 belongs to a low-copy-number family in the sequenced Medicago genome. These copies are highly related, but only three of them have a complete coding region and polymorphism exists between the long terminal repeats of these differe...

The invasion of the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, into North American waters has resulted in profound ecological disturbances and large monetary losses. This study examined the invasion history and patterns of genetic diversity among endemic and invading populations of zebra mussels using DNA sequences from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. Patterns of haplotype frequency...

Tropical forests are becoming increasingly alien-dominated through the establishment of timber plantations and secondary forests. Despite widespread recognition that afforestation results in increased evapotranspiration and lower catchment yields, little is known of the impacts of timber plantations on water balance relative to native forest. Native forest trees have been claimed to use water c...

A lectin different from the previously described mannose-binding agglutinins has been isolated from the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha. Biochemical characterization of the purified lectin combined with the data from earlier transcriptome analyses demonstrated that the novel M. polymorpha agglutinin is not related to any of the known plant lectin families, but closely resembles the Agaricus bis...

Within a single site in the Kohala Forest Reserve, Hawai‘i, we examined composition and diversity of soil microbial communities under four introduced (Cryptomeria japonica, Casuarina equisetifolia, Araucaria columnaris, and Eucalyptus sp.) and one native (Metrosideros polymorpha) canopy tree species, as well as pasture. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of soil...

BACKGROUND Tripeptide glutathione (gamma-glutamyl-L-cysteinyl-glycine) is the most abundant non-protein thiol that protects cells from metabolic and oxidative stresses and is widely used as medicine, food additives and in cosmetic industry. The methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha is regarded as a rich source of glutathione due to the role of this thiol in detoxifications of key intermedia...

Two main types of peroxisomal targeting signals have been identified that reside either at the extreme C terminus (PTS1) or the N terminus (PTS2) of the protein. In the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha the majority of peroxisomal matrix proteins are of the PTS1 type. Thus far, for H. polymorpha only amine oxidase (AMO) has been shown to contain a PTS2 type signal. In the present study ...

This chapter synthesizes our current knowledge on the ecological genetics of the model legume Medicago truncatula. After a short introduction to the life cycle of the species, we describe the mating system of M truncatula and how selfing rates in nature can be inferred both by progeny testing and population surveys. We then review what is currently known on the distribution of genetic diversity...

Using nitrogen-fixing Sinorhizobium species that interact with Medicago plants as a model system, we aimed at clarifying how sex has shaped the diversity of bacteria associated with the genus Medicago on the interspecific and intraspecific scales. To gain insights into the diversification of these symbionts, we inferred a topology that includes the different specificity groups which interact wi...