Effective population size (N(e)) determines the strength of genetic drift and the frequency of co-infection by multiple genotypes, making it a key factor in viral evolution. Experimental estimates of N(e) for different plant viruses have, however, rendered diverging results. The independent action hypothesis (IAH) states that each virion has a probability of infection, and that virions act inde...

R. D. Magarey1, D. M. Borchert2, J. S. Engle3, M. Colunga-Garcia4, F. H. Koch5 and D. Yemshanov6 1Center for Integrated Pest Management, North Carolina State University, 1730 Varsity Drive, Suite 300, Raleigh, NC 27606 (USA); e-mail: [email protected] 2USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine Division, Center for Plant Health Science and Tech...

BACKGROUND Owing to their roles in tissue remodelling in health and disease, several studies have reported investigations on plant extracts as inhibitors of proteinases and as anti-oxidants. METHODS The anti-ageing and anti-oxidant properties of 23 plant extracts (from 21 plant species) were assessed as anti-elastase and anti-collagenase activities and in selected anti-oxidant assays along wi...

Euphorbia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae. Consisting of 2008 species. The genus Euphorbia produces an irritant, which constitute a health hazard to humans and livestock. The genus Euphorbia is one of the largest and most complex genera of flowering plants, however, several botanists have made unsuccessful attempts to subdivide it to smaller genera.  Many Eu...

Emerging fields of research in electronic plants (e-plants) and agro-nanotechnology seek to create more advanced control of plants and their products. Electronic/nanotechnology plant systems strive to seamlessly monitor, harvest, or deliver chemical signals to sense or regulate plant physiology in a controlled manner. Since the plant vascular system (xylem/phloem) is the primary pathway used to...

Specialized transducing phages (lambda and varphi80) have been used as vectors in the transfer of genes (wild type and mutant) from the bacterium Escherichia coli to haploid cell lines of the plants Lycopersicon esculentum and Arabidopsis thaliana. The overall phenomenon of transfer, gene maintenance, transcription, translation, and function has been termed transgenosis. Transgenosis of galacto...

A new high pressure flow meter (HPFM) method for measuring plant hydraulic conductances (K) was investigated to examine whether its results are comparable to those from a conventional evaporative flux (EF) method in crops. Hydraulic conductance (K) was measured by the two methods under quasi-steady-state conditions in six crops grown in pots: soybean (Glycine max L. Merr. cv. Tsurunoko daizu), ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Genotype by environment (G × E) interactions are important for the long-term persistence of plant species in heterogeneous environments. It has often been suggested that disease is a key factor for the maintenance of genotypic diversity in plant populations. However, empirical evidence for this contention is scarce. Here virus infection is proposed as a possible candidate fo...

Water and phosphorus (P) are two critical resources for high nature value farming in semi-dry mountains. ey are major drivers of grassland productivity but can negatively a€ect plant diversity. Soil moisture is known to a€ect soil microbial activity and plant P nutrition but the e€ects of irrigation on soil P status, soil microbial P and plant P nutrition in semi-natural grasslands remain larg...

A blend of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from plants induced by herbivory enables the priming of defensive responses in neighboring plants. These effects may provide insights useful for pest control achieved with transgenic-plant-emitted volatiles. We therefore investigated, under both laboratory and greenhouse conditions, the priming of defense responses in plants (lima bean and co...