Introduction It is part of human nature to want to understand the complex biological processes that make life possible. With each advance in biological research that answers questions, many more questions arise. A major milestone in the quest to understand life was the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003. With the full genome in hand, the next round of questions involve trying to fin...

We used a kinematic analysis to investigate the growth processes responsible for variation in primary root growth between 18 ecotypes of Arabidopsis. Root elongation rate differed 4-fold between the slowest (Landsberg erecta, 71 microm h(-1)) and fastest growing line (Wassilewskija [Ws]; 338 microm h(-1)). This difference was contributed almost equally by variations in mature cortical cell leng...

Endoreduplication, the replication of the genome without mitosis, leads to endopolyploidy, an increase in cellular chromosome number. Although endoreduplication is widespread among angiosperms and other groups of eukaryotes, the degree to which this process is plastic under varying environmental conditions and its potential adaptive significance are not known. Here, using flow cytometry, we mea...

DNA methylation and histone modifications interact to modulate gene expression in biological organisms. The histone demethylase IBM1 suppresses DNA methylation and gene silencing, primarily by targeting genic regions in the Arabidopsis genome. The chromatin regulator EDM2 is also required for prevention of genic DNA methylation because it maintains IBM1 expression by promoting IBM1 mRNA distal ...

In 1998 Cereon Genomics LLC, a subsidiary of Monsanto Co., performed a shotgun sequencing of the Arabidopsis thaliana Landsberg erecta genome to a depth of twofold coverage using ‘classic’ Sanger sequencing. This sequence was assembled and aligned to the Columbia ecotype sequence produced by the Arabidopsis Genome Initiative. The analysis provided tens of thousands of high-confidence prediction...

Canalization is a fundamental feature of many developmental systems, yet the genetic basis for this property remains elusive. We examine the genetic basis of microenvironmental canalization in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, focusing on differential developmental stability between genotypes in one fitness and four quantitative morphological traits. We measured developmental stability in g...

The repelling of insect pests and attracting beneficial insects using non-host plants is an important component ‘push-pull’ strategy. Plants with insecticidal properties are locally abundant can be utilized to management pests. For this study, Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus L.) Marigold plant (Tagetes erecta were intercropped cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata as border reduce the popul...