Acetolactate synthase (EC 4.1.3.18) activity was examined in maize (Zea mays L.) endosperm and embryos as a function of kernel development. When assayed using unpurified homogenates, embryo acetolactate synthase activity appeared less sensitive to inhibition by leucine + valine and by the imidazolinone herbicide imazapyr than endosperm acetolactate synthase activity. Evidence is presented to sh...

Pollinator abundance is declining worldwide and may lower the quantity and quality of pollination services to flowering plant populations. Loss of an important pollinator is often assumed to reduce the amount of pollen received by stigmas of a focal species (pollination success), yet this assumption has rarely been tested experimentally. The magnitude of the effect, if any, may depend on the re...

Background and Objective: Platanus hispanica trees are considered an important source of airborne pollen allergens in many cities of Western Europe. As the prevalence of sensitization to this species is 8% to 9% in northwestern Spain, our objective was to propose models predicting both the onset of the pollen season and the mean daily pollen concentrations. Methods: Airborne P hispanica pollen ...

• Understanding how pollination affects plant reproductive success and how changes in pollination service affect plant populations, communities and ecosystems is of increasing concern. Yet supplemental hand-pollination traditionally used to assess pollen limitation is prohibitive for large-scale comparative work. Moreover, it does not differentiate between quality and quantity aspects of pollen...

18 yield 19 20 21 22 Citizen science and pollination services 2 Abstract 23 1) Pollination by insects is a vital ecosystem service and the need for its 24 assessment is increasing in recognition and political pressure, but there are 25 currently no large-scale systematic monitoring schemes in place to measure 26 the direct provision of this service. 27 2) This study tested a protocol for using ...

Pollination is an ecosystem service that is essential to support the production of a wide range of crops. The service is increasingly under threat, as a consequence of among others habitat loss of pollinators and increasing use of pesticides. In order to support maintaining the pollination service in agriculture, there is a need to better understand the economic value generated by the pollinati...

Pollination by sexual deception is arguably one of the most unusual liaisons linking plants and insects, and perhaps the most illustrative example of extreme floral specialization in angiosperms. While considerable progress has been made in understanding the floral traits involved in sexual deception, less is known about how this remarkable mimicry system might have arisen, the role of pre-adap...

To inspire new ideas in research on pollination ecology, we list the most important unanswered questions in the field. This list was drawn up by contacting 170 scientists from different areas of pollination ecology and asking them to contribute their opinion on the greatest knowledge gaps that need to be addressed. Almost 40% of them took part in our email poll and we received more than 650 que...

The temporal and spatial expression patterns of three 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase genes were investigated in pollinated orchid (Phalaenopsis spp.) flowers. Pollination signals initiate a cascade of development events in multiple floral organs, including the induction of ethylene biosynthesis, which coordinates several postpollination developmental responses. The initiation ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Abiotic pollination by wind or water is well established in flowering plants. In some species pollination by rain splashes, a condition known as ombrophily, has been proposed as a floral strategy. However, evidence for this type of abiotic pollination has remained controversial and many reported cases have subsequently been shown to be false. This study investigates ombrophi...