Leaf characteristics of two representative deciduous-tree species in Korean peninsula were compared to assess directional ridge effect on leaf traits of both species. Leaf mass per unit area (LMA) of Rhododendron schilippenbachii in south-facing ridge slope was significantly higher than that in north-facing ridge slope, while Quercus mongolica did not change LMA. Leaf mass of Q. mongolica was i...

The evolution of inflorescence size, a key trait in reproductive success, was studied in the genus Acer under a perspective of adaptive evolution. Breeding systems, hypothesized to indicate different levels of mating competition, were considered as the selective scenarios defining different optima of inflorescence size. Larger inflorescences, which increase male fitness by generating larger flo...

Understanding the relative evolutionary importance of parasites to different host taxa is problematic because the expression of disease and resistance are often confounded by factors such as host age and condition. The antibiotic-producing metapleural glands of ants are a potentially useful exception to this rule because they are a key first-line defense that are fixed in size in adults. Here w...

available genetic variation for ascochyta blight resistance in genus cicer has prompted interest in the development and use of autumn sown resistant chickpea cultivars. a thorough understanding of the mode of inheritance of resistance to ascochyta blight in chickpea would assist the breeding efforts. in order to determine the number of genes, as well as to evaluate heritability and action of ge...

The way in which the number and size of cells in an organ are determined poses a central challenge in our understanding of organ size control. Compensation is an unresolved phenomenon, whereby a decrease in cell proliferation below some threshold level triggers enhanced postmitotic cell expansion in leaf primordia. It suggests an interaction between these cellular processes during organogenesis...

Unsolved Mystery L eaf size depends on cell number and size. However, leaves are not simply the sum of cell size and number; rather, they are under the control of an unknown, organ-wide integration system. The existence of such a system is strongly suggested by two mysterious phenomena: compensation and high-ploidy syndrome. Compensation is characterized by cell enlargement triggered by a signi...