Absence of petals, or being apetalous, is usually one of the most important features that characterizes a group of flowering plants at high taxonomic ranks (i.e., family and above). The apetalous condition, however, appears to be the result of parallel or convergent evolution with unknown genetic causes. Here we show that within the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), apetalous genera in at least...

For self-pollinating plants to reproduce, male and female organ development must be coordinated as flowers mature. The Arabidopsis transcription factors AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 6 (ARF6) and ARF8 regulate this complex process by promoting petal expansion, stamen filament elongation, anther dehiscence, and gynoecium maturation, thereby ensuring that pollen released from the anthers is deposited on ...

erosion by wind is one of the most important factors in desert environment. prevailing winds can shift sand dunes and affect their accumulation. also, wind regime determines the direction of sand dune mobility. the aim of this research was to investigate sand drift potential using sand movement models. for this research, wind data between 1986 and 2005 from the meteorological station of yazd we...

This collection of papers has been brought together to acknowledge the invaluable contribution of Wouter G. van Doorn (13 December 1951–16 May 2015) to plant science and the broader scientific community. Wouter was an admirable and passionate scientist who lived by the maxim ‘I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, nor to hate them, but to understand them’ (Baruch Spi...

Glutaredoxins (GRXs) have thus far been associated mainly with redox-regulated processes participating in stress responses. However, ROXY1, encoding a GRX, has recently been shown to regulate petal primorida initiation and further petal morphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. ROXY1 belongs to a land plant-specific class of GRXs that has a CC-type active site motif, which deviates from ubiquitous...

This young man presented initially and repeatedly over a period of twenty years with symptoms of irritability, depressed and withdrawn mood, impulsivity, out-of-control behavior, and suicidal ideation and behavior. These symptoms occurred with disabling intensity at ages 3 year, 6 1/2 years, and 8 1/2 years, when he had not yet been adequately diagnosed and treated with appropriate psychopharma...

the kashan erg is one of the most important sand dune complexes in iran. being affected by wind erosion, theerg's borderlands face numerous problems as a result of sand movement. to evaluate the risk of sands moving intoresidential areas near the kashan erg, anemometry data from synoptic stations located in kashan, ardestan, meimeh,naeen, and qom were collected and analyzed to calculate the san...

As a genetically determined structure, flower is an attractive object for developmental studies in plants. Flower development provides a good system for understanding cell differentiation and genetic mechanisms needed for organogenesis. The current molecular view on flower development has been based on studies on relatively few model species, like Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum. Research in model ...