Because workers in colonies of eusocial Hymenoptera are more closely related to sisters than to brothers, theory predicts workers should bias investment in reproductive broods to favour reproductive females over males. However, conflict between queens and workers is predicted. Queens are equally related to daughters and sons, and should act to prevent workers from biasing investment. Previous s...

Broom snakeweed (snakeweed) is a native range shrub found throughout semiarid rangelands of the western United States, which increases and dominates plant communities after disturbances such as overgrazing, drought, or wildfire. The objective of this study was to compare the ability of selected grass species and prostrate kochia to restrict establishment and growth of snakeweed seedlings in pot...

The level and pattern of nucleotide variation in duplicate gene provide important information on the evolutionary history of polyploids and divergent process between homoeologous loci within lineages. Kengyilia is a group of allohexaploid species with the StYP genomic constitutions in the wheat tribe. To investigate the evolutionary dynamics of the Pgk1 gene in Kengyilia and its diploid relativ...

Identification of the genetic architecture of phenotypic stability and management of adaptational genes is a prerequisite for improvement of adaptation. To locate the genes controlling adaptation, disomic addition lines of agropyron (agropyron elongatum, 2n=2x=14) into the genetic background of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L., 2n=6x=42, cv. ‘Chinese Spring’=CS) were used in a randomized compl...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Leaf longevity is an important plant functional trait that often varies with soil nitrogen supply. Ethylene is a classical plant hormone involved in the control of senescence and abscission, but its role in nitrogen-dependent leaf longevity is largely unknown. METHODS Pot and field experiments were performed to examine the effects of nitrogen addition on leaf longevity and...