The knotweed taxa Fallopia japonica, F. sachalinensis and their interspecific hybrid F. × bohemica are some of the most aggressive invaders in Europe and North America and they are serious threats to native biodiversity. At the same time, they constitute a unique model system for the creation of hybrids and studies of the initiation of evolutionary processes. In the presented study, we focused ...

Hybridization is one of the fundamental mechanisms by which rapid evolution can occur in exotic species. If hybrids show increased vigour, this could significantly contribute to invasion success. Here, we compared the success of the two invasive knotweeds, Fallopia japonica and F. sachalinensis, and their hybrid, F. × bohemica, in competing against experimental communities of native plants. Usi...

Urophora merzisp. n. reared from flower heads of Centaurea behen Linnaeus is described from Iran. It is similar to Urophora campestris, Urophora sachalinensis, Urophora stylata, Urophora tsoii and Urophora vera in wing pattern with 3 well developed crossbands and indistinct subbasal crossband, differing in aculeus tip with two pairs of diminished preapical steps and different host plants.

Rhodiolae Radix, have been widely used as a hemostatic, antibechic, tonic, and endermic liniment for burns and contusions in traditional Chinese medicine. Chemical and biological studies on several Rhodiola plants have been reported. For example, the methanolic extract from the roots of R. sachalinensis was reported to show inhibitory activity on prolyl endopeptidase. During the course of our s...

Sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG) contents in conifer leaves and their fatty acid (FA) compositions were determined. The SQDG content was 16-36 mg/100 g, and was high in Picea glehnii. Palmitic and alpha-linolenic acid were the usually predominant FAs. In Picea, the proportion of alpha-linolenic acid was low, and those of oleic and linoleic acid were high. The essential oil residues of Abies...

UNLABELLED • PREMISE OF THE STUDY Although ultraviolet radiation (UV) is known to have negative effects on plant growth, there has been no direct evidence that plants growing at higher elevations are more severely affected by ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation, which is known to increase with elevation. We examined damage to DNA, a primary target of UV-B, in the widespread species Polygonum sacha...