Ecologists have paid close attention to environmental effects that fitness-enhancing transgenes might have following crop-to-wild gene flow (e.g. Snow et al. 2003). For some crops, gene flow also can lead to legal problems,especially when government agencies have not approved transgenic events for unrestricted environmental release.Creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera), a common turf grass ...

Extensive past efforts have been taken toward understanding heat tolerance mechanisms of the aboveground organs. Root systems play critical roles in whole-plant adaptation to heat stress, but are less studied. This review discusses recent research results revealing some critical physiological and metabolic factors underlying root thermotolerance, with a focus on temperate perennial grass specie...

Elevated temperature is a major abiotic stress limiting the growth of cool-season grasses during the summer months. The objectives of this study were to determine the genetic variation in the expression patterns of selected genes involved in several major metabolic pathways regulating heat tolerance for two genotypes contrasting in heat tolerance to confirm their status as potential candidate g...

Copper ore mining and processing release hazardous post-flotation wastes that are difficult for remediation. The studied tailings were extremely rich in Cu (1800 mg kg-1) and contaminated with Co and Mn, and contained very little available forms of P, Fe, and Zn. The plants growing in tailings were distinctly enriched in Cu, Cd, Co, Ni, and Pb, and the concentration of copper achived the critic...

Herbicide-resistant creeping bentgrass plants (Agrostis stolonifera L.) without antibiotic-resistant markers were produced by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Embryogenic callus tissues were infected with Agrobacterium tumefaciens EHA105, harboring the bar and the CP4-EPSPS genes for bialaphos and glyphosate resistance. Phosphinothricin-resistant calli and plants were selected. Soil-grown...

Lineage-specific gene loss is considered one of the processes contributing to speciation and genome diversity. Such gene loss has been inferred from interspecies comparisons of orthologous DNA segments. Examples of intraspecific gene loss are rare. Here we report identification of a gene, designated Crs-1 (creeping specific-1), that appears to be in the process of being lost from heterozygous p...

The planting of 162 ha of transgenic glyphosate-resistant creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) near Madras, OR, USA, allowed a unique opportunity to study gene flow over time from a perennial outcrossing species at the landscape level. While conducting a four year in situ survey, we collected panicles and leaf tissue samples from creeping bentgrass and its sexually compatible species. Seed...