Lygus pratensis (L.) is an important cotton pest in China, especially in the northwest region. Nymphs and adults cause serious quality and yield losses. However, the genetic structure and geographic distribution of L. pratensis is not well known. We analyzed genetic diversity, geographical structure, gene flow, and population dynamics of L. pratensis in northwest China using mitochondrial and n...

We examined how elevated atmospheric [CO2] and higher rate of nitrogen (N) input may influence grasshopper growth by changing food plant quality and how such effects may be modified by species diversity of the plant community. We reared grasshopper nymphs (Melanoplus femurrubrum) on Poa pratensis from field-grown monocultures or polycultures (16 species) that were subjected to either ambient or...

A single chromosome of the grass species Festuca pratensis has been introgressed into Lolium perenne to produce a diploid monosomic substitution line 2n = 2x = 14. In this line recombination occurs throughout the length of the F. pratensis/L. perenne bivalent. The F. pratensis chromosome and recombinants between it and its L. perenne homeologue can be visualized using genomic in situ hybridizat...

The taxonomical relationship between Salvia pratensis and S. bertolonii has been unclear for a long time. Salvia bertolonii has alternatively been considered a synonym, a subspecies, a problematic subspecies and a form of Salvia pratensis. However, both these two species are sometimes used in traditional medicine instead of sage (Salvia officinalis) or as an adulteration for the same drug. In o...

The Festuca genus is thought to be the most numerous genus of the Poaceae family. One of the most agronomically important forage grasses, Festuca pratensis Huds. is treated as a model plant to study the molecular mechanisms associated with tolerance to winter stresses, including frost. However, the precise mapping of the genes governing stress tolerance in this species is difficult as its karyo...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS To address the issues associated with food security, environmental change and bioenergy in the context of crop plants, the production, identification and evaluation of novel plant phenotypes is fundamental. One of the major routes to this end will be wide hybridization and introgression breeding. The transfer of chromosomes and chromosome segments between related species (ch...

A single chromosome of the grass species Festuca pratensis has been introgressed into Lolium perenne to produce a diploid monosomic substitution line 2n = 2x = 14. The chromatin of F. pratensis and L. perenne can be distinguished by genomic in situ hybridization (GISH), and it is therefore possible to visualize the substituted F. pratensis chromosome in the L. perenne background and to study ch...

Nuclear genome size, as measured by flow cytometry with propidium iodide, was used to investigate the relationships within the genus Gagea (Liliaceae), mainly from the Netherlands. The basic chromosome number for Gagea is x = 12. The inferred ploidy in the Dutch and German accessions varies from diploid to decaploid. Consequently there is a large range of genome sizes (DNA 2C-values) from 14.9 ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS To improve the management of grass communities, early plant development was compared in three species with contrasting growth forms, a caespitose (Lolium perenne), a rhizomatous (Poa pratensis) and a caespitose-stoloniferous species (Agrostis stolonifera). METHODS Isolated seedlings were grown in a glasshouse without trophic constraints for 37 d (761 degrees Cd). The appea...