Some like it hot: adaptation to the urban heat island in common dandelion.

The Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE) is a globally consistent pressure on biological species living in cities. Adaptation to the UHIE may be necessary for urban wild flora to persist in cities, but experimental evidence is scarce. Here, we report evidence of adaptive evolution in a perennial plant species in response to the UHIE.

Phylogenomic analysis provides insights into and gene diversification and floral development of the Asteraceae, supported by genome and transcriptome sequences from dandelion ().

The Asteraceae is the largest angiosperm family with more than 25,000 species. Individual studies have shown that and transcription factors are regulators of the development and symmetry of flowers, contributing to their iconic flower-head (capitulum) and floret. However, a systematic study of and genes across the Asteraceae is lacking.

A PARTHENOGENESIS allele from apomictic dandelion can induce egg cell division without fertilization in lettuce.

Apomixis, the clonal formation of seeds, is a rare yet widely distributed trait in flowering plants. We have isolated the PARTHENOGENESIS (PAR) gene from apomictic dandelion that triggers embryo development in unfertilized egg cells. PAR encodes a K2-2 zinc finger, EAR-domain protein.

Sepal Identity of the Pappus and Floral Organ Development in the Common Dandelion (; Asteraceae).

The dry one-seeded fruits () of the Asteraceae are often crowned with a , an appendage of hairs or scales that assists in dispersal. It is generally assumed, but little investigated, that the pappus represents the outer floral whorl where the are usually located. We analysed pappus-sepal homology in dandelions using micromorphological and floral gene expression analyses.

Participation of Multifunctional RNA in Replication, Recombination and Regulation of Endogenous Plant Pararetroviruses (EPRVs).

Pararetroviruses, taxon , are typical of retroelements with reverse transcriptase and share a common origin with retroviruses and LTR retrotransposons, presumably dating back 1.6 billion years and illustrating the transition from an RNA to a DNA world. After transcription of the viral genome in the host nucleus, viral DNA synthesis occurs in the cytoplasm on the generated terminally redundant RNA including inter- and intra-molecule recombination steps rather than relying on nuclear DNA replication.