Comparative Analysis of Miscanthus and Saccharum Reveals a Shared Whole-Genome Duplication but Different Evolutionary Fates.

Multiple polyploidizations with divergent consequences in the grass subtribe Saccharinae provide a singular opportunity to study in situ adaptation of a genome to the duplicated state, heretofore known primarily from paleogenomics. We show that allopolyploidy in a common Miscanthus-Saccharum ancestor ∼3.8 to 4.

Rapid selection and identification of Miscanthus genotypes with enhanced glucan and xylan yields from hydrothermal pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis.

Background: Because many Miscanthus genotypes can be cultivated with relatively high productivity and carbohydrate content, Miscanthus has great potential as an energy crop that can support large scale biological production of biofuels.

Results: In this study, batch hydrothermal pretreatment at 180°C for 35 min followed by enzymatic hydrolysis was shown to give the highest total sugar yields for Miscanthus x giganteus cv. Illinois planted in Illinois.

SSR-based genetic maps of Miscanthus sinensis and M. sacchariflorus, and their comparison to sorghum.

We present SSR-based genetic maps from a cross between Miscanthus sacchariflorus Robustus and M. sinensis, the progenitors of the promising cellulosic biofuel feedstock Miscanthus × giganteus. cDNA-derived SSR markers were mapped by the two-way pseudo-testcross model due to the high heterozygosity of each parental species.

The role of pectate lyase and the jasmonic acid defense response in Pseudomonas viridiflava virulence.

Pseudomonas viridiflava is a common pathogen of Arabidopsis thaliana in wild populations, yet very little is known about mechanisms of resistance and virulence in this interaction. We examined the induced defense response of A. thaliana to several strains of P.

Presence/absence polymorphism for alternative pathogenicity islands in Pseudomonas viridiflava, a pathogen of Arabidopsis.

The contribution of arms race dynamics to plant-pathogen coevolution has been called into question by the presence of balanced polymorphisms in resistance genes of Arabidopsis thaliana, but less is known about the pathogen side of the interaction. Here we investigate structural polymorphism in pathogenicity islands (PAIs) in Pseudomonas viridiflava, a prevalent bacterial pathogen of A. thaliana.

Genome-wide association mapping in Arabidopsis identifies previously known flowering time and pathogen resistance genes.

There is currently tremendous interest in the possibility of using genome-wide association mapping to identify genes responsible for natural variation, particularly for human disease susceptibility. The model plant Arabidopsis thaliana is in many ways an ideal candidate for such studies, because it is a highly selfing hermaphrodite. As a result, the species largely exists as a collection of naturally occurring inbred lines, or accessions, which can be genotyped once and phenotyped repeatedly.

Pseudomonas viridiflava and P. syringae--natural pathogens of Arabidopsis thaliana.

We report the isolation and identification of two natural pathogens of Arabidopsis thaliana, Pseudomonas viridiflava and Pseudomonas syringae, in the midwestern United States. P. viridiflava was found in six of seven surveyed Arabidopsis thaliana populations.