To eat or not to eat: novel stable isotope models reveal a shift in carnivory with nutrient availability for aquatic Utricularia spp.

Background And Aims: Freshwater nitrogen inputs are increasing globally, altering the structure and function of wetland ecosystems adapted to low nutrient conditions. Carnivorous wetland plants of the genus Utricularia are hypothesized to reduce their reliance on carnivory and increase their assimilation of environmental nutrients when the supply of ambient nutrients increases. Despite success in using stable isotope approaches to quantify carnivory of terrestrial carnivorous plants, quantifying carnivory of aquatic Utricularia requires improvement.

Genomics of Compositae crops: reference transcriptome assemblies and evidence of hybridization with wild relatives.

Although the Compositae harbours only two major food crops, sunflower and lettuce, many other species in this family are utilized by humans and have experienced various levels of domestication. Here, we have used next-generation sequencing technology to develop 15 reference transcriptome assemblies for Compositae crops or their wild relatives. These data allow us to gain insight into the evolutionary and genomic consequences of plant domestication.

Genomics of Compositae weeds: EST libraries, microarrays, and evidence of introgression.

Premise Of Study: Weeds cause considerable environmental and economic damage. However, genomic characterization of weeds has lagged behind that of model plants and crop species. Here we describe the development of genomic tools and resources for 11 weeds from the Compositae family that will serve as a basis for subsequent population and comparative genomic analyses.

A sex-chromosome mutation in Silene latifolia.

Silene latifolia is dioecious, yet rare hermaphrodites have been found, and such natural mutants can provide valuable insight into genetic mechanisms. Here, we describe a hermaphrodite-inducing mutation that is almost certainly localized to the gynoecium-suppression region of the Y chromosome in S. latifolia.

Genetic diversity and genomic distribution of homologs encoding NBS-LRR disease resistance proteins in sunflower.

Three-fourths of the recognition-dependent disease resistance genes (R-genes) identified in plants encode nucleotide binding site (NBS) leucine-rich repeat (LRR) proteins. NBS-LRR homologs have only been isolated on a limited scale from sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), and most of the previously identified homologs are members of two large NBS-LRR clusters harboring downy mildew R-genes.

SNP-based codominant markers for a recessive gene conferring resistance to corky root rot (Rhizomonas suberifaciens) in lettuce (Lactuca sativa).

The analysis of F2 progeny and derived F3 families of Lactuca sativa segregating for resistance to corky root rot caused by Rhizomonas suberifaciens permitted the identification of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers linked to the recessive resistance gene cor. PCR-based markers were identified by bulked segregant analysis (BSA). Allele-specific primers were generally designed with the 3 terminal base coinciding with an SNP, matching one of the alleles and mismatching the other, and with an additional subterminal 3 base mismatching both alleles.

Sexual reproduction in the invasive species Fallopia japonica (Polygonaceae).

Fallopia japonica (Polygonaceae) is an invasive perennial plant, well known in North America for its ability to spread aggressively via vegetative reproduction. The contribution of sexual reproduction to the distribution of this species is not well documented, and as a result, F. japonica is treated solely as a clonal species.