The genetic architecture of repeated local adaptation to climate in distantly related plants.

Closely related species often use the same genes to adapt to similar environments. However, we know little about why such genes possess increased adaptive potential and whether this is conserved across deeper evolutionary lineages. Adaptation to climate presents a natural laboratory to test these ideas, as even distantly related species must contend with similar stresses.

(Lamiaceae) as a 'Cradle of Incense': Chemophenetics of Rare Essential Oils from Both New and Forgotten Australian 'Mint Bush' Species.

The highly aromatic Australian mint bushes from the genus Labill. produce a high yield of essential oil on hydrodistillation. Together with its rich history, horticultural potential, iconic flowers, and aromatic leaves, it achieves high ornamental and culinary value.

Composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils from the Phebalium squamulosum species complex (Rutaceae) in New South Wales, Australia.

Essential oils have been hydrodistilled and characterized from 21 populations of taxa currently assigned to the endemic Australian species Phebalium squamulosum (Rutaceae: Boronieae) using GC-MS, NMR and quantified using GC-FID. Essential oils were further examined using principle component analysis to distinguish chemotypes, then screened for antimicrobial activity using broth dilution and TLC-bioautography. Collections of subspecies of P.

First instalment in resolution of the Banksia spinulosa complex (Proteaceae): B. neoanglica, a new species supported by phenetic analysis, ecology and geography.

Taxa in the Banksia spinulosa Sm. complex (Proteaceae) have populations with sympatric, parapatric and allopatric distributions and unclear or disputed boundaries. Our hypothesis is that under biological, phenetic and diagnosable species concepts that each of the currently named taxa within the Banksia spinulosa complex is a separate species.

A new Australian species of Luffa (Cucurbitaceae) and typification of two Australian Cucumis names, all based on specimens collected by Ferdinand Mueller in 1856.

As a result of his botanical explorations in northern Australia, Ferdinand von Mueller named several Cucurbitaceae that molecular data now show to be distinct, requiring their resurrection from unjustified synonymy. We here describe and illustrate Luffa saccata F. Muell.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and melon (C. melo) have numerous wild relatives in Asia and Australia, and the sister species of melon is from Australia.

Among the fundamental questions regarding cultivated plants is their geographic origin and region of domestication. The genus Cucumis, which includes cucumber (Cucumis sativus) and melon (Cucumis melo), has numerous wild African species, and it has therefore been assumed that melon originated in Africa. For cucumber, this seemed less likely because wild cucumbers exist in India and a closely related species lives in the Eastern Himalayas.

Delimitation of Sauropus (Phyllanthaceae) based on plastid matK and nuclear ribosomal ITS DNA Sequence data.

Background And Aims: A recent molecular phylogenetic study showed that Sauropus is deeply embedded within Phyllanthus together with its allies, Breynia and Glochidion. As relationships within Sauropus are still problematic and the relationship with Breynia has long been doubted, more molecular data are needed to test/corroborate such a broad definition of Phyllanthus. This study aims to clarify the status and delimitation of Sauropus and establish its position within Phyllanthaceae.

A survey of X chromatin in the newborn.

Buccal smears were analyzed for X chromatin in 1,000 newborn infants. The mean percentage of X chromatin in the 506 female infants was 39.5 (range 19-61) and in the 494 males 0.