Ridge tillage (RT) can promote increases in soil C and aggregation at greater rates than conventional tillage, but few studies have investigated how RT may affect soil N distributions across the row/inter-row space. Using a spatially intensive sampling design, we monitored soil potentially mineralizable N (PMN), inorganic N, and plant tissue N in a field study comparing RT and chisel plow (CP) systems. Experiments were fully replicated at two sites in Urbana, IL and Mason, MI during the 2012 growing season.

Extreme temperature during reproductive development affects rice (Oryza sativa L.) yield and seed quality. A controlled-environment reciprocal-transfer experiment was designed where plants from two japonica cultivars were grown at 28 and 24°C (day and night temperatures) and moved to 18 and 14°C and vice versa or from 28 and 24° to 38 and 34°C and vice versa, for 7-d periods to determine the respective temporal pattern of sensitivity of spikelet fertility

Seed dormancy is imposed by one or more of the embryo, endosperm, and maternal tissues that belong to two generations and represent two ploidy levels. Many quantitative trait loci (QTL) have been identified for seed dormancy as measured by gross effects on reduced germination rate or delayed germination in crop or model plants.

Endocytosis, the process whereby the plasma membrane invaginates to form vesicles, is essential for bringing many substances into the cell and for membrane turnover. The mechanism driving clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) involves > 50 different protein components assembling at a single location on the plasma membrane in a temporally ordered and hierarchal pathway.

Every data visualization can be improved with some level of interactivity. Interactive graphics hold particular promise for the exploration of high-dimensional data. R/qtlcharts is an R package to create interactive graphics for experiments to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) (genetic loci that influence quantitative traits). R/qtlcharts serves as a companion to the R/qtl package, providing interactive versions of R/qtl’s static graphs, as well as additional interactive graphs for the exploration of high-dimensional genotype and phenotype data.

Environmental stress affects basic organismal functioning and can cause physiological, developmental, and reproductive impairment. However, in many nonmodel organisms, the core molecular stress response remains poorly characterized and the extent to which stress-induced transcriptional changes differ across qualitatively different stress types is largely unexplored. The current study examines the molecular stress response of the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) using RNA sequencing and compares transcriptional responses to multiple stressors (heat, starvation, and plant defenses) at a standardized stress level (27% adult mortality).

Nitrogen (N) losses from terrestrial ecosystems can occur as inert forms or heat-trapping greenhouse gases, and via nitrate (NO₃⁻) leaching to drainage waters, which can contribute to eutrophication and anoxia in downstream ecosystems. Here, we use natural isotopes to demonstrate that microbial gaseous N production via denitrification is the dominant pathway of NO₃⁻ removal from forest ecosystems,

Our results provide evidence that PSB27, a soluble protein of the chloroplast thylakoid lumen, is essential for enabling plants to adapt to changes in light intensity. Adaptation takes place independently of photosystem II supercomplexes and, based on work of others, of state transitions for the redistribution of light harvesting proteins. This finding opens the door to pursue the question of how photosynthesis adjusts to fluctuating sunlight and enables plants to grow under ever-changing environmental conditions.

ATP-citrate lyase (ACL, EC4.1.3.8) catalyzes citrate to oxaloacetate and acetyl-CoA in the cell cytosol, and has important roles in normal plant growth and in the biosynthesis of some secondary metabolites. We identified three ACL genes, CitACLα1, CitACLα2, and CitACLβ1, in the citrus genome database. Both CitACLα1 and CitACLα2 encode putative ACL α subunits with 82.5 % amino acid identity, whereas CitACLβ1 encodes a putative ACL β subunit

Nicotiana, a member of the Solanaceae family, is one of the most important research model plants, and of high agricultural and economic value worldwide. To better understand the substantial and rapid research progress with Nicotiana in recent years, its genomics, genetics, and nicotine gene studies are summarized, with useful web links. Several important genetic maps, including a high-density map of N. tabacum consisting of ~2,000 markers published in 2012, provide tools for genetics research.