seed production – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Gardener’s Delight Offers Glimpse into the Evolution of Flowering Plants

By Guest PostSeptember 5, 2012Nature, Sciencealessandra sullivan, ancient lineage, anemonella thalictroides, antirrhinum majus, arabidopsis thaliana, blossoms, carpels, darwin, di stilio lab, double dandy peony, double peppermint petunia, doubled strawberry, eudicots, family ranunculaceae, flower, flower diversification, flowering species, function, gene, genetic interruption, geologic time, gunter theissen, kelsey galimba, mutant, mutation, northeastern us, period, petal, pink, plant, plant model, rainer melzer, rose, rue anemone, seed production, sexual organ, sexual reproduction, snapdragon, thalictrum, theadora tolkin, vanilla lily, veronica di stilio

The Pink Double Dandy peony, the Double Peppermint petunia, the Doubled Strawberry Vanilla lily and nearly all roses are varieties cultivated for their double flowers.

The blossoms of these and other such plants are lush with extra petals in place of the parts of the flower needed for sexual reproduction and seed production, meaning double flowers – though beautiful – are mutants and usually sterile.

The genetic interruption that causes that mutation helped scientists in the 1990s pinpoint the genes responsible for normal development of sexual organs stamens and carpels in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, long used as a plant model by biologists. (more…)

Seed Size is Controlled by Maternally Produced Small Rnas, Scientists Find

By Guest PostApril 14, 2012Naturearabidopsis, austin, david baulcombe, diploid, double fertilization, duplicate genome, embryo, endosperm, flowering plant, gene, maternal genome, molecular mechanism, placenta, plant, plant embryo, plant evolution, rna molecule, seed, seed production, sirnas, small, small interfering rnas, tetraploid, university of cambridge, university of texas, z jeff chen

AUSTIN, Texas — Seed size is controlled by small RNA molecules inherited from a plant’s mother, a discovery from scientists at The University of Texas at Austin that has implications for agriculture and understanding plant evolution.

“Crop seeds provide nearly 70 to 80 percent of calories and 60 to 70 percent of all proteins consumed by the human population,” said Z. Jeff Chen, the D.J. Sibley Centennial Professor in Plant Molecular Genetics at The University of Texas at Austin. “Seed production is obviously very important for agriculture and plant evolution.” (more…)

Ocean Acidification Linked With Larval Oyster Failure in Hatcheries

By Guest PostApril 13, 2012Environmentaslo, burke hales, carbon dioxide, chris langdon, co2 level, corrosive, david garrison, fluctuation, george waldbusser, larval mortality, national science foundation, netarts bay, noaa, North America, ocean acidification, ocean water, oregon, oregon state university, osu, oyster, oyster hatchery, oyster production, pacific northwest, pathogenic bacteria, richard feely, seed production, whiskey creek shellfish hatchery

*Increase in ocean acidification led to collapse of oyster seed production at Oregon hatchery*

Marine researchers have definitively linked the collapse of oyster seed production at a commercial oyster hatchery in Oregon to an increase in ocean acidification.

Larval growth at the hatchery declined to a level considered by the owners to be “non-economically viable.”

A study by the scientists found that increased seawater carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels, resulting in more corrosive ocean water, inhibited the larval oysters from developing their shells and growing at a pace that would make commercial production cost-effective. (more…)

Tag Archives: seed production

Gardener’s Delight Offers Glimpse into the Evolution of Flowering Plants

Seed Size is Controlled by Maternally Produced Small Rnas, Scientists Find

Ocean Acidification Linked With Larval Oyster Failure in Hatcheries