A perithecial ascomycete, Spataporthe taylori gen. et sp. nov., represented by >70 sporocarps is preserved by
cellular permineralization in marine carbonate concretions dated at the Valanginian-Hauterivian boundary (Early
Cretaceous) from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The spheroid perithecia with lumina 330–470 µm
wide and 220–320 µm high are densely distributed...
Premise of research. The lianoid habit is found in 125 extant plant families and is most diverse and abundant in structurally complex forests, such as tropical forests. A stem with lianoid anatomy is described from Cretaceous sediments of Hornby Island, British Columbia.
Methodology. The stem segment, 2.5 cm in diameter...
Viruses and/or virus-like selfish elements are associated with all cellular life forms and are the most abundant biological entities on Earth, with the number of virus particles in many environments exceeding the number of cells by one to two orders of magnitude. The genetic diversity of viruses is commensurately enormous...
Satellite measurements allow global assessments of phytoplankton concentrations and, from observed temporal changes in biomass, direct access to net biomass accumulation rates (r). For the subarctic Atlantic basin, analysis of annual cycles in r reveals that initiation of the annual blooming phase does not occur in spring after stratification surpasses...
Premise of the Study: Hybrid zones provide "natural laboratories" for understanding the processes of selection, reinforcement, and speciation. We sought to gain insight into the degree of introgression and the extent of ecological-phenotypic intermediacy in the natural hybrid strawberry, Fragaria x ananassa subsp. cuneifolia.
Methods: We used whole-plastome sequencing to...
Heterodera avenae is widely distributed in areas where most cereal crops are produced in Algeria. However, the virulence of the Algerian populations of this nematode on individual cereal species and cultivars has not been well documented. The virulence of H. avenae populations from Tiaret and from Oued Smar were tested...
Spatial variation of available food resources can be difficult to accurately quantify for wide ranging organisms
at landscape scales. Lichens with usnic acid, a yellowish pigment, constitute a large portion of caribou winter
diet across much of their range. We take a new approach of modeling lichen abundances by capitalizing...
Premise of research. A third genus of anatomically preserved conifer seed cones has been recognized from
a Late Jurassic deposit in northeastern Scotland. This cone is described as Bancroftiastrobus digitata Rothwell,
Mapes, Stockey et Hilton.
Methodology. The cone was sectioned with the classic coal ball peel technique and studied and...
Tannins are a diverse group of plant-produced, polyphenolic compounds with metal-chelating and antimicrobial properties that are prevalent in many soils. Using transcriptomics, we determined that tannic acid, a form of hydrolysable tannin, broadly affects the expression of genes involved in iron and zinc homeostases, sulfur metabolism, biofilm formation, motility, and...
A fossil seed cone with characters that have been hypothesized as transitional to the origin of crown group gnetophytes has been discovered in Lower Cretaceous deposits on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. This cone, described as Protoephedrites eamesii gen. et sp. nov., provides the first anatomically preserved fossil evidence for...