FISHy Analysis of Tetraploid Cotton Species

Fluorescent in situ hybridization(FISH) is an important technique in plant genome research,because it provides integrated information about DNA,chromosomes and genomes.Genomic in situ hybridization(GISH) is a modification of FISH that can be used to rapidly compare genome content,relatedness,organization and/or behavior.GISH results often provide insight into genome evolution and species relationships.The cotton genus Gossypium consists of about 50 species,including 5

Topography and soil content contribute to plant community composition and structure in subtropical evergreen-deciduous broadleaved mixed forests

Topography and soil factors are known to play crucial roles in the species composition of plant communities in subtropical evergreen-deciduous broadleaved mixed forests.In this study,we used a systematic quantitative approach to classify plant community types in the subtropical forests of Hubei Province(central China),and then quantified the relative contribution of drivers responsible for variation in species composition and diversity.We classified the subtropical forests in the study area into 12 community types.Of these,species diversity indices of three communities were significantly higher than those of others.In each community type,species richness,abundance,basal area and importance values of evergreen and deciduous species were different.In most community types,deciduous species richness was higher than that of evergreen species.Linear regression analysis showed that the dominant factors that affect species composition in each community type are elevation,slope,aspect,soil nitrogen content,and soil phosphorus content.Furthermore,structural equation modeling analysis showed that the majority of variance in species composition of plant communities can be explained by elevation,aspect,soil water content,litterfall,total nitrogen,and total phosphorus.Thus,the major factors that affect evergreen and deciduous species distribution across the 12 community types in subtropical evergreendeciduous broadleaved mixed forests include elevation,slope and aspect,soil total nitrogen content,soil total phosphorus content,soil available nitrogen content and soil available phosphorus content.

Environmental variables vis-a-vis distribution of herbaceous tracheophytes on northern sub-slopes in Western Himalayan ecotone

Background:In the northern hemisphere,the north face of the mountains has a high diversity of species which is attributed to the moist and shady conditions at the north face.Other environmental variables may also influence the species diversity on the northern faces of the mountain and therefore needs to be studied in detail.The northern slopes represent three different sub-slopes—north,north east,and north west.During the current investigation of Pir-Panjal and Dauladhar ranges in Bhadarwah valley,fine-scale studies on the relationship between vegetation and four variables(soil pH,moisture content,electrical conductivity,and steepness)were conducted.The study determined the role of these variables on the vegetation of three different sub-slopes.The sampling was done at the confluence of two communities(forest and grassland)at three sites on the northern sub-slopes of the lesser stratum in western Himalayan.Results:The result revealed that rich herbaceous diversity prevails on the lesser Himalayan stratum(Bhadarwah valley).As many as 65.8%species differ from site to site,whereas species commonality among the sites is minimum.The role of environmental variables on the species composition at different sub-slopes of the north mountain face is deduced through canonical correspondence analysis(CCA).Conclusions:The availability of solar light increases air and soil temperature on the north east–facing slope.All the environmental variables(soil pH,moisture,electrical conductivity,and mountain steepness)are insignificant at pure north face for the species composition.Therefore,it can be concluded that some other environmental variables may influence the species composition which are needed to be further investigated.