An Atlas of Past and Present Pollen Maps for Europe: 0-13000 Years Ago, and The Overlay Maps.

The present invention provides for a modified antibody of class IgG, in which at least one amino acid from the heavy chain constant region selected from the group consisting of amino acid residues 250, 314, and 428 is substituted with another amino acid which is different from that present in the unmodified antibody, thereby altering the binding affinity for FcRn and/or the serum half-life in comparison to the unmodified antibody.

ALTERATION OF FcRn BINDING AFFINITIES OR SERUM HALF-LIVES OF ANTIBODIES BY MUTAGENESIS

A method is provided for multiplying the number of copies of a target polynucleotide sequence comprising a series of primer hybridization, extending, and denaturing steps to provide an intermediate double-stranded DNA molecule containing a promoter sequence (through the use of a promoter-sequence-containing primer) incorporated upstream from the target sequence. The double-stranded DNA intermediate is then used to grow multiple RNA copies of the target sequence. The resulting RNA copies can be used as target sequences to produce further copies. Multiple cycles of this sort can thereby exponentially increase the number of target sequence copies.

Selective amplification of target polynucleotide sequences

A plant, the nuclear genome of which is transformed with a foreign DNA sequence encoding a product which selectively disrupts the metabolism, functioning and/or development of stamen cells of the plant The foreign DNA sequence also optionally encodes a marker

Plants with modified stamen cells

Polyploidy, the doubling of genomic content, is a widespread feature, especially among plants, yet its macroevolutionary impacts are contentious. Traditionally, polyploidy has been considered an evolutionary dead end, whereas recent genomic studies suggest that polyploidy has been a key driver of macroevolutionary success. We examined the consequences of polyploidy on the time scale of genera across a diverse set of vascular plants, encompassing hundreds of inferred polyploidization events. Likelihood-based analyses indicate that polyploids generally exhibit lower speciation rates and higher extinction rates than diploids, providing the first quantitative corroboration of the dead-end hypothesis. The increased speciation rates of diploids can, in part, be ascribed to their capacity to speciate via polyploidy. Only particularly fit lineages of polyploids may persist to enjoy longer-term evolutionary success.

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Recently Formed Polyploid Plants Diversify at Lower Rates

From Genes to Clones

Chloroplast (trnL−F and rbcL) sequences were used to reconstruct the phylogeny of Geraniaceae and Hypseocharitaceae. According to these data Hypseocharitaceae and Geraniaceae are monophyletic. Pelargonium and Monsonia are sisters to the largest clade of Geraniaceae, formed by Geranium, Erodium and California. According to molecular dating and dispersal-vicariance analysis, the split of the stem branches of Geraniaceae probably occurred during the Oligocene, in southern Africa or in southern Africa plus the Mediterranean area. However, their diversification occurred during the Miocene, coinciding with the beginning of major aridification events in their distribution areas. An ancestor of the largest clade of Geraniaceae (Geranium, Erodium, and California) colonised a number of habitats in the northern hemisphere and in South American mountain ranges. In summary, the evolution of the Geraniaceae is marked by the dispersal of ancestors from Southern Africa to cold, temperate and often disturbed habi...

/pdf/phylogeny-and-historical-biogeography-of-geraniaceae-in-49mb02hm3j.pdf

Phylogeny and Historical Biogeography of Geraniaceae in Relation to Climate Changes and Pollination Ecology

Phylogenetic position of Mediterranean Astereae and character evolution of daisies (Bellis, Asteraceae) inferred from nrDNA ITS sequences.

Chloroplast and nuclear evidence for multiple origins of polyploids and diploids of Hedera (Araliaceae) in the Mediterranean basin.

Phylogenetic reconstructions in the Mediterranean genus Erodium are for the first time performed using two matrices: one with 96 trnL-trnF sequences from Erodium (90 accessions plus four outgroups) and the other with 72 trnL-trnF sequences plus 23 morphological characters (66 species of a total of 74), using Maximum Parsimony (MP) and Bayesian Inference (BI). An association between reproductive properties (high selfing rates, flower asymmetry, insect-attraction structures), life form, and breeding system distributed in different lineages suggests multiple shifts from allogamy to autogamy in the course of evolution, whereas dioecy has occurred only once. The phylogenetic analyses revealed a remarkable capability for dispersal in Erodium because closely related species occur in different continents. Major lineages containing sublineages of species also from several continents lead us to interpret ancient dispersal activity. Establishment of Mediterranean-like climates in most continents may have been crucial in the evolution of Erodium, as manifested by occurrence of species of the Mediterranean floristic region in the four major lineages. The body of knowledge accumulated from molecular phylogenetics and morphology lead us to conclude that the Mediterranean region harbors the major center of diversity of Erodium, where active radiation in dry, disturbed environments, is still operating.

Omar Fiz

Papers

From Genes to Clones

Phylogeny and Historical Biogeography of Geraniaceae in Relation to Climate Changes and Pollination Ecology

Phylogenetic position of Mediterranean Astereae and character evolution of daisies (Bellis, Asteraceae) inferred from nrDNA ITS sequences.

Chloroplast and nuclear evidence for multiple origins of polyploids and diploids of Hedera (Araliaceae) in the Mediterranean basin.

Phylogenetic Relationships and Evolution in Erodium (Geraniaceae) based on trnL-trnF Sequences