A plant disease extension of the Infectious Disease Ontology

Plants from a handful of species provide the primary source of food for all people, yet this source is vulnerable to multiple stressors, such as disease, drought, and nutrient deficiency. With rapid population growth and climate uncertainty, the need to produce crops that can tolerate or resist plant stressors is more crucial than ever. Traditional plant breeding methods may not be sufficient to overcome this challenge, and methods such as highOthroughput sequencing and automated scoring of phenotypes can provide significant new insights. Ontologies are essential tools for accessing and analysing the large quantities of data that come with these newer methods. As part of a larger project to develop ontologies that describe plant phenotypes and stresses, we are developing a plant disease extension of the Infectious Disease Ontology (IDOPlant). The IDOPlant is envisioned as a reference ontology designed to cover any plant infectious disease. In addition to novel terms for infectious diseases, IDOPlant includes terms imported from other ontologies that describe plants, pathogens, and vectors, the geographic location and ecology of diseases and hosts, and molecular functions and interactions of hosts and pathogens. To encompass this range of data, we are suggesting inOhouse ontology development complemented with reuse of terms from orthogonal ontologies developed as part of the Open Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) Foundry. The study of plant diseases provides an example of how an ontological framework can be used to model complex biological phenomena such as plant disease, and how plant infectious diseases differ from, and are similar to, infectious diseases in other organism

Inflorescence Architecture and Floral Morphology of Aratitiyopea lopezii (Xyridaceae)

Aratitiyopea lopezii is a robust perennial species of Xyridaceae from seasonally saturated, mid- to high-elevation, sandstone and granite sites in northern South America. The species lacks the scapose inflorescence characteristic of Xyridaceae and, having the gestalt of a rhizomatous bromeliad, it is seemingly aberrant in the family. However, closer examination confirms features consistent with the family and the previously noted morphological similarities to Orectanthe. Details of inflorescence structure and floral morphology are presented and compared to other genera of Xyridaceae

A Phylogenetic Study of Arecaceae Based on Seedling Morphological and Anatomical Data

A morphological and anatomical survey was carried out of seedlings of 62 taxa of palms representing all major groups. The data were analyzed using cladistic parsimony analysis. Seedling data were analyzed independently and combined with adult morphological data. Outgroup selection was made within the family using the calamoids and Nypa fruticans; outside the family, the monocot family Dasypogonaceae were used. The analysis with the calamoids and Nypa fruticans as outgroups resolved some of the major groups. The combined analysis, using both seedling and adult data and Dasypogonaceae as the outgroup, provided better resolution. Most of the major groups were monophyletic although the coryphoids and arecoids appeared paraphyletic

Effects of Temperature on Seta Elongation in Atrichum Undulatum

Author Institution: Department of Botany, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210Field-collected gametophytes of Atrichum undulatum were placed in two growth chambers which were maintained at the same light intensity and light period, but at two different temperature regimes. After sporophyte development, differences in seta lengths were observed. Measurements of cell lengths revealed that attached setae grown in the high-temperature regime (12°-22°C) were longer than those grown in a low-temperature regime (3°-12°C), as a result of both more cell divisions and a larger average cell length. Thus, temperature appeared to influence both cell division and cell elongation in the setae of Atrichum undulatum

The Plant Ontology: A common reference ontology for plants

The Plant Ontology (PO) (http://www.plantontology.org) (Jaiswal et al., 2005; Avraham et al., 2008) was designed to facilitate cross-database querying and to foster consistent use of plant-specific terminology in annotation. As new data are generated from the ever-expanding list of plant genome projects, the need for a consistent, cross-taxon vocabulary has grown. To meet this need, the PO is being expanded to represent all plants. This is the first ontology designed to encompass anatomical structures as well as growth and developmental stages across such a broad taxonomic range. While other ontologies such as the Gene Ontology (GO) (The Gene Ontology Consortium, 2010) or Cell Type Ontology (CL) (Bard et al., 2005) cover all living organisms, they are confined to structures at the cellular level and below. The diversity of growth forms and life histories within plants presents a challenge, but also provides unique opportunities to study developmental and evolutionary homology across organisms

The Plant Ontology facilitates comparisons of plant development stages across species

The Plant Ontology (PO) is a community resource consisting of standardized terms, definitions, and logical relations describing plant structures and development stages, augmented by a large database of annotations from genomic and phenomic studies. This paper describes the structure of the ontology and the design principles we used in constructing PO terms for plant development stages. It also provides details of the methodology and rationale behind our revision and expansion of the PO to cover development stages for all plants, particularly the land plants (bryophytes through angiosperms). As a case study to illustrate the general approach, we examine variation in gene expression across embryo development stages in Arabidopsis and maize, demonstrating how the PO can be used to compare patterns of expression across stages and in developmentally different species. Although many genes appear to be active throughout embryo development, we identified a small set of uniquely expressed genes for each stage of embryo development and also between the two species. Evaluating the different sets of genes expressed during embryo development in Arabidopsis or maize may inform future studies of the divergent developmental pathways observed in monocotyledonous versus dicotyledonous species. The PO and its annotation databasemake plant data for any species more discoverable and accessible through common formats, thus providing support for applications in plant pathology, image analysis, and comparative development and evolution

Neochamberlainia, a new name for Chamberlainia Artabe, Zamuner & D. W. Stev. (Zamiaceae) non Chamberlainia Grout (Brachytheciaceae)

Artabe et al. (2005) described a new fossil cycad genus, Chamberlainia, from the Allen Formation (Late Cretaceous) of Baja de Santa Rosa, Río Negro Province, Argentina. Unfortunately, this name is preoccupied by a moss genus in the Brachytheciaceae, described by Grout (1928). Thus, Chamberlainia Artabe, Zamuner & D. W. Stev. is a later homonym (Art. 53.1, ICBN Vienna) and a new name is required.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Cycads from the Triassic of Antarctica: Permineralized Cycad Leaves

Permineralized cycad petioles and/or rachides with associated pinnae are described from two Triassic localities in the Queen Alexandria Range, central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica. Petiole‐rachides display an inverted‐omega‐shaped arrangement of vascular bundles typical of most genera of extant Cycadales and exarch primary xylem that link them to the modern order. Pinnae associated with the Antarctic petiole‐rachides are thin, with regularly spaced vascular bundles. They are similar to those of extant Zamia and most other genera of extant Cycadales, whose pinnae lack midribs. Other Mesozoic fossil cycads (e.g., Charmorgia, Lyssoxylon, Lioxylon) have endarch petiole vascular bundles that in some cases were previously considered more similar to those of Bennettitales than those of Cycadales. We suggest, however, that the endarch xylem of these taxa is typical of Cycadales because in extant cycads, the protoxylem changes from endarch to exarch within the base of the petiole. Evolution of cycad leaf form is reviewed based on evidence from the fossil record

The Ursinus Weekly, February 26, 1962

Jean Dillin wins Weekly contest • Sororities welcome 14 new members; 43 men accept frat bids this afternoon • Beardwood chemistry club hears Dr. Levie Van Dam • Two Ursinus women offer Summer teaching position on Indian reservations • Colors presented to new UC women • Patti Whittick elected May queen; JoAnn Lewis unopposed May manager • Philadelphia rabbi participates in religious emphasis week • Charities chosen for Campus Chest • Wire manufacturer appears for ACES • Student teachers hear C-T principal • Clinic Day unqualified success • Editorial: Dual roles • Lycoming College to hold music fete • Ursinus in the past • Pearson, Williams named WSGA, WAA representatives • Cabinet of Y receives two day study choices • Veterinarian work topic for pre-med. society guest • Cooler breezes consort in Austria and Germany • Leber-South leads dorm cage league • Maids swim, dive for two victories • MASCAC wrestling tickets on sale • Grapplers pound PMC, 32-0; Dean, Powers still unbeaten • Hoopsters winless in week\u27s action; Delaware, Drexel drub Grizzlies • Women split two tilts; West Chester cagers win • Track team runs early indoor meets • Collegeville tops Phoenix YMCA basketball league • Collegeville Girl Scouts hear Mrs. Ned Seelye • 17 Collegeville firemen at Phila. fire school • Charles H. Noss, Ursinus Director, dies suddenlyhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1312/thumbnail.jp