THE PLANNING, PROGRAMING, BUDGETING SYSTEM AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN THE SERBIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE

The main purpose of introducing the PPBES to the Serbian Ministry of Defense and the Serbian Armed Forces is to provide a rational management of resources and to maintain and build capacity of the Ministry and the Serbian Armed Forces in order to achieve their goals, objectives and missions.Expected results of implementation of the PPBES are reflected in increasing the efficiency and rationalization of the defense planning to a higher level, ensuring compatibility with defense planning and budgeting system of the state and developing a foundation for the effective management of defense resources

Patterns of genetic variation in a prairie wildflower, Silphium integrifolium, suggest a non-prairie origin and locally adaptive variation

PREMISE: Understanding the relationship between genetic structure and geography provides information about a species’ history and can be used for breeding and conservation goals. The North American prairie is interesting because of its recent origin and subsequent fragmentation. Silphium integrifolium, an iconic perennial American prairie wildflower, is targeted for domestication, having undergone a few generations of improvement. We present the first application of population genetic data in this species to address the following goals: (1) improve breeding by characterizing genetic structure and (2) identify the species geographic origin and potential targets and drivers of selection during range expansion. METHODS: We developed a reference transcriptome as a genotyping reference for samples from throughout the species range. Population genetic analyses were used to describe patterns of genetic variation, and demographic modeling was used to characterize potential processes that shaped variation. Outlier scans for selection and associations with environmental variables were used to identify loci linked to putative targets and drivers of selection. RESULTS: Genetic variation partitioned samples into three geographic clusters. Patterns of variation and demographic modeling suggest that the species origin is in the American Southeast. Breeding program accessions are from the region with lowest observed genetic variation. CONCLUSIONS: This prairie species did not originate within the prairie. Breeding may be improved by including accessions from outside of the germplasm founding region. The geographic structuring and the identified targets and drivers of adaptation can guide collecting efforts toward populations with beneficial agronomic traits

Effective Population Size, Gene Flow, and Species Status in a Narrow Endemic Sunflower, Helianthus neglectus, Compared to Its Widespread Sister Species, H. petiolaris

Species delimitation has long been a difficult and controversial process, and different operational criteria often lead to different results. In particular, investigators using phenotypic vs. molecular data to delineate species may recognize different boundaries, especially if morphologically or ecologically differentiated populations have only recently diverged. Here we examine the genetic relationship between the widespread sunflower species Helianthus petiolaris and its narrowly distributed sand dune endemic sister species H. neglectus using sequence data from nine nuclear loci. The two species were initially described as distinct based on a number of minor morphological differences, somewhat different ecological tolerances, and at least one chromosomal rearrangement distinguishing them; but detailed molecular data has not been available until now. We find that, consistent with previous work, H. petiolaris is exceptionally genetically diverse. Surprisingly, H. neglectus harbors very similar levels of genetic diversity (average diversity across loci is actually slightly higher in H. neglectus). It is extremely unlikely that such a geographically restricted species could maintain these levels of genetic variation in isolation. In addition, the two species show very little evidence of any genetic divergence, and estimates of interspecific gene flow are comparable to gene flow estimates among regions within H. petiolaris. These results indicate that H. petiolaris and H. neglectus likely do not represent two distinct, isolated gene pools; H. neglectus is probably more accurately thought of as a geographically restricted, morphologically and ecologically distinct subspecies of H. petiolaris rather than a separate species

Benefits of gene flow are mediated by individual variability in self-compatibility in small isolated populations of an endemic plant species

Partial funding for Open Access provided by the UMD Libraries' Open Access Publishing Fund.Many rare and endemic species experience increased rates of self-fertilization and mating among close relatives as a consequence of existing in small populations within isolated habitat patches. Variability in self-compatibility among individuals within populations may reflect adaptation to local demography and genetic architecture, inbreeding, or drift. We use experimental hand-pollinations under natural field conditions to assess the effects of gene flow in 21 populations of the central Appalachian endemic Trifolium virginicum that varied in population size and degree of isolation. We quantified the effects of distance from pollen source on pollination success and fruit set. Rates of self-compatibility varied dramatically among maternal plants, ranging from 0% to 100%. This variation was unrelated to population size or degree of isolation. Nearly continuous variation in the success of selfing and near-cross-matings via hand pollination suggests that T. virginicum expresses pseudo-self- fertility, whereby plants carrying the same S-allele mate successfully by altering the self-incompatibility reaction. However, outcrossing among populations produced significantly higher fruit set than within populations, an indication of drift load. These results are consistent with strong selection acting to break down self-incompatibility in these small populations and/or early-acting inbreeding depression expressed upon selfing

Guerre civile et changement de structure ethnique en ex-Yougoslavie

Les flux migratoires engendrés par la guerre civile, les nettoyages ethniques et la création d'Etats indépendants issus de Fex-Yougoslavie ont considérablement aggravé la situation et modifié le statut de certains groupes de populations. La comparaison des données statistiques de ces quinze dernières années montre que les «équilibres ethniques» d'antan sont aujourd'hui profondément bouleversés au point que l'on peut s'interroger quant à l'avenir des relations internationales dans les Balkans.Raduski Nada. Guerre civile et changement de structure ethnique en ex-Yougoslavie. In: Hommes et Migrations, n°1205, Janvier-février 1997. Migrants, réfugiés, Tsiganes, d’Est en Ouest. pp. 62-73

BASIC TENDENCIES AND PROBLEMS IN DEMOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURAL POPULATION OF SERBIA

The end-result of the complex and contradictory processes taking place in the agriculture throughout the period since the Second World War is depopulation and persistent crisis in agriculture. Mass transfer of rural population to cities and transition from agricultural to non-agricultural activities has had a series of negative demographic, economic, sociological, cultural and others consequences. The decline in agricultural population (from 66.0% in 1953. to 10.9% in 2002.) is one of the most significant change in the social and economic structure of population in Serbia. Due to the characteristic migration patterns by age and sex, they have had a substantial impact on the change in age-sex structure of agricultural population (increasing share of women and old generations). Feminization and senilization of village practically left them without labor force, while agricultural became a neglected activity

Self-incompatibility and Biosystematics in the Wild Chilean Tomato Group (Solanum sect. Lycopersicum)

Understanding the forces that influence the patterns of plant reproduction is a shared con- cern of plant evolutionary biology. Self-incompatibility (SI), the molecular rejection of self- pollen by an otherwise fertile hermaphroditic plant, is a widespread mechanism that promotes outcrossing (de Nettancourt, 1977). SI is found in over 100 plant families (Igic et al., 2008). The descriptions of the patterns of phylogenetic distribution of SI, as well as its strength in natural populations, and geographic distribution, have lead many to proclaim the importance of SI in the development and maintenance of plant species diversity (Whitehouse, 1950; Stebbins, 1957; Bateman, 1952). The transition from SI to self-compatibility (SC) in plant lineages is one of the most common pathways in plant evolution (Stebbins, 1974). The loss of enforced outcrossing leads to a reduction of genetic diversity and increased linkage disequilibrium within species. This has lead many to conclude that habitual self-fertilization is an evolutionary dead- end (Stebbins, 1957; Stebbins, 1974; Takebayashi and Morrell, 2001; Goldberg et al., 2010). Despite longstanding interest in patterns of SI occurrence and its maintenance and loss, rel- atively few empirical details are known about the evolution of SI and its relationship with realized mating patterns in natural populations. This thesis provides results from three research projects that relate to SI. First, the largest collection of reports of the strength of SI across flowering plants and its relationship with outcrossing rate are discussed. Second, variation in the strength of SI is quantified across populations of a wild tomato species. Results from controlled crosses to investigate the genetic basis of variation in SI and the effect of SI variation on outcrossing rate are reported. Lastly, results from an integrative biosystematic study, motivated by observed unique relationships between alleles involved in SI, suggest that species are not properly described in a group of wild tomatoes. The distribution of morphological and genetic variation and patterns of reproductive isolation across populations are provided as evidence of multiple species within a currently described single species. Together, the chapters synthesize novel insights into the evolution of a common plant breeding system

Bee Pantaloons

Pollination biology of the wild relatives of cultivated tomatoes (an eminently important group) is largely unstudied in their native habitats. In the course of my thesis research, our expedition documented floral visitors of a wild species of Chilean tomato, Solanum chilense. These plants are found growing in deep canyons around the Andean foothills at the margins of the hyper-arid Atacama desert. The principal pollinators are females of a solitary bee species, Centris buchholtzi. The bees have specialized structures--which closely resemble pantaloons--for carrying tomato pollen used in provisioning their brood. The structures, termed "scopae," are clearly displayed here in the act of grooming. This is one of few successful photographs, among hundreds taken in burst mode with manual focusing, highlighting the difficulties of working with fast-flying insects under natural conditions. This image was captured 25 km east of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, near the Bolivia-Argentina-Chile tri-border

Data from: The expression of self-incompatibility in angiosperms is bimodal

Self-incompatibility is expressed by nearly one half of all angiosperms. A large proportion of the remaining species are self-compatible, and they either outcross using various contrivances or self-fertilize to some extent. Because of the common occurrence of populations and individuals with intermediate levels of self-incompatibility, categorization of the expression of self-incompatibility as an approximately binary trait has become controversial. We collect a widely reported index (ISI) used to asses the strength and variation of self-incompatibility from over 1200 angiosperm taxa. Its distribution is bimodal and positively associated with outcrossing rate, albeit with a weak relationship within self-compatible taxa. A substantial fraction of species have intermediate mean values of ISI. Their occurrence can be caused by segregating ephemeral self-compatible mutations, averaging artifacts, and experimental biases, in addition to the often invoked stabilizing selection acting on the expression of self-incompatibility. Selection may also generally favor taxa with high ISI values through increased lineage birth and death rates, and it may counter lower-level selection advantages within taxa expressing intermediate and low values of ISI. Such a null hypothesis is nearly universally overlooked, despite the fact that it could adequately explain the observed distribution of mating and breeding systems

ISI.dryad

ISI.drya