Divergent mating systems and parental conflict as a barrier to hybridization in flowering plants
Sexual reproduction can be thought of as a cooperative process in which two individuals come together to produce a new individual. It can also be viewed as a process in which two parties with differing interests, investment, and background interact to produce a new individual. From the former perspective, parental interests are unified (both wish to produce vigorous offspring), while the latter s...Ring-like formations in drying DNA drops could affect hybridization studies
Coffee drinkers are familiar with the ring-shaped stains that result from spilled drops that have dried, in which the brown stain is not evenly distributed, but instead concentrated at the edge. Now, a team led by Gerard Wong, a professor of materials science and engineering, physics, and bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has found the same "coffee-ring" formation i...Study provides new understanding of spontaneous hybridization
Plant and animal breeders have long used hybridization to transfer useful traits between species. But does the same process happen without human aid? In a new study in the June issue of American Naturalist, Kenneth D. Whitney (Indiana University and Rice University), Rebecca A. Randell (Indiana University), and Loren H. Rieseberg (Indiana University), explore how spontaneous hybridization ?known...