Flavonoid glycosides of Lotus corniculatus (leguminosae)

Two-dimensional TLC of stems and leaves of Lotus corniculatus revealed the presence of ca 25 flavonoid glycosides. Among these, 14 were identified; 10 are new for this species. This pattern is qualitatively the same among different populations of this plant but the relative amounts of mono- and diglycosides varies considerably from one population to another.     

DNA profile of a sixteenth century western North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)

Low levels of genetic variability identified within the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), when compared to the Southern right whale (E. australis) and other large whales, have been suggested to result from population reductions due to whaling. Previous genetic analysis of 218 whale bones from sixteenth century Basque whaling sites in the western North Atlantic revealed only a single right whale bone. We determined the genotypes of 27 microsatellite loci using DNA isolated from this bone. All alleles from the historic specimen occur in the extant western North Atlantic population and both the probability of identity of the specimen and the number of heterozygous loci are similar to that in the extant population. Assessments of how genetically different the historical population might have been suggest genetic characteristics have not changed substantially over four centuries of whaling.     

Harleyodendron,a new genus of leguminosae (Swartzieae)

A monotypic new genus,Harleyodendron, is described from the relict coastal rainforest of eastern Brazil. Gross morphology, wood and leaf anatomy, and pollen morphology are considered.     

The genus anemia (Schizaeaceae) in Mexico

The fern genusAnemia is represented in Mexico by 21 species and hybrids, of which five are here described as new:A. familiaris, A. multiplex. A. ×paraphyllitidis. A.×recondita andA. semihirsuta. Hybridization is frequent, resulting in both sterile and fertile hybrids, and has probably led to much recent speciation in the genus, including presumably sexual polyploids up to possibly the tetrakaidecaploid level.     

Somatic embryogenesis from mesophyll protoplasts of Trigonella corniculata (leguminosae)

Mesophyll protoplasts isolated enzymatically from Trigonella corniculata divided to form callus, with a plating efficiency of 49% in Kao (1977) medium. Protoplast-derived tissues formed somatic embryoids at high frequency on MS medium with 2.0 mg L^–7 NAA and 0.5 mg L^–7 BAP. Embryoids developed into plants on MS medium lacking hormones.Abbreviations BAP 6-benzylaminopurine - 2,4-D 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid - IAA 3-indoleacetic acid - MES 2-(N-morpholine) ethanesulphonic acid - NAA -naphthaleneacetic acid On leave from Genetics Institute, Academia Sinica, Beijing, China     

Domestication of mawa millet (Echinochloa colona)

Two species of Echinochloa are grown as cereals. Echinochloa crusgalli is native to temperate Eurasia and was domesticated in Japan some 4,000 yr ago. Echinochloa colona is widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World. It was domesticated in India. Echinochloa colona is morphologically allied to E. crusgalli, but hybrids between them are sterile. Echinochloa colona differs consistently from E. crusgalli in having smaller spikelets with membran-aceous rather than chartaceous glumes. Hybrids between wild and cultivated taxa of E. colona and between those of E. crusgalli are fertile. Cultivated E. colona is variable. It is grown as a cereal across India, Kashmir and Sikkim. Four morphological races are recognized, although these do not have geographical, ecological or ethnological unity. Race laxa is confined to Sikkim where races robusta, intermedia and stolonifera are also grown. In India, races robusta, intermedia and stolonifera are often grown as mixtures, and Echinochloa is sometimes grown as a mixture with other cereals, particularly Setaria italica (foxtail millet) or Eleusine coracana (finger millet). The species is planted on poor soil, and some cultivars mature in less than 2 mo. They hold considerable promise as cereals for the semiarid tropics.     

Physical stature of men in eighteenth century Mexico: Evidence from Puebla

We present a first glimpse of the mean height of men in eighteenth century Mexico based on evidence from the Revillagigedo Census of 1791–1792. Mexican men were shorter than those of Europe and North America. For example, contemporary French men were about 165 cm and US men were about 174 cm; in contrast, Mexican men were about 162 cm. Men of higher income were taller than those in the middle and lower income strata. Mestizos (a mix of whites and Indians) were shorter than the rest of the recruits belonging to other ethnic categories.     

The institutionalization of biology in Mexico in the early 20th century: the conflict between Alfonso Luis Herrera (1865-1942) and Isaac Ochoterena (1885-1950)

The aim of this work is to evaluate the roleplayed by Alfonso Luis Herrera and IsaacOchoterena in the institutionalization ofacademic biology in Mexico in the early 20thcentury. As biology became institutionalized inMexico, Herrera's basic approach to biology wasdisplaced by Isaac Ochoterena's professionalgoals due to the prevailing politicalconditions at the end of 1929. Theconflict arose from two different conceptionsof biology, because Herrera and Ochoterena haddifferent discourses that were incommensurable,not only linguistically speaking, but alsosocioprofessionally. They had different linksto influential groups related to education,having distinct political and socioprofessionalinterests. The conflict between Herrreraand Ochoterena determined the way in whichprofessional biology education has developed inMexico, as well as the advancement in specificresearch subjects and the neglect of others.     

Size variation ofAcacia caven (leguminosae) pods along a climatic gradient in Chile

A southward tendency of increment in pod-length is shown for 11 populations ofAcacia caven (Mol.) Hook et Arn. localized along a climatic gradient of increasing annual rainfall in Chile. This fact would suggest thatA. caven populations occurring in the south are in better conditions for reproduction than northern populations, since pod-length is related to the amount of seeds inside the pods. The possible bearing of this southward tendency of increasing seed production upon the expansion ofA. caven toward the more humid zones in southern Chile is discussed.     

Precipitation of calcium, magnesium, strontium and barium in tissues of four acacia species (leguminosae: mimosoideae)

Precipitation of calcium in plants is common. There are abundant studies on the uptake and content of magnesium, strontium and barium, which have similar chemical properties to calcium, in comparison with those of calcium in plants, but studies on co-precipitation of these elements with calcium in plants are rare. In this study, we compared morphologies, distributional patterns, and elemental compositions of crystals in tissues of four Acacia species grown in the field as well as in the glasshouse. A comparison was also made of field-grown plants and glasshouse-grown plants, and of phyllodes of different ages for each species. Crystals of various morphologies and distributional patterns were observed in the four Acacia species studied. Magnesium, strontium and barium were precipitated together with calcium, mainly in phyllodes of the four Acacia species, and sometimes in branchlets and primary roots. These elements were most likely precipitated in forms of oxalate and sulfate in various tissues, including epidermis, mesophyll, parenchyma, sclerenchyma (fibre cells), pith, pith ray and cortex. In most cases, precipitation of calcium, magnesium, strontium and barium was biologically induced, and elements precipitated differed between soil types, plant species, and tissues within an individual plant; the precipitation was also related to tissue age. Formation of crystals containing these elements might play a role in regulating and detoxifying these elements in plants, and protecting the plants against herbivory.     

The biological standard of living in 19th century Mexico and in the American West

During the mid-19th century, the United States acquired Texas and large parts of Mexican territory with the vast Mexican-born population. This paper considers the biological standard of living of the part of this population that was incarcerated in American prisons. We use their physical stature as a proxy for their biological welfare. These data confirm earlier results which showed that adult heights tended to stagnate in Mexico during the late-19th century despite considerable social and political turmoil. While there is some evidence of a decline in height among youth, the decline is slight (<1 cm). As in other 19th century samples, farmers were the tallest. Americans were taller than Mexican prisoners by about 2 cm.     

The Distribution and Ecological Preferences of Boophilus microplus (Acari: Ixodidae) in Mexico

This paper focuses on the distribution of the cattle tick, Boophilus microplus, in Mexico. The study is aimed to understand the climate factors responsible of the recorded distribution that can statistically define the suitable habitat for the tick. Sites where the tick is recorded display significantly higher values of some climate variables in comparison with those where the tick is absent, namely mean monthly temperature (T) and atmospheric water vapour (W), yearly accumulated T, W and rainfall (R) (p < 0.001 for every variable), with smaller significance for the yearly sum of T/R and T/W ratios (p < 0.05). Interestingly, variables involving the Normalized Derived Vegetation Index (NDVI) do not shown statistical differences between the sites where the tick is present or absent. The best set of habitat-defining variables was integrated into a framework to assess the habitat suitability for the tick in Mexico. We used a point-to-point similarity metric to assign a classification value to a candidate site based on the proximity in environmental space of the most similar record site. A combination of 7 yearly and monthly values for temperature, rainfall and water vapour variables captured the tick distribution. Model performance, as tested with a separate set of distribution tests and defined by the AUC value, was 0.89. Causes of errors as detected with a visual comparison of both known and predicted distribution of the tick may be attributed to the use of a medium resolution, unable to capture locally important features of tick distribution, and to incomplete collections in some parts of the country.     

Paper chromatographic survey of anthocyanins in leguminosae

Flower anthocyanins of 22 leguminous species, of which 20 species belong to the subfamily Faboideae, were examined. In the present study, 21 kinds of anthocyanin were found and their distribution pattern in 22 species was discussed.Albizia julibrissin belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae contained only cyanidin 3-glucoside, which was quite different from the pigment constitutents in other species. Anthocyanins ofCercis chinensis belonging to the subfamily Caesalpinioideae were similar to those of species of the subfamily Faboideae. Malvidin glycoside was contained as a main pigment in 14 species examined. Malvidin and petunidin glycosides were most frequent and occurred in 20 legumes. Delphinidin glycoside, cyanidin glycoside and peonidin glycoside were present in descending order.