The sexual reproductive phase in plants might be particularly vulnerable to the effects of
global warming. The direct effect of temperature changes on the reproductive process has …

How barriers to gene flow arise and are maintained are key questions in evolutionary
biology. Speciation research has mainly focused on barriers that occur either before mating …

Even before the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species, the perception of evolutionary
change has been a tree-like pattern of diversification-with divergent branches spreading …

The study of genetic exchange resulting from natural hybridization, horizontal gene transfer,
and viral recombination has long been marked by controversy between researchers holding …

Extensive sharing of chloroplast haplotypes among the silver birch, Betula pendula Roth.,
the downy birch, B. pubescens Ehrh., and the dwarf birch, B. nana L., was discovered using …

We report on the in situ characterization of tree pollen molecular composition based on
Raman spectroscopy. Different from purification-based analysis, the nondestructive …

Temperate woody perennials survive to low temperatures in winter entering a dormant
stage. Dormancy is not just a survival strategy, since chilling accumulation is required for …

Unreduced gametes, which have the somatic (2n) chromosome number, are an important
precursor to polyploid formation and apomixis. The product of irregularities in meiosis, 2n …

Reinforcement, a process whereby natural selection strengthens prezygotic isolation
between sympatric taxa, has gained increasing attention from evolutionary biologists over …

Abstract Background and Aims In temperate woody perennials, flower bud development is
halted during the winter, when the buds enter dormancy. This dormant period is a …