The study of inter-specific relationships of Bromus genus based on SCoT and ISSR molecular markers.

The genus of Bromus is one of the most important collection of rangeland plants, which are distributed in a wide range of natural areas of Iran. Interspecific relationships were evaluated in 90 accessions of 18 Bromus species based on 15 ISSR and 15 SCoT primers. SCoT markers separated the accessions better than ISSR marker. In addition, there was a high interspecific diversity between surveying germplasm. The sections of Bromus genus completely separated based on DNA molecular markers. SCoT markers could separate the accessions in each species. The primers of SC5 and SC35 from SCoT marker and UBC861, UBC857 and UBC844 primers from ISSR marker were identified as the best primers in revealing of genetic diversity between accessions. The sections of Ceratochloa, Genea, Pnigma and Bromus were monophyletic and were placed in one cluster. The section Bromus had a direct relationship with section Genea. In other words, section Ceratochloa has a direct relationship with Pnigma. B. tectorum and B. sericeus. B. sterilis had the most distance with other species in section Genea. B. squarrosus and B. japonicus had the most similarity and B. briziformis with B. danthoniae and B. scoparius with B. rechingeri had a moderate relationship in section Bromus. B. tomentosus and B. persicus had the highest similarity and B. riparius with B. biebersteinii and B. tomentellus with B. inermis had a moderate similarity in section Pnigma.

Native fungal endophytes suppress an exotic dominant and increase plant diversity over small and large spatial scales.

Understanding community dynamics and processes, such as the factors that generate and maintain biodiversity, drive succession, and affect invasion susceptibility, is a central goal in ecology and evolution. While most studies of how species interactions affect communities have focused on highly visible macroorganisms, we show that mutualistic microfungal endophytes have community-level effects across their host plant's range and provide the first example of fungal endophytes enhancing plant diversity. A three-year field study in which we experimentally manipulated endophyte abundance in a native Californian grass showed that despite their minute biomass, endophytes dramatically increased plant community diversity (~110% greater increase with endophytes) by suppressing a dominant invasive grass, Bromus diandrus. This effect was also detectable, but smaller, across five additional common gardens spanning ecologically diverse habitats, different climates, and > 400 km of the host grass' range as well as at microspatial scales within gardens. Our study illustrates that mutualistic microbes, while often hidden players, can have unexpectedly large ecological impacts across a wide range of habitats and scales and may be important for promoting diverse communities and ecosystems.

Systematic study of Bromus danthoniae (Poaceae) native to Iran.

In this study different varieties of Bromus danthoniae in Iran are considered. Qualitative and quantitative morphological characters were evaluated for 32 accessions. Epidermal features were also studied for these accessions. The most variable morphological characters in the species delimitation were also determined. The varieties show significant variations in features as Awn status, Spike and spikelet length, Nerve number of Upper Glume, Lemma, Palea and Caryopsis length. Diagnostic features based on studied characters are identified and the varieties relationships are discussed.

Optimal choice of dairy forages in eastern Australia.

Although several forage species such as perennial ryegrass are predominant, there is a wide range of forage species that could be grown in subtropical and temperate regions in Australia as dairy pastures. These species have differing seasonal patterns of growth, nutrient quality, and water-use efficiency, as demonstrated in a large experiment evaluating over 30 species at the University of Sydney (Camden, New South Wales, Australia). Some species can be grazed, whereas others require mechanical harvesting, which incurs a further cost. Previous comparisons of species that relied on yield of dry matter per unit of some input (typically land or water) did not simultaneously take into account the season in which forage is produced, or other factors related to the costs of production and delivery to the cows. To effectively compare the profitability of individual species, or combinations of species, requires the use of a whole-farm, multiperiod model. Linear programming was used to find the most profitable mix of forage species for an irrigated dairy farm in a warm temperate irrigation region of New South Wales, Australia. It was concluded that for a typical farmer facing the prevailing milk and purchased feed prices with average milk production per cow, the most profitable mix of species would include a large proportion of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and prairie grass (Bromus willdenowii). The result was robust to changes in seasonal milk pricing and a move from year-round to a more seasonal calving pattern.

Bromus species in winter wheat-population dynamics and competitiveness.

The infestation of Bromus species in small grains, especially in winter cereals has increased over recent years. In some areas winter wheat growers consider Bromus spp. as their worst grass weed. Besides yield reduction, Bromus spp. cause lodging and complication of harvest. In Germany the two most dominant species are Bromus sterilis (L.) and Bromus secalinus (L.). In order to develop control strategies the population dynamics of the weeds were investigated. Based on the results a deterministic mathematical model using differential and algebraic equations was used to estimate changes in the population of the two Bromus species.