Advances

Advances gives a glimpse of the many significant research projects at the university. Tell us about your discoveries. E-mail: wisweek@news.wisc.edu.

Gene cleans plant’s clock
Plants have never impressed anyone with their intelligence, but they do measure the seasons and tell time. After all, a Christmas cactus blooms only in winter and an evening primrose opens just at dusk.

Now, scientists led by UW–Madison researchers report they have discovered a gene that regulates when plants flower and is critical for keeping a plant’s 24-hour clock running accurately. The researchers published their findings in the Sept. 6 issue of the scientific journal Nature.

The discovery adds a piece to the still-unfinished puzzle of how plants regulate the transition from vegetative growth to flowering, and control their daily rhythmic activity. Mark Doyle, the article’s lead author, says the discovery may aid agriculture, as farmers want to maximize vegetative growth from crops such as alfalfa and spinach, or control the timing of flowering and seed production.

“Our primary interest is in understanding what this new gene does to control flowering, but it may be difficult to separate that from its effects on the clock that determines plant rhythms,” says Doyle, a research assistant in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Marker IDs bentgrass
A new technique to identify types of bentgrass will help golf courses reduce money spent on pesticides and lessen environmental concerns associated with chemical usage, says a plant scientist. The new method will aid breeders as they select material for disease-resistant types of the turfgrass.

Creeping bentgrass, which tolerates low mowing heights, is a popular choice for golf courses, according to Geunhwa Jung, of the College of Agricultural and Life Science’s Plant Pathology Department. Unfortunately, it closely resembles colonial bentgrass, which is taller and considered less desirable on fairways and greens.

But Jung found a region of DNA, called a molecular marker, that is different for both types — like a fingerprint. Knowing the species of plants they collect and if they are hybrids is a very important step for breeders when designing a breeding strategy, he says.

Jung will publish his findings in the November-December issue of the journal Crop Science.

Map drawn from UW work
The September 2002 issue of National Geographic features a map, “A World Transformed,” depicting human impact on the Earth.

The full-color, pull-out map supplement was drawn with data provided by UW–Madison’s Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment, and researchers Jonathan Foley and Navin Ramankutty.

The map depicts the state of the planet in 2002, showing how human activities such as farming and urbanization have altered the surface of the Earth.

The data Ramankutty and Foley gathered was drawn from historical records and satellite imagery, and shows how humans have “planted, grazed, paved or built upon roughly 40 percent of the Earth’s terrestrial surface.” In short, according to the map’s legend, no place on Earth is untouched by human activity.

National Geographic cartographers produced the map as part of the magazine’s coverage of the state of the planet in the context of the Earth Summit in Johannesburg.