From rthompso from umn.edu Fri Dec 5 14:33:57 2008 From: rthompso from umn.edu (rthompso@umn.edu) Date: Fri Dec 5 18:14:45 2008 Subject: [Maize] Ames 21890 Message-ID: My name is Robert Thompson. I have been working with teosinte samples, extracting phytoliths from teosinte fruitcases. I have been successful in building a database of known samples (100 phytoliths from each sample are described in detail). I have been successful in working backwards from blind samples to the teosintes from which they originated. I recently did a blind test on an assemblage of phytoliths which statistically identified as Zea mays parviglumis. However, I was informed that the sample from which I extracted the phytoliths was Ames 21890, identified as Zea diploperrenis. I repeated the process and again the phytolith assemblage was typical of that from Zea mays parviglumis. I then decided to try to increase my sample of Zea d. I discovered that Ames 21890 was given me by Mary Eubanks when I was building my database, but I had not run it. When I created phytolith assemblages from that sample I found that they matched the results of the two blind tests, and rather than being similar to two other Zea d samples Ames 21890 produced an assemblage identical to those from Zea mays parviglumis. Has anyone else worked with that particular accession, and if so did it appear to be Zea d or Zea mays parviglumis, as I suspect? I would ask for material from that accession from North Central, but the accession has been removed from availability. If anyone has 5 or 6 fruitcases left from that accession, I would like to see if it again appears to be parviglumis, or if there may have been some human error involved. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help with this. Bob Thompson Archaeobiology Lab Anthropology Department University of Minnesota 395 Hubert H. Humphrey Hall 319 S. 19th Street Minneapolis, MN 55455 From kq0010 from ymail.com Sun Dec 14 15:42:42 2008 From: kq0010 from ymail.com (Jason Karl) Date: Sun Dec 14 15:43:54 2008 Subject: [Maize] Denny Steel contact info? Message-ID: Might anyone know the whereabouts of Denny Steel, maize seed co. veteran, who was once located near Minneapolis? Unfortunately, I can't find the right Denny. Thanks. Jason Karl From chui from sun.ac.za Mon Dec 22 09:42:04 2008 From: chui from sun.ac.za (Hui, C. ) Date: Mon Dec 22 10:30:43 2008 Subject: [Maize] Post-Doctoral Position: Stellenbosch University Message-ID: POST-DOCTORAL POSITION: Large-Scale Ecosystem Functioning Understanding the effects of climate change and land use on ecosystem functioning is a challenging question addressed by the team of environmental and biological scientists on the BIOTA-AFRICA project (www.biota-africa.org). As part of the BIOTA-Southern Africa (Phase III) project, this post-doctoral fellowship will entail analyzing the long-term data collated over the past 8 years from 35 observatories and 800 sub-sites across the southern African transect (from Cape Point, South Africa, to Caprivi, Namibia). Specific questions involved in the project include (1) relationships between abiotic factors (e.g. soil nutrient content and habitat heterogeneity) with ecosystem structure and community composition (e.g. woody cover and species turnover); (2) the influence of land use on soil respiration and therefore ecosystem productivity; (3) spatial and scaling patterns of species and soil type distributions; (4) spatiotemporal modelling of the plant-soil interactions under the current climate change regime. Preference will be given to candidates with strong skills in large-scale data analysis using GIS and statistical multivariate methods. The candidates will also be able to publish the output in peer-reviewed journals. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is offering a commencing fellowship of an amount of R120,000 for 2009, and the position will be based in Stellenbosch University, South Africa. In addition to the fellowship, the successful candidate will also be provided with a laptop computer and other research equipment. Subsistence and transport costs during research expeditions will be covered. The post-doc will work under the supervision of Dr. Cang Hui (DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology) and Dr. Anthony J. Mills (Department of Soil Science). A detailed CV, project outline (one-page maximum) and one/two publication reprints, together with contact details of two references, should be sent by email to chui@sun.ac.za and mills@sun.ac.za by the end of February 2009. The candidate should be able to start in the first quarter of 2009. http://www.biota-africa.org http://academic.sun.ac.za/cib/team/staff/cang/canghui.htm http://academic.sun.ac.za/soil/mills/AMills.html From ecker from salk.edu Tue Dec 23 22:25:44 2008 From: ecker from salk.edu (Joseph R. Ecker) Date: Wed Dec 24 10:15:21 2008 Subject: [Maize] The National Plant Genome Initiative at Ten Years: A Community Workshop Message-ID: <3B094310-49A5-46D8-88B2-905AE6A13A35@salk.edu> Dear Colleagues, I would like to draw your attention to a Wiki site http://npgi-workshop.wetpaint.com/?mail=1128 that describes a summary of a recent workshop entitled: "The National Plant Genome Initiative at Ten Years: A Community Workshop" This site contains information (agenda, Rapporteur's summaries, session/Q&A notes, list of meeting participants and a meeting summary) related to the recent National Plant Genome Initiative Workshop held at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Conference Center of the National Academies in Irvine California on August 26-28, 2008. The purpose of the meeting was to bring a broad group of stakeholders together to discuss the outcomes of the first ten years of the US National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI) as well as the challenges and opportunities ahead for the next five to ten years. The NPGI started in 1998 and is managed by the Interagency Working Group on Plant Genomes (IWG-PG). The IWG-PG is currently in the process of developing a new five-year plan using a variety of inputs, including the outcomes of this workshop. I hope that you find the information provided useful. Happy Holidays Joe Ecker Joseph R. Ecker Professor, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies Plant Biology/Genomic Analysis Laboratories 10010 North Torrey Pines Road La Jolla, CA 92037 Phone (858) 453-4100 x1752 FAX (858) 558-6379 Web addresses: http://www.salk.edu http://signal.salk.edu http://pbio.salk.edu/pbioe/finaleckerhomepage.html http://www.salk.edu/faculty/ecker.html Administrative Assistant: Nancy Benson Phone (858) 453-4100 x1106 Fax (858) 558-6379 email: nbenson@salk.edu