Scott's Botanical Links--September 2000

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Past links:

September 29, 2000 - Origin Expository

This Origin Expository is a balanced examination of the different answers to "The Question" -- of origins. The two thinkers are animals, but that is about the only part of this that is child-like about the site. The "Library" contains scientific theories (Big Bang, Origins of life, Darwin theory, Big Bang Chronology, White Hole Theory), beliefs (Old Testament, Zoroastreanism, Buddhism) and myths (Viking's creation myth, Slavonic myth, China, North American Indian, India, Egypt, Greece and Australian Aborigine). A glossary is available by placing the mouse over bolded terms and looking at the cat's dialog box. The treatment of creationism is refreshingly multi-cultural and without value judgments (except for the distinction between "myths" and "beliefs"). This is an interesting site for anyone interested in "The Question." (****) -SR

September 28, 2000 - FAO Document Repository

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has numerous free, authorative, online publications available through the search engine that drives this site. Coverage is eclectic. Some topics seem quite arcane, others much broader, but all seem well researched, with information difficult to obtain elsewhere. There is no browse page, so I suggest using a search term like "agricultural" because many of the premier offerings are in the "FAO Agricultural Services Bulletins." Minor oil crops," "Traditional post-harvest technology of perishable tropical staples," "Improving access to agricultural information" and reports of the 1999 Geneva Symposium on world agricultural production are examples of the unique content at this site. (***1/2) -SR

September 27, 2000 - FAO Digital Image Site

Thousands of images of the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations are available at this site. Driven by a search engine, thumbnail pictures are shown with links to 200 to 300 pixel wide images (still fairly small by modern standards). An index of the site is also available. If you are seeking images of crops being grown around the world, this site is one of the best. Information about the images is displayed on the same page including the photographer, location and a detailed caption. Site by FAO. (***1/2) -SR

September 26, 2000 - International Plant Names Index (IPNI)

International Plant Names Index (IPNI) is a database of the names and associated bibliography of primary sources for plant names. This is a free, dynamic and authoritative resource established by collaborations within the botanical community. Data may be searched by plant names, authors, publications and collectors. Because of incongruencies in the merging of databases, there is considerable editing needed to produce a final database -- lots of work for botanical volunteers. Somehow, I missed this major resource, which I have been asked twice about in the past week. Contributing institutions include The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The Harvard University Herbaria, and the Australian National Herbarium. (****) -SR

September 25, 2000 - Kew Record of Taxonomic Literature

The Kew Record of Taxonomic Literature is a database of references relevant to the taxonomy of flowering plants, gymnosperms and ferns. A relatively rapid search of the literature is conducted, returning bibliographic information. This can be essential to being aware of relevant literation on a given taxon. The search engine is free whether the user is registered or not, but registration gives access to advanced searching facilities and retrieval of a larger number of references. Site by Kew. (****) -SR

September 22, 2000 - The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) Databases

As data and databases abound, there are many options available to analyze nucleic acid and molecular data. TIGR, The Institute for Genomic Research, is a not-for-profit research institute with interests in genomic analysis of viruses, bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes (plant and animal), including humans. This fast site contains databases, gene indices, and software. Among the plants covered at the site are Arabidopsis, rice, maize, tomato, potato and soy. Site by TIGE at Rockville, MD. (****) -SR

September 21, 2000 - UK CropNet

Five UK CropNet databases are combined with mirrors of plantdatabases from the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (ARS) at Cornell University to provide wide covereage of currently available genomic data. Material can be searched, browsed and sequences "BLASTed" to match them to possible homologs. AceBrowser accesses an AceDB Search of many DBs from proteins, papers, and mitochondria to the Arabidopsis chromosomes; WebAce is a slightly different approach. Response from the US is not startlingly fast. Site by UK Crops Bioinformatics Network, a consortium of various UK agencies. (****) -SR

September 20, 2000 - Signal Transduction Knowledge Environment

STKE is devoted to supporting and enhancing understanding of research into signal transduction--a complex signaling process by which physiological states of cells change. As a "knowledge environment" would suggest, there are links to a community of researchers in the field, means to communicate with them, protocols, publications, links for obtaining supplies for experimentation, and numerous explanatory pages. Special interest articles with multimedia of important controlling molecules make this a dynamic and high-powered site. This site is a model for the electronic knowledge environment. Content sponsors include AAAS and HighWire Press, with some impressive financial partners as well. (****) -SR

September 19, 2000 - Woody Plants of Oklahoma: Descriptions and Range Maps

Oklahoma is a diverse state because of the overlap between temperate and warm climates and therefore many woody plant species occur there. This site is an aid to identifying these plants that should also be useful for much of the warmer U.S. Species are listed by common and Latin name, with each entry accompanied by detailed descriptions of plants, with images, habitat and range maps. This site is nice model for an online woody plant guide. Site by F. L. Johnson, Oklahoma Biological Survey and B. W. Hoagland, Oklahoma Natural Heritage Inventory and Department of Geography, University of Oklahoma. (****) -SR

September 18, 2000 - Plant Tissue Culture Information Exchange

This site is a resource for plant tissue culture--a powerful method for cloning plants that has been used in breeding and germplasm preservation. This site provides information about micropropagation, chimeras, protoplasts, somatic embryogenesis, biotechnology, links and a "plug" for Aggie Horticulture. It also provides a forum and access to a community of tissue culturists through listservs. This is a good location for starting to find resources on the web, though some links are old. Much of the content is the personal work of Daniel Lineberger, at Texas A & M, who runs this site. (***1/2) -SR

September 15, 2000 - World Data Centre for Microorganisms (WDCM)

The World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC) among other international organizations maintains this database as an online resource for 500 culture collections from 60 countries. This is an excellent starting point for finding information on sequence & phylogenetic analysis, genome projects, search engines and nomenclature, biodiversity and biosafety, databases of resource banks, publishers, distant learning systems for microorganisms on the Internet. Site supported by WFCC, MIRCEN, CIB, JST, NEDO, CODATA, UNESCO and UNEP. (****) -SR

September 14, 2000 - ARS Genome Database Resource

Currently, the genomes of many plants are being collected from crops (grasses, trees, among others) and model systems, like Arabidopsis. This information is being collected around the world and gathered in repositories like this one, which includes databases on genes, chromosome maps, genetic markers, DNA fingerprints, and what we have learned of plants to date using molecular tools. The former name of the site (Demeter's Genomes) alludes to the Greek god of the harvest. This is a service of the USDA-ARS Center for Bioinformatics and Comparative Genomics. (****) -SR [updated database name 1/20/01]

September 13, 2000 - American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s (AAAAI) Aeroallergen Network

The National Allergy Bureau™ (NAB™) is the section of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s (AAAAI) Aeroallergen Network that is responsible for reporting current pollen and mold spore levels to the media. AAAAI member volunteers provide pollen and mold counts from 65 counting stations throughout North America. Although this provides more information about metropolitan areas, the data should be useful for allergen predictions. The patient/public resource center provides information about allergies for teaching and the media. They sell the "Pollen & Spore Report", so there isn't nearly enough about pollen and spores. Site by AAAAI. (***) -SR

September 12, 2000 - A World of South African Succulents

South Africa contains a wealth of desert and xerophytically-adapted plants, including Lithops (stone plants) and many plants not found elsewhere. The site features virtual tours (including two impressive 360 degree windows to the area), resources (mainly a few images), a forum (currently a fledgling bulletin board) and a number of commercial links (notably, Gariep Plants provides soil-free shipping with US$ prices that include shipping and agricultural certification). This is well packaged and hopefully more content will follow! Site is supported by the Succulent Society of South Africa. (***) -SR

September 11, 2000 - Protocols for Recombinant DNA Isolation, Cloning and Sequencing

The book "DNA Isolation and Sequencing" is part of the Essential Techniques Series, which is now available free online. This collection of methods, edited by Bruce A. Roe, Judy S. Crabtree and Akbar S. Khan, combines the best experiences of a major sequencing lab. In fact, they are part of the team that completed the first human chromosome. Hosted on Bruce Roe's computer, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oklahoma. (****) -SR

September 8, 2000 - Jardin botanique de Montreal

The Montreal Botanical Garden is among the largest and best developed in Canada. This site provides information about the garden, exhibitions, virtual tours, events and things to do. There are also the "Green Pages," which have information about herbs, African violets, artificial lighting and indoor plants, Bonsai, Christmas cactus and epiphytic cacti, edible flowers, indoor seeding: annuals and vegetables, lawn care, cilacs, Lotus, non-hardy bulbs, orchids, terrariums, and vegetable gardens. A nice site, maintained by the City of Montreal. (****) -SR

September 7, 2000 - Cloud Forest Alive

Central American and Mesoamerican cloud forests are the emphasis of this site, with virtual e-tours, webcams, a cloud forest laboratory (complete with appropriate sounds), and a wealth of facts. Epiphytes thrive in the cloud forest, where humidity remains at 100% all day long. Although the site is largely oriented toward animals, the library contains relevant data on plants as well. A site with many activities and an online quiz, there are weekly lessons. Cloud Forest Alive is sponsored by the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD) under the auspices of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor initiative and Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve in Costa Rica. (****) -SR

September 6, 2000 - Transgenic Crops: An Introduction and Resources Guide

The goal of this web site is to provide balanced information and links to other resources on biotechnology and transgenic (genetically modified, or GM) crops. This site provides an overview of the history, techniques, regulation, present & future GM crops, as well as risks, concerns and news updates. Shockwave demonstrations of techniques for producing GM crops are linked to this site and are impressive in quality. The site's authors are plant genetics researchers and teachers at Colorado State University. (****)-SR

September 5, 2000 - Glossary of Biotech Terms

Of the number of biotechnology-related glossaries on the Internet, this is one of the best. Entries can be searched by phrase and browsed by letter, with about 2000 terms provided. Extra information is provided by hyperlinks at the end of each definition. The interrelationship of these terms is a nice model for online glossaries. The book upon which this is based is for sale on the site also. Site by Kimball R. Nill, Technical Issues Director, American Soybean Association (ASA). (****)-SR

September 1, 2000 - NetFactual.Com

How big is the Web??? This site offers insight into how many domains there are, how many web servers, the leading software, the number of domains that have been activated and have content vs. those that do not have browsable content. This site summarizes data that is collected by robots on the web. In fact, I found it through log entries in my computer because it has accessed every registered domain! Currently, there are 21,451,669 domains and the number is increasing at a rate of 380,000 new domains per week! An interesting fact site with a useful Internet glossary and uniquely complete data.

Past, past links (by date):

2006: January

2005: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2003: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2002: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2001: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2000: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

1999: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

1998: January*, February*, March*, April*, May*, June*, July, August, September, October, November, December   (*Leigh's links)

1997: January, February, March, April, May, June, September*, October*, November*, December*    (*Leigh's links)

1996: February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Or search by: Subject Index

http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/bot-linx/sep00.shtml