tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post5694853292034681328..comments2024-03-27T07:35:21.832-07:00Comments on Plants are the Strangest People: SUPERWEEDS!mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-81246580249364055772010-08-13T18:59:29.356-07:002010-08-13T18:59:29.356-07:00Oh my GOD, thank you so much for writing this, bec...Oh my GOD, thank you so much for writing this, because it's the rant have been waiting for since I first studied transposons in college, and it's a brilliant piece of GMO debunking. I could put pieces of this together, but not the whole thing. <br /><br />And, man, yeah, cry my a river if people find reasons to stop using freaking glyphosphate. That's strong stuff. It has its Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-33071550879124594072010-08-12T17:11:16.779-07:002010-08-12T17:11:16.779-07:00I would like to request that crabgrass be added to...I would like to request that crabgrass be added to the list of SUPERWEEDS! please.Tigerdawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14820351466005300465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-86368968015309512862010-08-11T21:12:03.462-07:002010-08-11T21:12:03.462-07:00Luebella:
Well, but don't forget, we kicked s...Luebella:<br /><br />Well, but don't forget, we kicked smallpox's ass. <br /><br />And wooly mammoths. <br /><br />And passenger pigeons.<br /><br />And thylacines.<br /><br />And dodos.<br /><br />And Chinese river dolphins. <br /><br />And aurochs.<br /><br />The list goes on. <br /><br />True, nature may get us back even worse, but it's self-defense: nature started this fight. See:mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-31913965402778683732010-08-11T20:46:37.261-07:002010-08-11T20:46:37.261-07:00So if Monsato is so sue-happy that they've ban...So if Monsato is so sue-happy that they've bankrupted and otherwise ruined many a farmer's life over their so-called 'patent infringements', then when do Bayer and Monsato start suing the $%^# out of eachother?Jordan in Oregonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04290439051558323819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-90253850177494092732010-08-11T19:32:09.613-07:002010-08-11T19:32:09.613-07:00Like I always say... Nature wins...
Every time.
...Like I always say... Nature wins...<br /><br />Every time.<br /><br />When are we dumb humans ever going to learn???Luebellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13890040125818515962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-32851873826636873372010-08-11T16:58:31.925-07:002010-08-11T16:58:31.925-07:00Brilliant post.Brilliant post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-91881102142730652642010-08-11T16:05:53.542-07:002010-08-11T16:05:53.542-07:00@Paul
Diploids have two copies of each chromosome...@Paul<br /><br />Diploids have two copies of each chromosome and pass one copy of each chromosome on to their offspring. Tetraploids have four copies of each chromosome and pass two copies along to their offspring. So by definition, the offspring of a mating between a diploid and a tetraploid should be triploid (3 copies of every chromosome). Triploids are, generally speaking, sterile, because Jameshttp://www.jamesandthegiantcorn.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-53435412050578304452010-08-11T15:57:39.557-07:002010-08-11T15:57:39.557-07:00Pat:
I'd be willing to let kudzu, Japanese kn...Pat:<br /><br />I'd be willing to let kudzu, Japanese knotweed, water hyacinth, <i>Caulerpa taxifolia</i>, etc. be called superweeds. I don't remember ever seeing the word used for any natural species, though; it's always the hypothetical offspring of wild plants and GMO plants.<br /><br />Also, I couldn't make it entirely through the papers (bit of a headache), but the <i>mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-10875889126174428132010-08-11T15:26:20.378-07:002010-08-11T15:26:20.378-07:00"not sure I understand her point about allote..."not sure I understand her point about allotetraploidy making it more likely canola will produce fertile hybrids with other species."<br /><br />That's a given that a diploid and a tetraploid will produce (sterile) triploids? I didn't realize there were triploid brassicae at all. I know random 'accidents' happen all the time, but as a species, I never knew such a thingPaulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17083803851861243093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-47252513210429639392010-08-11T14:20:20.469-07:002010-08-11T14:20:20.469-07:00Brassicas are sluts. They will even produce non-st...Brassicas are sluts. They will even produce non-sterile hybrids with other genera with different numbers of chromosomes. Full paper here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2707916/<br /><br />I just need to go and sit somewhere quiet and dark while my brain readjusts its connections.Patnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-22121200991622291992010-08-11T14:03:09.147-07:002010-08-11T14:03:09.147-07:00I think "feral" was the word for which y...I think "feral" was the word for which you were groping, rather than "wild".<br /><br />Brassica rapa has weedy varieties itself. We certainly have some very similar mustardy weeds in the UK. http://www.springerlink.com/content/g25r31667v477287/<br /><br />Don't Kudzu and Japanese Knotweed count as superweeds?<br /><br />Thanks for reminding me that I didn't finish Patnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-73328776181557588432010-08-11T13:36:54.306-07:002010-08-11T13:36:54.306-07:00@Diane I try to laugh evilly in lab at least once ...@Diane I try to laugh evilly in lab at least once per day. <br /><br />I knew Brassica napus was an allotetraploid of B. rapa and B. oleracea* but I'm not sure I understand her point about allotetraploidy making it more likely canola will produce fertile hybrids with other species. If anything hybridizing a tetraploid with a diploid relative should produce completely sterile triploids in the Jameshttp://www.jamesandthegiantcorn.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-32268797386723851462010-08-11T13:03:33.453-07:002010-08-11T13:03:33.453-07:00This was an excellent post, and though you specifi...This was an excellent post, and though you specifically told me what two things to take away from this, all I can thing of is "SUPERWEEDS!" What a silly name.Steve Asbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00095474295719758914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-45319677036114113342010-08-11T10:17:37.092-07:002010-08-11T10:17:37.092-07:00Diane:
A lot of guys ignore the laugh, and that&#...Diane:<br /><br />A lot of guys ignore the laugh, and that's about [having] standards. I mean, if you're going to get into the Evil League of Evil, you have to have a memorable laugh. (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0096593/quotes" rel="nofollow">ref.</a>)<br /><br />I hope I didn't give the impression that a <i>scientist</i> was responsible for "<b>SUPERWEEDS!</b>"mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-83504780574535451562010-08-11T09:39:29.074-07:002010-08-11T09:39:29.074-07:00Agreed on the FUD associated with Evil Scientists ...Agreed on the FUD associated with Evil Scientists And Their Frankengenes. As an Evil Scientist, I like to think we're trying to good things, e.g. feed the world, learn how plants work, etc. I rarely rub my hands together and say "Mwah-ha-ha" in the lab. Rarely, but not never. Because it's fun.<br /><br />One point though, regarding hybridization: I read the abstract for theDianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12589473046882217457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-53450450552894114102010-08-11T08:58:20.637-07:002010-08-11T08:58:20.637-07:00Great piece. Should the organics people be happy g...Great piece. Should the organics people be happy glyphosate resistance is getting around -- so evil conventional farmers wont use it any more?<br />By the by -- I do find some GM gene escape concerning. I think if the Bt gene got into wild teosinte populations, for example, it could have serious ecological repricusions. But round-up ready? Who cares.Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14433418903218452909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-30977154710115273702010-08-11T08:55:30.560-07:002010-08-11T08:55:30.560-07:00Celtic Rose-
All I did on my blog was post an exce...Celtic Rose-<br />All I did on my blog was post an excerpt from an article. I do that a lot. As opposed to Mr. Subjunctive who tends to get into more details on his blog.<br /><br />I have my own opinion about the significance of this article, which I did not share. If you would like a bit of that, I am adding a comment on my original post.<br /><br />http://www.cactusjungle.com/blog/2010/08/10/Peterhttp://www.cactusjungle.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-80016713659473127972010-08-11T08:19:51.656-07:002010-08-11T08:19:51.656-07:00CelticRose:
Disagreement on one point doesn't...CelticRose:<br /><br />Disagreement on one point doesn't invalidate the whole blog. Lots and lots of people picked up this story, on both sides of the issue, and I think <i>everybody</i> used the word <b>SUPERWEEDS!</b> at some point. <i>I</i> don't think this study is cause for alarm, and I'm a little surprised at how many people do, but whether it is or isn't, Cactus Blog is mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-16560075114447973042010-08-11T07:54:03.998-07:002010-08-11T07:54:03.998-07:00Butbutbut teenage mutant superweeds!Butbutbut teenage mutant superweeds!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-83032111800219966882010-08-11T07:17:30.625-07:002010-08-11T07:17:30.625-07:00People are totally looking at the issue incorrectl...People are totally looking at the issue incorrectly. If we have a bunch of herbicide-resistant brassicas growing randomly, the likelihood that they would carry with them brassica pathogens and/or attract brassica pests WHERE THEY SHOULDN'T BE and cross-infect/infest will balloon. Fortunately, brassicas aren't a huge food source like rice, wheat, or corn are. So no, it's not a huge Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17083803851861243093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-45040783111019247132010-08-11T06:53:22.979-07:002010-08-11T06:53:22.979-07:00Good grief! Not 5 minutes after reading your appe...Good grief! Not 5 minutes after reading your appeal to sanity, I ran into this: http://www.cactusjungle.com/blog/2010/08/10/franken-genes/<br /><br />I don't think I'll be reading his blog anymore.CelticRosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-15050430125267394092010-08-11T06:32:58.296-07:002010-08-11T06:32:58.296-07:00I completely agree with you on the misleading natu...I completely agree with you on the misleading nature of superweeds. I always come away from the stories that use that name a lot with the sense I am supposed to think that somehow by spraying herbicides on fields of GMO crops, farmers are going to create new weeds that make life harder for organic farmers, which doesn't make any sense since organic farmers aren't using those herbicides inJameshttp://www.jamesandthegiantcorn.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-90988011788534467162010-08-11T06:22:12.974-07:002010-08-11T06:22:12.974-07:00Brilliant, mr_s, thank you! I've been pesterin...Brilliant, mr_s, thank you! I've been pestering James for months to guest write exactly this type of post for my readers. I love it! James, haha, I know you're reading this, shoot me an email one of these days!Lizahttp://goodtogrow.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com