Germinated this way

SFSorrow · Oct 23, 2012

Not really sure what section this should go in so this seems as good a place as any:

New Genus of Ferns Named for Lady Gaga | Biology | Sci-News.com

New Genus of Ferns Named for Lady Gaga

A new genus of ferns found in Central and South America, Mexico, Arizona and Texas, has been named for Lady Gaga, an American singer and songwriter.

Lady Gaga and the fern gametophyte (Duke University)

Two of the 19 species in the Gaga genus are new to science: Gaga germanotta from Costa Rica is named to honor the family of the artist, who was born Stefani Germanotta. And a newly discovered Mexican species is being dubbed Gaga monstraparva in honor of Gaga’s fans, whom she calls ‘little monsters.’

According to biologists, ferns of the new genus bear a striking resemblance to one of Gaga’s famous costumes. They also bear a distinct DNA sequence spelling GAGA.

“We wanted to name this genus for Lady Gaga because of her fervent defense of equality and individual expression. And as we started to consider it, the ferns themselves gave us more reasons why it was a good choice,” said Prof Kathleen Pryer of the Duke University, co-author of a paper describing the new genus in the journal Systematic Botany.

Except for the two new species, G. germanotta and G. monstraparva, the rest of the Gaga ferns are species that are being reclassified by Prof Pryer’s team. They had previously been assigned to the genus Cheilanthes based on their outward appearance. But the new painstaking analysis of DNA using more than 80 museum specimens and newly collected plants showed they’re distinct and deserving of their own genus.

“New tools for genetic analysis are reorganizing the family tree of ferns,” Prof Pryer said.

“Like most ferns, the Gaga group is homosporous. They produce tiny spherical spores that drift to the ground and germinate into heart-shaped plants called gametophytes. These independent little organisms can be female, male or even bisexual, depending on growth conditions and what other kinds of gametophytes are around. When conditions are right, they exchange sperm between gametophytes, but when necessary they sometimes can also self-fertilize to produce a new fern.”

“The biology of these ferns is exceptionally obscure and blurred by sexual crossing between species,” Prof Pryer said. “They have high numbers of chromosomes and asexuality that can lead to offspring that are genetically identical to the parent plant.”

_______

Bibliographic information: Fay-Wei Li et al. 2012. Gaga, a New Fern Genus Segregated from Cheilanthes (Pteridaceae). Systematic Botany, vol. 37, no. 4, 845-860; doi: 10.1600/036364412X656626
Click to expand...

Ridiculous · Oct 23, 2012

SFSorrow said: ↑

the Gaga group is homosporous.
Click to expand...

Truer words have never been said before!

Ticklish Fish · Oct 23, 2012

So can we get like, "mozart", "chopin", etc. for genus or species now?

Ridiculous · Oct 23, 2012

kacho said: ↑

So can we get like, "mozart", "chopin", etc. for genus or species now?
Click to expand...

Mozart: Bishopina mozarti (crustacean-y shrimpy thing)
Mozart: Mozartella beethoveni (wasp)
Chopin: Fernandocrambus chopinellus (moth)

There's also a fly named after Beyonce because it has a shiny butt.

Ticklish Fish · Oct 23, 2012

Ridiculous said: ↑

kacho said: ↑

So can we get like, "mozart", "chopin", etc. for genus or species now?
Click to expand...

Mozart: Bishopina mozarti (crustacean-y shrimpy thing)
Mozart: Mozartella beethoveni (wasp)
Chopin: Fernandocrambus chopinellus (moth)

There's also a fly named after Beyonce because it has a shiny butt.
Click to expand...

LOL. this is so amusing.. nerd-gasming, brb.

and i just submit my homework on genetic analysis and how it affects taxonomy, hahahaha.

SFSorrow · Oct 23, 2012

If you really want to delve deeper into amusing taxonomic nomenclature (probably not a phrase that's used often) then this website might be an interesting place to hunt around:
Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature

Including a trilobite named Han solo:
Han solo (trilobite) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And a fly named after Beyonce -

The Beyonce fly: Researchers name insect with golden behind after singer - Telegraph

aeva · Oct 23, 2012

Even though I'm not a Lady Gage fan, I am a science girl- and I think this is one of the funniest things I've heard in quite a while.

redstormrising · Oct 23, 2012

that is kind of awesome!

Germinated this way

SFSorrow
Full Member

Ridiculous
Full Member

Ticklish Fish
Full Member

Ridiculous
Full Member

Ticklish Fish
Full Member

SFSorrow
Full Member

aeva
Full Member

redstormrising
Regular Member

Germinated this way

Thread Tools

SFSorrow Full Member

Ridiculous Full Member

Ticklish Fish Full Member

Ridiculous Full Member

Ticklish Fish Full Member

SFSorrow Full Member

aeva Full Member

redstormrising Regular Member

SFSorrow
Full Member

Ridiculous
Full Member

Ticklish Fish
Full Member

Ridiculous
Full Member

Ticklish Fish
Full Member

SFSorrow
Full Member

aeva
Full Member

redstormrising
Regular Member