Reproduction is an important trait in sheep breeding as well as in other livestock. However, despite its importance the genetic mechanisms of litter size in domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are still poorly understood. To explore genetic mechanisms underlying ...

Increasing temperatures can accelerate soil organic matter decomposition and release large amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere, potentially inducing positive warming feedbacks. Alterations to the temperature sensitivity and physiological functioning of ...

Iceland has inland wetland areas with soils exhibiting both Andosol and Histosol properties which are uncommon elsewhere on Earth. They are generally fertile, with higher bird-nest densities than in similar wetlands in the neighboring countries, with ...

The northwards expansion of barley production requires adaptation to longer days, lower temperatures and stronger winds during the growing season. We have screened 169 lines of the current barley breeding gene pool in the Nordic region with regards to ...

Climate change is stronger at high than at temperate and tropical latitudes. The natural geothermal conditions in southern Iceland provide an opportunity to study the impact of warming on plants, because of the geothermal bedrock channels that induce ...

Maedi-visna virus (MVV) is a lentivirus of sheep causing inflammation in many organs, primarily the lungs and CNS. HIV and SIV also belong to the lentivirus genus of retroviruses. MVV and HIV have many features in common, including genome organization, ...

This work aims to identify the geochemical and mineralogical markers of Icelandic dust and to differentiate it from the dust of local origin deposited at the Ny-Ålesund station. We characterized representative sediment samples from Iceland and Svalbard ...

Barley is of great importance in modern agriculture and is currently the fourth most important cereal after wheat, maize, and rice. It is well adapted to a range of climatic and day-length conditions, with a distribution from Ethiopia to northern ...

Genetic isolation of breeds may result in a significant loss of diversity and have consequences on health and performance. In this study, we examined the effect of geographic isolation on caprine genetic diversity patterns by genotyping 480 individuals ...

The woodland strawberry, Fragaria vesca, holds great promise as a model organism. It not only represents the important Rosaceae family that includes economically important species such as apples, pears, peaches and roses, but it also complements the ...