85-864: The oat ( Avena sativa ), sometimes called the common oat , is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop , as their seeds resembled those of other cereals closely enough for them to be included by early cultivators. Oats tolerate cold winters less well than cereals such as wheat , barley , and rye , but need less summer heat and more rain, making them important in areas such as Northwest Europe that have cool wet summers. They can tolerate low-nutrient and acid soils. Oats grow thickly and vigorously, allowing them to outcompete many weeds, and compared to other cereals are relatively free from diseases. Oats are used for human consumption as oatmeal , including as steel cut oats or rolled oats . Global production
170-423: A mutation–selection balance . It is predicted that a viral quasispecies at a low but evolutionarily neutral and highly connected (that is, flat) region in the fitness landscape will outcompete a quasispecies located at a higher but narrower fitness peak in which the surrounding mutants are unfit, "the quasispecies effect" or the "survival of the flattest". There is no suggestion that a viral quasispecies resembles
255-515: A taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity . Other ways of defining species include their karyotype , DNA sequence, morphology , behaviour, or ecological niche . In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The most recent rigorous estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotes is between 8 and 8.7 million. About 14% of these had been described by 2011. All species (except viruses ) are given
340-542: A two-part name , called a "binomial". The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet (in botanical nomenclature , also sometimes in zoological nomenclature ). For example, Boa constrictor is one of the species of the genus Boa , with constrictor being the species' epithet. While the definitions given above may seem adequate at first glance, when looked at more closely they represent problematic species concepts. For example,
425-400: A "classical" method of determining species, such as with Linnaeus, early in evolutionary theory. However, different phenotypes are not necessarily different species (e.g. a four-winged Drosophila born to a two-winged mother is not a different species). Species named in this manner are called morphospecies . In the 1970s, Robert R. Sokal , Theodore J. Crovello and Peter Sneath proposed
510-424: A 'smallest clade' idea" (a phylogenetic species concept). Mishler and Wilkins and others concur with this approach, even though this would raise difficulties in biological nomenclature. Wilkins cited the ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan 's early 20th century remark that "a species is whatever a suitably qualified biologist chooses to call a species". Wilkins noted that the philosopher Philip Kitcher called this
595-438: A blended food pellet. Cattle are also fed oats, either whole or ground into a coarse flour using a roller mill , burr mill , or hammermill . Oat forage is commonly used to feed all kinds of ruminants, as pasture, straw, hay or silage. Winter oats may be grown as an off-season groundcover and ploughed under in the spring as a green fertilizer , or harvested in early summer. They also can be used for pasture; they can be grazed
680-407: A compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit ) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are often racemes . A panicle may have determinate or indeterminate growth. This type of inflorescence is largely characteristic of grasses, such as oat and crabgrass , as well as other plants such as pistachio and mamoncillo . Botanists use
765-428: A connected series of neighbouring populations, each of which can sexually interbreed with adjacent related populations, but for which there exist at least two "end" populations in the series, which are too distantly related to interbreed, though there is a potential gene flow between each "linked" population. Such non-breeding, though genetically connected, "end" populations may co-exist in the same region thus closing
850-432: A different species from its ancestors. Viruses have enormous populations, are doubtfully living since they consist of little more than a string of DNA or RNA in a protein coat, and mutate rapidly. All of these factors make conventional species concepts largely inapplicable. A viral quasispecies is a group of genotypes related by similar mutations, competing within a highly mutagenic environment, and hence governed by
935-508: A genetic boundary suitable for defining a species concept is present. DNA barcoding has been proposed as a way to distinguish species suitable even for non-specialists to use. One of the barcodes is a region of mitochondrial DNA within the gene for cytochrome c oxidase . A database, Barcode of Life Data System , contains DNA barcode sequences from over 190,000 species. However, scientists such as Rob DeSalle have expressed concern that classical taxonomy and DNA barcoding, which they consider
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#17327764698051020-591: A green manure. Phylogenetic analysis using molecular DNA and morphological evidence places the oat genus Avena in the Pooideae subfamily. That subfamily includes the cereals wheat , barley , and rye ; they are in the Triticeae tribe, while Avena is in the Poeae , along with grasses such as Briza and Agrostis . The wild ancestor of Avena sativa and the closely related minor crop – A. byzantina –
1105-425: A height of 1.8 metres (5.9 ft). The leaves are long, narrow, and pointed, and grow upwards; they can be some 15 to 40 centimetres (5.9 to 15.7 in) in length, and around 5 to 15 millimetres (0.20 to 0.59 in) in width. At the top of the stem, the plant branches into a loose cluster or panicle of spikelets . These contain the wind-pollinated flowers, which mature into the oat seeds or grains. Botanically
1190-465: A lineage should be divided into multiple chronospecies , or when populations have diverged to have enough distinct character states to be described as cladistic species. Species and higher taxa were seen from the time of Aristotle until the 18th century as categories that could be arranged in a hierarchy, the great chain of being . In the 19th century, biologists grasped that species could evolve given sufficient time. Charles Darwin 's 1859 book On
1275-810: A lower summer heat requirement and greater tolerance of (and need for) rain than the other cereals mentioned, so they are particularly important in areas with cool, wet summers, such as Northwest Europe. Oats can grow in most fertile, drained soils, being tolerant of a wide variety of soil types. Although better yields are achieved at a soil pH of 5.3 to 5.7, oats can tolerate soils with a pH as low as 4.5. They are better able to grow in low-nutrient soils than wheat or maize , but generally are less tolerant of high soil salinity than other cereals. Oats can outcompete many weeds, as they grow thickly (with many leafy shoots) and vigorously, but are still subject to some broadleaf weeds . Control can be by herbicides, or by integrated pest management with measures such as sowing seed that
1360-492: A misnomer, need to be reconciled, as they delimit species differently. Genetic introgression mediated by endosymbionts and other vectors can further make barcodes ineffective in the identification of species. A phylogenetic or cladistic species is "the smallest aggregation of populations (sexual) or lineages (asexual) diagnosable by a unique combination of character states in comparable individuals (semaphoronts)". The empirical basis – observed character states – provides
1445-449: A particular species, including which genus (and higher taxa) it is placed in, is a hypothesis about the evolutionary relationships and distinguishability of that group of organisms. As further information comes to hand, the hypothesis may be corroborated or refuted. Sometimes, especially in the past when communication was more difficult, taxonomists working in isolation have given two distinct names to individual organisms later identified as
1530-459: A percentage of oats, often 30%, is added to the barley for the wort . Oatmeal caudle , made of ale and oatmeal with spices, was a traditional British drink and a favourite of Oliver Cromwell . Oats are commonly used as feed for horses when extra carbohydrates and the subsequent boost in energy are required. The oat hull may be crushed (" rolled " or "crimped") to make them easier to digest, or may be fed whole. They may be given alone or as part of
1615-400: A perfect model of life, it is still a useful tool to scientists and conservationists for studying life on Earth, regardless of the theoretical difficulties. If species were fixed and clearly distinct from one another, there would be no problem, but evolutionary processes cause species to change. This obliges taxonomists to decide, for example, when enough change has occurred to declare that
1700-461: A prevalence of about 1% in the developed world . Oat products are frequently contaminated by other gluten-containing grains, mainly wheat and barley , requiring caution in the use of oats if people are sensitive to the gluten in those grains. For example, oat bread often contains only a small proportion of oats alongside wheat or other cereals. Use of pure oats in a gluten-free diet offers improved nutritional value, but remains controversial because
1785-483: A reference serving of 100 g (3.5 oz), oats provide 389 kilocalories (1,630 kJ ) and are a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value , DV) of protein (34% DV), dietary fiber (44% DV), several B vitamins , and numerous dietary minerals , especially manganese (213% DV) (table). Regular consumption of oat products lowers blood levels of low-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol , reducing
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#17327764698051870-400: A short way of saying that something applies to many species within a genus, but not to all. If scientists mean that something applies to all species within a genus, they use the genus name without the specific name or epithet. The names of genera and species are usually printed in italics . However, abbreviations such as "sp." should not be italicised. When a species' identity is not clear,
1955-800: A small proportion of people with celiac disease react to pure oats. In his 1755 Dictionary of the English Language , Samuel Johnson defined oats as "A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people." "Oats and Beans and Barley Grow" is the first line of a traditional folksong (1380 in the Roud Folk Song Index ), recorded in different forms from 1870. Similar songs are recorded from France, Canada, Belgium, Sweden, and Italy. In English , oats are associated with sexual intercourse , as in
2040-404: A specialist may use "cf." before the epithet to indicate that confirmation is required. The abbreviations "nr." (near) or "aff." (affine) may be used when the identity is unclear but when the species appears to be similar to the species mentioned after. With the rise of online databases, codes have been devised to provide identifiers for species that are already defined, including: The naming of
2125-523: A species as groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations, which are reproductively isolated from other such groups. It has been argued that this definition is a natural consequence of the effect of sexual reproduction on the dynamics of natural selection. Mayr's use of the adjective "potentially" has been a point of debate; some interpretations exclude unusual or artificial matings that occur only in captivity, or that involve animals capable of mating but that do not normally do so in
2210-400: A species as determined by a taxonomist. A typological species is a group of organisms in which individuals conform to certain fixed properties (a type), so that even pre-literate people often recognise the same taxon as do modern taxonomists. The clusters of variations or phenotypes within specimens (such as longer or shorter tails) would differentiate the species. This method was used as
2295-491: A species. All species definitions assume that an organism acquires its genes from one or two parents very like the "daughter" organism, but that is not what happens in HGT. There is strong evidence of HGT between very dissimilar groups of prokaryotes , and at least occasionally between dissimilar groups of eukaryotes , including some crustaceans and echinoderms . The evolutionary biologist James Mallet concludes that there
2380-685: A species. Generally the term includes the unknown element of a distinct act of creation. Many authors have argued that a simple textbook definition, following Mayr's concept, works well for most multi-celled organisms , but breaks down in several situations: Species identification is made difficult by discordance between molecular and morphological investigations; these can be categorised as two types: (i) one morphology, multiple lineages (e.g. morphological convergence , cryptic species ) and (ii) one lineage, multiple morphologies (e.g. phenotypic plasticity , multiple life-cycle stages). In addition, horizontal gene transfer (HGT) makes it difficult to define
2465-528: A taxonomic decision at the discretion of cognizant specialists, is not governed by the Codes of Zoological or Botanical Nomenclature, in contrast to the PhyloCode , and contrary to what is done in several other fields, in which the definitions of technical terms, like geochronological units and geopolitical entities, are explicitly delimited. The nomenclatural codes that guide the naming of species, including
2550-517: A traditional biological species. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses has since 1962 developed a universal taxonomic scheme for viruses; this has stabilised viral taxonomy. Most modern textbooks make use of Ernst Mayr 's 1942 definition, known as the Biological Species Concept as a basis for further discussion on the definition of species. It is also called a reproductive or isolation concept. This defines
2635-447: A variation on the morphological species concept, a phenetic species, defined as a set of organisms with a similar phenotype to each other, but a different phenotype from other sets of organisms. It differs from the morphological species concept in including a numerical measure of distance or similarity to cluster entities based on multivariate comparisons of a reasonably large number of phenotypic traits. A mate-recognition species
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2720-515: A variety of reasons. Viruses are a special case, driven by a balance of mutation and selection , and can be treated as quasispecies . Biologists and taxonomists have made many attempts to define species, beginning from morphology and moving towards genetics . Early taxonomists such as Linnaeus had no option but to describe what they saw: this was later formalised as the typological or morphological species concept. Ernst Mayr emphasised reproductive isolation, but this, like other species concepts,
2805-510: A while, then allowed to head out for grain production, or grazed continuously until other pastures are ready. Oat straw is used as animal bedding; it absorbs liquids better than wheat straw. The straw can be used for making corn dollies , small decorative woven figures. Tied in a muslin bag, oat straw has been used to soften bath water. Celiac (or coeliac) disease is a permanent autoimmune disease triggered by gluten proteins. It almost always occurs in genetically predisposed people, having
2890-573: Is A. sterilis , a naturally hexaploid wild oat, one that has its DNA in six sets of chromosomes . Genetic evidence shows that the ancestral forms of A. sterilis grew in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East. Analysis of maternal lineages of 25 Avena species using chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA showed that A. sativa 's hexaploid genome derives from three diploid oat species (each with two sets of chromosomes);
2975-438: Is "an entity composed of organisms which maintains its identity from other such entities through time and over space, and which has its own independent evolutionary fate and historical tendencies". This differs from the biological species concept in embodying persistence over time. Wiley and Mayden stated that they see the evolutionary species concept as "identical" to Willi Hennig 's species-as-lineages concept, and asserted that
3060-400: Is a group of sexually reproducing organisms that recognise one another as potential mates. Expanding on this to allow for post-mating isolation, a cohesion species is the most inclusive population of individuals having the potential for phenotypic cohesion through intrinsic cohesion mechanisms; no matter whether populations can hybridise successfully, they are still distinct cohesion species if
3145-458: Is a set of organisms adapted to a particular set of resources, called a niche, in the environment. According to this concept, populations form the discrete phenetic clusters that we recognise as species because the ecological and evolutionary processes controlling how resources are divided up tend to produce those clusters. A genetic species as defined by Robert Baker and Robert Bradley is a set of genetically isolated interbreeding populations. This
3230-414: Is called speciation . Charles Darwin was the first to describe the role of natural selection in speciation in his 1859 book The Origin of Species . Speciation depends on a measure of reproductive isolation , a reduced gene flow. This occurs most easily in allopatric speciation, where populations are separated geographically and can diverge gradually as mutations accumulate. Reproductive isolation
3315-504: Is chiefly eaten as porridge , but may also be used in a variety of baked goods, such as oatcakes (which may be made with coarse steel-cut oats for a rougher texture), oatmeal cookies and oat bread. Oats are an ingredient in many cold cereals, in particular muesli and granola ; the Quaker Oats Company introduced instant oatmeal in 1966. Oats are also used to produce milk substitutes (" oat milk "). As of late 2020,
3400-430: Is cleaning, to remove seeds of other plants, stones and any other extraneous materials. Next is dehulling to remove the indigestible bran, leaving the seed or " groat ". Heating denatures enzymes in the seed that would make it go sour or rancid; the grain is then dried to minimise the risk of spoilage by bacteria and fungi. There may follow numerous stages of cutting or grinding the grain, depending on which sort of product
3485-403: Is described formally, in a publication that assigns it a unique scientific name. The description typically provides means for identifying the new species, which may not be based solely on morphology (see cryptic species ), differentiating it from other previously described and related or confusable species and provides a validly published name (in botany) or an available name (in zoology) when
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3570-405: Is dominated by Canada and Russia; global trade is a small part of production, most of the grain being consumed within the producing countries. Oats are a nutrient -rich food associated with lower blood cholesterol and reduced risk of human heart disease when consumed regularly. One of the most common uses of oats is as livestock feed; the crop can also be grown as groundcover and ploughed in as
3655-671: Is free of weeds. Oats are relatively free from diseases. Nonetheless, they suffer from some leaf diseases, such as stem rust ( Puccinia graminis f. sp. avenae ) and crown rust ( P. coronata var. avenae ). Crown rust infection can greatly reduce photosynthesis and overall physiological activities of oat leaves, thereby reducing growth and crop yield. Oats are attacked by nematodes and by insects including aphids, armyworms, cockchafers, grasshoppers, thrips, and wireworms. Most of these pests are not specific to oats, and only occasionally cause significant damage to oat crops. Harvested oats go through multiple stages of milling. The first stage
3740-671: Is further weakened by the existence of microspecies , groups of organisms, including many plants, with very little genetic variability, usually forming species aggregates . For example, the dandelion Taraxacum officinale and the blackberry Rubus fruticosus are aggregates with many microspecies—perhaps 400 in the case of the blackberry and over 200 in the dandelion, complicated by hybridisation , apomixis and polyploidy , making gene flow between populations difficult to determine, and their taxonomy debatable. Species complexes occur in insects such as Heliconius butterflies, vertebrates such as Hypsiboas treefrogs, and fungi such as
3825-726: Is hard or even impossible to test. Later biologists have tried to refine Mayr's definition with the recognition and cohesion concepts, among others. Many of the concepts are quite similar or overlap, so they are not easy to count: the biologist R. L. Mayden recorded about 24 concepts, and the philosopher of science John Wilkins counted 26. Wilkins further grouped the species concepts into seven basic kinds of concepts: (1) agamospecies for asexual organisms (2) biospecies for reproductively isolated sexual organisms (3) ecospecies based on ecological niches (4) evolutionary species based on lineage (5) genetic species based on gene pool (6) morphospecies based on form or phenotype and (7) taxonomic species,
3910-403: Is no easy way to tell whether related geographic or temporal forms belong to the same or different species. Species gaps can be verified only locally and at a point of time. One is forced to admit that Darwin's insight is correct: any local reality or integrity of species is greatly reduced over large geographic ranges and time periods. The botanist Brent Mishler argued that the species concept
3995-478: Is not valid, notably because gene flux decreases gradually rather than in discrete steps, which hampers objective delimitation of species. Indeed, complex and unstable patterns of gene flux have been observed in cichlid teleosts of the East African Great Lakes . Wilkins argued that "if we were being true to evolution and the consequent phylogenetic approach to taxa, we should replace it with
4080-439: Is one such trait, introgressed from A. sterilis CAV 1979 , conferring all stage resistance (ASR) against Pca . It is possible to hybridize oats with grasses in other genera, allowing plant breeders the ready introgression of traits. In contrast to wheat , oats sometimes retain chromosomes from maize or pearl millet after such crosses. These wide crosses are typically made to generate doubled haploid breeding material;
4165-407: Is required. For oatmeal (oat flour), the grain is ground to a specified fineness. For home use such as making porridge , oats are often rolled flat to make them quicker to cook. Oat flour can be ground for small scale use by pulsing rolled oats or old-fashioned (not quick) oats in a food processor or spice mill. In 2022, global production of oats was 26 million tonnes, led by Canada with 20% of
4250-586: Is similar to Mayr's Biological Species Concept, but stresses genetic rather than reproductive isolation. In the 21st century, a genetic species could be established by comparing DNA sequences. Earlier, other methods were available, such as comparing karyotypes (sets of chromosomes ) and allozymes ( enzyme variants). An evolutionarily significant unit (ESU) or "wildlife species" is a population of organisms considered distinct for purposes of conservation. In palaeontology , with only comparative anatomy (morphology) and histology from fossils as evidence,
4335-452: Is sometimes an important source of genetic variation. Viruses can transfer genes between species. Bacteria can exchange plasmids with bacteria of other species, including some apparently distantly related ones in different phylogenetic domains , making analysis of their relationships difficult, and weakening the concept of a bacterial species. Panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence . Some authors distinguish it from
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#17327764698054420-594: Is threatened by hybridisation, but this can be selected against once a pair of populations have incompatible alleles of the same gene, as described in the Bateson–Dobzhansky–Muller model . A different mechanism, phyletic speciation, involves one lineage gradually changing over time into a new and distinct form (a chronospecies ), without increasing the number of resultant species. Horizontal gene transfer between organisms of different species, either through hybridisation , antigenic shift , or reassortment ,
4505-691: The Chicago Board of Trade and have delivery dates in March, May, July, September, and December. Avena sativa is an allohexaploid species with three ancestral genomes (2 n =6 x =42; AACCDD). As a result, the genome is large (12.6 Gb, 1C-value=12.85) and complex. Cultivated hexaploid oat has a unique mosaic chromosome architecture that is the result of numerous translocations between the three subgenomes. These translocations may cause breeding barriers and incompatibilities when crossing varieties with different chromosomal architecture. Hence, oat breeding and
4590-530: The ICZN for animals and the ICN for plants, do not make rules for defining the boundaries of the species. Research can change the boundaries, also known as circumscription, based on new evidence. Species may then need to be distinguished by the boundary definitions used, and in such cases the names may be qualified with sensu stricto ("in the narrow sense") to denote usage in the exact meaning given by an author such as
4675-653: The Pre-Pottery Neolithic , about 11,400 to 11,200 years ago in the Jordan Valley in the Middle East contained a large number of wild oat grains (120,000 seeds of A. sterilis ). The find implies intentional cultivation . Domesticated oat grains first appear in the archaeological record in Europe around 3000 years ago. The oat is a tall stout grass, a member of the family Poaceae ; it can grow to
4760-399: The fly agaric . Natural hybridisation presents a challenge to the concept of a reproductively isolated species, as fertile hybrids permit gene flow between two populations. For example, the carrion crow Corvus corone and the hooded crow Corvus cornix appear and are classified as separate species, yet they can hybridise where their geographical ranges overlap. A ring species is
4845-507: The jaguar ( Panthera onca ) of Latin America or the leopard ( Panthera pardus ) of Africa and Asia. In contrast, the scientific names of species are chosen to be unique and universal (except for some inter-code homonyms ); they are in two parts used together : the genus as in Puma , and the specific epithet as in concolor . A species is given a taxonomic name when a type specimen
4930-406: The "cynical species concept", and arguing that far from being cynical, it usefully leads to an empirical taxonomy for any given group, based on taxonomists' experience. Other biologists have gone further and argued that we should abandon species entirely, and refer to the "Least Inclusive Taxonomic Units" (LITUs), a view that would be coherent with current evolutionary theory. The species concept
5015-626: The Origin of Species explained how species could arise by natural selection . That understanding was greatly extended in the 20th century through genetics and population ecology . Genetic variability arises from mutations and recombination , while organisms themselves are mobile, leading to geographical isolation and genetic drift with varying selection pressures . Genes can sometimes be exchanged between species by horizontal gene transfer ; new species can arise rapidly through hybridisation and polyploidy ; and species may become extinct for
5100-405: The abbreviation "sp." in the singular or "spp." (standing for species pluralis , Latin for "multiple species") in the plural in place of the specific name or epithet (e.g. Canis sp.). This commonly occurs when authors are confident that some individuals belong to a particular genus but are not sure to which exact species they belong, as is common in paleontology . Authors may also use "spp." as
5185-570: The amount of hybridisation is insufficient to completely mix their respective gene pools . A further development of the recognition concept is provided by the biosemiotic concept of species. In microbiology , genes can move freely even between distantly related bacteria, possibly extending to the whole bacterial domain. As a rule of thumb, microbiologists have assumed that members of Bacteria or Archaea with 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences more similar than 97% to each other need to be checked by DNA–DNA hybridisation to decide if they belong to
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#17327764698055270-474: The biological species concept, "the several versions" of the phylogenetic species concept, and the idea that species are of the same kind as higher taxa are not suitable for biodiversity studies (with the intention of estimating the number of species accurately). They further suggested that the concept works for both asexual and sexually-reproducing species. A version of the concept is Kevin de Queiroz 's "General Lineage Concept of Species". An ecological species
5355-505: The biological species concept, a cladistic species does not rely on reproductive isolation – its criteria are independent of processes that are integral in other concepts. Therefore, it applies to asexual lineages. However, it does not always provide clear cut and intuitively satisfying boundaries between taxa, and may require multiple sources of evidence, such as more than one polymorphic locus, to give plausible results. An evolutionary species, suggested by George Gaylord Simpson in 1951,
5440-428: The boundaries between closely related species become unclear with hybridisation , in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies , and in a ring species . Also, among organisms that reproduce only asexually , the concept of a reproductive species breaks down, and each clone is potentially a microspecies. Although none of these are entirely satisfactory definitions, and while the concept of species may not be
5525-433: The concept of a chronospecies can be applied. During anagenesis (evolution, not necessarily involving branching), some palaeontologists seek to identify a sequence of species, each one derived from the phyletically extinct one before through continuous, slow and more or less uniform change. In such a time sequence, some palaeontologists assess how much change is required for a morphologically distinct form to be considered
5610-543: The crossing of desired traits has been hampered by the lack of a reference genome assembly. In May 2022, a fully annotated reference genome sequence of Avena sativa was reported. The AA subgenome is presumed to be derived from Avena longiglumis and the CCDD from the tetraploid Avena insularis . Species of Avena can hybridize , and genes introgressed (brought in) from other "A" genome species have contributed many valuable traits, like resistance to oat crown rust . Pc98
5695-435: The evidence to support hypotheses about evolutionarily divergent lineages that have maintained their hereditary integrity through time and space. Molecular markers may be used to determine diagnostic genetic differences in the nuclear or mitochondrial DNA of various species. For example, in a study done on fungi , studying the nucleotide characters using cladistic species produced the most accurate results in recognising
5780-514: The grain is a caryopsis , as the wall of the fruit is fused on to the actual seed. Like other cereal grains, the caryopsis contains the outer husk or bran , the starchy food store or endosperm which occupies most of the seed, and the protein-rich germ which if planted in soil can grow into a new plant. Oats are annual plants best grown in temperate regions. They tolerate cold winters less well than wheat, rye , or barley; they are harmed by sustained cold below −7 °C (20 °F). They have
5865-420: The idioms "sowing one's (wild) oats", meaning having many sexual partners in one's youth, and "getting your oats", meaning having sex regularly. Species A species ( pl. : species) is a population of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring , typically by sexual reproduction . It is the basic unit of classification and
5950-483: The numerous fungi species of all the concepts studied. Versions of the phylogenetic species concept that emphasise monophyly or diagnosability may lead to splitting of existing species, for example in Bovidae , by recognising old subspecies as species, despite the fact that there are no reproductive barriers, and populations may intergrade morphologically. Others have called this approach taxonomic inflation , diluting
6035-424: The oat genome. This potentially transfers thousands of genes from a species that is distantly related, but is not considered a GMO technique. A 2013 study applied simple sequence repeat and found five major groupings, namely commercial cultivars and four landrace groups. Uncooked oats are 66% carbohydrates , including 11% dietary fiber and 4% beta-glucans , 7% fat , 17% protein , and 8% water (table). In
6120-535: The oat milk market became the second-largest among plant milks in the United States, following almond milk , but exceeding the sales of soy milk . As a mainstay of West Wales for centuries, until changes in farming practices in the 1960s, oats were used in many traditional Welsh dishes , including laverbread , a Welsh breakfast , and " cockles and eggs" served with oatbread. In Britain, oats are sometimes used for brewing beer, such as oatmeal stout where
6205-593: The paper is accepted for publication. The type material is usually held in a permanent repository, often the research collection of a major museum or university, that allows independent verification and the means to compare specimens. Describers of new species are asked to choose names that, in the words of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature , are "appropriate, compact, euphonious, memorable, and do not cause offence". Books and articles sometimes intentionally do not identify species fully, using
6290-674: The person who named the species, while the antonym sensu lato ("in the broad sense") denotes a wider usage, for instance including other subspecies. Other abbreviations such as "auct." ("author"), and qualifiers such as "non" ("not") may be used to further clarify the sense in which the specified authors delineated or described the species. Species are subject to change, whether by evolving into new species, exchanging genes with other species, merging with other species or by becoming extinct. The evolutionary process by which biological populations of sexually-reproducing organisms evolve to become distinct or reproductively isolated as species
6375-615: The rapid loss of the alien chromosomes from the unrelated pollen donor results in a plant with only a single set of chromosomes (a haploid ). The addition lines with alien chromosomes can be used as a source for novel traits in oats. For example, research on oat-maize-addition lines has been used to map genes involved in C4 photosynthesis . To obtain Mendelian inheritance of these novel traits, radiation hybrid lines have been established, where maize chromosome segments have been introgressed into
6460-487: The result of misclassification leading to questions on whether there really are any ring species. The commonly used names for kinds of organisms are often ambiguous: "cat" could mean the domestic cat, Felis catus , or the cat family, Felidae . Another problem with common names is that they often vary from place to place, so that puma, cougar, catamount, panther, painter and mountain lion all mean Puma concolor in various parts of America, while "panther" may also mean
6545-586: The ring. Ring species thus present a difficulty for any species concept that relies on reproductive isolation. However, ring species are at best rare. Proposed examples include the herring gull – lesser black-backed gull complex around the North pole, the Ensatina eschscholtzii group of 19 populations of salamanders in America, and the greenish warbler in Asia, but many so-called ring species have turned out to be
6630-568: The risk of cardiovascular disease . The beneficial effect of oat consumption on lowering blood lipids is attributed to oat beta-glucan . Oat consumption can help to reduce body mass index in obese people. The United States Food and Drug Administration allows companies to make health claims on labels of food products that contain soluble fiber from whole oats, as long as the food provides 0.75 grams of soluble fiber per serving. When used in foods, oats are most commonly rolled or crushed into oatmeal or ground into fine oat flour . Oatmeal
6715-508: The same species. This concept was narrowed in 2006 to a similarity of 98.7%. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) method quantifies genetic distance between entire genomes , using regions of about 10,000 base pairs . With enough data from genomes of one genus, algorithms can be used to categorize species, as for Pseudomonas avellanae in 2013, and for all sequenced bacteria and archaea since 2020. Observed ANI values among sequences appear to have an "ANI gap" at 85–95%, suggesting that
6800-529: The same species. When two species names are discovered to apply to the same species, the older species name is given priority and usually retained, and the newer name considered as a junior synonym, a process called synonymy . Dividing a taxon into multiple, often new, taxa is called splitting . Taxonomists are often referred to as "lumpers" or "splitters" by their colleagues, depending on their personal approach to recognising differences or commonalities between organisms. The circumscription of taxa, considered
6885-705: The sets are dubbed A, B, C, and D. The diploid species are the CC A. ventricosa , the AA A. canariensis , and the AA A. longiglumis , along with two tetraploid oats (each with four sets), namely the AACC A. insularis and the AABB A. agadiriana . Tetraploids were formed as much as 10.6 mya , and hexaploids as much as 7.4 mya. Genomic study suggests that the hulled variety and the naked variety A. sativa var. nuda diverged around 51,200 years ago, long before domestication . This implies that
6970-506: The species concept and making taxonomy unstable. Yet others defend this approach, considering "taxonomic inflation" pejorative and labelling the opposing view as "taxonomic conservatism"; claiming it is politically expedient to split species and recognise smaller populations at the species level, because this means they can more easily be included as endangered in the IUCN red list and can attract conservation legislation and funding. Unlike
7055-453: The total and Russia with 17% (table). This compares to over 100 million tonnes for wheat , for example. Global trade represents a modest percentage of production, less than 10%, most of the grain being consumed within producing countries. The main exporter is Canada, followed by Sweden and Finland; the US is the main importer. Oats futures are traded in US dollars in quantities of 5000 bushels on
7140-451: The two varieties were domesticated independently. Oats are thought to have emerged as a secondary crop . This means that they are derived from what was considered a weed of the primary cereal domesticates such as wheat. They survived as a Vavilovian mimic by having grains that Neolithic people found hard to distinguish from the primary crop. Oats were cultivated for some thousands of years before they were domesticated. A granary from
7225-540: The wild. It is difficult to define a species in a way that applies to all organisms. The debate about species concepts is called the species problem. The problem was recognised even in 1859, when Darwin wrote in On the Origin of Species : I was much struck how entirely vague and arbitrary is the distinction between species and varieties. He went on to write: No one definition has satisfied all naturalists; yet every naturalist knows vaguely what he means when he speaks of
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