Pisum Genetics
2007—Volume 39
PGA Notes
Membership
and Dues
Pisum Genetics Association Notes
The Pisum Genetics Association (PGA) is a non-profit, unincorporated
organization established to foster genetic study of the pea, to facilitate the exchange
of information and to ensure preservation of valuable genetic stocks. The journal,
Pisum Genetics, is the principal means of meeting these aims. Published annually in
one issue, Pisum Genetics contains reports of research findings and other information
of interest to researchers studying the genus Pisum.
Membership in the PGA is open to all interested persons and organizations. Dues
are US $15.00 per year. These dues are used to help defray the costs of publishing and
mailing Pisum Genetics. Members are requested to send checks or bank drafts in US
currency only. Such efforts avoid bank charges, which can exceed $10.00 per check in
some currencies. Please make checks payable to Pisum Genetics Association and send
to Kevin McPhee, 1056 Claypit Road, Troy, ID, 83871, USA. Pisum Genetics will be
sent upon receipt of dues. Electronic payment is also a possibility. Please contact Dr.
McPhee, kevin.mcphee@ars.usda.gov, for instructions.
All members of the PGA are welcome to submit manuscripts on topics appropriate
for Pisum Genetics. The deadline for such submittals is usually September 1 of the
year of publication, allowing for sufficient time for review and revision of
manuscripts. The journal provides opportunities for both refereed and non-refereed
manuscripts, publication is within 3 to 6 months of submittal, and there are no page
charges. Pisum Genetics is indexed in CAB International. As has been the case for the
last decade, a web-based version is available shortly after publication of the hard copy
(http://hermes.bionet.nsc.ru/pg/).
When submitting an electronic copy of a manuscript, please use Microsoft Word
when possible. Other formats can be handled, but these will usually be converted to
Word for processing. It is also helpful if authors avoid the use of extra formatting in
their submissions (headers, sections, automatic indentation) as these generally have to
be eliminated when preparing the manuscript for final printing. Tables created in
Word using the table function are most likely to survive the formatting process intact.
We have severe limitations on support staff, and the removal of interfering formatting
can occasionally be quite time-consuming. Graphics reproduce best at 300 dpi.
Manuscripts are generally separated into two types, research papers and brief
communications. Manuscripts submitted as research papers will be subjected to peer
review. Research papers should be written concisely, with a short introduction
presenting the purpose for the study, a materials and methods section with essential
details and references to techniques, a results section and discussion section
interpreting the results and integrating findings with those of other workers. Section
headings are not obligatory. The length of manuscripts is flexible. Manuscripts under
five journal pages are encouraged. Longer papers will be considered on their merits
and space availability in the volume. All research papers must be treated similarly to
submissions to other refereed journals in that they should contain original work not
currently submitted to any other journal.
Brief communications are to encourage a rapid sharing of new results that may
not meet the standards of a research paper (i.e. allelism tests not completed, map
locations only approximate). Brief communications can also be used to describe the
availability of new germplasm. Brief communications will not be subjected to peer
review although the editor reserves the right to screen papers for appropriateness and
to review submissions for clarity and brevity. Such submissions will be limited to
approximately one page and should be narrowly focused. Otherwise, the format of
brief communications (tables, references, etc.) should correspond to that of a
Submission of Manuscripts
Format of
Manuscripts
Brief
communications
iv

Pisum Genetics
2007—Volume 39
PGA Notes
research paper. Publication of a brief communication in Pisum Genetics does not
preclude publication of a full paper on the same subject in a later issue or in another
journal.
Dr. Serge Rozov continues to serve as the webmaster for the PGA website
Member News (http://hermes.bionet.nsc.ru/pg/) and has extended the coverage of previous issues
available on the site back to volume 23 (1991). Electronic versions of volumes 21 and
22 are expected to be available on this site shortly. Hard copies of volumes 10
through 20, plus a selected number of earlier volumes can be obtained by contacting
the editorial office.
In this issue of Pisum Genetics a review by Dr. Jim Weller at the University of
Tasmania acknowledges some of the pioneering work on the genetics of flowering time
done by the group at Hobart, Australia under the guidance of Ian Murfet, a former
editor of Pisum Genetics. The progress of our understanding of the genes controlling
time of flowering in pea represents a microcosm of what is happening on fronts of pea
research. The genes that were so painstakingly characterized by Ian Murfet, Werner
Gottschalk, and Gerry Marx by classical genetic methods are now being understood at
the DNA sequence level and compared to similar genes in arabidopsis and other model
species.
Volume 39 will be the last volume I edit. Beginning with Volume 40, Dr. Kevin
McPhee will be the new editor. I would like to personally thank the membership for
its support during the last ten years. Special thanks are extended to the reviewers,
who consistently provided constructive and often very detailed comments on
submitted manuscripts, and to my wife and Serge Rozov, who contributed much of
the effort in getting the issues of Pisum Genetics out to the membership. I look
forward to receiving future issues of our journal, not only because I feel the new editor
comes in with a great enthusiasm and new ideas but also because this is an exciting
time for pea genetics. I anticipate that most of the classical mutants that have often
appeared in the pages of Pisum Genetics and Pisum Newsletter will be cloned and
identified in the near future, permitting studies of the physiology and development of
pea to be performed at a much greater level of sophistication. I would not be
surprised if the title of the journal might not eventually metamorphose to Pisum
Biology or even Vicieae Biology as advances in our genetic knowledge of legumes
begin to provide insights into many related characters in this important group of
crops.
The PGA continues to be on fiscally healthy. Income from dues and subscriptions
Financial Report was definitely less than expenditures despite a reduction in the total expenditures
compared to the last three years. However, we have considerable funds in
savings/certificate of deposit accounts that can cover most PGA expenses for several
years. Once the printing and mailing expenses for Volume 39 are covered, the
remaining Bozeman funds will be transferred to Pullman.
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Pisum Genetics
2007—Volume 39
PGA Notes
Account balances from preceding year
Savings (at end of fiscal year—Sept. 30, 2006)
Certificate of deposit at maturity (Jan 11, 2007)
Cash on hand at end of fiscal year
Total assets
1500.10
6020.97
(20.27)
7501.50
Income
Subscriptions (Bozeman)
Subscriptions (Pullman)
Bank interest (Bozeman)
Bank interest (Pullman)
Total income
325.00
360.00
3.88
0.71
689.59
Expenditures
Printing costs (volume 38)
Mailing expenses (volume 38)
Supplies 5.00
Bank charge 2.50
Total expenditures
595.50
101.61
(704.61)
Account balances
Savings (Bozeman)
Savings/certificate of deposit (Pullman)
Checking (Pullman)
Cash on hand at end of fiscal year
1029.68
6021.68
357.50
77.62
Net balance for Pisum Genetics Association
7486.48
N.F. Weeden for the Coordinating Committee:
M. Ambrose K.E. McPhee S.M. Rozov
T.H.N. Ellis I.C. Murfet W.K. Swiecicki
O.E. Kosterin J.B. Reid N.F. Weeden
vi