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A biography of Canadian geneticist John Kuspira is presented. He was born in Saskatchewan on November 20, 1928. He attended Saint Joseph's College in Yorkton and the University of Alberta. He became the driving force in the creation of the Department of Genetics. His studies focused on the genetics and cytogenetics of the allohexaploid Triticum aestivum and its diploid progenitors.

Copyright of Genome is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Genome is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Genome is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Genome is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Two species belonging to the large grasshopper genus Melanoplus, Melanoplus gaspesiensis and Melanoplus madeleineae, are thought to have survived in refugia in eastern Canada during the Wisconsin glaciation period and perhaps during earlier glacial episodes as well. It has been proposed that either Melanoplus borealis, which is widely distributed today, or its antecedent gave rise to the two relict species. Our research, based on standard phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial sequences, examines this claim by establishing the positions of M. gaspesiensis and M. madeleineae within Melanoplus. There is a very close and strongly supported connection between M. madeleineae and M. borealis (d = 1.36%), whereas M. gaspesiensis is more distant from the latter (d = 2.08%) and appears closely aligned with two other species. Molecular clock estimates of the times of separation of M. madeleineae and M. gaspesiensis from M. borealis are 0.68 and 1.04 million years ago, respectively. Within-species diversities of 1.01 and 0.70% for M. madeleineae and M. gaspesiensis, respectively, are of comparable magnitudes to that of the continentally distributed Melanoplus sanguinipes (0.86%), clearly indicating that neither species endured bottleneck effects despite isolation.Key words: grasshopper, Melanoplus, relict species, mtDNA.Deux espèces appartenant au grand genre de sauterelles Melanoplus, Melanoplus gaspesiensiset Melanoplus madeleineae, auraient survécu à l'intérieur de refuges dans l'Est du Canada lors de l'ère glaciaire Wisconsin de même, possiblement, lors de périodes glaciaires précédentes. Il a été proposé que le Melanoplus borealis, laquelle espèce est largement distribuée aujourd'hui, ou encore son prédécesseur, serait à l'origine des deux espèces mentionnées plus haut. Cette étude, s'appuyant sur des analyses phylogénétiques standard de séquences mitochondriales, vise à examiner cette hypothèse en déterminant la position de M. gaspesiensis et M. madeleineae au sein du genre Melanoplus. Il y a un lien étroit et fortement supporté entre le M. madeleineae et le M. borealis (d = 1,36 %) tandis que le M. gaspesiensis est plus disant de ce dernier (d = 2,08 %) et semble plus apparenté à deux autres espèces. Les estimations du moment de divergence entre ces espèces et le M. borealis, basées sur une horologe moléculaire, sont respectivement de 0,68 million d'années (M. madeleineae) et de 1,04 millions d'année (M. gaspesiensis). La diversité intraspécifique, 1,01 % (M. madeleineae) et 0,7 % (M. gaspesiensis), est semblable à celle observée chez le M. sanguinipes (0,86 %), une espèce distribuée sur l'ensemble du continent. Cela indique clairement qu'aucune des deux espèces n'a subi de goulot d'étranglement génétique en dépit de leur isolement géographique.Mots clés : sauterelle, Melanoplus, espèces relictuelles, ADNmt.[Traduit par la Rédaction] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on open access (OA) facility for providing free access to research matters and mentions OA policies adopted by the periodical. Topics discussed include adoption of a policy by Canadian funding agencies making publications freely available within twelve months, launch of an open access journal providing public access to articles and partnership of publisher Canadian Science Publishing (CSP) with research repository TSpace to offer automatic deposit of their publications.

A biography of John Unrau, one of the outstanding early geneticists in Canada, is presented. He was born on January 24, 1916 in Karaguy, Orenburgski Territory in Russia. He obtained a B.S.A degree in 1943 at the University of Saskatchewan. He had three sons and a daughter. He was included in the Committee on Radiation Biology that reported to the Genetics Society in 1961.

Presents information on the 2003 recepients of the Genetics Society of Canada awards. Stephen Scherer; David L. Baillie.