New and interesting Websites

Lichen Laboratory Methods: Web Page under Construction

Following discussions among a core group of lichenologists at IMC6 in Jerusalem, a web page is being set up devoted specifically to "Lichen Laboratory Methods". The discussion highlighted the need to easily access lichen lab methods which are often fragmented in the literature or buried in expensive books or journals with limited circulation. It also addressed the usefulness of accessing methods which the authors do not necessarily plan to publish in print, or methods which may have failed to produce the expected results. The availability of serious but unsuccesful attempts provided by a web page would have several benefits: at worst it would avoid repetition of mistakes and at best it would increase the probabi lity that someone would develop modifications turning failure into success: good but unsuccessful ideas are often simply almost right. A web page would have the possibility of growing and changing in pace with the science and the technologies, would be freely accessible to the majority of scientists, and would limit delays in time and availability between the generation of ideas and results and their general diffusion through the scientific community. The web page is under construction right now and the goal is to open it up by the spring or summer of 1999. The page would start with a set of core methods grouped and accessible via hypertext links. It would be connected also to already available lichen web pages and relevant non-lichen web pages. The core methods will include: lichen culture methods and findings; isolated symbiont culture and analysis; DNA extraction methods; RNA extraction methods; molecular techniques useful for lichens as they appear (in situ hybridization, cytology, chromosome analysis etc); it might expand over time to include secondary compounds, physiology, and ecophysiology. Any scientist wishing to contribute is welcome. Only contributions sent in electronic format will be included. Contributions can include figures if they are necessary to reproduce or understand the methods. Contributions will be edited and screened to ensure quality and clarity. Whether the methods were previously published or unpublished, the authors, institutions and addresses must be avaliable. By submitting an unpublished procedure, the authors implicitly agree that it can be used freely and can be quoted in subsequently published work. The editors of the page do not guarantee the veracity or the effectiveness of the presented methods. Please send your questions, comments, methods to: darmaleo@duke.edu and/or to otts@rz.uni-duesseldorf.de

Sieglinde Ott, Düsseldorf and Daniele Armaleo, Durham

LIAS Project

All genus and species data of LIAS databases can be accessed now via checkbox forms (http://dbsys.botanik.biologie.uni-muenchen.de/botsamml/lias/liasonline.html). Users and experts are kindly asked to revise these forms online and submit the revised set by using the button "Send (revised) item description" at the bottom of each form. The data will be re-imported into the database after control. There is another option as well, to print out the relevant pages, to revise them manually, and send them by mail. The two web interfaces DAP ('DeltaAccess Perl') and DAWI ('DeltaAccess Web Interface') were supplemented by the option to use Intkey as a helper application and, as a further option, NaviKey by Noel Cross (Harvard) is ready to be installed as a Java interface for all databases. A new database with all 200 species of the Lecanora subfusca group by H. T. Lumbsch and R. Guderley is expected this year.

Gerhard Rambold, München