About the Authors

Juan J. Lu

Affiliation Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Grassland Resources and Ecology & Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Western Arid Region Grassland Resources and Ecology, College of Grassland and Environment Sciences, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urümqi, China

Dun Y. Tan

tandunyan@163.com (DYT); ccbask0@uky.edu (CCB)

Affiliation Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Grassland Resources and Ecology & Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Western Arid Region Grassland Resources and Ecology, College of Grassland and Environment Sciences, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urümqi, China

Jerry M. Baskin

Affiliations Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Grassland Resources and Ecology & Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Western Arid Region Grassland Resources and Ecology, College of Grassland and Environment Sciences, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urümqi, China, Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States of America

Carol C. Baskin

tandunyan@163.com (DYT); ccbask0@uky.edu (CCB)

Affiliations Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Grassland Resources and Ecology & Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Western Arid Region Grassland Resources and Ecology, College of Grassland and Environment Sciences, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urümqi, China, Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States of America, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States of America

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: JJL DYT JMB CCB. Performed the experiments: JJL DYT JMB CCB. Analyzed the data: JJL DYT JMB CCB. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: JJL DYT JMB CCB. Wrote the paper: JJL DYT JMB CCB.