🌻 The Week in Botany April 8, 2024
I hope you're well. I'm suffering a little from the storms passing overhead and giving me headaches. On the plus side, it does make Big Jet TV more interesting.
Highlights this week include Anderson Alvarado's write-up of a complex paper on plant anatomy. He did a great job of explaining why these small details matter. I also enjoyed former Botany One blogger Jerald Pinson's post on Scrub Mints.
As well as those posts, we have the other items you're looking at across Mastodon, Twitter, Bluesky and LinkedIn. There'll be another email at the usual time next week. Until then, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
Recently on Botany One
Interpreting Elatinaceae’s Tiny Flowers in The Evolutionary Saga of Malpighiales
To understand the evolution of the flowers of a megadiverse group, Brazilian researchers had to delve into the floral anatomy of a family whose position on the evolutionary tree of plants has been controversial.
Scientists Discover How New Caledonia Birthed Over 40 Unique Palm Species
Scientists used DNA to create a family tree of New Caledonia’s unique palm trees and discover how they arrived on the islands over many millions of years through long distance travel and evolving to different environments.
In AoBC Journals
News & Views
The ‘Mother Tree’ idea is everywhere — but how much of it is real?
A popular theory about how trees cooperate has enchanted the public and raised the profile of forest conservation. But some ecologists think its scientific basis has been oversold.
New Cotswold wildflower grasslands to allow native species to return
The grasslands will be managed through a combination of conservation grazing and hay-cuts to allow the wildflowers to establish and flourish.
Plants Really Do 'Scream'. We've Simply Never Heard It Until Now.
It seems like Roald Dahl may have been onto something after all: if you hurt a plant, it screams.
Can You Help Saguaro National Park Fight The Invasive Stinknet?
If you live near the national park, you are being encouraged to help track and even remove this dangerous plant.
These plants evolved in Florida millions of years ago. They may be gone in decades.
Scrub mints are among the most endangered plants you’ve probably never heard of. More than half of the 24 species currently known to exist are considered threatened or endangered at the state or federal level, and nearly all scrub mints grow in areas that are being rapidly developed or converted to agricultural pasture.
The Oldest Desert On Earth Is Home To "Fairies", Miracle Plants, And... Toto?
I bless the fog down in Africa.
Climate change: Logging decline after political change in Brazil, Colombia
Researchers say new leaders have prioritised the environment, with tree losses in the Brazilian Amazon down by a huge 39%. However, increased tree felling and fires in Bolivia, Laos and Nicaragua wiped out many of these gains.
What your fruit bowl reveals about climate breakdown
Fruit trees have a complex relationship with the climate. In winter, trees need a period of cold weather (known as chill accumulation) to exit their dormant winter state and resume growth. This is followed by a period of warm weather (known as heat accumulation) which is necessary to produce blossoms in spring. The amount of cold and warm weather required varies depending on the fruit and variety, but failure to fulfil either can damage fruit yield and quality.
‘We need to accept the weeds’: the Dutch ‘tile whipping’ contest seeking to restore greenery
National competition has goal of helping Netherlands reach environmental targets by removing garden paving.
Scientific Papers
Bee-pollination promotes rapid divergent evolution in plants growing in different soils (OA)
Dorey & Schiestl use experimental evolution with fast cycling Brassica rapa plants to study the impact of soil, pollination, herbivory, and their interactions on divergent evolution in various traits during eight generations of selection. They found significant evolutionary changes in plant phenotypes caused by all three factors and their interactions.
Collective intelligence: A unifying concept for integrating biology across scales and substrates (OA)
McMillen & Levin overview a number of biological examples at different scales which highlight the ability of cellular material to make decisions that implement cooperation toward specific homeodynamic endpoints, and implement collective intelligence by solving problems at the cell, tissue, and whole-organism levels. They explore the hypothesis that collective intelligence is not only the province of groups of animals, and that an important symmetry exists between the behavioral science of swarms and the competencies of cells and other biological systems at different scales.
Contrasting biomass allocations explain adaptations to cold and drought in the world’s highest-growing angiosperms (OA)
Doležal et al analysed organ mass weights and fractions in 258 Himalayan herbaceous species across diverse habitats (wetland, steppe, alpine), growth forms (annual, perennial taprooted, rhizomatous and cushiony) and climatic gradients (3500–6150 m elevation) to explore whether biomass distribution adhered to fixed allometric or optimal partitioning rules, and how variations in size, phylogeny and ecological preferences influence their strategies for resource allocation.
Syntrichia ruralis: emerging model moss genome reveals a conserved and previously unknown regulator of desiccation in flowering plants (OA)
Zhang et al sequenced the genome of S. ruralis, conducted transcriptomic analyses, and performed comparative genomic and transcriptomic analyses with existing genomes and transcriptomes, including with the close relative S. caninervis. They took a genetic approach to characterize the role of an S. ruralis transcription factor, identified in transcriptomic analyses, in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Horticulture crop under pressure: Unraveling the impact of climate change on nutrition and fruit cracking ($)
Manzoor et al systematically explore the multifaceted impacts of these changes, with a particular focus on the nutritional quality and increased incidence of fruit cracking. An exhaustive review of current research identifies the critical role of transcription factors in mediating plant responses to climatic stressors, such as drought, temperature extremes, and saline conditions.
Diversity of bumble bees and butterflies in Minnesota roadsides depends on floral diversity and abundance but not floral native status (OA)
Darst et al ask how the plant communities of roadsides seeded with native and non-native seed mixes affect bumble bee and butterfly communities 2–20 years after planting.
Fire effects on pollination and plant reproduction: a quantitative review (OA)
Carbone et al performed a systematic literature review and meta-analyses to examine overall fire effects as well as different fire parameters on pollination and on plant reproduction. We also explored to what extent the responses vary among pollinators, pollination vectors, plant regeneration strategies, compatibility systems, vegetation types and biomes.
Gardens as drivers of native plant species dispersal and conservation (OA)
This study examines the effects of cultivating herbaceous native plants on their long-term population trends and endangerment, using Rothmaler's ‘Herbaceous Ornamental and Crop Plants’ in Germany, along with the German Red List of 1998 and 2018. It investigates whether native plants under cultivation are less endangered, examines the long-term population trends relative to cultivation frequency and assesses the potential role of cultivation in improving Red List status.
Lavender production in SE Dobrudja – intensive agriculture impacts pollinators’ density and diversity ($)
Kozuharova & Vereecken investigated the spectrum and activity of pollinators in lavender mono-crop fields versus those in an ornamental lavender plantation. The pollinator visitation activity in the agrarian study sites was several times lower compared with the ornamental site. Additionally, honey bees outnumbered the wild bees there.
ReadCube: https://rdcu.be/dD1uk
Marine protected areas can be useful but are not a silver bullet for kelp conservation (OA)
Filbee-Dexter question whether strengthened global protection will create meaningful conservation outcomes for kelp forests. They explore the benefits of Marine Protected Areas for kelp conservation under a suite of different stressors, focusing on empirical evidence from protected kelp forests.
Careers
Research Associate (Fixed Term), Cambridge
The Department of Plant Sciences is seeking to appoint a post-doctoral Research Associate to contribute to work on betalain-pigment related technologies. The successful candidate will join the Brockington Lab, who specialise in the evolution of betalain pigments and their biotechnological applications.
PhD Studentship - Developing Tools for the Understanding the Soil Microbiome under Controlled Light Conditions, London
Our research group is working within a consortium that is testing semi-transparent solar installations on crop growth-houses, to enhance biological and financial resilience in protected farming. We are evaluating electricity supply, the effect of partial shade on crops, and use of resources, such as water-use efficiency. As well as commercial aims, there is scientific interest in how manipulating the light quantity and quality can alter or enhance crop characteristics.
Kew Research Fellow - Enhanced Partnerships, Kew
The Future Leader Fellowship in Plant and Fungal Science provides a unique opportunity for early-career researchers to develop their scientific portfolio and skills in a vibrant research environment, working with colleagues in Kew Science to make substantial contributions to challenges facing humanity.
Research Laboratory Technician (Fixed Term), Cambridge
Applications are invited for a laboratory technician to support the research work in Dr Jeongmin Choi 's laboratory, starting in July 2024 ideally. This is an exciting opportunity for somebody passionate about scientific research to join a new team and work in a state-of-the-art laboratory.
School Manager, Dundee
An exciting opportunity has arisen in the School of Life Sciences for a highly motivated and senior professional to join its leadership as School Manager.
Engagement Officer, Melbourne
The position of Engagement officer will contribute to education and outreach programs within the La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF) and ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space (P4S).