🌻 The Week in Botany December 16, 2024
This week the Botanical Society of America announced they’ll no longer be posting to Twitter after January 1. We’ve put up our last post on Twitter, saying we’ll be elsewhere too. We’ll still be monitoring it for now, but if our tools for doing that break down, they might not get fixed.
I suspect that some publications and societies will be posting on Twitter until the summer, because it’s difficult to explain a marketing decision that involves giving up thousands of followers. However, the visibility of Altmetric scores showing a decline in Twitter use may change minds.
There’ll be another collection of the botanical stories and papers you’re sharing on Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads and Twitter next week. Until next week, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
On Botany One
Wind and Wings: Unravelling the Secrets of Ambophily in Tropical Highlands
Discover how plants in Brazil’s campos de altitude thrive through the unique combination of wind and animal pollination.
Social Media Plans for 2025
What do you do when large parts of internet infrastructure are vandalised? Here’s how we’re planning to work around them.
News & Views
‘In 20 years they’ll be saying that’s the forest I planted’: Green initiatives at the heart of Galway Community College
Deis school that facilitates second-level, further education and part-time adult students is a champion of green issues.
Meet the Plant Hacker Creating Flowers Never Seen (or Smelled) Before
Biotechnologist Sebastian Cocioba started hacking plants to put himself through college. Now, from his home lab on Long Island, he wants to bring the tools of genetic engineering to the masses.
‘It absolutely took off’: five UK biodiversity success stories
From new butterfly habitats in the Cotswolds to arctic willow planting in the Scottish Highlands, there are increasing numbers of places where humans are giving nature a helping hand to re-establish itself.
‬Judge blocks rule that eased U.S. reviews of biotech crops
Some plant researchers fear the setback could last years and will stifle innovation.
@plantteaching.bsky.social
Plants can determine what fungi they partner with
Despite assumptions that plant species strongly influence which AM fungi colonise their roots, experimental evidence for how this occurs has been limited. Frew and colleagues address this gap by investigating how two important crops, wheat and sorghum, shape the communities of AM fungi in their roots.
QuickCheck: Can bees become caffeine addicts?
In fact, it has been said that bees will actively seek out and consume caffeine. Is this true?
The dark myths and folklore behind your favourite Christmas plants
Holly was believed to have obstructed witches.
They Grow So Fast: Moon Tree Progress Since NASA’s Artemis I Mission
In the two years since NASA’s Orion spacecraft returned to Earth with more than 2,000 tree seedlings sourced in a partnership with USDA Forest Service, Artemis I Moon trees have taken root at 236 locations across the contiguous United States.
LA tree enthusiast shares her love for the city’s canopy: ‘Something we took for granted’
Stephanie Carrie gives tours and educates Angelenos on the importance of the urban forest – and how to improve it.
Saving Plants from Extinction with Groundbreaking Technology – Missouri Botanical Garden’s Herbarium Goes Digital to Revolutionize Species Identification
Landmark $14.4 million grant to the Missouri Botanical Garden marks the largest gift to botany in recent years.
In one year, I genetically engineered the boring Arabidopsis into a beautiful ornamental flower 🧬🌹 Here is how and why I gave this model organism a visual upgrade 🧵(1/7)
— Nick Desnoyer (@nickdesnoyer.bsky.social) 2024-12-12T11:24:03.852Z
Scientific Papers
CRISPR/Cas9-driven double modification of grapevine MLO6-7 imparts powdery mildew resistance, while editing of NPR3 augments powdery and downy mildew tolerance (OA)
Moffa et al report the exploitation of a cisgenic approach with the Cre-lox recombinase technology to generate grapevine-edited plants with the potential to be transgene-free while preserving their original genetic background. The characterization of three edited lines for each target demonstrated immunity development against Erysiphe necator in MLO6-7-edited plants.
‪@plantevolution.bsky.social‬
Drastic mycorrhizal community shifts in Sceptridium ferns during the generation transition from fully mycoheterotrophic gametophytes to photosynthetic sporophytes ($)
This study explores the fungal associations of Sceptridium (Ophioglossaceae), an early-diverging fern with mycoheterotrophic gametophytes. Suetsugu et al analyzed germination patterns and fungal associations in Sceptridium gametophytes, comparing them to the distribution and mycorrhizal partners of photosynthetic sporophytes.
Characterization of DNA methylation reader proteins of Arabidopsis thaliana ($)
In plants, cytosine DNA methylation (mC) is largely associated with transcriptional repression of transposable elements, but it can also be found in the body of expressed genes, referred to as gene body methylation (gbM). gbM is correlated with ubiquitously expressed genes; however, its function, or absence thereof, is highly debated. The different outputs that mC can have raise questions as to how it is interpreted—or read—differently in these sequence and genomic contexts. To screen for potential mC-binding proteins, Cahn et al performed an unbiased DNA affinity pull-down assay combined with quantitative mass spectrometry using methylated DNA probes for each DNA sequence context.
‪@jamespblloyd.bsky.social‬
Resilient plants, sustainable future ($)
Rapid and significant changes are needed in the way we conduct research on plant resilience, develop new crop varieties, and cultivate those crops in our agricultural systems. Rhee et al describe the main bottlenecks for these processes and outline a set of key recommendations on how to accelerate research in this critical area for our society.
Long-read genomics reveal extensive nuclear-specific evolution and allele-specific expression in a dikaryotic fungus (OA)
Phased telomere to telomere (T2T) genome assemblies are revolutionising our understanding of long hidden genome biology "dark matter" such as centromeres, rDNA repeats, inter-haplotype variation, and allele specific expression (ASE). Yet insights into dikaryotic fungi that separate their haploid genomes into distinct nuclei is limited. Tam et al explore the impact of dikaryotism on the genome biology of a long-term asexual clone of the wheat pathogenic fungus Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici.
@schwessinger.bsky.social‬
Leaf nonstructural carbohydrate residence time, not concentration, correlates with leaf functional traits following the leaf economic spectrum in woody plants ($)
Nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) concentrations might reflect the strategies described in the leaf economic spectrum (LES) due to their dependence on photosynthesis and respiration. Asao et al examined if NSC concentrations correlate with leaf structure, chemistry, and physiology traits for 114 species from 19 sites and 5 biomes around the globe.
Arabidopsis WALL-ASSOCIATED KINASES are not required for oligogalacturonide-induced signaling and immunity (OA)
Herold et al investigated the role of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) WAKs in OG perception using a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) mutant in which all five WAK genes were deleted. Using a combination of immune assays for early and late pattern-triggered immunity, they show that WAKs are dispensable for OG-induced signaling and immunity, indicating that they are not bona fide OG receptors.
@jackrhodes.bsky.social
Cell Wall Dynamics in the parasitic plant (Striga) and rice pathosystem ($)
Barminga et al reveal cell wall dynamics in both Striga and rice using simultaneous RNA sequencing. They used weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to home in on cell wall modification processes occurring in interactions with a resistant rice cultivar (Nipponbare) compared to a susceptible one (IAC 165).
Interfamily co-transfer of sensor and helper NLRs extends immune receptor functionality between angiosperms (OA)
Plant nucleotide-binding, leucine-rich repeat (NLR) immune receptors recognize pathogen effectors and activate defense. NLR genes can be non-functional in distantly related plants (restricted taxonomic functionality, RTF). Du et al enable Solanaceae NLR gene function in rice, soybean and Arabidopsis by co-delivering sensor NLR genes with their cognate NRC-type helper NLRs.
@gittacoaker.bsky.social
Horizontal transfers between fungal Fusarium species contributed to successive outbreaks of coffee wilt disease (OA)
Peck et al compared the genomes of 13 historic strains pf Fusarium spanning 6 decades and multiple disease outbreaks to investigate population structure and host specialisation. They found that F. xylarioides comprised at least 4 distinct lineages: 1 host-specific to Coffea arabica, 1 to C. canephora var. robusta, and 2 historic lineages isolated from various Coffea species.
Are you a plant science researcher working towards a PhD or an early career researcher who completed their PhD no more than five years ago? Consider applying to the Next Generation Scientists 2025 meeting, sponsored by New Phytologist!
https://www.newphytologist.org/nextgenevents/2025
@elenakramer.bsky.social‬
In AoBC Publications
Photosynthetic responses to temperature across the tropics: a meta-analytic approach ($)
Green flowers need yellow to get noticed in a green world (OA)
Careers
Note: These are posts that have been advertised around the web. They are not posts that I personally offer, nor can I arrange the visa for you to work internationally.
Nigel Groome Studentship: How do ER-mitochondrial Communications Regulate Plant Metabolism During Growth and Stress Adaptation?, Oxford
This project at Oxford Brookes University will explore novel mechanisms of ER-mitochondrial signalling in plants mediated by EMCS proteins at the organelle interface. We will investigate the functions of ER-mitochondrial signalling in regulating mitochondrial structure and function and their importance to plant growth and stress-resilience.
ACCE+ DLA programme: Protecting native flowers under climate change by creating natural temperature buffers, York
Many rare UK wildflowers are under threat from climate change. These include many wildflowers that bear an important cultural heritage, such as the pasque flower– the Easter flower that legends say emerged from the blood of Romans or Danes. Efforts are underway to reintroduce these species in species-rich grasslands, but one of the main challenges is how to protect the young seedlings from heat stress, which is likely to become ever more prevalent under climate change.
Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Plant Ecology, Nottingham
Nottingham Trent University is seeking to appoint a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Plant Ecology with specific knowledge and expertise in vegetation surveying. Alongside a detailed knowledge of land use ecology, relevant industry experience and research interest would be desirable but not essential.
Research Associate in Plant Bioengineering, London
We are a team of six based at Imperial College London and the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences. We love seeing our work going all the way from basic science discoveries to real-life technology or a product. We are interested in understanding how to design plant responses and development, and in the next three years we aim to progress towards creating plants with various designer traits.
Research Associate in Drought Modelling, Bristol
An 18-month Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) will work on a NERC-funded project quantifying the role of vegetation legacy to climatic extremes (i.e., droughts and heatwaves). This project integrates statistical data synthesis (flux, satellite and manipulation experiments) with process-based modelling to deliver new process-orientated insight into how trees will responds to projected changes in the frequency, magnitude, and duration of future droughts and heatwaves across Europe.
Project Lead Plant Physiology, De Lier, Netherlands
For our Cell Biology team, we are looking for a driven and results-oriented Project Lead. With your background in Plant Physiology, you contribute to improve Dümmen Orange breeding programs worldwide.
Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Forest Pathology, Uppsala
The holder of the position is expected to develop knowledge as a basis for preserving forest health through increased understanding of pathogenic organisms on forest trees. Possible areas of research include, but are not limited to, genomics and biology of pathogenic fungi, tree-pathogen interactions, and forest and management strategies. The research can include both fundamental and applied questions with relevance to forest health.
Assistant Professor in Biodiversity Studies Using eDNA, Umeå
Umeå Plant Science Centre is opening an Assistant Professor position in Biodiversity studies at the Department of Plant Physiology. We are looking for someone who works with plants or forest trees and the biodiversity they host and can link biodiversity data to plant physiological processes.
Postdoc fellowship to work on plant cell fate determination, Umeå
This project aims to understand how positional information controls cell fate determination in plants, specifically focusing on the role of physical and mechanical signals in this process. Using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system, particularly the differentiation of root epidermal cells into hair and non-hair cells, this project will investigate how positional information is generated, perceived, and transduced.
Assistant Professor of Environmental & Plant Stress Biology, Tenure-Track, Ohio
Ohio University (https://www.ohio.edu/cas/plantbio/) invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Environmental and Plant Stress Biology, with an expected start date of August 2025. We seek a scientist who conducts basic research in plant stress interactions, with potential for applied outcomes solving real-world environmental problems. Such work might include studying plant responses to abiotic and/or biotic stressors, which could inform strategies for plant acclimation and conservation efforts. The goal is a research agenda that fosters a multidisciplinary approach to be applied to diverse funding opportunities.
Assistant Professor- Tenure-Track, New York
The School of Integrative Plant Science (SIPS) welcomes applications for a 9-month, full-time tenure-track position in Field Crop Pathology at the assistant professor level. Cornell University is looking for a highly collaborative individual who is experienced in, and will integrate, cutting-edge research approaches to manage diseases of field crops.
Assistant or Associate Professor Plant Pathology, Florida
This is a 12-month tenure-accruing position that will be 60% research (Florida Agricultural Experiment Station) and 40% Extension (Florida Cooperative Extension Service), located at the North Florida Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, at the University of Florida.