February 5, 2024

🌙 The Week in Botany February 5, 2024

You may need to check your spam folders next week as, if all goes well, this will be the last TWiB sent through Substack. We’ll be moving to Buttondown for a few reasons, but one big one is that it’ll be easier for someone else to take on the email list if I’m incapacitated for a while. I’m now negative on the COVID tests, so things should be improving. Thank you to everyone who wished me well.

I’d like to wish a Happy Lunar New Year for those who celebrate. It’s one of the more botanical years, as while it’s the Year of the Dragon, it’s a Wood Dragon this time around. It’s also supposed to be a lucky year, so I hope that’ll help you receive another issue of TWiB at the same time next week. Until then, take care.

Alun (webmaster@botany.one)

News & Views

The value of forests
Forests are fascinating ecosystems that have accompanied our history and are part of our collective tales. Let’s protect them!

More than 100,000 trees to be planted in Devon to boost Celtic rainforest
National Trust says it hopes to establish 50 hectares across three sites close to surviving pockets of rainforest,

Do tree-planting campaigns follow best practices for successful forest restoration?
New research reviewed publicly available information for 99 different organizations that coordinate large-scale tree-planting programs around the globe to see if these organizations seemed to be applying best practices for successful reforestation.

Invasive plants, emerald ash borers: How can gardeners help Northeast Ohio woods recover?
Eddie Lagucki’s column, “Bringing the native plant revolution to local backyards,” began by mourning the loss of the woods he knew a child. Reading his words, I was reminded of how I felt when I moved here five years ago after spending most of my adult life in California.

Hot? Hungry? Step inside these food forests
"The good news is there’s a simple way to cool things down: plant trees"

Microgreens Made To Order: Italian Scientists Tailor Iodine And Potassium Content Of Radishes, Peas, Rocket And Chard
In a significant development for personalised nutrition, researchers in Italy have cultivated microgreens with bespoke nutritional profiles to serve individual dietary requirements.

How to start an indoor garden with scraps from your dinner plate
Leftovers from these 5 veggies and herbs can be propagated to freshen up your cooking year-round.

International Garden Photographer of the Year competition 2024
An abstract photograph by June Sharpe has won this year's International Garden Photographer of the Year competition.

‘Edible meadow’ for improved gut health to feature at Chelsea flower show
Flowers used in the ‘microbiome garden’ can enhance gut health by being eaten or just walked past.

A Fossilized Tree That Dr. Seuss Might Have Dreamed Up
The toilet brushlike specimen from a Canadian quarry hints at the evolutionary experiments that occurred during a 15-million-year gap in the fossil record.

Under-appreciated plants: Seaweed
A few weeks back I began what is intended to be a series of posts about plants that are under-appreciated by people (and some botanists…). The first item looked at moss. This time the focus is upon seaweed.

Scientific Papers

♻️ Elevated atmospheric [CO2] can dramatically increase wheat yields in semi-arid environments and buffer against heat waves (OA)
Wheat production will be impacted by increasing concentration of atmospheric CO₂ [CO₂], which is expected to rise from about 400 μmol mol⁻¹ in 2015 to 550 μmol mol⁻¹ by 2050. Changes to plant physiology and crop responses from elevated [CO₂] (e[CO₂]) are well documented for some environments, but field-level responses in dryland Mediterranean environments with terminal drought and heat waves are scarce. The Australian Grains Free Air CO₂ Enrichment facility was established to compare wheat (Triticum aestivum) growth and yield under ambient (~370 μmol⁻¹ in 2007) and e[CO₂] (550 μmol⁻¹) in semi-arid environments.

♻️ Elevated [CO₂] mitigates the effect of surface drought by stimulating root growth to access sub-soil water (OA)
Through stimulation of root growth, increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentration ([CO₂]) may facilitate access of crops to sub-soil water, which could potentially prolong physiological activity in dryland environments, particularly because crops are more water use efficient under elevated [CO₂] (e[CO₂]). This study investigated the effect of drought in shallow soil versus sub-soil on agronomic and physiological responses of wheat to e[CO₂] in a glasshouse experiment.

Sea otter recovery buffers century-scale declines in California kelp forests (OA)
Nicholson et al. curate historical US government kelp canopy inventories, develop methods to compare them with contemporary surveys, and use a machine learning framework to evaluate and rank the drivers of change for California kelp forests over the last century. Random Forest models rank sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) population density as the primary driver of kelp changes, with benthic substrate, extreme heat, and high annual variation in primary productivity also significant.

Convergent evolution of water-conducting cells in Marchantia recruited the ZHOUPI gene promoting cell wall reinforcement and programmed cell death (OA)
Lu et al. show that pegged rhizoid differentiation in Marchantia polymorpha is controlled by orthologs of the ZHOUPI and ICE bHLH transcription factors required for endosperm cell death in Arabidopsis seeds. By contrast, pegged rhizoid development was not affected by disruption of MpNAC5, the Marchantia ortholog of the VND genes that control WCC formation in flowering plants.

Resilience of Xanthoria parietina under Mars-like conditions: photosynthesis and oxidative stress response ($)
Xanthoria parietina (a lichen) survivability in Mars-like conditions was supported by water-lysis efficiency recovery and antioxidant content balancing with ROS production after 30 days of exposure.

Phytophagy impacts the quality and quantity of plant carbon resources acquired by mutualistic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (OA)
Bell et al. show that host potato plants (Solanum tuberosum cv. Désirée) selectively allocate carbon resources to tissues interacting with AM fungi rather than those interacting with phytophagous parasites (the nematode Globodera pallida). They found that plants reduce the supply of hexoses but maintain the flow of plant-derived fatty acids to AM fungi when concurrently interacting with parasites.

RNA virus-mediated gene editing for tomato trait breeding (OA)
Virus-induced genome editing (VIGE) leverages viral vectors to deliver CRISPR-Cas components into plants for robust and flexible trait engineering. Uranga et al. describe a VIGE approach applying an RNA viral vector based on potato virus X (PVX) for genome editing of tomato, a mayor horticultural crop.

Sounds of the underground reflect soil biodiversity dynamics across a grassy woodland restoration chronosequence (OA)
Fifty-nine percent of the world’s species inhabit the soil. However, soils are degrading at unprecedented rates, necessitating efficient, cost-effective, and minimally intrusive biodiversity monitoring methods to aid in their restoration. Ecoacoustics is emerging as a promising tool for detecting and monitoring soil biodiversity, recently proving effective in a temperate forest restoration context. However, understanding the efficacy of soil ecoacoustics in other ecosystems and bioregions is essential. Robinson et al. applied ecoacoustics tools and indices (Acoustic Complexity Index, Bioacoustic Index, Normalised Difference Soundscape Index) to measure soil biodiversity in an Australian grassy woodland restoration chronosequence.

Multiplexed effector screening for recognition by endogenous resistance genes using positive defense reporters in wheat protoplasts (OA)
Plant resistance (R) and pathogen avirulence (Avr) gene interactions play a vital role in pathogen resistance. Wilson et al. have developed a novel wheat protoplast assay that enables efficient screening of Avr/R interactions at scale. Their assay allows access to the extensive gene pool of phenotypically described R genes because it does not require the overexpression of cloned R genes.

Isotopic clumping in wood as a proxy for photorespiration in trees ($)
Photorespiration occurs when, during photosynthesis, plants consume O₂ and release CO₂ instead of the reverse. How photorespiration varies in the environment today is uncertain but important for validating how climate will change in the future and has changed in the distant past. Lloyd et al. develop and apply a proxy for photorespiration rate based on the isotopic composition of a specific functional group (methoxyl) in wood.

Careers

Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture: Landscape Horticulture and Design (Continuing Track), Delaware
The University of Delaware (UD) Department of Plant and Soil Sciences seeks outstanding candidates for a 9-month continuing track position of Assistant Professor of Landscape Horticulture and Design to begin Fall 2024. This position is 95% teaching, and 5% service. The Continuing Track (CT) is UD’s full-time, continuing faculty line, similar to the tenure track.

Assistant Professor of Biology (tenure-track), New Mexico
New Mexico Highlands University Biology Department is seeking candidates for a full time, tenure track Assistant Professor of Biology who is passionate about student success, teaching, and student research. The position starts August, 2024 . Interested candidates with teaching expertise and research in cellular and molecular biology, or botany are invited to apply.

Assistant Professor of Biology/Environmental Science - 9 Months, Florida
The primary purpose of this job is to teach courses in the biological sciences and environmental science (general biology, environmental science, marine biology and botany), serve as course manager for several biology and environmental courses, to advise students seeking careers in stem areas, manage adjuncts teaching several different courses and work on assigned committees.

Post-Doctoral Scientist / Advanced Post-Doctoral Scientist, California
Under the general direction of the Principal Investigator under the NASA ARC-CREST Cooperative Agreement, the Post-Doctoral Scientist is responsible for conducting scientific research, processing and analyzing UAV and satellite data, publishing scientific papers, and developing proposals for new research activities. Project focus areas include: remote sensing of agricultural lands, with an emphasis on plant pathogens in strawberries, lettuce and developing satellite-based applications to support on-farm management.

Adjunct Instructor – Botany/Plant Science, Tennessee
This position is to provide quality instruction for student learning and to maintain a positive learning environment in the classroom. The major emphasis will be placed on teaching and evaluating students in the classroom and laboratories.

Assistant Professor of Biology, Michigan
Preference in hiring will be given to individuals who have an academic background in biology and an interest in instruction in zoology, botany, microbiology, or human anatomy/physiology. This position has primary assignment in the on-campus undergraduate programs located in Olivet, Michigan. Hires at other ranks may be considered for candidates with exceptional qualifications.

Lecturer - Wildlife and Environmental Conservation, South Carolina
Clemson University's Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation (FEC) invites applications for the position of Lecturer in Wildlife and Environmental Conservation with expertise in wildlife ecology and conservation, wildlife management, wildlife-habitat interactions, or similar disciplines. This is a full-time, nine-month, non-tenure track teaching position with promotion potential.

Research Manager - Plant Breeding Institute, NSW
The Faculty of Science is currently looking for a Research Manager to manage the overall operational and administrative services in support of the Director of the Plant Breeding Institute (PBI), and at the discretion of the Director and members of the research team. This includes collating progress reports and summarising outcomes on the progress of the research (including assisting in reporting to external funding bodies), ensuring project milestones are met in a timely manner, providing assistance with sourcing grant funding and budgeting, and collaboration with academics and research professionals to achieve the goals of the Institute and School.

Postdoctoral Researcher in Molecular Microbiology of Anti-phage Defense Systems, Helsinki
Microbial Ecology and Evolution Research group led by Professor Ville-Petri Friman at the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki is looking for a postdoctoral researcher with background in molecular microbiology, genetics and evolution to a Novo Nordisk funded project: ‘Development of phage biocontrol to overcome the antiphage defense system arsenal of phytopathogenic Ralstonia solanacearum bacterium’.

Postdoctoral Fellow (Geography and Remote Sensing), Singapore
The Department of Geography at the National University of Singapore (https://fass.nus.edu.sg/geog/) is seeking a full-time Postdoctoral Fellow to study the climate resilience and threshold of trees in Singapore, using a wide array of ground observations (i.e., phenocam, Lidar, sap flow) and satellite remote sensing. The Postdoc is expected to integrate the advanced knowledge in plant physiology, remote sensing and ecological theories to advance our understanding of tree health and its response to climate change in Singapore.

Research Assistant in Plant Biology (Fixed Term), Cambridge
Applications are invited for a Research Assistant position in the group of Dr Chris Whitewoods at the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University, to identify the mechanisms that control specification of the two primary photosynthetic cell types in plant leaves.

Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Dundee
We are recruiting for an exceptional individual to join us as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the group of Dr Martin Balcerowicz within the University of Dundee’s Division of Plant Sciences, based at the James Hutton Institute. We are looking for a talented and enthusi astic individual to spearhead our efforts to understand how ambient temperature controls the process of translation at the molecular level.

PhD Positions in Life Sciences
Would you like to contribute your creativity to an international team of scientists from various disciplines focusing on basic research in the area of molecular life sciences? The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) invites you to apply for PhD Positions in Heidelberg, Barcelona, Grenoble, Hamburg, Hinxton (near Cambridge) and Rome.