š The Week in Botany January 6, 2025
Iām back a week earlier than usual as Iāll be at the Plant Biology Education event on Tuesday and Wednesday, snow permitting. Iāve been preparing to make sure there are things set to come out on the blog this week, after a couple of weeks off.
There are jobs in the careers section this week, but I havenāt included everything that the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences listed over the break. There are a dozen or more funded PhD positions open, particularly for forest projects.
The sun is slowly crawling back into the sky, with 8 minutes more sunlight where I live than last week. I canāt help thinking New Zealand has the better idea of starting the New Year in the summer when people can enjoy it. Thereāll be 15 minutes more daylight next week, as well as a collection of the posts youāre sharing on Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads and Twitter. Until then, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
News & Views
Stressed out trees helping charities restore valuable aspen forests
In a little understood quirk of nature foresters have been putting the aspen tree under duress to promote flowering.
Giant Hairy Pitcher Plant Discovered In Northern Borneo
Discovered in the ultramafic mountains in central Sabah, the species was named for the orangutan, due to its hairsā striking resemblance to the great apeās long, dark, rusty-red hair.
700 mangrove trees planted at event to mark 20th anniversary of 2004 tsunami
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the tsunami tragedy at the Changkat Keruing forest in Manjung, a non-governmental organisation planted about 700 mangrove trees.
10m trees to be planted in US to replace ones destroyed by hurricanes
Arbor Day Foundation non-profit to plant trees in six of the worst-hit states over the next four years.
Noted botanist K.S. Manilal who revived Hortus Malabaricus passes away
A former head of Botany department at Calicut University, Dr. Manilal dedicated around 35 years of his life to researching, translating, and annotating Hortus Malabaricus, a 17th-century Latin manuscript in 12 volumes which documented the diverse medicinal plants of Kerala.
In the Arctic, planting more trees actually makes the world warmer
In the far north, the warming effect of the lower albedo of trees exceeds the cooling effect of the carbon they take from the atmosphere by converting COā into biomass.
Illegal trade booms in South Africa's 'super-strange looking' plants
A biodiversity hotspot in a remote part of South Africa has become the hub of an illegal trade in protected plant species, with organised crime groups capitalising on overseas demand.
The Japanese āmicro-forestā method is transforming cities
Our cities are polluted and overcrowded - but planting trees in urban spaces can increase biodiversity and create wildlife habitats for the future.
Whisky galore: The tale of shipwrecked spirits
Researchers found 150-year-old rye (Secale cereale) grains in a shipwreck in Lake Huron. While their initial attempt to germinate these historical seeds was unsuccessful, scientists are now pursuing an innovative biotechnology approach: they plan to extract DNA from the ancient rye and incorporate it into modern varieties through gene editing.
A 300 million year old lycopsid tree from Brymbo Fossil Forest, on display in National Museum Cardiff (was National Museum of Wales). The trunk is about 30cm diameter. #FossilFriday #paleobotany š§Ŗāļøššæ
ā Dr Susannah Lydon (@susieoftraken.bsky.social) 2025-01-03T18:07:25.348Z
Scientific Papers
Repairing a deleterious domestication variant in a floral regulator gene of tomato by base editing ($)
Glaus et al identified a deleterious mutation in the tomato transcription factor SUPPRESSOR OF SP2 (SSP2), which became prevalent in the domesticated germplasm and diminished DNA binding to genome-wide targets. They applied base editing to directly repair the deleterious mutation in cultivated tomato and obtained plants with compact growth that provide an early fruit yield.
ReadCube: https://rdcu.be/d5qzs
Time to end the vascular plant chauvinism ($)
Among the vast diversity of plants, we often focus our admiration, conservation efforts and research on vascular plants: the towering trees, flowering shrubs, and beneficial grasses and herbs. However, this emphasis reveals a bias that leaves the non-vascular plants ā the tiny, overlooked, inconspicuous plants ā hidden in the shadows, literally.
ReadCube: https://rdcu.be/d5qzy
Diverse plant RNAs coat Arabidopsis leaves and are distinct from apoplastic RNAs (OA)
Borniego et al report that Arabidopsis leaves are covered with diverse RNAs of plant origin, including abundant tRNAs and tRNA-derived fragments. This leaf surface RNA is not associated with extracellular vesicles or protein complexes; however, it is less degraded than RNA found inside the extracellular spaces of leaves, suggesting that leaf surface RNA is secreted directly rather than exuded through stomata or hydathodes.
Large-scale forest disturbance and associated management shape bird communities in Central European spruce forests (OA)
Graser et al quantified how the large-scale loss of mature spruce plantations after natural disturbance affects bird diversity and abundance in Central Europe and how this is moderated by pre- and post- disturbance management.
Transposon-triggered epigenetic chromatin dynamics modulate EFR-related pathogen response (OA)
Mencia et al found that an inverted-repeat transposon (EFR-associated IR, Ea-IR) located between the loci encoding PRRs ELONGATION FACTOR-TU RECEPTOR (EFR) and myosin XI-k (XI-k) in Arabidopsis affects chromatin organization, promoting the formation of a repressive chromatin loop.
Conservation of symbiotic signaling since the most recent common ancestor of land plants (OA)
Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis (AMS) evolved in the first plants that colonized land 450 million years ago. The mechanisms that have allowed this very ancient symbiosis to evolve and to be maintained remain poorly described. VerniƩ et al demonstrate that Marchantia paleacea shares a signaling pathway with flowering plants. This strongly suggests that all extant land plants share this pathway for activating a dedicated genetic program in the presence of the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiont.
Autophagosome development and chloroplast segmentation occur synchronously for piecemeal degradation of chloroplasts (OA)
Izumi et al report on the intracellular dynamics of an autophagy pathway responsible for piecemeal degradation of chloroplast components. Through live-cell monitoring of chloroplast morphology, they observed the formation of chloroplast budding structures in sugar-starved leaves.
The 1001G+ project: A curated collection of Arabidopsis thaliana long-read genome assemblies to advance plant research (OA)
Genomes Plus Consortium et al highlight the diversity of a curated collection of previously published and so far unpublished genome sequences assembled using different types of long reads, including PacBio Continuous Long Reads (CLR), PacBio High Fidelity (HiFi) reads, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) reads. This 1001 Genomes Plus (1001G+) resource is being made available at http://1001genomes.org.
MUTE drives asymmetric divisions to form stomatal subsidiary cells in Crassulaceae succulents (OA)
Stomatal complexes in the emerging succulent model Kalanchoƫ laxiflora consist of two guard cells surrounded by three anisocytic subsidiary cells (SCs). Cheng et al show that these SCs shuttle ions and thus likely support stomatal movements.
A de novo gene promotes seed germination under drought stress in Arabidopsis (OA)
Jin et al selected seven genes from 782 de novo genes for functional exploration based on transcriptional and translational evidence. Subsequently, they revealed that SWK, a de novo gene that originated from a non-coding sequence in Arabidopsis thaliana, plays a role in seed germination under osmotic stress.
I almost missed the first #FossilFriday of 2025. Anyway, better late than never: here's my reconstruction of Wielandiella angustifolia, which I did last year!!! 2024 was a productive year of #paleoart, and that'll hopefully continue this year, so stay tuned!!! #paleobotany #paleontology #plants
ā Julianne Kiely šæCommissions openšæ (@palaeojules.bsky.social) 2025-01-03T23:39:50.155Z
In AoBC Publications
Call for Nominations: Journal of Plant Physiology Young Scientist Award
We are excited to announce the inaugural Journal of Plant Physiology Young Scientist Award 2025. We seek nominations for young scientists who have made significant strides in deepening our understanding of plant physiological processes.
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.
Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term), Cambridge
The candidate will investigate proposed metabolic pathways using a range of bioinformatic, molecular biology and biochemistry skills to identify and functionally characterise candidate enzymes. They will also apply synthetic biology and metabolic engineering approaches to the reconstruction and optimisation of biosynthetic pathways in heterologous hosts, including the plant production chassis, Nicotiana benthamiana.
Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term), Cambridge
The successful applicant will design and develop molecular tools to engineer nitrate signalling and root development. They will characterise engineered plants and conduct experiments to investigate the role of root systems on the uptake and use of externally applied nutrients. Further, they will collaborate on the application of novel, synthetic optogenetic systems for controlling plant gene expression and growth.
Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term), Cambridge
The successful candidate must have a PhD in molecular or synthetic biology and a thorough understanding of eukaryotic genomes and gene expression. Applicants should be proficient in the design and assembly of constructs for engineering plants and experience in quantitative assays. Ideally, they will be experienced in the use of mass spectrometry for the identification and quantification of metabolites.
Research Fellow, 7 Months, Warwick
We are recruiting an experienced Plant Molecular Biology/Plant Tissue Culture PDRA to support the Elizabeth Creak Horticulture Technology Centre, a facility supported by the Elizabeth Creak Trust to improve vegetable crops using gene editing approaches. The candidate will have a PhD and experience in both plant tissue culture and plant molecular biology, ideally with experience in gene editing and GoldenGate cloning.
Postdoctoral Research Associate (Tropical Palaeobotany), Exeter
The successful applicant will conduct archaeobotanical (phytolith) analysis of samples from a Belizean tropical forest. You will contribute to cross-disciplinary research integrating a range of state-of-the-art techniques in archaeology, archaeobotany, palaeoclimate, remote sensing, botany, and plant DNA to investigate the long-term human legacy on a tropical forest in Belize.
PhD position in Pharmaceutical Biology, WĆ¼rzburg
Based on our previous work (Reichelt et al., 2023; Plant, Cell & Environment) the project aims to investigate the relationship between trehalose 6-phosphate, starch and energy metabolism, and heat resistance in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. You will have access to a broad spectrum of methods, including analytical (LC-MS), molecular biological (qRT-PCR, RNA-Seq, CRISPR/Cas9), and plant physiological techniques.
Researcher - Ecology, adaptation and population genomics of endangered plant taxa in Bavaria (m/f/x), Munich
The endangered flora of Bavaria and in particular its alpine species and their protection are important to us. Therefore, we now broaden our research by investigating the ecology, adaptation and population genomics of endangered plant taxa in Bavaria. We aim to identify the factors causing their decline in the last 200 years by including both historical and extant populations. Population genomic and phylogeographic analyses will try to elucidate where and when the endangered Bavarian populations originated.
Postdoctoral Researcher/Project Researcher for photosynthesis research, Turku
We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of membrane potential in photosynthetic bacteria and their biotechnological applications. The project will be carried out at the University of Turku, Finland, with opportunities for shorter research stay at a collaborating laboratory at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Washington
This postdoctoral position, in the Harper lab at Washington State University-Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center (WSU-IAREC), is focused on the study of systemically infecting pathogens affecting perennials in the Pacific Northwest. The researcher will be expected to carry out a combination āomics studies to describe the infection, colonization, and pathogenicity of the X-disease phytoplasma in stone fruit and their vectors.
Visiting Researcher, New Jersey
A visiting researcher position is available within the Department of Plant Biology in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey located in New Brunswick, NJ. The primary purpose of the Visiting Research Scholar position is to work under the direction of the principal investigator. The visiting researcher will possess a Ph.D. and have significant experience in turfgrass stress physiology. The visiting researcher will work on research and writing projects of understanding mechanisms of turfgrass tolerance to abiotic stresses in this research area.
Postdoctoral Research Associate (NIFA SCRI), Washington
The Gang Lab in Washington State Universityās Institute for Biological Chemistry seeks a Post-doctoral Research Associate to participate in a new multi-institutional collaborative project funded by USDA-NIFA that is developing a new class of dry beans, known as āpopping beansā. These beans pop/puff when heated and have very interesting properties for human health and nutrition as well as for energy saving properties when cooked/processed. The Post-doctoral Research Associate, who will be a PhD level scientist, will spearhead efforts to screen developing popping bean varieties for disease resistance.