š» The Week in Botany July 24, 2023
In the past, Iāve mentioned that the email will arrive Monday morning, unless COVID intervenes. My test came back negative, so itās just a bad cold.
This week weāve revised our AI statement. Thereās still no danger of an automatic article generator happening any time soon, but image generators are getting better and better so the statement updates where weāll use AI and where we wonāt. I believe that a computer cannot write better than a human, but if I donāt get some sleep next week, Iāll be putting that to the test.
Assuming COVID doesnāt strike this week, the next email will be with you at the usual time on Monday.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
On Botany One
Tiny Plant Made Smaller By Microbes
Lemna minor, Common Duckweed, is typically a small plant only a couple of centimetres long. New research finds that it gets even smaller when microbes interact with the plant.
Botany One & AI Revised
After a few months of working with AI, weāre revising how we use it. Some of this reflects changes in the capabilities of AI, and some of this reflects feedback on how we use it.
Climate Change Poses Heat Risk to Alpine Plants
Alpine plants, according to a recent study, are more at risk from prolonged heatwaves than previously thought, as extended heat exposure lowers the temperature at which critical damage occurs.
Restoration of habitats can also risk restoring the organisms that damage their biodiversity
Good intentions in ecological restoration can sometimes result in the unintentional spread of plant diseases due to neglected risk assessments and biosecurity measures.
Botany in a Barbie world is not fantastic
Plants are resilient, but even they are struggling with the increasing presence of microplastics.
News & Views
Insight: Fighting in Sudan leaves farmers struggling to get crops planted
A war between military factions in Sudan is putting at risk the production of staple crops this year, farmers in several states say, threatening to drive the African nation deeper into hunger and poverty.
House Republicans propose planting a trillion trees as they move away from climate change denial
House Republicans are searching for solutions to climate change without restricting American-produced energy that comes from burning oil, coal and gas.
Rings of fire: centuries of tree growth show wildfires increasing in Vietnam
The data suggest human activities are more to blame for the increase than climate change.
Study highlights urgent need to protect world's forests from non-native pests in the face of climate change
CABI joined an international team of researchers from 57 institutions around the world to share its expertise in a study that highlights the urgent need to protect the world's forests from non-native pests amid climate change.
Giant plant flowers for first time in 25 years
A rare plant that flowers once every 25 to 30 years has finally bloomed in the University of Leicester's botanic garden.
UK horticulturists call for more moth-friendly gardens
Tatton Park flower show features garden of flowering plants whose heady scents at night attract crucial but āinvisibleā pollinators.
Net diversification rate mainly drives species richness disparity in tropical terrestrial orchids
Species richness is not only spatially heterogeneous along latitudes, but also among hyperdiverse tropical floras. However, few studies have elucidated the patterns of species richness in tropical terrestrial orchids.
Alcoholic fruit may help plants recruit mammals to spread their seeds
Measurements of alcohol levels in fruits collected in a Costa Rican forest reveal that those eaten by mammals contain higher levels of alcohol.
Scientific Papers
Plant-TFClass: a structural classification for plant transcription factors
Blanc-Mathieu et al. reviewed DBD 3D structures and models available for plant TFs to classify most of the 56 recognized plant TF types within the TFClass framework. This extended classification adds eight new classes and 37 new families corresponding to DBD structures absent in mammals.
A dominant-negative avirulence effector of the barley powdery mildew fungus provides mechanistic insight to barley MLA immune receptor activation
Nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors (NLRs) recognize pathogen effectors to mediate plant disease resistance, which is often accompanied by a localized host cell death response. Effectors can escape NLR recognition through various polymorphisms, allowing the pathogen to proliferate on previously resistant host plants. The powdery mildew effector AVRA13-1 is recognized by the barley NLR MLA13 and activates host cell death. Crean et al. demonstrate that a virulent form of AVRA13, called AVRA13-V2, escapes MLA13 recognition by substituting a serine for a leucine residue at the C-terminus.
Shifts in flowering phenology in response to spring temperatures in eastern Tennessee
Faidiga et al. examined 1000+ digitized herbarium records along with location-specific temperature data to analyze phenological shifts of 14 spring-flowering species in two adjacent ecoregions in eastern Tennessee.
Indigenous crop diversity maintained despite the introduction of major global crops in an African centre of agrobiodiversity
Rampersad et al. surveyed 1369 subsistence farms stratified across climate gradients in the Ethiopian Highlands, a hotspot of agrobiodiversity, to characterise the richness and cultivated area of the 83 edible crops they contained. They further categorise these crops as being indigenous to Ethiopia, or introduced across three different eras. They apply non-metric multidimensional scaling and mixed effects modelling to characterise agroecosystem composition across farms with different proportions of introduced crops.
Comparative phylotranscriptomics reveals ancestral and derived root nodule symbiosis programmes
Symbiotic interactions such as the nitrogen-fixing root nodule symbiosis (RNS) have structured ecosystems during the evolution of life. Libourel et al. aimed at reconstructing ancestral and intermediate steps that shaped RNS observed in extant flowering plants.
Jurassic NLR: Conserved and dynamic evolutionary features of the atypically ancient immune receptor ZAR1
Plant nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) immune receptors generally exhibit hallmarks of rapid evolution, even at the intraspecific level. Adachi et al. used iterative sequence similarity searches coupled with phylogenetic analyses to reconstruct the evolutionary history of HOPZ-ACTIVATED RESISTANCE1 (ZAR1), an atypically conserved NLR that traces its origin to early flowering plant lineages ā¼220 to 150 million yrs ago (Jurassic period).
Small genome size and variation in ploidy levels support the naturalization of vascular plants but constrain their invasive spread
Using 11ā049 species, PyÅ”ek et al. tested the effects of genome size and ploidy levels on plant naturalization (species forming self-sustaining populations where they are not native) and invasion (naturalized species spreading rapidly and having environmental impact).
What plant breeding may (and may not) look like in 2050?
At the turn of 2000 many authors envisioned future plant breeding. Twenty years after, which of those authorsā visions became reality or not, and which ones may become so in the years to come. After two decades of debates, climate change is a ācertainty,ā food systems shifted from maximizing farm production to reducing environmental impact, and hopes placed into GMOs are mitigated by their low appreciation by consumers. Bassi et al. revise herein how plant breeding may raise or reduce genetic gains based on the breeder's equation.
Update on Signaling Pathways Regulating Polarized Intercellular Communication in Arabidopsis Reproduction
Flowering plant reproduction is unique because it involves intercellular signaling between a highly polarized cell, the tip-growing pollen tube, that must navigate its way through various sporophytic tissues of the pistil to find the ovules and deliver its sperm cell cargo to the female gametes deep within the pistil where double fertilization occurs to form the next generation (Johnson et al., 2019). The pollen tubeās journey involves a series of cell polarity changes in single cells occurring over short time periods in response to signals from another cell type.
Rhizophagus irregularis, the model fungus in arbuscular mycorrhiza research, forms dimorphic spores
Using asymbiotic and symbiotic cultivation systems initiated from single spores, advanced microscopy, Sanger sequencing of the glomalin gene, and PacBio sequencing of the partial 45S rRNA gene, Kokkoris et al. show that four strains of R. irregularis produce spores of two distinct morphotypes, one corresponding to the morphotype described in the R. irregularis protologue and the other having the phenotype of R. fasciculatus.
Careers
Curator, Llanarthne, Wales
The Curator reports to the Director and is responsible for the botanical/horticultural and estate vision, strategy, and standards of the Garden, as well as being the chief spokesperson and advocate for the horticultural and land-based aspects of the Garden and the staff involved in these. The Curator is a member of the Senior Management Team.
Molecular Biologist, Wisconsin
The Molecular Technology Development (MTD) Team, within the Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center (WCIC) at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, has an exciting early career opportunity for a plant biology focused molecular biologist who will engage in a wide variety of tasks associated with the fast-paced, high-throughput, day-to-day operations of the MTD. This opportunity has been opened because the WCIC has recently secured multiple multi-year contracts for large scale plant transformation projects. Primary responsibility of this position will be to participate as a member of the MTD Team tasked with the execution of, via Golden Gate mediated cloning, the plant transformation plasmid assembly strategies devised in collaboration with the MTD Manager, for both external fee-for-service clients and WCIC internal Research and Development (R&D) projects.
Research Assistant, Norwich
The purpose of this role is to establish and benchmark an exciting new experimental platform for investigating the impact of climate change upon circadian and seasonal processes in plants. This will be a unique facility that can monitor gene expression and plant development whilst simulating seasonal programs. The project will involve commissioning, initial testing and operation of new equipment and infrastructure, troubleshooting any problems that arise. The project also involves presentation of outcomes for other users and publication where possible.
Research Assistant/Associate Effector-tuned plants (Fixed Term), Cambridge
This research will build upon and expand on our recent discovery that effectors modulate Arabidopsis and Nicotiana development. As successful candidate you will study previously identified effectors and find new ones to interrogate cell processes impacting plant development. You will also investigate changes in gene expression in effector-expressing and wild type plants using RNA-seq approaches and identify effector target processes using protein-protein interactions. You will establish tissue and developmental context specific expression of effectors and modulation of their corresponding plant target proteins to study the phenotypic consequences for plant development and interactions with the environment. You will also use structure prediction approaches to guide effector engineering.
Associate Professor in Synthetic Biology/Engineering Biology, Cambridge
The focus of the Associate Professor will be to build a world-leading research group, deliver excellent teaching, and to contribute to effective running of the Department. This will include undergraduate lectures, practical classes and small group supervisions. A new MPhil in Crop Sciences is running from 2023. Innovations in teaching methods are actively encouraged. Engagement with mentoring and professional development of staff is expected as part of our inclusive and supportive community. We will support the successful candidate to develop a research programme that complements and reinforces the existing departmental research portfolio.
Vertical Farming Research Associate, Cambridge
We are looking for an ALL-ROUND superstar with a passion for growing plants and making a difference. Weāre looking for people to join the Leaf Lab who want to be part of a team that is committed to delivering world-class innovative research and development. This is a high ambiguity, high-change environment, where good judgement, flexibility and open communication are key. We know that with our collective efforts, we can solve complex problems, and shape the future of crop production. If you're ready to take on the challenge and work towards growing the best plants better, then we want you on our team!
Research Assistant, Oxford
The successful candidate will be educated to at least a mastersā degree level with relevant experience in molecular plant biology and mass spectrometry and will work closely with other group members to assist them with mass spectrometry analysis. They must work as part of a team, be willing to learn new methods and skills, and have excellent communication skills. The role will also include protocol development. The postholder is expected to be organised, with excellent record keeping and have the ability to work independently and manage multiple tasks, including training junior members in the group. Desirable experience includes previous experience with growing plants (Arabidopsis thaliana) and purifying proteins for mass spectrometry and interactomics analysis, although training will be provided. See the job description for the full list of selection criteria.
Research Associate (Fixed Term), Cambridge
The candidate will work under the supervision of Prof. Henderson at the University of Cambridge to develop proof-of-principle approaches in the model plant Arabidopsis. In collaboration with industrial partner scientists, they will work to translate these approaches into key crop species, including maize.