🔥 The Week in Botany, June 12 2023
This week I learned that thunderstorm asthma is a thing. The plant connection that it’s caused by winds picking up pollen, and thunderstorms breaking the pollen down and pushing it into your lungs. My sympathy goes to everyone who’s suffering with more than an afternoon of bad weather.
One task for the coming week is to see if I can move some of the work you never see onto the public side of the website. I’ll be looking to see if I can add short (150 word) write-ups of a lot of the papers we see, but I don’t have a name for the section yet. I did think ‘News in Brief’, and then from NiB thought ‘Nibbles’. And then I remembered what the Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog calls their brief news section.
The email is fractionally earlier today because while I got it written last night, I forgot to schedule it. So I’m up early this morning. If things go well, it’ll be with you again at the normal time next week. Until then, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
On Botany One
SIMPLACE: The Next Generation Platform for Agricultural Systems Analysis
SIMPLACE offers a flexible and transparent approach to developing customized crop models.
What is RuBisCO?
If you want to understand the mechanics of photosynthesis, you have to understand RuBisCO, Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase.
Garden Heroes are Aiding Butterfly Conservation in the UK
Our garden choices are influencing butterfly populations more than we ever thought possible.
Timed release of phosphorus improves growth in tomatoes
Research by Ngo and colleagues illustrates how carefully managing the use of organic and inorganic phosphorus and nitrogen sources can increase tomato yield and potentially contribute to more sustainable agriculture.
Understanding the Complex Interplay of Multiple Stressors on Plant Populations
Zettlemoyer’s study casts a new light on plant conservation, illustrating the power of a holistic, multifactorial examination of stressors.
News & Views
Do plants have emotions? This philosopher thinks so.
In ‘Planta Sapiens,’ Paco Calvo provocatively argues that we need to break free from brain-centric ideas of consciousness.
Flower power and diplomacy: Versailles perfume gardens transport public back in time
The Versailles flower gardens were once a symbol of the French king’s expeditionary might and helped water-deprived courtiers perfume their skin. Now, they have been reimagined to give today’s public a glimpse — and a sniff — into the gilded palace’s olfactory past.
Efforts to Boost Native Plants in California Take Root
Some people may think palm trees are native to California, but they’re not. In fact, non-native flora abound throughout our state. A bill moving through the California Legislature aims to boost the proliferation of native plants by requiring landscaping on some public and commercial areas to use at least 75 percent low-water, native plants by 2035.
The world's first flowers were pollinated by insects, says new study
Plants existed on Earth for hundreds of millions of years before the first flowers bloomed. But when flowering plants did evolve, more than 140 million years ago, they were a huge evolutionary success.
Paris Plans to Plant Trees That Can Survive Climate Change
As part of a new urbanism plan for a “bio-climatic” city, officials hope to plant species that will be more resistant to heat.
Chicago blanketed by white cottonwood tree fluff in a banner year for the stuff
The excessive fluff might have something to do with last year’s weather. The trees — among Chicago’s most common — are producing far more seeds than usual.
Rare York groundsel flower brought back from extinction
A rare flower that was first identified in York has been brought back from extinction by botanists.
How to Join a Community Garden in New York City
How does a New Yorker join a community green space, and what’s expected of members when they do? THE CITY gets the dirt on how they operate, in time for summer.
The best ways to plant a future-proof garden
In a new online gardening course, Dan Pearson suggests how to design a resilient planting scheme to withstand the vagaries of climate change
Rewilding my garden brought me closer to my dead father
Returning her garden to its natural state has enabled author Annabel Christie to honour her late father’s dedication to wildlife.
Inside the quest to engineer climate-saving “super trees”
A Silicon Valley startup wants to supercharge trees to soak up more carbon and cool the climate. Is this the great climate solution or a whole lot of hype?
‘Be as diverse as possible!’: a gardening pioneer’s guide to growing on a warming planet
The gardening pioneer Joy Larkhom changed how we grow veg and championed rocket, salad bags and pak choi. What is she growing now?
Your garden doesn’t like the wildfires, either. Here’s how to help plants handle smoke and ash
“When they’re exposed to smoke particles for a short amount of time, plants will bounce back, but a heavy amount of smoke is different than a passing event,” according to Oregon State University Extension community horticulturist Brooke Edmunds, who also is a plant pathologist.
Canada’s Ability to Prevent Forest Fires Lags Behind the Need
Provincial firefighting agencies are stretched thin, there is no national agency and it’s hard to get approval for controlled burns — factors that have exacerbated recent outbreaks.
Many Newly Discovered Species Are Already Gone
Scientists are uncovering previously unknown species preserved in museum and botanical garden collections, only to find that they no longer exist in the wild.
Scientific Papers
Cytokinin activity – transport and homeostasis at the whole plant, cell, and subcellular levels
Cytokinins (CKs) are important plant hormones that regulate a variety of biological processes implicated in plant development and stress responses. Hu & Shani summarize the most recent advances in discovering and characterizing the membrane transporters involved in long- and short-distance translocation of CKs and their significance in CK signal activity.
From farm to fork: future supply chains need to measure and trade nutrient content
In the future, 8–10 billion people will need to be fed by our agriculture and food production system. Moreover, currently up to five billion people are already affected by malnutrition including undernutrition, inadequate consumption of micronutrients, and overweight. A healthy and sustainable diet will therefore play a pivotal role in our future, but most food products are traded and consumed based only on techno-functional or gustatory properties. Longin et al. wish to stimulate a debate on the urgent need for multidisciplinary research and education to realize future diets with enhanced nutritional profiles.
Carnivory on demand: phosphorus deficiency induces glandular leaves in the African liana Triphyophyllum peltatum
Triphyophyllum peltatum, a rare tropical African liana, is unique in its facultative carnivory. The trigger for carnivory is yet unknown, mainly because the plant is difficult to propagate and cultivate. This study aimed at identifying the conditions that result in the formation of carnivorous leaves.
Now with a briefing in Nature Plants: rdcu.be/dd5KR
Grafting Rhodobacter sphaeroides with red algae Rubisco to accelerate catalysis and plant growth
Improving the carboxylation properties of Rubisco has primarily arisen from unforeseen amino acid substitutions remote from the catalytic site. The unpredictability has frustrated rational design efforts to enhance plant Rubisco towards the prized growth-enhancing carboxylation properties of red algae Griffithsia monilis GmRubisco. To address this, we determined the crystal structure of GmRubisco to 1.7 Å.
ReadCube: rdcu.be/dd5IP
Briefing: ReadCube: rdcu.be/dd5Kq
♻️ Trunk spines of trees: a physical defence against bark removal and climbing by mammals?
Lefebvre et al. described 31 woody species with spines on their trunk, growing in a botanical garden, to test whether morphological strategies could be identified and suggest what could be their most likely function.
Seven plant capacities to adapt to abiotic stress
This review distinguishes seven inherent capacities that enable plants to respond to abiotic stresses and continue growing, although at a reduced rate, to achieve a productive yield. These are the capacities to selectively take up essential resources, store them and supply them to different plant parts, generate the energy required for cellular functions, conduct repairs to maintain plant tissues, communicate between plant parts, manage existing structural assets in the face of changed circumstances, and shape-shift through development to be efficient in different environments.
Drought response strategies are coupled with leaf habit in 35 evergreen and deciduous oak (Quercus) species across a climatic gradient in the Americas
Distinct survival strategies can result from trade-offs in plant function under contrasting environments. Investment in drought resistance mechanisms can enhance survivorship but result in conservative growth. Kaproth et al. tested the hypothesis that the widespread oaks (Quercus spp.) of the Americas exhibit an interspecific trade-off between drought resistance and growth capacity.
Insect pollination for most of angiosperm evolutionary history
Stephens et al. reconstruct the ancestral pollination mode of angiosperms and quantify the timing and environmental associations of pollination shifts.
Trade-off between dispersal traits in a heterocarpic plant across its invasion route
Dispersal ability (i.e. investment in dispersing structures) can vary across plant species or populations, such as between core compared to leading populations of invasive plants. However, in heterocarpic plants, which produce propagules with varying dispersal abilities, dispersal potential can also vary via investment in the proportion of dispersing morphs (termed dispersal rate). This study examined the interplay between dispersal ability and dispersal rate across the invasion route of the heterocarpic plant Heterotheca subaxillaris.
Resolving intergenotypic Striga resistance in sorghum
Genetic underpinnings of host-pathogen interactions in the parasitic plant Striga hermonthica, a root parasitic plant that ravages cereals in sub-Saharan Africa, are unclear. Mutinda et al. performed a comparative transcriptome study on five genotypes of sorghum exhibiting diverse resistance responses to S. hermonthica using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). They found that S. hermonthica elicits both basal and effector-triggered immunity – like a bona fide pathogen.
Plant Environmental Memory: Implications, Mechanisms, And Opportunities For Plant Scientists And Beyond
Auge et al. summarize recent advances in the understanding of plant memory, discuss the ecological requirements for its evolution, outline the multilayered molecular network and mechanisms required for accurate and fail-proof plant responses to variable environments, point out the direct involvement of the plant metabolism and discuss the tremendous potential of various types of models to further our understanding of the plant's environmental memory.
Using geometric morphometrics to determine the “fittest” floral shape: A case study in large-flowered, buzz-pollinated Meriania hernandoi
Floral shape (relative arrangement and position of floral organs) is critical in mediating fit with pollinators and maximizing conspecific pollen transfer particularly in functionally specialized systems. To date, however, few studies have attempted to quantify flowers as the inherently three-dimensional (3D) structures they are and determine the effect of intraspecific shape variation on pollen transfer. Dellinger et al. addressed this research gap using a functionally specialized system, buzz pollination, in which bees extract pollen through vibrations, as a model.
The contribution of plant life and growth forms to global gradients of vascular plant diversity
Using a novel dataset comprising > 295 000 species, Taylor et al. quantify the contribution of different plant forms to global gradients of vascular plant diversity. Furthermore, they establish how plant form distributions in different biogeographical regions are associated with contemporary and paleoclimate conditions, environmental heterogeneity and phylogeny.
Careers
PhD position (m/f/d, E 13 TV-L, 50%) in the Timing of Fate Transitions Lab, Tübingen
We are looking for a curiosity-driven, highly motivated candidate with good communication and teamwork skills who can work independently in a goal-oriented manner. The candidate should have an MSc or equivalent in plant biology or biochemistry (or similar) and training in molecular biology. Excellent English written and oral skills are required, previous experience with Arabidopsis thaliana and confocal microscopy are a plus. The candidate will join the ZMBP graduate program that offers a broad interdisciplinary training in the molecular life sciences.
PhD position Connecting gene networks to crop models to leverage prior knowledge for crop breeding, Brisbane
This PhD project will integrate known networks of the genetic and physiological control of variation for shoot branching and shoot growth cessation in Arabidopsis and sorghum with environment and management effects. The integration of these processes will enable a generic cross-scale framework that can capture differences in the number of reproductive culms as an emergent consequence of genotype × environment × management (G× E× M) combinations. This will be achieved using new technology developed in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture (Plant Success) that builds mathematical descriptions of network topology and directed graphs combined with models of the ecophysiology of crop growth and development.
Research Specialist, Moscow, Idaho
Performs research activities and analysis, recording observations and measurements, and reports results. Participates in analyzing and preparing results for publication. Works under general supervision.
Senior Conservation Adviser - Woodland, UK
The Senior Conservation Adviser for Woodland will play a leading role in the Trust’s work to improve the ecological condition of native woodland across the UK, working closely with colleagues to lead, develop, review, and embed our evidence-based approaches to ancient woodland restoration, and woodland management. This role will bring extensive practical experience, external networks and a sound evidence and theoretical knowledge to provide support and advice to colleagues across our delivery and influencing teams. The senior conservation adviser will also play a key role in working with external delivery partners and organisations to embed the Trust’s approach to woodland restoration and management through networking, specialist advisory groups, conferences, and consultations. This is a Hybrid working role, where you’ll work most of your time at home but will be required to attend occasional meetings from one of our regional offices.
Teaching Leader - MSc Global Health, Kew
This role will work closely with academics from Royal Holloway and Kew’s own 450 science staff to lead the delivery of this exciting MSc programme. Leading on academic excellence for the course at Kew, we’re looking for someone who’s passionate about postgraduate teaching and supervision, who is experienced in developing and delivering postgraduate courses, and who’s knowledge can help to create a learning environment for students that enables them to develop all the skills they need to become experts in their chosen field.
Post Doctoral Scholar, Wooster, Ohio
The Department of Plant Pathology, within the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) seeks a Post Doctoral Scholar to assist with research projects in the lab of Dr. Mitchell Roth on the CFAES-Wooster Campus. The overall goal of the project is to elucidate the genetic mechanisms underlying resistance and susceptibility in the Sclerotinia sclerotiorum – soybean pathosystem.
Virology Diagnostician Fixed Term Appointment (24 months), Edinburgh
Working under the instruction of the Virology Laboratory Manager, the primary role of the Virology Diagnostician is to provide a diagnostic service for the detection of potato viruses in support of the Scottish Seed Potato Classification Scheme (SSPCS).
PhD scholarship within Forest Soil Ecology, Ås, Norway
With this proposed PhD-project we aim to combine forest ecology and soil physics and hydrology to better understand the processes behind how tree growth responds to drought. We do this in an already existing system of field plots with pairs of spruce stands on mesic vs dry soils across a long latitudinal gradient in Norway. Here the aboveground responses are already being monitored, while the belowground processes remain unstudied.
Computational PhD position on modeling Arabidopsis resilience to drought and temperature stress, Utrecht
We are looking for an enthusiastic PhD candidate to develop dynamical, process-driven computational models for the effects of combined temperature and drought stress on plant growth and performance. The successful candidate will develop state of the art functional-structural plant models simulating plant growth dynamics and integrate these with the molecular signalling networks linking drought and temperature perception to responses in plant physiology, growth and development. To arrive at the relevant molecular signalling networks, the PhD candidate will collaborate with experimentalists and machine learning experts. The ultimate goal is to identify the interplay between temperature and drought stresses and pinpoint the molecular hubs at which trade-offs and synergies arise that can be modulated through targeted breeding approaches.