š The Week in Botany June 24, 2004
Iām told this week we had the Strawberry Moon. Iām a bit wary of the authenticity of these names. However, when I took a break in the garden this week, I could definitely smell the wild strawberries that are happy in the raised bed next to the tomatoes. It smelled like the start of summer.
It felt like the height of summer, but thatās climate change for you. You can visualise exactly how much hotter with the website Show Your Stripes. Itās
Next week, we should be able to start posting to Threads on a scheduled basis. If you want to follow us on Threads you can find us at @botanyone_en. Itāll be sporadic for a while, as I also plan to take time off at the end of this week and next week. Once Iām back, posting should be more regular.
Thereāll be another round-up of the links you share on Mastodon, Bluesky, Twitter, Threads and LinkedIn at the usual time next week. Until then, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
On Botany One
The Leaf: Birth, Life & Death of a Photosynthetic Organ
In this Botanical Pill, we will explore the microscopic life of a leaf, from its birth at the shoot apex to its death through a life cycle-dependent process called senescence.
News & Views
We now have even more evidence against the āecocideā theory of Easter Island
AI analysis of satellite imagery data is a new method for estimating population size.
When brutalism meets botany
When monochromatic rigour meets mushroom and moss, the results are magical.
Overheated trees are contributing to urban air pollution
An aerial survey of Los Angeles reveals that high temperatures cause plants to emit more compounds that can contribute to harmful ozone and PM2.5 air pollution.
Celebrating queer botany during Pride Month in Chicago
When thinking of Pride Month, images of colorful concerts, exhibits and parades come to mind. What about flowers, like violets and lavender?
Non-native plants and animals expanding ranges 100-times faster than native species, finds new research
An international team of scientists has recently found that non-native species are expanding their ranges many orders of magnitude faster than native ones, in large part due to inadvertent human help.
Kew Gardens: 'Corpse flower' blooms for first time in two years
Visitors to Kew Gardens can still catch a glimpse, and whiff, of its titan arum plant, otherwise known as the corpse flower, after it burst into bloom.
Interaction with insects accelerates plant evolution
Researchers have discovered that plants benefit from a greater variety of interactions with pollinators and herbivores. Plants that are pollinated by insects and have to defend themselves against herbivores have evolved to be better adapted to different types of soil.
A wealthy couple allegedly poisoned their neighborsā trees to secure a Maine harbor view. Itās united locals in rage.
Suspicious deaths in an idyllic seaside community and detective work that points to poison sound like themes from a classic murder mystery. But the victims in this Maine whodunnit were trees that stood in the way of a wealthy familyās oceanfront view, allegedly felled by well-heeled killers who, while ostracized and publicly shamed, remain free.
Scientific Papers
Native desert plants have the potential for phytoremediation of phytotoxic metals in urban cities: implications for cities sustainability in arid environments (OA)
El-Keblawy et al. assessed the ability of three native desert plantsāPennisetum divisum, Tetraena qatarensis, and Brassica tournefortiiāto accumulate phytotoxic metals in their different plant organs, including leaves, stems, and roots/rhizomes.
Intercropping enhances maize growth and nutrient uptake by driving the link between rhizosphere metabolites and microbiome ($)
This study conducted field experiments (initiated in 2013) and pot experiments, coupled with multi-omics analysis, to investigate plantāmetaboliteāmicrobiome interactions in the rhizosphere of maize.
Divergent structural leaf trait spectra in succulent versus non-succulent plant taxa (OA)
Mozzi et al explored whether leaf-succulent taxa follow similar trait correlations as non-leaf-succulent taxa to evaluate whether both are similarly constrained by relationships between leaf water storage and climate.
Epiphytes as leading indicators of climate and other changes. (OA)
A commentary on āInteractions of moisture and light drive lichen growth and the response to climate change scenarios ā experimental evidence for Lobaria pulmonariaā
Rate of permafrost thaw and associated plant community dynamics in peatlands of northwestern Canada (OA)
Errington et al sampled the plant and lichen communities in transects spanning actively thawing collapse scar margins at sites from mid-Boreal to Low Subarctic conditions, within Canada's Northwest Territories. Seventeen transects were sampled in 2007/08 and 14 of these were resampled 10āyears later.
Action needed to make carbon offsets from forest conservation work for climate change mitigation ($)
Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) projects are intended to decrease carbon emissions from forests to offset other carbon emissions and are often claimed as credits to be used in calculating carbon emission budgets. West et al. compared the actual effects of these projects with measurable baseline values and found that most of them have not reduced deforestation significantly, and those that did had benefits substantially lower than claimed.
Amazon forest biogeography predicts resilience and vulnerability to drought ($)
Chen et al combine remotely sensed photosynthetic indices with ground-measured tree demography to identify mechanisms underlying drought resilience/vulnerability in different intact forest ecotopes (defined by water-table depth, soil fertility and texture, and vegetation characteristics).
Zinc-finger (ZiF) fold secreted effectors form a functionally diverse family across lineages of the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae (OA)
De la Concepcion et al demonstrate that Zinc-finger fold (ZiF) secreted proteins form a functionally diverse effector family in the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. This family relies on the Zinc-finger motif for protein stability and is ubiquitously present in blast fungus lineages infecting 13 different host species, forming different effector tribes.
Engineering a One Health Super Wheat ($)
Ayala et al explore ways to leverage current technologies to combine and transform useful traits into wheat. They also address the requirements of breeders and legal considerations such as patents and regulatory issues.
Data-driven crop growth simulation on time-varying generated images using multi-conditional generative adversarial networks (OA)
Image-based crop growth modeling can substantially contribute to precision agriculture by revealing spatial crop development over time, which allows an early and location-specific estimation of relevant future plant traits, such as leaf area or biomass. Drees et al present a two-stage framework consisting first of an image generation model and second of a growth estimation model, independently trained.
In AoBC Publications
Careers
Research Associate/Fellow (Fixed term), Nottingham
Applications are invited for a Research Associate/Fellow on a project to validate and develop nitrogen fixing technologies to benefit small holder farmers. The project will be in the laboratory of Professor Erik Murchie (Sutton Bonington Campus, University of Nottingham, UK) and in close collaboration with LegumeTechnology (based in Nottingham, UK).
Research Assistant (Fixed Term), Cambridge
The appointee will help develop new approaches to bioproduction in the model liverwort plant Marchantia polymorpha. Work with Marchantia allows streamlined approaches to genome modification, cell dynamics and morphogenetic engineering. The planned work includes use of a collection of synthetic gene elements designed for engineering the Marchantia chloroplast genome.
Cereal Pathology Senior Technician, Cambridge
You will be based in our state-of-the-art facilities at NIAB Park Farm, Histon, Cambridge, CB24 9NZ, which is equipped with molecular biology and plant growth amenities, including extensive glasshouses, walk-in growth rooms, and containment units for genetically modified plant trials.
Research specialist, Brno
The position is open for a 3ā4-year contract under the supervision of Mgr. MarkĆ©ta PernisovĆ”, Ph.D., to join the TowArds Next GENeration Crops (TANGENC) project. The topic is focused on new breeding techniques for crop improvement. The research will mainly concern the hormonal regulation of plant regeneration and shoot development. The Researcher will also participate in developing molecular tools and protocols for genome editing, transformation, and plant regeneration.
Assistant Professor, Mississippi
The Department of Plant of Plant and Soil Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Mississippi State University is seeking applicants for an Assistant Extension Professor ā Soybean Agronomist. This is a 12-month, 100% Extension appointment with a potential starting date of January 1, 2025.
Post-doctoral Research Associate Nutrient Bioavailability and Management, Florida
The Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) Department and Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida (UF), seeks a post-doctoral associate in soil/plant science or engineering to work on a state-funded multi-disciplinary project that is evaluating and developing phosphorus (P) best management practices (BMPs) and site-specific nutrient management.
Tenure Track, Assistant/Associate Professor in Plant Biochemistry/Biology, Institute of Biological Chemistry, Washington State
The successful candidate will demonstrate quality and quantity of research accomplished in a fundamental area of modern plant science; and employ as needed innovative approaches in plant biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, biophysics, structural biology, systems biology, modeling, or phenomics/phenotyping in key strategic areas including but not limited to plant metabolism, development, or stress responses that are complementary to the mission of the IBC.