đ» The Week in Botany March 20, 2023
You might remember a while back we had some translations for blog posts available, and wondered what happened to them. The translation management system broke down when we moved blog hosts. After a lot of work, theyâre coming back. This week the Spanish version of the site was back at https://es.botany.one/. Thereâs still a problem getting the language selection working on the front page, but itâs working on the individual post pages.
If youâre wondering where the French version is, it should launch this week. Iâll have more news about other languages in the next email, which should be with you at the same time next Monday. Until then, au revoir.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
On Botany One
How Native Plants Team Up to Repel Invaders
Native plants that suffer when black mustard invades their patch do much better when a neighbour helps.
Seeds of Hope Sit Unused in Storage
Limited funding and resources are preventing seed banks from fully using their seed collections to conserve endangered plants.
Clonal Plants Use Smart Connections to Boost Resistance Against Hungry Insects
Plants that can reproduce by cloning themselves can share resources and signals to resist herbivores. Clones can change the structure of their leaves according to herbivore stress through the connections between them.
Feral Crops: The Untapped Potential to Boost Food Security Amid Climate Change
Scientists are exploring a new way to improve food security in the face of climate change by studying âferal cropsâ â wild plants that have escaped cultivation and continue to thrive without human intervention.
Black in Plant Science
A 2015 McKinsey report on 366 public companies found that those in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity in management were 35% more likely to have financial returns above their industry mean. This is because diverse teams are more rigorous when interrogating data and are more innovative. In science, researchers from underrepresented groups have been found to innovate at higher rates, but are more frequently discounted and less likely to result in successful careers.
Botanical genomics to boost sustainable agriculture: the case of faba bean
Since the release of the first plant genome in 2000, the field of next-generation sequencing applied to botanical species has bloomed and expanded from model organism (Arabidopsis thaliana) to crops, thus becoming a powerful tool to guide progress towards a more sustainable agriculture.
News & Views
Native Plants Are Hiding Up High, but Invaders Are Catching Up
Far from pristine outposts of nature, mountains across the world are being rapidly colonized by non-native plants that spread uphill along roads.
Regionally extinct plant species rediscovered in Auckland
Juncus caepiticius, a grassy rush and Leptinella rotundata, a creeping herb, were thought to be extinct in Auckland but have been reclassified as regionally critical. The species was threatened by coastal erosion and weeds.
Africa steps up genetic engineering for climate-resilient crops
African scientists say they are scaling up research on genetically modified (GM) crops such as maize and cassava to increase food security on the continent as climate change places increased stress on yields.
Bioengineered âpikobodiesâ confer plant disease resistance
The vertebrate adaptive immune system is truly an evolutionary marvel. With its ability to mix-and-match segments of immunoglobulin genes, a nearly unlimited diversity of antigens can be recognized. Plants lack this ability, greatly limiting the number of antigens (and pathogens) any individual can recognize. Kourelis et al. did a âwhat ifâ experiment; what if plants could acquire some features of this adaptive immune system?
âA disgraceâ: more than 100 trees cut down in Plymouth despite local opposition
Scores of trees destroyed in hours on Tuesday despite petition signed by 16,000 people.
Why quick fixes are not enough to grow rural womenâs climate resilience
On the occasion of International Womenâs Day, researchers leading work in CGIARâs Gender Equality Initiative offer insights on how agricultural technologies can help rural women overcome the impacts of climate change.
Tip of the Apex: 100 important questions for future Plant Scientists
Updated list shows striking prominence of climate change and its effects.
Most of Lord Howe Island closed to visitors after outbreak of plant fungus
Permanent park preserve temporarily closed over fears myrtle rust outbreak may compromise endemic plant species.
âAlarmingâ rate of mountain forest loss a threat to alpine wildlife
Since 2001, 7% of the habitat has been lost globally due to logging, wildfires and agriculture, scientists report.
Growing up poor left me isolated in academiaâuntil I began to share my story
âWhat are your hobbies?â It was a simple question at a conference networking lunch for young researchers. I was a first-year Ph.D. student eager to get to know my peers. But the discussion quickly turned into a contest of showing off extracurricular activities. I listened to my peers talk passionately about the musical instrument they played or the sports they took part in. When it was my turn, I mumbled âI like readingâ and let the next person jump in. I didnât want to explain that my parents couldnât afford music or sports lessons, or that I never had time to pursue those kinds of activities because I always had to work part-time jobs. Moments like those made me feel excludedâan imposter in academia.
Scientific Papers
phytools 2.0: An updated R ecosystem for phylogenetic comparative methods (and other things)
phytools is a diverse contributed R library now consisting of hundreds of different functions covering a variety of methods and purposes in phylogenetic biology. As of the time of writing, phytools included functionality for fitting models of trait evolution, for reconstructing ancestral states, for studying diversification on trees, and for visualizing phylogenies, comparative data, and fitted models, as well numerous other tasks related to phylogenetic biology. Revell describes some significant features of and recent updates to phytools, while also illustrating several popular workflows of the phytools computational software.
Peat-based hairy root transformation using Rhizobium rhizogenes as a rapid and efficient tool for easily exploring potential genes related to root-knot nematode parasitism and host response
Zhang et al. applied the hairy root transformation system in exploring root-RKN interactions in cucumber plants and developed a rapid and efficient tool transformation using Rhizobium rhizogenes strain K599. A solid-medium-based hypocotyl-cutting infection (SHI) method, a rockwool-based hypocotyl-cutting infection (RHI) method, and a peat-based cotyledon-node injection (PCI) method was evaluated for their ability to induce transgenic roots in cucumber plants.
Phylogenomic analyses of Sapindales support new family relationships, rapid Mid-Cretaceous Hothouse diversification, and heterogeneous histories of gene duplication
This study provides key insights into factors that may affect phylogenetic reconstructions in Sapindales across multiple scales, and provides a state-of-the-art phylogenetic framework for further research.
Eponyms have no place in 21st-century biological nomenclature
We argue that naming species in honour of a specific person is unjustifiable and out of step with equality and representation. Reforming taxonomy to remove eponyms will not be easy but could bring multiple benefits for both conservation and society.
Peer review perpetuates barriers for historically excluded groups
Smith et al. use peer review data from 312,740 biological sciences manuscripts across 31 studies to (1) examine evidence for differential peer review outcomes based on author demographics, (2) evaluate the efficacy of solutions to reduce bias and (3) describe the current landscape of peer review policies for 541 ecology and evolution journals. They found notably worse review outcomes (for example, lower overall acceptance rates) for authors whose institutional affiliations were in Asia, for authors whose countryâs primary language is not English and in countries with relatively low Human Development Indices.
Parasitism Shifts the Effects of Native Soil Microbes on the Growth of the Invasive Plant Alternanthera philoxeroides
Cai et al. used the invasive plant Alternanthera philoxeroides and the holoparasitic plant Cuscuta grovonii to test whether and how C. grovonii parasitism shifts the effect of native soil microbes on the growth of A. philoxeroides.
In situ structure of the red algal phycobilisomeâPSIIâPSIâLHC megacomplex
You et al. present in situ structures of PBSâPSIIâPSIâLHC megacomplexes from the red alga Porphyridium purpureum at near-atomic resolution using cryogenic electron tomography and in situ single-particle analysis, providing interaction details between PBS, PSII and PSI.
ReadCube: https://rdcu.be/c7Yey
Synthetic maize centromeres transmit chromosomes across generations
Centromeres are long, often repetitive regions of genomes that bind kinetochore proteins and ensure normal chromosome segregation. Engineering centromeres that function in vivo has proven to be difficult. Dawe et al. describe a tethering approach that activates functional maize centromeres at synthetic sequence arrays.
An evolutionary epigenetic clock in plants
Molecular clocks are the basis for dating the divergence between lineages over macro-evolutionary timescales (~10^5-10^8 years). However, classical DNA-based clocks tick too slowly to inform us about the recent past. Yao et al. demonstrate that stochastic DNA methylation changes at a subset of cytosines in plant genomes possess a clock-like behavior.
EIN3/EIN3-LIKE1 modulate FLC expression via histone demethylase interaction
Flowering time is determined by both endogenous factors and environmental cues to ensure successful reproduction. ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE 3 (EIN3) and EIN3 LIKE 1 (EIL1) are transcription factors which are the key downstream regulators of ethylene signal transduction.
The role of non-English-language science in informing national biodiversity assessments
Consulting the best available evidence is key to successful conservation decision-making. While much scientific evidence on conservation continues to be published in non-English languages, a poor understanding of how non-English-language science contributes to conservation decision-making is causing global assessments and studies to practically ignore non-English-language literature. By investigating the use of scientific literature in biodiversity assessment reports across 37 countries/territories, Amano et al. have uncovered the established role of non-English-language literature as a major source of information locally.
Population-level annotation of lncRNAs in Arabidopsis thaliana reveals extensive expression and epigenetic variability associated with TE-like silencing
lncRNAs are ubiquitous in the A. thaliana genome but largely silenced, and their expression is highly variable between different lines. This high expression variability is largely caused by high epigenetic variability of non-coding loci, especially those containing pieces of transposable elements. Kornienko et al. create the most comprehensive A. thaliana lncRNA annotation to date and improve our understanding of plant lncRNA biology.
DELLA functions evolved by rewiring of associated transcriptional networks
Briones-Moreno show that representative DELLAs from the main plant lineages display a conserved ability to interact with multiple transcription factors. They propose that promiscuity was encoded in the ancestral DELLA protein, and that this property has been largely maintained, whereas the lineage-dependent diversification of DELLA-dependent functions mostly reflects the functional evolution of their interacting partners.
ReadCube: https://rdcu.be/c7YRP
Careers
Postdoc Position: Quantitative ecology of invasive species, Philadelphia
The researcher will leverage an existing big database of spotted lanternfly surveys to produce statistical models of spread dynamics. The researcher will also collaborate with mathematicians on combining statistical and mechanistic models to produce an ensemble forecast of future spread dynamics, identify invasion pathways, and inform control actions. The postdoc would work closely with a team of professors, postdocs, and graduate students working on spotted lanternfly at Temple. The postdoc would also interact with teams of scientists, government agencies, and public stakeholders and would regularly attend working groups and meetings on this invasive pest. Finally, the postdoc would contribute to a dashboard of online applications that communicate research findings to stakeholders.
Wheat Transformation Lead, Norwich
The Wheat Transformation Lead is a key role within the Crop Transformation and Genome Editing Platform at JIC. They will work on wheat transformation and GE to support JIC Group Leaders in their existing commitments to BBSRC Institute Strategic Programs and support the development of new research proposals. They will maintain the existing capability at JIC in efficient multi genotype wheat transformation and gene editing while adopting improvements in efficiency and extensions of capability.
Assistant Archivist, London
The Linnean Society of London is the worldâs oldest active society devoted to natural history. Founded in 1788 by Sir James Edward Smith (1759â1828), the Society takes its name from the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707â1778), whose botanical, zoological and library collections have been in our keeping since 1829. These unique collections of scientific importance are enriched by the Society's own library and archives. The post-holder will be responsible for providing support to the Collections team in facilitating access to our collections through dealing with enquiries, assisting researchers in the reading room, taking part in outreach activities, and cataloguing work.
Postdoctoral Researcher/Doctoral Researcher in Developmental Biology, Helsinki
We are looking for a dedicated and enthusiastic postdoctoral fellow/doctoral researcher with independent and creative thinking skills. Postdoctoral candidate should have a doctoral degree in developmental biology, molecular or cell biology, or other relevant field and a proven record of excellence in this research field. Prior experience in 3D imaging and/or transcriptome analysis will be highly beneficial for this position. Doctoral candidate should have a master degree or related degree in similar fields and strong interest in developmental biology and molecular plant sciences. Candidate is expected to have good social skills and the ability to do research independently, and as a member of a team. Excellent writing and communication skills in English are essential.
Research Associate (Fixed Term), Cambridge
We are seeking an outstanding landscape ecologist with experience of working at the interface between biodiversity science and remote sensing. They will join the Centre for Landscape Regeneration (CLR), funded through the Natural Environment Research Council's Changing the Environment programme. CLR aims to provide the evidence needed to fulfill government ambitions to bring back more nature to British countryside and deliver a greater range of ecosystem services than food production (important though that is). The programme is focusing on three contrasting landscapes: the East Anglian fenland (primarily used for productive arable agriculture); the Scottish Highlands (traditionally used for deer stalking and forestry plantations) and the Lake District (with a thousand-year history of extensive sheep grazing).
Senior Technician, Sutton Bonington, Nottingham
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Plant & Crop Sciences Technical Team based at our Sutton Bonington campus. We have extensive growth facilities and field trial sites enabling research studies in a wide range of plant and crop species. The purpose of the role is to provide high-quality, specialist technical and research support within the School of Biosciences. The successful candidate will be required to provide direct support to research students, both in the field and in the lab. They will also be required to provide technical support to the Glasshouse and Field Trials technical teams.
Research Associate, Bristol
A postdoctoral research associate (PDRA) position is available to develop novel remote sensing approaches to track how the 3D structure of tropical forest canopies recovers following disturbance from logging. The PDRA will be based in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol within the research group of Dr Tommaso Jucker (https://www.selvalab.org). This is a 2-year full time position with a proposed start date of 1st June 2023, or as soon as possible thereafter.
PhD Scholarship: Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Agricultural Soils with Different Plant Cover and Tillage Practices, Aarhus
The PhD position is part of the KLIMON project funded by the BUP programme, Ministry of Food, Agricultue and Fisheries, Denmark. The purpose of the project is to document the climate and environmental effects of cropping systems ranging from traditional cereal-based systems with annual mouldboard ploughing to Conservation Agriculture (crop rotations, cover cropping, crop residue retainment, and no tillage). In different parts of the project, effects will be measured on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, nitrate leaching, and carbon sequestration under Danish conditions. The measured effects and acquired knowledge will be used for implementation in new and existing models for environmental and climate effects.
Senior Technician (fixed term), Sutton Bonington, Nottingham
A Senior Technician is required to undertake research as part of an exciting multi-disciplinary (and multi-institutional) BBSRC-funded Biochar Demonstrator grant. The successful applicant will provide high-quality technical support to the research team working on the Biochar Demonstrator Project within the School of Biosciences and Faculty of Engineering. The role holder will primarily be based at the Sutton Bonington Campus and will work closely with the PI and Research Associate/Fellow developing the agronomic and ecosystem services aspects of the Biochar Demonstrator Project.
PhD Studentship: Identifying Host Genetic Factors Shaping Rhizosphere Microbiome During Root Disease, Norwich
Legumes play an important role in the diversification and sustainability of agriculture. Peas are a valuable legume crop as they contribute to meeting the growing demand for plant protein worldwide. However, recent removal of chemical seed treatments has made the crop vulnerable to root diseases. Root rots, caused by fungal and oomycete pathogens, can result in stunted growth, reduced yields, and lower crop quality. To tackle this challenge, this PhD project is being offered that aims to understand (i) how root rot pathogens influence composition of the root exudates and subsequently shape the soil microbiome and (ii) what are the host genetic factors associated with changes in the rhizosphere microbiome induced by the pathogen. By combining cutting-edge techniques in genetics, metagenomics, and metabolomics, the project aims to develop strategies that use host genetics to promote beneficial microbial populations and makes it resilient against stress.
PhD Studentship: Pseudomonas Biocontrol of Kiwifruit Canker: Elucidating Novel Mechanisms of Bioactivity, Norwich
The bacterial disease kiwifruit canker (Psa) is a significant threat to the global kiwifruit industry. While treatments for Psa currently exist, these chemical approaches can cause environmental damage and are at risk from resistant Psa pathovars. There is consequently an urgent need for effective, sustainable treatments for Psa. During a successful previous collaboration between our labs at JIC; an internationally recognised centre of excellence for microbiology and plant science, and the major kiwifruit grower Zespri, we identified several naturally occurring, bioactive bacterial strains that strongly suppress Psa infections in greenhouse-grown kiwifruit. Subsequent work to identify the mechanism of bioactivity in each strain identified multiple previously uncharacterised biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), whose disruption abolishes Psa suppression in the lab.
Postdoctoral Research Associate (Grade 7), Liverpool
The research group of Professor Luning Liu (www.luningliu.org) is looking for an experienced Postdoctoral Research Associate to lead a Leverhulme Trust funded project on synthetic engineering of bacterial CO2-concentrating mechanisms into crop chloroplasts to improve photosynthetic CO2 fixation and plant growth. You will have the opportunity to develop interdisciplinary skills in synthetic biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, plant engineering and physiology, and to be involved in world-class research and networking on enhancing plant photosynthesis and crop yields to address grand challenges.
Senior Plant Research Technician, Newcastle
The Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering is seeking an experienced and highly motivated Senior Plant Research Lab Technician. This is an exciting opportunity to join a team of technical staff supporting the research activities in the School of Natural & Environmental Sciences, through the provision of technical support within plant research laboratories and growth facilities, and in support of technical services within the Devonshire Building.
Professor of Ecology, Liverpool
We are seeking to appoint a Professor of Ecology to pursue an internationally excellent programme of externally funded ecological research that aligns with research strengths in the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, particularly our Adaptation to Environmental Change research theme. We welcome applicants working on microbial, animal or plant ecology, and at levels from population or community ecology, to the ecosystem, landscape, or global level. You may employ mathematical, experimental manipulation, field work or macroecological approaches in your research.
Post-Doctoral Fellow in Wilding Invasions, Christchurch, New Zealand
The Univerâs School of Biological Sciences has an opportunity for a Postdoctoral Fellow to participate play a key role in the project âVive la resistance: achieving long-term success in managing wilding conifer invasionsâ. We seek a post-doctoral researcher with an interest in applying plant, fungal and soil ecology to restoring ecosystems following invasive species removal. The researcher will focus on wilding conifers (primarily Pinus and Pseudotsuga) in New Zealand.
Research Associate (Fixed Term), Cambridge
We are seeking an outstanding early career researcher with experience in monitoring forest carbon stocks using a combination of field measurements and remotely sensed information (e.g. airborne lidar datasets taken from drones or aircraft). They will join the NERC-funded Centre for Landscape Regeneration producing scientific evidence to support the management of ambitious nature recovery projects in the Scottish Highlands (Cairngorns Connect) and the Lake District (Haweswater).
Research Fellow, School of Molecular Sciences, Perth
You will undertake innovative approaches involving the development of genetic constructs and strategies to express specific recombinant proteins in plant and other model systems and purify them to study their biological role and synthesis and degradation characteristics. Your work will contribute to wider projects in determining key determinants of steady state protein abundance in plants for both fundamental understanding of mechanisms and applied goals in plant protein production. You will also have the opportunity to co-supervise several PhD students conducting a range of aligned research projects.
Lecturer / Assistant Professor, School of Agriculture and Food Science
Applications are invited for the post of Lecturer/Assistant Professor (above the bar) in Horticulture. This is a full time, 5-year academic post in the UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science (https://www.ucd.ie/agfood/), within its Environment and Sustainable Resource Management Section. The appointee will join a team of 19 academics within the Section who offer a diverse portfolio of programmes, including three BAgrSc programmes in Agri-environmental Sciences, Forestry, and Horticulture, and taught Master's programmes in Horticulture, and Environmental Resource Management.
Postdoctoral Researcher in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Helsinki
The Finnish Museum of Natural History LUOMUS is looking for a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher in ecology and evolutionary biology to join Plant Adaptation and Conservation (PAC) group. The researcher will be employed for twelve months at the University of Helsinki starting latest on 1 Aug 2023. The position is located at LUOMUS.