🌻 The Week in Botany May 27, 2024
There’s a special issue of Annals of Botany out, African Flora in a Changing World. There was a glitch at launch, but now all the papers are Free Access for three months. I liked the paper on underground trees, because I’d never heard of an underground tree. They are difficult to photograph from aboveground. We have a blog post on the paper, but it’s hard to see it’s a tree.
If you’re interested in African flora, then now is the time to grab the issue. After three months some of the papers will go back behind the paywall for a bit. They’ll stay there for a while and then come back out after a year, like last year’s issue on Polyploidy in Ecology and Evolution.
I’ll be taking most of today off as it’s a holiday here. However, I’ll be back working on Tuesday, and there’ll be an email of what's getting shared on Mastodon, Bluesky, Twitter and LinkedIn at the same time next week. Until then, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
In Botany One
Researchers adopt approach for more ethical plant research
Advances in recombinant antibody production.
From Ashes to Seeds: How Fire Affects Pollination and Plant Reproduction
After a wildfire sweeps through the landscape, it may be inevitable to be shocked by the desolate scene it leaves. Yet, a recent research led by Lucas Carbone suggests that plants can flourish in these environments as never expected.
In AoBC Journals
News & Views
For drought relief, Cordilleran women in the Philippines rely on seed saving
As El Niño and climate change bring drought to the northern Philippines, farmers say the value of local heirloom seeds shines through.
Environmentalists, Church raise concern over planting of exotic species in forests
Citing eco-restoration policy of 2021, environmentalists say exotic species threaten natural forests. If the Forest department continues to plant eucalyptus inside the forests, it will result in large-scale venturing of wild animals into human habitations, says chairman of the Idukki Diocese Media Commission.
She turned an empty L.A. lot into a gorgeous mini flower farm as a ‘win-win’
“This property has a pulse,” she said as she placed the white lace flowers into a bucket of water. “The wildlife is incredible here. I’ve caught bees napping in the sunflowers.”
Tijuca National Park: The fight to rewild the world's largest urban forest
After the forest was decimated by colonial plantations, an ambitious rewilding programme is now aiming to ensure the survival of Rio de Janeiro's ancient rainforest.
Bangladesh to formalize fire mitigation plans for Sundarbans as burning risk rises
A recent fire in the eastern Sundarbans of Bangladesh has highlighted the rising risk of burning in the world’s biggest mangrove forest.
What’s the beef with hybrid rice?
Nigel Chaffey discovers a rainbow of rices.
Botanists scour US-Mexico border to document forgotten ecosystem split by giant wall
Near the towering border wall flanked by a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle, botanist Sula Vanderplank heard a quail in the scrub yelp “chi-ca-go,” a sound the birds use to signal they are separated from a mate or group. Then silence. A quail on the Mexican side called back, triggering a back-and-forth soundtrack that was both fitting and heartbreaking in an ecosystem split by an artificial barrier.
Are seed-sowing drones the answer to global deforestation?
Drones are being used to replant degraded areas of forest in Brazil – how successful have they been so far?
City Trees Save Lives
Green spaces significantly cool our ever-hotter cities. New research suggests more trees could cut heat-related ER visits in LA by up to two-thirds.
Big Tech thinks it can plant trees better than everyone else
Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce launched a new coalition to try to cancel out their greenhouse gas emissions.
Scientific Papers
Sleeping but not defenseless: seed dormancy and protection (OA)
Hubert et al. summarize the defense activity and the nature of the molecules coming from the exudate of imbibing seeds that leak into its vicinity, also referred to as the spermosphere. As a second layer of protection, the dual role of the seed coat will be discussed; as a physical barrier and a multi-layered reservoir of defense compounds that are synthesized during seed development.
Phylogenomic analysis reveals five independently evolved African forage grass clades in the genus Urochloa (OA)
Masters et al. aim to produce a phylogeny for Urochloa that includes all important forage species, and identify their closest wild relatives (crop wild relatives).
Genetic response of a perennial grass to warm and wet environments interacts and is associated with trait means as well as plasticity ($)
Münzbergová et al explored potential for rapid evolution in Festuca rubra, long-lived grass with extensive clonal growth dominating in alpine grasslands. These data indicate that even long-lived plant species may experience strong selection by climate, and their populations thus have the potential to rapidly adapt to these novel conditions.
Knowing the invader: increasing knowledge about an invasive plant to improve management (OA)
Pampas grass is an invasive alien plant with negative consequences for ecosystems, human health, and economy. Female and hermaphrodite plants showed significant differences regarding reproductive traits, but not for morphological traits. Implications of these findings for the management of the species are discussed.
A new plant genus and species from south-eastern Spain: Castrila latens (Rubieae, Rubiaceae) (OA)
A new genus and species, Castrila latens, native to the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula, is described here for the first time and compared with its closest relatives. An endemic plant, it grows on the calcareous mountains of the Sierra Seca, Sierra de Castril, and Sierra de la Cabrilla, between 1800 and 2100 m of elevation, in the Granada and Jaén provinces (eastern Andalusia, Spain).
Pursuing the greenery: assessing plant-related content in the new Spanish curricula for compulsory education ($)
This study presents an analysis of the new (2022) national curricula for primary (6–12 years) and compulsory secondary education (12–16 years) in Spain, and of the regional curricula for its largest region, Castilla y León. The analysis was conducted by identifying all plant-related text fragments, and classifying them into an inductive-deductive system of categories. Biodiversity is identified as a key issue to be reinforced; despite being included, the curricula fail to associate it with knowledge on plant taxonomy.
Hormonal regulation of plant primary metabolism under drought ($)
Yoshida & Fernie summarize progress in the understanding of phytohormone-regulated primary metabolism under water-limited conditions, especially in Arabidopsis thaliana, and highlight recent findings concerning the amino acids associated with ABA metabolism and signalling.
The nucleotide-binding domain of NRC-dependent disease resistance proteins is sufficient to activate downstream helper NLR oligomerization and immune signaling (OA)
Contreras et al used Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana to show that the nucleotide-binding (NB) domain within the NB-ARC of Rx is necessary and sufficient for oligomerization and immune signaling of downstream helper NLRs.
Photosynthate transfer from an autotrophic orchid to conspecific heterotrophic protocorms through a common mycorrhizal network (OA)
The minute ‘dust seeds’ of some terrestrial orchids preferentially germinate and develop as mycoheterotrophic protocorms near conspecific adult plants. Read et al test the hypothesis that mycorrhizal mycelial connections provide a direct pathway for transfer of recent photosynthate from conspecific green orchids to achlorophyllous protocorms.
CRISPRi-based circuits to control gene expression in plants ($)
Khan et al create a toolkit of engineered repressible promoters of different strengths and construct NOT and NOR gates in Arabidopsis thaliana protoplasts. They determine the optimal processing system to express single guide RNAs from RNA Pol II promoters to introduce NOR gate programmability for interfacing with host regulatory sequences. The performance of a NOR gate in stably transformed Arabidopsis plants demonstrates the system’s programmability and reversibility in a complex multicellular organism.
ReadCube: https://rdcu.be/dISWW
Careers
Integrated Pest Management Project Leader (Senior Scientific Officer), Northern Ireland
Will survey pesticide use, and develop a research programme on integrated pest management.
STAR Hub Engagement Manager, Surrey
We are seeking a motivated Industry Engagement Manager, passionate about diet and health and, in particular, plant/fungi/algae-based foods, to manage and promote the STAR Hub's activities, build our Hub community, and broker new academic-industry partnerships leading to the development of new projects, external funding opportunities and investment.
Postdoctoral Researchers in Plant Biology, Perth
Looking for up to 4 high-calibre researchers with an interest in Plant Genetics and Genomics focusing on plant-pathogen interactions and disease resistance genes.
Forestry Researcher. American Samoa
Under the supervision of the Research Coordinator, the Forestry Researcher leads a research program to improve understanding and management of American Samoa’s forest resources. Research may address issues in the areas of forest health and invasive species, urban and community forestry, conservation of native forests and wildlife, agroforestry, and sustainable management and utilization of forest resources.
Biology Lab Instructor, North Carolina
This role focuses on delivering high-quality laboratory instruction and may involve teaching in one or more of the following areas: botany, genetics, human microbiology, general microbiology, and/or ecology.
Academic Support Specialist III, Biological Sciences, Tennessee
This position provides necessary technical and supervisory assistance in numerous teaching laboratory settings. Provides support as necessary to ensure high quality Academic Performance and instruction within the Department of Biological Sciences.
Research Laboratory Technician (Fixed Term), Cambridge
The Department of Plant Sciences is seeking to appoint a Research Laboratory Technician to provide technical support for research activity to ensure the smooth running of research projects. In particular, this role will be responsible for growing, maintaining and phenotyping rice and Arabidopsis transgenic lines. The major techniques involving growing, maintaining plants, DNA, RNA extractions, genotyping, and gene expression analysis either by RT-PCR or qRT-PCR. In addition, the role involves cloning and light microscopy work.
Leverhulme Space for Nature PhD project, Kent
The student will develop an interdisciplinary research project to investigate the potential implications of designating community forests in Nepal as part of 30x30 target. Nepal, being signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), is looking to expand protected area coverage, primarily through other effective conservation measures due to limited appetite for new national park creation.
Leverhulme Space for Nature PhD project, Kent
This PhD project will investigate this problem in the Betung Kerihun Danau Sentarum Kapuas Hulu Biosphere Reserve in Kalimantan, Indonesia. This extensive >940,000 ha multi-use landscape comprises globally important forest biodiversity, and has significant ecological value to people.
Scientist II, Wisconsin
The Department of Soil Science is currently seeking a Scientist II to join their team in the Sanford laboratory. The main responsibilities of this role include identifying research problems, designing research methodologies, conducting research, and preparing and presenting results for professional organizations or scholarly publications to advance research.
UAV Project Officer, Adelaide
The TERN team are seeking a motivated and collaborative UAV Project Officer to assist the TERN UAV Lead. In this role the UAV Project Officer will, conduct aerial surveys using UAVs, develop best practice ecosystem monitoring and assessment methods that are rigorous, safe and cost effective, assist with curation of data, and assist with soil samples and plant specimens.
Research Technologist, Pennsylvania
This position will manage laboratory, greenhouse, and field operations for the Hamilton Lab in research related to conservation and restoration for forest trees. Responsibilities include management and execution of workflow to complete research projects using genomics and greenhouse experiments in plants.
Research Assistant / Associate (Fixed Term), Cambridge
This 10-month full-time postdoctoral position will investigate the phenotypic effects of plant 'persistent' viruses (e.g., endornaviruses and partitiviruses, which are inherited but not horizontally transmissible) using pepper plants (Capsicum annuum) as a model.