š» The Week in Botany November 11, 2024
Today I found thereās no poppy emoji. The site I used to search for one suggested a bagel, but that didnāt seem in spirit with the day.
Iād love to say what I have planned for next week, but I wonāt start scheduling material until I have the introduction for this email finished. I think thereās something on unexpected crops turning up on an island that Iād like to write about. Beyond that, I have no idea, other than thereāll be another collection of the botanical stories and papers youāre sharing on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky and Threads. Until then, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
On Botany One
Just two brief posts this week, as I had a migraine so bad I didnāt realise it was a migraine for the first couple of days.
News & Views
A new plan to revive American chestnut trees needs you
Fall harvests in Maine once included a crop few of todayās farmers and homesteaders grow: American chestnuts. Today, almost all are gone, victims of a blight that arrived from overseas and made the species functionally extinct around 1950.
Is urban horticulture more carbon heavy?
Dr Anton Rosenfeld delves beyond the headlines to unpick the carbon footprints of urban and conventional agriculture.
Nevada Lithium Mine Will Destroy Critical Plant: Lawsuit
Research has shown that the plant can be used to treat celiac disease, wheat allergy.
Tree program nurtures St. Paulās urban forest and young people learning arborist skills
Tree Trustsā Branches program helps trainees establish roots in an industry thatās growing ever more important in the face of climate change.
Mining drove 1.4m hectares of forest loss in last 2 decades: Report
Between 2001 and 2020, nearly 1.4 million hectares (3.5 million acres) of tree cover, an area a third the size of Denmark, was lost from mining-related activity, the analysis from the World Resources Institute (WRI) found.
Gargantuan Blob In Utah Is Up To 80,000 Years Old And Among Earth's Oldest Organisms
Pando covers 42.6 hectares, and its name means āI spreadā.
The āappy botanist
What should you look for in a Plant Identification app?
Plants of the Colosseum
A thread on Bluesky exploring what was lost when people attempted to return to an imagined past.
Scientific Papers
Stomatal development in the changing climate (OA)
Chua & Lau focus on the effects of carbon dioxide, high temperature and drought ā three environmental factors tightly linked to global warming ā on stomatal development.
Unravelling the microbiome of wild flowering plants: a comparative study of leaves and flowers in alpine ecosystems (OA)
Ramakrishnan et al revealed distinct bacterial and fungal communities on leaves and flowers, with higher diversity and richness on leaves (228 fungal and 91 bacterial ASVs) than on flowers (163 fungal and 55 bacterial ASVs). In addition, Gammaproteobacteria on flowers and Alphaproteobacteria on leaves suggests niche specialization for plant compartments.
Why do flowers wilt? ($)
Resources salvaged when flowers wilt on a perennial plant could promote reproduction by, in preference order, the same flowers (Hypothesis 1), adjacent flowers on the same plant (Hypothesis 2), or during the next flowering season by the same plant (Hypothesis 3). Pyke et al tested the above hypotheses for Blandfordia grandiflora, a perennial species, where some plants included flowers that were allowed to wilt, while equivalent flowers on other plants were prevented from wilting.
Greening the mind: exploring the link between vertical gardens, urban forests, and mental health (OA)
Urbano et al aim to investigate how proximity to vertical gardens or urban forests, specifically, may affect mental health.
Incorporation of photosynthetically active algal chloroplasts in cultured mammalian cells towards photosynthesis in animals (OA)
Aoki et al isolated photosynthetically active chloroplasts from the primitive red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae and incorporated them in cultured mammalian cells via co-cultivation.
The sweet path of Hansel and Gretel: pollination system of Masdevallia hortensis (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) in a cloud montane forest of the Cordillera Occidental, in Colombia (OA)
Ospina-M et al investigated the natural pollination system of Masdevallia hortensis, a strictly endemic species of cloud forests in the Western Andes of Colombia. This species exhibited a sophisticated and unique pollination mechanism, producing sugary secretions in the lateral sepals along purple dotted patches, fed upon by different visiting species of fruit flies (Drosophilidae).
Cyclic electron flow and Photosystem II-less photosynthesis (OA)
Ermakova et al review the phenomenon of āPSII-less photosynthesisā where PSI functions independently of PSII by operating cyclic electron flow using electrons derived from non-photochemical reactions.
A cytoplasmic osmosensing mechanism mediated by molecular crowdingāsensitive DCP5 ($)
Plants are continuously exposed to osmotic stress conditions, but how they sense osmolarity changes is not well understood. Wang et al. report that the Arabidopsis DECAPPING 5 (DCP5) protein functions as an osmosensor for extracellular hyperosmolarity.
The influence of climate change on the potential distribution of Ageratum conyzoides in China (OA)
Ageratum conyzoides L., an invasive plant originating from South America, is characterized by rapid growth and strong ecological adaptability, posing a threat to China's ecosystems, agricultural industry, and biodiversity. Wang et al optimized the MaxEnt model using the ENMeval package and constructed an ensemble model using the Biomod2 package based on global geospatial distribution data of A. conyzoides and considering climate, soil, and topography factors.
The Invisible Tropical Tuber Crop: Edible Aroids (Araceae) Sold as āTajerā in the Netherlands (OA)
Edible aroids (plants from the family Araceae) are among the top five most cultivated tuber crops globally, but their consumer acceptance is hindered by acridity. Aroids contain sap that severely irritates the throat and lips if not properly processed. However, no in-depth studies exist on acridity in edible aroids and how to diminish it. Fang et al used ethnobotanical methods to document the diversity of edible aroids available in the Dutch marketplace and how consumers handle acridity.
Ghost species form an important component of the epiphytic lichens in temperate forests (OA)
Sequencing of environmental samples has great potential for biodiversity research, but its application is limited by the lack of reliable DNA barcode databases for species identifications. Such a database has been created for epiphytic lichens of Europe, allowing us to compare the results of environmental sequencing with standard taxonomic surveys. The species undetected by taxonomic surveys (what VondrƔk et al term the ghost component) amount to about half of the species actually present in hectare plots of Central European forests.
In AoBC Publications
Careers
Note: These are posts that have been advertised around the web. They are not posts that I personally offer, nor can I arrange the visa for you to work internationally.
Pathology Technician, Cambridge
We are seeking an enthusiastic and organised, trainee Technician to be part of our well-established Pathology team to supporting UK arable farming, both through contract work for APHA, AHDB and commercial pathology trials.
Plant-Insect Group Leader, Norwich
Working collaboratively with colleagues and stakeholders to create, develop and lead an internationally excellent independent research programme that enhances the Institute's research and capabilities.
Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor* in Plant Physiology, Uppsala
A position as senior lecturer in plant physiology is available at the Department of Plant Biology, at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala.
Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor* in Plant Ecology, Uppsala
This senior lecturer position is placed at the Department of Crop Production Ecology, which together with the Department of Ecology, constitute an inspiring research environment at the Ecology Centre on SLUās Uppsala campus.
Post-doc in Crop Ecology, Wageningen
The aim for this post-doc position is to integrate ecological knowledge of crop growth and scale this to field and farm-level. This will be done by developing and using a crop model that can represent crop mixtures and rotations. The objective is to quantify the multi-year effects of different mixed cropping and rotational strategies on crop performance (e.g., yields, weed and disease suppression) and local biodiversity.
Group Leader Position in Plant Chromosome Biology, Cologne
The Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (MPIZ) in Cologne has an opening for a 5-year group leader position in the field of plant genetics. The institute is a major site in Europe committed to basic research in plant science. The working language is English.
Assistant/Associate Professor of Controlled Environment Plant Production, California
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, is seeking a full-time academic year, tenure-track Assistant/Associate Professor in Controlled Environment Plant Production starting September 11, 2025. Candidates with industry or other professional experience are encouraged to apply.
Assistant Professor, Tenure Track, New York
Cornell University is seeking a plant-microbe interactions scientist, whose research takes a systems approach to fill key knowledge gaps in plant-microbe interaction biology in the context of a changing climate. The successful candidateās research will show strong promise of establishing predictive principles and foundational knowledge key to innovating for sustainable plant health.
Post Doctoral Research Fellow (Ikley), North Dakota
North Dakota State University State University is seeking a motivated and dedicated postdoctoral fellow to join our research team. This position focuses on applied weed management in crop production. The successful candidate will work on innovative research projects aimed at developing and implementing advanced weed management strategies to improve the sustainability and productivity of North Dakota crops.
Research Assistant Professor Soybean Pathology, North Dakota
North Dakota State University is seeking a highly motivated and skilled Research Assistant Professor to join our Soybean Pathology Lab. The successful candidate will be expected to lead a research program focused on advancing our understanding and management of soybean diseases, with a particular emphasis on diseases affecting soybean production in North Dakota.
Research Associate Professor/Research Professor & Assistant Director, Plant Systems, Texas
The Plant System Leader, in collaboration with the Executive Associate Director of the Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, the Assistant Director of Cooperative Agricultural Research Center, and the Associate Dean for Academic Programs, will establish the overall vision and oversee the operational management for the Plant Systems in regards to research priorities and the general development of research scientists (including faculty with split teaching-research appointments and research faculty), postdoctoral fellows, research specialists and technicians, and student research interns within the Plant Systems.
Assistant Professor of Biology - Plant Biologist (tenure track), Missouri
Northwest Missouri State University is seeking a plant biologist with a background in plant diversity, taxonomy, and local flora to teach undergraduate coursework in introductory botany as well as advanced courses dealing with plant diversity. Additional teaching responsibilities may include introductory courses in biology for majors or non-majors, evolutionary biology, plant physiology, or plant anatomy.
Assistant Professor, Crop Production: Agronomy/Horticulture, Vermont
The University of Vermont invites applicants for the position of Assistant Professor in Crop Production: Agronomy / Horticulture. This is a full-time (1.0 FTE) 9-month, tenure track position with a 45% teaching, 45% research, and 10% service appointment.
The Distinguished Endowed Chair in Soil Health for Potato Cropping System, Washington
The Distinguished Endowed Chair in Soil Health for Potato Cropping Systems will create and lead an internationally recognized research program that is integrated with and closely collaborates with growers and the processing industry in the Columbia Basin to develop practical methods, means, and management tools to promote soil health and improve potato productivity by focusing research on soil ecosystems in Columbia Basin potato cropping systems, which includes potatoes, rotation crops with potatoes, and cover crops.