đ»The Week in Botany November 18, 2024
This week was supposed to be a writing week, but I was caught by surprise. While I was expecting Twitter traffic to plummet following the US election, I wasnât expecting Bluesky to take off.
Nature Plants later walked back that claim, but given the rising user count, that could change this week anyway.
That change, and some work Iâve done means that for some items thereâs a share credit at the end of the description, because I can identify who posted the original item that everyone is sharing. If youâre interested in joining Bluesky, Shelly Gaynor has a starter pack that will get you following a bunch of botanists when you join.
The biggest story, shared across many different posts was the death of Joanne Chory. As well as the announcement, people shared an interview with her at the SEB, and her TED talk from five years ago. She clearly didnât merely influence people, but also earned the admiration of many.
Thereâll be another collection of the botanical stories and papers youâre sharing on Mastodon, Bluesky, Threads and Twitter, if itâs still going. next week. Until then, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
On Botany One
News & Views
100 Years Ago, Poppies Became More Than Just Flowers
Hereâs how the poppy came to symbolize World War I.
When This Flower Blooms Every 50 Years, Famine Follows
The northeastern state of Mizoram, in India, and some of its neighbors were devastated by a famine in 1911. The same thing happened 48 years later. When a famine occurred yet again in 2007, it could no longer be chalked up to coincidence.
âI can hear dry-retching from insideâ: queuing for hours to smell Geelongâs corpse plant
The so-called corpse plant takes a decade to flower â and when it does, the blossom lasts just 24-48 hours and smells of rotting flesh.
Genetically modified cotton was planted in a Mato Grosso exclusion zone
For five years, a farmer in Brazil disregarded biosafety measures and advanced into areas that prevented contamination of native cotton.
First-Ever Antarctic Amber Spills Secrets Of The Continent's Cretaceous Forests
Donât count on any mosquitoes carrying dinosaur blood with surviving DNA though.
Disease Could Kill Most of the âOhiâa Forests on Hawaii's Big Island Within 20 Years
Researchers say there's been some promising developments in the fight against a disease that is sweeping through Hawaiiâs native âohiâa forests, killing off the foundation of the islandsâ ecology and a significant cultural resource.
Biden promised to protect Oregonâs old-growth forests. So why didnât he?
In Oregonâs Coast Range, mature forests can absorb more carbon per acre than almost any other on the planet. Yet logging continues at a steady pace, putting the environment at risk.
James Cook University considers closing Daintree Rainforest Observatory and canopy crane
A far north Queensland university is considering closing its Daintree Rainforest research station, including its rare 47-metre-high canopy crane, for financial reasons.
âȘ@dcrayn.bsky.social
âŹHeirloom Plants Tell Stories of History & Heritage
The study of heirloom plants is a study of history, geography, and botany.
@thesnarkyfarmer.bsky.socialâŹ
Pablo Manavella Appointed Next Editor-In-Chief of The Plant Cell
Manavella is currently a Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientĂficas (CSIC) researcher at the Institute for Mediterranean and Subtropical Horticulture (IHSM) in MĂĄlaga, Spain.
@somssich.bsky.social
Scientific Papers
A simplified Agrobacterium tumefaciensâmediated transformation protocol accelerates plant molecular breeding ($)
Li et al developed a simplified plant transformation method that cuts 6-9 weeks off traditional protocols.
Capturing drought stress signals: The potential of dendrometers for monitoring tree water status (OA)
Ziegler et al exposed two widespread conifers Pinus sylvestris and Larix decidua to lethal dehydration by withholding water and closely monitored TWD, midday water potential (â phi), and midday stomatal conductance (â gsâ ) under controlled greenhouse conditions.
High variability in the attractiveness of municipally-planted decorative plants to insects (OA)
Czaczkes et al evaluated the decorative plantings carried out by the city municipality of Regensburg, Germany, by systematically surveying insect visitations on different plant types in late summer, when forage is often limited for pollinators. They found a 130-fold difference from the least to the most attractive plants, and high variation in which insect groups were attracted to which plants.
Shedding light on pollination deficits: Cueing into plant spectral reflectance signatures to monitor pollination delivery across landscapes (OA)
Parry et al highlight where research efforts can be targeted to produce scalable methods for identifying field-relevant bioindicators of pollination. They provide guidance on how spectral imaging accompanied by machine learning and coupled with autonomous operation technologies will enable applications to detect pollination delivery across complex landscapes.
Flowers meet Newton: testing the role of gravitational pull in resupination of orchid flowers ($)
Cardoso et al studied a ladyâs slipper orchid in which some flowers naturally fail to resupinate. We conducted a manipulative experiment removing floral parts and showed that both the probability of complete resupination and the degree of flower vertical movement (from 0° to 180°) are related to the mass of floral organs.
Ecological restoration enhances dryland carbon stock by reducing surface soil carbon loss due to wind erosion (OA)
By conducting a comprehensive regional survey of 4279 1 Ă 1 m2 plots at 517 sites across Chinaâs drylands and a 13-y manipulative experiment in a semiarid grassland within the same region, Song et al show that greater soil and ecosystem C stocks in restored than degraded lands result predominantly from decreased surface soil C loss via suppressed wind erosion.
Tree droughtâmortality risk depends more on intrinsic species resistance than on stand species diversity ($)
Decarsin et al found that droughtâmortality risk was primarily driven by species identity (56.7% of the total variability), while tree diversity had a much lower effect (8% of the total variability). This result remained valid at the local scale (i.e within experiment) and across the studied European biomes.
GNSS-R-Based wildfire detection: a novel and accurate method (OA)
This study explores the potential of Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) for fire monitoring in complex environments. By analyzing cumulative burned areas in southeastern Brazil, a new fire detection method combining GNSS-R with Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) is proposed to improve accuracy and response time.
SPL13 controls a root apical meristem phase change by triggering oriented cell divisions ($)
Yang et al. developed a chemical genetic screen and identified Coral7 as a small molecule that activates the expression of a key regulator of phase change and transcription factor called SPL13.
@bertderybel.bsky.social
âŹThe Arabidopsis blue-light photoreceptor CRY2 is active in darkness to inhibit root growth ($)
Cryptochromes (CRYs) are blue-light receptors that regulate diverse aspects of plant growth. However, whether and how non-photoexcited CRYs function in darkness or non-blue-light conditions is unknown. Zeng et al show that CRY2 affects the Arabidopsis transcriptome even in darkness, revealing a non-canonical function.
@tatsuyanobori.bsky.socialâŹ
In AoBC Publications
Orchid phylogenetics and evolution: history, current status and prospects (OA)
Masting ontogeny: the largest masting benefits accrue to the largest tree ($)
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.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Oxford
The research will focus primarily on understanding the effect of plant biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), found in the ambient air in urban greenspaces, on human health. You will be responsible for developing and leading a programme of research aimed at investigating how some urban greenspaces, both indoor and outdoor, because of the plant species they contain which emit certain BVOCs, can trigger significant improvements in psychological and physical health in people who visit these spaces.
Assessing efficient application and emission reduction from using low carbon footprint fertilisers in potato agronomy - PhD, Cranfield
This is an exciting 4-year PhD project funded by the BBSRC CTP Sustainable Agricultural Innovation and PepsiCo, this CTP studentship will provide an annual maintenance stipend of ÂŁ19,237, fee support of ÂŁ4,786, a research training support grant of ÂŁ5,000 and conference and UK fieldwork expenses of ÂŁ300. This project focuses on potatoes and how we can use sustainable fertiliser solutions such as organo-mineral fertilisers to meet crop demands and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Edinburgh
A Postdoctoral Research Associate position in alga synthetic/engineering biology is available in the laboratory of Dr Attila Molnar at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh. We are seeking a highly motivated researcher to take a lead role in contributing to the development of systems for precise nuclear regulation of the plastome in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
PhD Flax forever: the possibility of immortality in the meristems of an annual plant, Durham
The methodologies employed will exploit the expertise of the three collaborating research groups: Dr Hepworth will provide training in molecular genetic control of flowering in response to climate; Dr Sandersonâs expertise is in temporal-spatial modelling and interactions between environment and organism life histories; Dr Brennan is an expert on the genetics, trait evolution and ecology of wild flowers.
PhD student, Biology â Plant Pathology and Resistance Breeding, Uppsala
looking for a highly motivated individual to join our ongoing research in breeding and development of new crops with resistance against diseases. Swedish pea cultivation must increase to meet future demands but is hampered by yield losses caused by soil-borne pathogens. This PhD project will therefore focus on developing tools for breeding new, disease-resistant varieties and shorten the time to their release on the market.
Director of the Department of Botany and Zoology, Brno
In this role you will have the unique opportunity and responsibility to shape the strategies and direction of the DepartmentÂŽs future development, placing it at the forefront of both scientific research and the training of new professionals. You will be involved in the development and implementation of long-term plans and contribute to the development of the Department of Botany and Zoology.
2 PhD positions: Unravelling Plant-Insect Communication for Sustainable Agroecosystems, NeuchĂątel
We are looking for highly motivated PhD candidates who enjoy working on a cutting-edge and interdisciplinary project that involves chemical ecology and evolution, network ecology and information theory. Candidates should have a Master's degree (or equivalent) in ecology, evolutionary biology, chemical ecology, mathematics or a related field, and enjoy working both in field sites to collect empirical data and on computers to build mathematical models.
JYU Visiting Fellow Programme 2025, JyvÀskylÀ
The University of JyvÀskylÀ (JYU), Finland, invites applications for the JYU Visiting Fellow Programme. The programme supports researchers with a doctoral degree, who are from outside Finland, to visit JYU for one (30 days) to three months (90 days) in 2025. The visiting period may start earliest in February 2025 and should end latest on December 31, 2025.
PhD position - Tree-based restoration in biodiversity hotspot Madagascar, Wageningen
We are looking for a PhD candidate focusing on how ecological restoration outcomes such as biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and natural regeneration are determined by social and ecological restoration practices. The specific focus of the PhD research will be determined based on the expertise and interests of the successful applicant.
Post-doc (M/F) -Effect of host genetics on pathogen-pathogen interactions, Toulouse
The postdoc will be in charge of setting up GWA mapping experiments to test the effect of 200 natural accessions of A. thaliana on 6 pairs of pathogenic strains under in vitro conditions and field conditions. While GWAS in in vitro conditions will be conducted in France (Toulouse), GWAS in field conditions will be conducted in the USA (3-4 stays of 6 weeks each). The post-doc will also be in charge of functionally validating several QTLs using last-generation tools of plant genome editing.
Fixed-term Tenure Track Researcher, Parma
The research shall primarily concern algal biology topics, particularly, Evolution of heavy metal pollution tolerance mechanisms AND Identification of algal organisms particularly adapted to stress and metabolic pathways relevant for environmental remediation and energy use.
Laboratory Technician, Alnarp
SLU Alnarp is seeking a highly motivated person that will work as a research technician within several projects dealing with invasive forest pathogens (e.g. Phytophthora and ash decline). The applicant will work alongside a group of experienced researchers, Post-docs, and PhD students specializing in forest and tree health.
Assistant Professor of Practice, Oregon
The purpose of this position is to provide leadership in the development, implementation, synthesis, and evaluation of Extension and applied research in crop production systems in Malheur County. This faculty member is the OSU Extension Agriculture spokesperson for the Treasure Valley agriculture and must have an in-depth understanding of the cropping systems of the area to serve as a technical advisor for local industry groups and provide science and research-based guidance to other governmental agencies that work on policies influencing the natural resource industries of the county.
Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Arnold Arboretum, Massachusetts
The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University invites early career scientists to apply for a unique opportunity to start a research career as independent postdoctoral fellow while gaining training and connections within the framework of a top-tier academic environment. The Katharine H. Putnam Fellowship in Plant Science supports scientists focused on utilizing the Arnold Arboretumâs living collections of woody plants to study any area of plant science.
Grant-Funded Researcher (A)- Weed science and Agronomy, Adelaide
We are seeking a motivated researcher specialising in weed science and agronomy to join our team addressing weed ecology and management in the Southern Grains Region (SGR). This opportunity addresses an investment for the grains industry made by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). The overarching aim of the project is to better understand seed ecology of target weed species and determine how this could inform weed management programs on farms in this region.