š» The Week in Botany November 6, 2023
Itās a late finish tonight, as Iāve been supervising the office manager over the weekend. Itās Bonfire Night here, and fireworks make his whiskers twitch.
This weekās big surprise for me is probably something that will make anyone following bryophytes roll their eyes. Iāve found out some mosses reproduce asexually. Iām used to the idea of plants reproducing asexually, itās necessary if pollinators disappear. But mosses donāt rely on pollinators anyway, so thatās not a reason for mosses to become asexual. Itās something I found out reading John Wrightās article, 50 Shades of Green, that hasnāt had many shares on Twitter or Mastodon, and so isnāt listed below. Itās getting a link here anyway for an orchid joke that I will shamelessly rip-off at some point in the future.
The newsletter will be back again at the same time next week. Until then, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
On Botany One
Smart crops for a changing world: novel insights from the Italian plant science community
After the summer break, the Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics celebrated the 66th edition of its annual congress in sunny Bari, a beautiful city located in the heel of Italyās boot. Want to know more about āClimate-smart plants to feed the futureā? Donāt miss this post-conference blog post.
Weathering the Storm: Understanding Maize Lodging Resistance
A new model identifies the morphological features that determine stalk bending strength.
The Scary Side of Botany: 10 weird plants with frightening features
Pumpkins, the hallmark of the most terrifying night of the year, are not the only botanical species that give rise to dreadful feelings. Letās discover some creepy, freaky, greedy plants that seem spawned from horror stories.
News & Views
Could A Carnivorous Plant Eat A Human?
No humans were harmed in the making of this story.
These Plants Can Sound the Alarm in a Toxic World
Genetically engineering plants to change colors when they encounter a contaminant could help scientists better understand their needsāand the environment.
The plant that kept growing: Timaru couple marvel at prickly plant
When a massive artichoke agave plant was cut out of their garden by the district council about 14 years ago, Ola and Sandy Cocks both breathed a massive sigh of relief.
Desert plant collects water from air by excreting salt on its leaves
An evergreen desert shrub common in the Middle East excretes salt crystals onto its leaves that may help it draw moisture from nighttime air.
Forced to diversify, Guatemalan farmers plant climate-hardy beans
On a steep terraced slope in the mountains of eastern Guatemala, Gloria Diaz and a group of fellow farmers punch holes in the soil with wooden spades to plant bean seeds that they pray will yield a bumper harvest.
Indonesia says 200,000 hectares of palm plantations to be made forests
Some 200,000 hectares (494,210 acres) of oil palm plantations found in areas designated as forests in Indonesia are expected to be returned to the state to be converted back into forests, a government official said late on Tuesday.
āJust keep goingā: the horse-riding 97-year-old botanist battling for Englandās wildflowers
Margaret Bradshaw has spent decades studying Teesdale ā and is fighting to preserve its unique mix of plants.
Along a Path Less Traveled at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Plants Are Being Evaluated on Beauty and Brawn
Flowers are grown, data is collected and some flowers are determined to grow better in the upper midwest.
Fearsome Flora: Plants that Bite Back
Inspired by a paper published in the Linnean Botanical Journal, Education Officer Dani Crowley investigates the mysterious world of carnivorous plants and their scientific and cultural legacy.
Plant chloroplasts promise potential therapy for Huntingtonās disease
A chloroplast enzyme safeguards plants against pathological protein aggregation that causes Huntingtonās and other neurodegenerative diseases / new research reported in āNature Agingā may have found a way to ācopyā the mechanism for application in human cells.
Scientific Papers
The Marchantia pangenome reveals ancient mechanisms of plant adaptation to the environment (OA)
Beaulieu et al. gathered a collection of 133 accessions of the non-vascular plants Marchantia polymorpha and studied its intraspecific diversity using selection signature analyses, genome-environment association study and a gene-centered pangenome.
Tracking canopy chlorophyll fluorescence with a low-cost light emitting diode platform (OA)
Brissette et al. built a novel low-cost photodiode system that retrieves far-red chlorophyll fluorescence emission induced by a blue light emitting diode (LED) light source, for 2 h at night, above the canopy. Their objective was to determine if an active remote sensing-based night-time photodiode method could track changes in canopy-scale LED-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (LEDIF) during an imposed drought on a broadleaf evergreen shrub, Polygala myrtifolia.
Tree species diversity increases soil microbial carbon use efficiency in a subtropical forest (OA)
Plant communities strongly influence soil microbial communities and, in turn, soil carbon (C) cycling. Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is an important parameter for predicting soil C accumulation, yet how plant and soil microbial community traits influence microbial CUE remains poorly understood. Duan et al. determined how soil microbial CUE is influenced by plant and soil microbial community traits, by studying a natural gradient of plant species diversity in a subtropical forest.
Green leaf volatile sensory calcium transduction in Arabidopsis (OA)
Plants perceive volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by mechanically- or herbivore-damaged neighboring plants and induce various defense responses. Such interplant communication protects plants from environmental threats. However, the spatiotemporal dynamics of VOC sensory transduction in plants remain largely unknown. Using a wide-field real-time imaging method, we visualize an increase in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]cyt) in Arabidopsis leaves following exposure to VOCs emitted by injured plants.
Simplification of soil biota communities impairs nutrient recycling and enhances above- and belowground nitrogen losses (OA)
Bender et al. manipulated soil biota communities in outdoor lysimeters, planted maize, continuously collected leachates, and measured N2O- and N2-gas emissions after a fertilization pulse to test whether differences in soil biota communities affected nutrient recycling and N losses.
Linking water use efficiency with water use strategy from leaves to communities (OA)
This insight provides updated and simplified ways of estimating marginal water cost of carbon gain and adds depth to understanding ways that plants balance water expenditure against carbon gain, uniquely providing a mechanistic means of predicting water use characteristics under changing environmental scenarios.
Pollinator asynchrony drives the temporal stability of flower visitation rates, but not of plant reproductive success ($)
Using a 5-year dataset across 13 Mediterranean shrublands and 12 plant species, Tobajas et al. assessed the effect of pollinator richness and asynchrony as drivers of stability in plant visitation rates and plant reproductive success. Additionally, we analysed whether the effects of species richness and visitation rate on plant reproductive success were consistent over the years.
Recent advances in unraveling the mystery of combined nutrient stress in plants ($)
This review focuses specifically on the regulation of phosphorous homeostasis in plants, with a primary emphasis on recent studies that have shed light on the intricate interactions between phosphorous and other essential elements, such as nitrogen, iron, and zinc, as well as non-essential elements like aluminum and sodium.
Fluorescence-activated multi-organelle mapping of subcellular plant hormone distribution (OA)
SkalickĆ½ et al. reveal auxin and cytokinin distribution maps showing their different organelle-specific allocations within the Arabidopsis plant cell. To do so,they have developed Fluorescence-Activated multi-Organelle Sorting (FAmOS), an innovative subcellular fractionation technique based on flow cytometric principles.
CLAVATA signaling in plantāenvironment interactions (OA)
This review summarizes our current understanding of the diverse roles of environment-regulated CLAVATA3/EMBRYO SURROUNDING REGION-related (CLE) peptides in modulating plant responses to environmental cues. Bashyal et al. highlight how CLE signals regulate plant physiology by fine-tuning plant-microbe interactions, nutrient homeostasis, and carbon allocation.
Careers
PhD Candidate, Urban Tree-Microbe Interactions, Leiden
We are looking for a creative and passionate PhD candidate that will explore the effects of urbanization on species interactions, in particular but not exclusively, involving tree-microbe mutualisms. In this PhD project, we seek to unravel how tree-microbe interactions undergo functional shifts as urbanization levels increase and explore the cascading effects on other interaction types, under current and future climate scenarios.
PhD, Comparative phylogenetics of the leaf economics spectrum, Essex
The student will perform a comparative analysis of sequence-based and LES-based phylogenetic relationships. During the summer, they will characterise globally diverse flora within the world-famous Beth Chattoās Gardens, where the visionary principle of growing the right plant in the right place was established. Here, DNA samples will be collected, and the LES will be characterised using cutting-edge techniques (e.g., hyperspectral reflectance, infra-red gas exchange). A field-lab design will promote interactions with garden visitors allowing the student to develop public engagement skills. The student will relocate to Essex to process collected samples (e.g., sequencing, mass spectrometry) and undertake computational analyses.
Postdoctoral scientist (f/m/d) in the field of Root Genetics, Gatersleben
The research group Genetics and Physiology of Root Development studies crop root anatomical and architectural traits. Research is mainly focused on cereals including barley, wheat, and maize. We aim to leverage high-throughput phenotyping to create knowledge about plant function at the physiological level and use forward genetics approaches to unravel the genetic architecture of root traits. We are currently conducting projects to characterize the function and genetic control of root anatomical and architectural traits to enhance plant stress tolerance.
Postdoctoral scientist (f/m/d) in the field of Root Physiology, Gatersleben
The research group Genetics and Physiology of Root Development studies crop root anatomical and architectural traits. Research is mainly focused on cereals including barley, wheat, and maize. We aim to leverage high-throughput phenotyping to create knowledge about plant function at the physiological level and use forward genetics approaches to unravel the genetic architecture of root traits. We are currently conducting projects to characterize the function and genetic control of root anatomical and architectural traits to enhance plant stress tolerance.
Editor-in-Chief, Rhodora, USA
The New England Botanical Society (NEBS) is seeking applications for a professional Editor-in-Chief for our organization's quarterly, peer-reviewed journal Rhodora, which publishes scholarly papers on the flora of New England and related regions. This is a part-time, remote, paid position ($12K/year) that oversees all aspects of journal publication and promotion, works with the journal's Managing Editor, Editorial Board of Associate Editors, and Rhodora Committee, and is a voting member of NEBS Council. The editor must be legally authorized to work in the United States.
Biology Faculty, Arkansas
John Brown University seeks a full-time Microbiology faculty member to teach in the department of Biology beginning Fall of 2024. In addition to microbiology, other teaching responsibilities include courses in Ecology & Evolution, Botany (care of greenhouse), and one in the area of faculty experience and/or expertise. Additional responsibilities include, but are not limited to, advising and recruitment of students, participation in departmental governance, attendance and participation at public events, as appropriate, and service on college and university committees.
University Faculty Plant Population Genetics, Utah
The Department of Botany and Plant Ecology at Weber State University invites applications for a tenure-track position, with the appointment to begin in July 2024. We seek a person broadly trained in plant population genetics with research specialties that may include phylogeography, community genetics, or conservation genetics.
PhD studentship - Elucidating transposon-fungus pathogenomics to deliver more productive, sustainable, and resilient agriculture, Exeter
This project will examine fungal host-transposon interactions. Transposons are mobile selfish genetic elements that can transpose (move position) within the genome. Transposition can be harmful if a transposon jumps into an essential genomic region. However, transposition can also generate selectively beneficial genomic novelty, for example where insertions facilitate adaptive regulatory mutations. This project will leverage the combined power of expertly curated phenotypic databases, extensive genomic datasets, detailed bioinformatic analyses, and largescale evolutionary experiments, to test the role of transposons in shaping the dynamic genomes of fungal pathogens.
PhD studentship - Molecular control of resource mobilisation in plants, Exeter
This project will exploit the unique physiology of young germinating seedlings to unlock the molecular details of energy budgeting in plants. After germination the seedlings undergo a remarkable transformation from heterotrophic lifestyle to becoming photosynthetic and self-sustaining. During this period, they utilize metabolic reserves such as lipids and seed storage proteins to drive cellular processes. The transition is remarkably flexible and can adapt to suboptimal growth conditions such as extended darkness, which could prolong the transition phase. Normally, germinating seedlings can survive under soil, in the dark, for several days until emergence and establishment. How do plants ensure that the nutrient reserves are not exhausted under such conditions? How do the cells regulate the mobilisation of the finite reserves in response to the environment to sustain life until photosynthesis begins? These are important fundamental questions that remain unanswered. Although cellular energy signalling orchestrated by the master regulators such as Snf1-Related Protein Kinases (SnRKs) is known, how the energy signalling and mobilisation mechanisms adapt to the environment is not understood.
PhD Studentship - Understanding Plant Chromosome Architecture and Evolution, Exeter
At the heart of this PhD project is the question of how such recently evolved regions of plant genomes are integrated into the three-dimensional (3D) space of the nucleus. In all eukaryotes, genes are incorporated into a complex and dynamic 3D configuration of chromosomes. This spatial organisation of chromosomes modulates the activity and efficiency of all DNA related processes. Crucially, the unique 3D organisation of specific genomic regions may shape their evolutionary trajectory and separate recently evolved sites from highly conserved areas of the genome.
PhD Studentship - Distilling Bacteriophage-host Webs: Methods to Characterise and Combine Phages for Agricultural Biocontrol, Exeter
A web of interactions between 10^30 bacteria and 10^31 bacterial viruses (phages), by far the most numerous lifeforms on Earth, shapes global chemical cycles and impacts health from individual animals through ecosystems.Ā Ā While phages are a central natural feature of our world (e.g., lysing 20-40% of oceanic bacteria daily and affecting oxygen production and nutrient cycles), interest is growing in their practical use as agricultural biocontrol agents to reduce antibiotic dependence and keep antibiotic-resistant pathogens in check. In this context, phages targeting bacterial pathogens could improve plant and animal health, reduce losses, relieve agricultural selection for antibiotic resistance and curtail transmission of food-borne bacterial pathogens (e.g. E.coli, Listeria, Salmonella) to humans.
PhD Studentship - Feeling the Heat: Understanding Plant-Pathogen Interactions in a Changing Climate
Crops growing in the field are continually faced with challenges or stresses. Two major current and future threats to crop production are diseases and climate change, in particular global warming and associated āheatĀ stressā. Understanding the response of a plant to a combined stress is traditionally more difficult than studyingĀ each in isolation. Pathogens themselves must also adapt to the stresses imposed by temperatures as well asĀ plant defence responses. Studies on combined stress are often underrepresented yet this work is crucial toĀ sustain crop productivity. Right now, we do not understand how a heat stressed plant might respond toĀ pathogen attack or indeed if the capacity of the pathogen to infect the plant is altered by increased
temperatures. This PhD project is designed to address these gaps in our understanding.
Research Fellow (Plant Nanotechnology), Singapore
Postdoctoral positions (Research Fellows) are available immediately inĀ the Lew LabĀ led by Assistant ProfessorĀ Tedrick Thomas Salim LEWĀ at the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). The National University of Singapore is consistently ranked as the top university in Asia and among the highest ranked institutions globally. Research in the Lew Laboratory focuses on engineering innovative nanoparticle-based technologies to efficiently deliver proteins and biomolecules for plant engineering, and to monitor plant signalling pathways non-destructively (Lew et al, Nat Plants 2020; Kwak & Lew et al, Nat Nanotech 2019). Candidates will be exposed to a rich and exciting training environment at the emerging field of plant nanotechnology.