🎃 The Week in Botany October 28, 2024
The clocks have changed in the UK, so tonight is going to arrive with a thud. On the plus side, if you celebrate Diwali then the lights will shine brighter, at least in the UK.
Looking ahead, the deadlines for various travel grants for Plant Biology 2025 are coming up very soon. The event itself will happen in Milwaukee July 26 – 30, 2025. The only thing I know about Milwaukee is that it was where Happy Days was set. If the event has a mascot and it’s not the ferns, I shall be very disappointed.
There’ll be another collection of the stories and papers you’re sharing on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky and Threads, at the same time next week. Until then, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
On Botany One
Antarctic moss proves cold weather isn’t just for penguins
New research shows Antarctic moss can grow and survive in freezing, harsh conditions by using special fats that keep its cells flexible, helping it cope with extreme cold and other stresses.
The Nectar Thieves of the Andes: Discovering Black Metaltail Hummingbird Behaviour
When nectar is hard to reach, these Andean hummingbirds become flower robbers to get the sweet rewards.
News & Views
Forest fires are shifting north and intensifying – here’s what that means for the planet
Fires have long been a natural part of forest ecosystems, but something is changing. Our new study shows that forest fires have become more widespread and severe amid global heating, particularly in the high northern latitudes such as Canada and Siberia where fires are most sensitive to hotter, drier conditions.
Critically endangered palm planted at Eden Project
One of the rarest plants on earth has been planted in the rainforest biome at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
This farmer 'planted blindly' in a changing climate. A weather app came to his rescue
It’s a hot, sunny day in Miu, a rural village in south-central Kenya. And 31-year-old Stephen Nzioka is at home working on his farm of maize, beans and oranges. He whistles as he digs and clears brush.
Mexico announces food and agriculture plan that could take the country back to the 1980s
Mexico's new president has announced an agriculture plan that could make the country's food production and distribution look a lot more like it did in the 1980s.
Unleash Your Inner Botanist with the New LEGO® Ideas The Botanical Garden Set
Botanical enthusiasts and LEGO fans alike can now immerse themselves in the tranquil beauty of a Victorian-style botanical garden. This 3,792-piece set allows builders to explore a meticulously crafted glasshouse with three atriums, each filled with intricate details and over 35 plant species.
Where were London's most famous 'lost' gardens?
Thousands of gardens and green spaces have vanished across London over the past 500 years.
‘There is a python with a platypus in its mouth’: botanist’s extreme monotreme v reptile encounter
Plant enthusiasts stumble across 2-metre long snake consuming egg-laying mammal in Marys Creek State Forest in Queensland.
Her family swapped their lawn for a backyard mini-farm and valuable life lessons
Like most families stuck at home during the pandemic, psychologist Angel Black and her husband, philosophy professor Tim Black, struggled with maintaining their careers while helping their children manage their learning.
Meet the Italian ‘Fruit Detective’ Who Investigates Centuries-Old Paintings for Clues About Produce That Has Disappeared From the Kitchen Table
Renaissance paintings, medieval archives, cloistered orchards—how one Italian scientist is uncovering secrets that could help combat a growing agricultural crisis.
Scientific Papers
The ancient Maya and the modern forest (OA)
A rigorous study suggests that descendants of favored tree species persist in elevated abundance in some areas of the modern forest but not in other areas. After c. 1100 years of regrowth in some places, the legacy of the ancient Maya in the modern forest likely ranges from strong to absent across the varied landscape of the Lowlands.
Long-term nitrogen deposition reduces the diversity of nitrogen-fixing plants (OA)
Moreno-GarcÃa et al examine temporal trends in the diversity of nitrogen-fixing plants and their relationships with anthropogenic nitrogen deposition while accounting for changes in temperature and aridity.
Pollen Wars: Explosive Pollination Removes Pollen Deposited from Previously Visited Flowers ($)
Through the simulation of floral visits utilizing a hummingbird skull, Anderson et al showed that explosive pollen deposition by untriggered flowers dislodges almost twice as many pollen grains as already-triggered flowers.
Integrating datasets from herbarium specimens and images to treat a Neotropical myrtle species complex ($)
Gaem et al employ an integrative methodology relying exclusively on herbarium specimens to investigate species boundaries in the Neotropical Myrcia neoobscura complex (Myrtaceae).
Antiviral RNA interference inhibits virus vertical transmission in plants ($)
Liu & Ding emonstrate potent immunosuppression of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) seed transmission in its natural host Arabidopsis thaliana by antiviral RNA interference (RNAi) pathway.
Some unique anatomical scaling relationships among genera in the grass subfamily Pooideae (OA)
This study therefore investigated the scaling relationships between leaf size, Vein Length Area, and vessel size in five genera within the subfamily Pooideae.
Anatomical traits explain drought response of seedlings from wet tropical forests (OA)
Discerning how functional traits of seedlings mediate drought response can aid generalizable predictions of tree responses to global environmental change. Jhaveri et al assessed interspecific variation in drought response explained by above- and below-ground seedling traits.
Histone modifications affecting plant dormancy and dormancy release: common regulatory effects on hormone metabolism ($)
In this review, Sato & Yamane focus on seed dormancy and bud dormancy, which are critical for adaptation to fluctuating environmental conditions. They provide an overview of the physiological characteristics of both types of dormancy as well as the importance of the phytohormones abscisic acid and gibberellin for establishing and releasing dormancy, respectively.
XX International Botanical Congress, Madrid 2024: Report of Congress action on nomenclature proposals (OA)
The 2024 International Botanical Congress in Madrid updated naming rules for plants, including measures against discriminatory names and registration requirements.
New Approaches to Plant Pathogen Detection and Disease Diagnosis ($)
Detecting plant pathogens and diagnosing diseases are critical components of successful pest management. These key areas have undergone significant advancements driven by breakthroughs in molecular biology and remote sensing technologies within the realm of precision agriculture.
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.
Assistant / Associate Professor ( Plant Sciences) x2, Warwick
Applications are invited for two posts as Assistant or Associate Professor to join the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick in the UK.
Research Associate in Plant/Soil Microbial Ecology, London
The Graystock Lab at the Silwood Park Campus of Imperial College London is seeking a microbial ecologist interested in pioneering a new approach towards suppressing the pathogens of one of the world’s most important staple crops, wheat (T. aestivum).
University Assistant/Associate Professor, Cambridge
We welcome excellent candidates who can teach and perform research in Plant Ecology and will complement our expertise in forest ecology, conservation, and evolution. In particular, we are interested in applications from those with a focus on fieldwork, collection-based approaches, or big data analysis in areas such as community ecology, plant and microbial responses to climate change, forestry, and the global restoration and conservation agendas.
PhD Studentship: Revealing how plant roots adapt to compacted soil environments, Nottingham
We are inviting applications for a PhD studentship focused on understanding how plant roots sense and respond to compacted soil conditions. The aim of this research is to uncover the mechanisms by which plants detect and cope with physical stress in complex, heterogeneous soil environments.
Postdoc position in deadwood quality and saproxylic communities, Umeå
We are looking for a highly motivated, innovative, and enthusiastic postdoctoral fellow to join our research team, focusing on the community ecology of deadwood-dependent organisms in boreal forests of northern Sweden to work within a project entitled Evaluating options for restoration of deadwood quality and dependent saproxylic communities in managed boreal forests.
Roberts and Mikhail Distinguished Associate or Full Professor in Genome Editing, North Carolina
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative seek a tenure-track Associate or Full Professor (distinguished professor) with specific expertise in genome editing with an emphasis on molecular approaches. This position will develop a multi-faceted research program focused on genome editing, which has emerged as one of the most exciting, and potentially transformational, technologies in the biological sciences in recent decades.
Assistant Professor of Botany, New York
The Assistant Professor of Botany will teach courses such as Plant Kingdom, Evolution, and Plant Systematics, at SUNY Oswego, as well as topics in their area of specialty. They may also contribute to general education and Honors Program offerings. Additional responsibilities include research with undergraduates, advising, and service.
Full Time Faculty - Urban Agriculture (Grant-Funded), Illinois
Olive-Harvey College is currently seeking a full time tenure track faculty to teach in the Urban Agriculture Department.
Botanist - Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, Wyoming
The WYNDD Botanist is expected to reside in or near Laramie, Wyoming, and maintain an office in the WYNDD suite on the University of Wyoming campus.
Assistant Professor in Fungal Biology, California
The Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology at the University of California Riverside invites applicants for an Assistant Professor in Fungal Biology position with a focus on molecular plant-fungal interactions in agriculture or natural ecosystems.
Assistant Professor in Translational Plant Sciences, California
University of California – Riverside’s Department of Botany and Plant Sciences seeks applicants for a tenure-track faculty position in modern plant biology, with relevance to climate challenges in agriculture or natural ecosystems, with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2025. We are particularly interested in candidates whose research incorporates cutting-edge approaches in biology (molecular, cellular, developmental, genomic, ecophysiological, ecological, modeling) to understand and benefit plant productivity or ecosystem conservation.