đȘ The Week in Botany September 30, 2024
This week YouTube has been recommending me videos based on what it thinks Iâd like. It thinks Iâd like Annals of Botanyâs interview with Carolina Carvalho on conservation from IBC 2024, highlights of Wrexhamâs nil-nil draw with Orient and, combining plants with sport, the European Timbersport Trophy. It seems it understands me perfectly.
Something you might want to watch next week is he quest to save the worldâs largest flowers with Dr Chris Thorogood. This is an online talk that Chris is giving as part of Biology Week next week, Monday October 7, between 1800 and 1900 UK time. You can register online for free.
Assuming I donât end up in hospital lacking toes, due to my new love of timbersport, thereâll be another collection of the stories and papers youâre sharing on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky and Threads, at the same time next week. Until then, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
On Botany One
How Pollinators Shape Flower Colour Diversity in Anemone palmata
Explore the delicate balance of plant-pollinator interactions that keep flower colour diversity alive in the wild.
News & Views
Plants Would Still Grow Well Under Alien Skies
Earthâs photosynthetic organisms evolved under the Sunâs specific illumination. How would plants do under other stars?
Officials, residents plant trees in South Bronx to promote more tree canopy
City officials in the Bronx are calling on the mayor and his administration to increase the amount of trees in the borough to improve the health and wellness of residents.
âMy God! Whatâs he done?⊠look at it!â: How George Harrison left The Beatles, turned his hand to gardening, and created a masterpiece
The garden at Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames â the Oxfordshire home of the late Beatle George Harrison and his wife Olivia â is breathtaking. The âGardening Beatleâ did a spectacular job of reviving an historic alpine garden in the shadow of the âHenley Matterhornâ, and Olivia has enhanced what was Britainâs largest rock garden with her exceptional and imaginative planting schemes.
The Huntington Botanical Gardens has a plant theft problem. Itâs a global issue
âItâs heart-wrenching,â said John Trager, curator of the Desert Collections at the Huntington Botanical Gardens. âWeâre interested in preserving the plants and habitats so that they can continue to be studied.â
Scientists are trying to translate the language of plants
Scientists are beginning to understand how the natural world communicates, and they think that soon they'll be able to understand what it's saying.
We must train specialists in botany and zoology â or risk more devastating extinctions
Failure to fund education in taxonomy could derail efforts to support conservation in low- and middle-income countries.
'Crazy' tree planter greening Sao Paulo concrete jungle
In just over two decades, Brazilian Helio da Silva has single-handedly planted about 40,000 trees in the urban jungle that is Sao Paulo.
"Extreme Botany" Sees Paramotorists Take To The Skies To Protect Fragile Peruvian Ecosystem
An unlikely pairing of botanists and paramotorists could be a way to map fragile desert plant species and reduce environmental impact at the same time.
Stalking the Wild Banana
One manâs ânever-ending questâ for the least-known varieties of the worldâs most-eaten fruit.
Foxfire Brings Magical Light to the Dark Forest
Foxfire is the bioluminescence created by some species of fungi that grow on decaying wood, like Omphalotus nidiformis, or ghost fungus.
Scientific Papers
Plant diversity drives positive microbial associations in the rhizosphere enhancing carbon use efficiency in agricultural soils (OA)
Domeignoz-Horta et al implement a diversity gradient by intercropping undersown species with barley in a large field trial, ranging from one to eight undersown species.
Further evidence for endozoochory in a mycoheterotrophic orchid Cyrtosia septentrionalis: seed dispersal by the masked palm civet Paguma larvata ($)
Observation suggests a potential role for carnivorous mammals in seed dispersal of C. septentrionalis, alongside birds.
Also on ResearchGate for free.
Caretaking, accomplishment and connection to nature: The âgardening triadâ and its role in new community gardeners' engagement, and social and emotional well-being (OA)
Alaimo et al focused on a sociodemographic-diverse group of new gardeners (nâ=â34) who had participated for one season in the community gardens as part of the Denver Urban Gardens initiative in Denver, CO USA.
Consistent generalization of plant-hummingbird networks despite increasing vegetation cover across a tropical urban landscape ($)
Bosenbecker et al investigated the influence of urbanization on plant-hummingbird interaction networks in a large tropical city, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Does the response of Rubisco and photosynthesis to elevated [CO2] change with unfavourable environmental conditions? (OA)
To improve crop resilience, we need to understand the effects of elevated CO2 concentration (e[CO2]) on CO2 assimilation and Rubisco biochemistry. However, the interactive effects of e[CO2] and abiotic stress are especially unclear.
Pollination ecology of Dracula erythrochaete (Orchidaceae): brood-site imitation or food deception? ($)
Gil-Amatya et al document the pollination mechanism of Dracula erythrochaete.
Seeing the forest for the trees? An exploration of the Miyawaki forest method in the UK (OA)
There is very little accompanying research investigating how feasible and applicable the he âMiyawaki Forest method (MFM)â is in the UK context. This paper addresses this gap by ascertaining the knowledge of, and attitudes towards, MFM of a small sample of professionals and practitioners.
Callose deficiency modulates plasmodesmata frequency and extracellular distance in rice pollen mother and tapetal cells (OA)
Somashekar et al carried out electron microscopic, aniline blue and renaissance staining analyses of rice flowers.
An allometry perspective on crops (OA)
Westgeest et al review how an allometry perspective on crops gains insights into the phenotypic evolution during crop domestication, the breeding of varieties adapted to novel conditions, and the prediction of crop yields.
ï»żFluorescent nectar in non-flying mammal-pollinated plants â observations and considerations in some Asparagaceae (OA)
The aim of this study was to examine the nectar of plants pollinated by non-flying mammals, namely Eucomis regia, Massonia grandiflora, M. echinata, and M. pustulata (Asparagaceae) from South Africa.
Can we leverage botanical gardens to study global plant functional diversity? (OA)
Given that living collections in botanical gardens span major global vegetation types and evolutionary histories, it is reasonable to expect that a species assemblage in a botanical garden is a representative random sample of global vegetation. In such a case, botanical gardens should contain global functional diversity. Testing for this could elect botanical gardens as laboratories for studying global plant functional diversity, providing a much-needed alternative in the way we study global patterns of this diversity facet.
Diurnal patterns of floral volatile emissions in three species of Narcissus (OA)
Losch & Weigend used GC-ion mobility spectrometry with an integrated pre-concentration for automated acquisition of the temporal trends in floral volatile emissions for N. viridiflorus, N. papyraceus, and N. cantabricus subsp. foliosus.
Microplastic additions modulate intraspecific variability in root traits and mycorrhizal responses across root-life history strategies (OA)
To investigate how environmentally relevant mixtures and concentrations of microplastics impact plant growth, root trait expression and AM fungal colonization, Kanold conducted a greenhouse experiment using six plant species chosen for their contrasting root life strategies; three species in the Amaryllidaceae family represented resource conservation root traits (Allium fistulosum (onion), Allium tuberosum (chive), Allium porrum (leek)), and three from the Solanaceae family, represented plants with resource acquisitive root traits (Solanum lycopersicum (tomato), Solanum melongena (eggplant), Capsicum annuum (pepper)).
In AoBC Publications
Careers
Research Associate in Fungal Biology, Kent
We are looking for two enthusiastic and ambitious postdoctoral researchers to join Dr Rebecca Hallâs research team at the University of Kent. Dr Hallâs team focus on understanding how adaptation of fungi to the environment affects the growth, morphology and virulence of fungal pathogens.
Postdoctoral Researcher, Norwich
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the Penfield Group at the John Innes Centre, working on cutting-edge science in the field of Crop Genetics. (Developing a gene editing pipeline in sugar beet)
Postdoctoral Researcher, Norwich
An opportunity has arisen for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the group of Professor Steven Penfield, working to understand how parental genotypes influence the effect of temperature on seed dormancy and germination.
PhD student â Reconstructing Evolution of the Plant Energy Sensing System, Leuven
You will work in the Division of Molecular Biotechnology of Plants and Micro-organisms of the Biology department at KU Leuven and in Meise Botanic Garden under the supervision of prof. Filip Rolland and prof. Steven Janssens. The lab for Plant Metabolic Signaling (Filip Rolland) is interested in how living organisms, particularly sessile and photo-autotrophic plants, maintain metabolic and energy homeostasis in a continuously changing and often stressful environment as well as during important developmental transitions associated with changes in energy demand and supply.
Data specialist in crop systems analysis, Wageningen
The Centre for Crop System Analysis at Wageningen University & Research is searching for a motivated data specialist to support our research at three levels: data management, data analysis, and in the programming of user-friendly tools for analysis and modelling.
PhD Candidate: Harnessing heterosis in Pea (Pisum sativum) for sustainable, alternative protein, Maastricht
The research will focus on the observation that the offspring of genetically different parents often have better yield and quality traits than either parent itself. One aim of the research is to understand the genetics that regulate these traits so that they can be used in traditional line breeding.
Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Modelling Plant Stress Responses, UmeÄ
The position is limited to six years, with working hours consisting of 65-75% own research and 25-35% mainly pedagogical qualification. After six years, there is an opportunity for evaluation for promotion to Associate Professor.
Assistant Project Scientist - Plant Microbiome, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley seeks applications for an Assistant Project Scientist in the Coleman-Derr Lab, in the area of plant and crop microbiome. The Coleman-Derr lab develops microbiome-based tools for improving crop performance and tools for understanding the impact of abiotic stress and host specificity on microbiome recruitment with cereal crops.
Assistant Professor and Extension Soil Fertility Specialist, Arkansas
The successful candidate will lead an externally funded, comprehensive, statewide extension program in row crop soil fertility and management. Emphasis areas will include soil fertility and management of Arkansas row crops (i.e., rice, soybean, corn, cotton) as well as emerging issues in soil and water conservation and soil health to address stakeholder needs and complement efforts of fellow soil fertility extension and research team members.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Washington
The Postdoctoral Scholar will work with Northwest Climate Hub, Natural Resources Conservation Service staff. and other agencies and stakeholders to identify high-priority research, information, and tool needs related to climate-smart practices in the Northwest.
Associate Research Professor - Cotton Molecular Breeder, Alabama
Auburn University is seeking applications for the position of Associate Research Professor â Cotton Molecular Breeder. This position will be a twelve-month, non-tenure-track position with 100% research appointment. The projected start date is January 2025.