February 7, 2022

🌱 TWiB February 7, 2022

Here's another collection of the top links shared by people following @BotanyOne on Twitter. The top links aren't always the top stories, and this week sadly had an example.

I was alerted to an apology on the ASPB's Blog. Reading the post, the ASPB are sorry for something, but it's not clear what. The follow-up posted the next day made things a little clearer. It turns out to be connected to an advert of the scientists participating in the conference. People pointed out the lack of African scientists among the 93 faces on the cover, to which the official account answered look harder, with a photo of the one African in the advert. After that, things did not improve. While it was a big topic of discussion, the lack of links means that it wouldn't normally appear in the newsletter.

The lesson I'm taking from this is that you can't bolt inclusivity on to something as an afterthought. We're still working on getting the job advert right for the new editor role. We're also changing some of how the application process will work so that it's more transparent.

Unless something bad happens, then there should be another selection of the stories you're sharing on Twitter at the same time next week. Until then, take care.

Alun (webmaster@botany.one)

In Botany One

Transgenerational effects of heat stress in Arabidopsis thaliana — www.botany.one Heat stress can have transgenerational effects on a plant's offspring but how important are the timing and frequency of these events?

Creating visually realistic plant images to train neural networks — www.botany.one An interactive method for creating and calibrating developmental plant models expressed using L-systems

Pathogens can't hide under the covers — www.botany.one Research published in Phytobiomes shows that cover crops could help improve the health of crops.

Interactive effects of drought and pollen intensity on seed production — www.botany.one Seed production of flowering plants is influenced by water availability and pollen deposition, but is there an interaction between these factors?

Computational model predicts soybean response to climate change — www.botany.one A successful plant model has now been parameterized to include soybean growth under elevated CO2.

News & Views

Climate change: what species of trees can survive in a warming Melbourne in the future? With Melbourne’s temperatures continuing to heat up to resemble a climate more like Dubbo’s, some species of trees will thrive while others will struggle to survive.

The Plants of Encanto — discoverandshare.org Walt Disney Animation Studios’ newest feature film, Encanto, is not a movie about plants. But plants are far more than background greenery in this story. They play an important role as the plot unfolds, and take center stage in one of the more lively musical numbers. Even the plants that are in the background serve a purpose.

Study explores how temperate rainforests can aid the fight against climate change - British Ecological Society Livestock browsing behaviour is a major determinant of the expansion and connection of fragmented UK temperate rainforests, according to new study published in Ecological Solutions and Evidence.

'Adaptation strategies' needed now as climate change shifts crop production — abcnews.go.com Coffee beans, avocados and cashews are among the global staples affected.

Earth has more tree species than we thought There are 14% more tree species than previously thought, according to what researchers are calling the first "scientifically credible" estimate.

Massive production of ‘Golden Rice’ seeds to start this year — www.pna.gov.ph To utilize and promote biotechnology in the country, the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday said this year marks the start of massive production of Golden Rice seeds, particularly in the vitamin A-deficient provinces.

99 million-year-old flowers found perfectly preserved in amber bloomed at the feet of dinosaurs — edition.cnn.com Flowers discovered perfectly preserved in globs of amber bloomed at the feet of dinosaurs, suggesting that some flowering plants in South Africa today have remained unchanged for 99 million years, a new study reveals.

Grasslands More Reliable Carbon Sink Than Trees In Wildfire-Prone California, Grasslands a Less Vulnerable Carbon Offset Than Forests

Study explores how temperate rainforests can aid the fight against climate change Livestock browsing behaviour is a major determinant of the expansion and connection of fragmented UK temperate rainforests, according to new study published in Ecological Solutions and Evidence.

Scientific Papers

Plant‐microbiome interactions under a changing world: responses, consequences, and perspective

Trivedi et al. highlight recent advancements in our understanding of the impact of climate change (warming and drought) on plant-microbiome interactions and on their ecological functions from genome to ecosystem scales. They identify knowledge gaps, propose new concepts, and make recommendations for future research directions.

Genetic basis and dual adaptive role of floral pigmentation in sunflowers Many flowers contain pigments that absorb ultraviolet (UV) light to display distinct UV patterns – although invisible to the human eye, most pollinators are able to see them. For example, when seen in UV, sunflowers feature a ‘bullseye’ with a dark centre surrounded by a reflective outer ring. The sizes and thicknesses of these rings vary a lot within and between flower species, and so far, it has been unclear what causes this variation and how it affects the plants.

The Angiosperm Terrestrial Revolution and the origins of modern biodiversity — nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

The rise of angiosperms triggered a macroecological revolution on land and drove modern biodiversity in a secular, prolonged shift to new, high levels, a series of processes Benton et al. name the Angiosperm Terrestrial Revolution.

Expanding the plant genome editing toolbox with recently developed CRISPR-Cas systems Since its first appearance, CRISPR-Cas9 has been developed extensively as a programmable genome editing tool, opening a new era in plant genome engineering. However, CRISPR-Cas9 still has some drawbacks, such as limitations of the PAM sequence, target specificity, and the large size of the cas9 gene. To combat invading bacterial phages and plasmid DNAs, bacteria and archaea have diverse and unexplored CRISPR-Cas systems, which have the potential to be developed as a useful genome editing tools. Recently, discovery and characterization of additional CRISPR-Cas systems have been reported. Among them, several CRISPR-Cas systems have been applied successfully to plant and human genome editing. For example, several groups have achieved genome editing using CRISPR-Cas type I-D and type I-E systems, which had never been applied for genome editing previously.

Developmental regulation of leaf venation patterns: monocot versus eudicots and the role of auxin — nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

In this review Perico et al. first provide an overview of the diverse venation patterns that exist in land plants, providing an evolutionary perspective. They then focus on the developmental regulation of leaf venation patterns in angiosperms, comparing patterning in eudicots and monocots, and the role of auxin in each case.

Changes in plant inputs alter soil carbon and microbial communities in forest ecosystems

Global changes can alter plant inputs from both above- and below-ground, which thus may differently affect soil carbon and microbial communities. However, the general patterns of how detritus input changes affect them in forests remain unclear. By conducting a meta-analysis of 3193 observations from 166 experiments worldwide, Feng et al. found that alterations in aboveground litter and/or root inputs had profound effects on soil carbon and microbial communities in forest ecosystems.

Buxus and Tetracentron genomes help resolve eudicot genome history — www.nature.com

Ancient whole-genome duplications (WGDs) characterize many large angiosperm lineages, including angiosperms themselves. Prominently, the core eudicot lineage accommodates 70% of all angiosperms and shares ancestral hexaploidy, termed gamma. Gamma arose via two WGDs that occurred early in eudicot history; however, the relative timing of these is unclear, largely due to the lack of high-quality genomes among early-diverging eudicots. Chanderbali et al. provide complete genomes for Buxus sinica (Buxales) and Tetracentron sinense (Trochodendrales), representing the lineages most closely related to core eudicots. They show that Buxus and Tetracentron are both characterized by independent WGDs, resolve relationships among early-diverging eudicots and their respective genomes, and use the RACCROCHE pipeline to reconstruct ancestral genome structure at three key phylogenetic nodes of eudicot diversification.

Water stress resilient cereal crops: lessons from wild relatives

Toulotte et al. review (i) how water stress (drought and flooding) impacts crop performance and (ii) how identification of tolerance traits and mechanisms from wild relatives of the main cereal crops, i.e., rice, maize, wheat, and barley, can lead to improved survival and sustained yields in these crops under water stress conditions.

Auxin signaling: Research advances over the past 30 years

Yu et al. highlight advances in understanding auxin signaling, including auxin perception, rapid auxin responses, TRANSPORT INHIBITOR RESPONSE 1 and AUXIN SIGNALING F-boxes (TIR1/AFBs)-mediated transcriptional and non-transcriptional branches, and the epigenetic regulation of auxin signaling.

An improved representation of the relationship between photosynthesis and stomatal conductance leads to more stable estimation of conductance parameters and improves the goodness‐of‐fit across diverse datasets

Lamour et al. measured the response of gsw and A to irradiance in six tropical species at different leaf phenological stages. They showed that the relationship between gsw and A was not linear, challenging the key assumption upon which optimality theory is based—that the marginal cost of water gain is constant. Their data showed that increasing A resulted in a small increase in gsw at low irradiance, but a much larger increase at high irradiance.

Plant‐microbiome interactions under a changing world: responses, consequences, and perspective — nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

The plant-associated microbiome modulates the impacts of biotic and abiotic stresses on plant fitness. However, climate change induced change in composition and activities of plant microbiomes, can affect host functions. Trivedi et al. highlight recent advancements in our understanding of the impact of climate change (warming and drought) on plant-microbiome interactions and on their ecological functions from genome to ecosystem scales. They identify knowledge gaps, propose new concepts, and make recommendations for future research directions.

Careers

Characterising rice genetic diversity in the mekong delta to sustain future crops This PhD aims to understand better the changes in rice genetic diversity in the region and the extent of potential genetic erosion from the loss of adapted local landraces. The student will quantify the genetic diversity in local landraces and admixed accessions, investigate their genetic make-up, and quantify deleterious mutations that hinder the further improvement of rice and its adaptation to future climates. The introduction and later widespread displacement of local landraces left us with a limited understanding of the extent of loss in genetic diversity and adaptive potential available to breeders in admixed elite varieties that retain local adaption.

Postdoctoral Researcher The successful applicant will study the cellular mechanism(s) controlling symmetry establishment during plant organ development. They will plan and conduct a wide range of microscopy techniques, with a special focus on quantitative confocal analysis using MorphoGraphX . The post holder will use Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system and other plant systems where appropriate, e.g., N.benthamiana leaves, BY2 cells. They will also deliver presentations, act as a role model, and promote a collaborative working environment.

MSc Bursaries

We have a fully funded bursary available for a student accepted onto the MSc in Plant and Fungal Taxonomy, Diversity and Conservation for the 2022-23 academic year at Kew.

BSPP Plant Pandemic Study Awards 2022 - BSPP - The British Society for Plant Pathology In 2020 the society made four awards. We will make four further awards, each of £2000, with a deadline of 1st March 2022 for submission of proposals. Those applying should have been a member of the society for at least two years and preferably have a PhD degree or be close to completion. We particularly encourage early career researchers to apply.

Application instructions for the 2022 TPJ Fellowship scheme To qualify for the TPJ Fellowship, the applicant should have been a Principal Investigator leading their own research programme for no more than three years at the point of application. This includes academic faculty positions and also independent research fellowships where the fellow is fully independent - i.e. not embedded in a host laboratory.

Postdoc in plant/evolutionary biology (ERC ORIGINS) H/F The recruited postdoctoral research will dissect symbiotic promoters from 5 different plant species. This includes designing and building DNA constructs, genetic transformation, searching and validating cis-regulatory motifs and the regulating transcription factors, inter-species promoter swapping, inoculation tests with diverse symbionts.

Assistant or Associate Professor of Sustainable Weed Management The School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University invites applications for a tenure track position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level in Sustainable Weed Management in field crop systems. The incumbent will embrace innovative approaches to both applied research and extension to address emerging threats and strengthen agriculture in New York State.

Senior Research Scientist (Phenotyping) The Senior Research Scientist will supervise one or more research support staff members, and work with other members of the CRoPS project and the Busch laboratory to oversee the screening of root traits to identify genetic mechanisms that lead to optimal root systems for carbon sequestration and assess phenotypes of genetically engineered crop plants.

Evolution Education Trust PhD project: Are changing environments driving hypervirulent fungal pathogen evolution? The University of Bath is inviting applications for this PhD opportunity based at the Milner Centre for Evolution, a unique, cross-faculty research centre bridging biology, health and education. The Centre is dedicated to a broad range of fundamental research questions relating to evolutionary biology; from in deep time to the micro-evolutionary dynamics of a disease outbreak.

Post-doc in multiplex genome engineering of the maize yield related genes The selected postdoctoral fellow will work jointly with other post-docs and technicians, hired on the BREEDIT project, to perform the genetics and phenotyping. The postdoctoral fellow will design, perform, and evaluate experiments and assist with reporting.

Senior Research Associate in Tropical Ecology An exciting opportunity exists for an experienced post-doctoral researcher to analyse and publish ecological data as part of a BNP Paribas-funded project BIOCLIMATE on biodiversity responses to climate and land-uses change in tropical forest ecosystems of Brazil (with a main focus on the Amazonian state of Pará). The data has been collected over the past 12 years, and includes landscape-wide snapshot assessment of ecological and social condition, as well as detailed temporal sampling of changes over time in a subset of the research sites. The candidate will be expected to help develop and lead three high-impact papers exploring these data, answering questions about Amazonia’s resilience to climate and land-use change, as well as exploring the cost-effectiveness of policy solutions. 

Doctoral Researcher in Plant Genetics The Organismal and Evolutionary Research Programme invites applications for a DOCTORAL STUDENT IN PLANT GENETICS The doctoral student will be employed full-time for a fixed term of two years in the research group of assoc. prof. Roosa Laitinen. The earliest starting date is 1st April 2022 or by a mutual agreement.

Associate Scientist I or II, Molecular Biologist The Associate Scientist will work on a collaborative team with a focus on trait discovery and product development combining genome editing, Innate technology and breeding to improve crops, such as potato and strawberry. In this role, you will work in the laboratory with other molecular scientists with guidance, but limited direct supervision to support work in each of these areas. You will manage multiple scientific projects simultaneously and produce high-quality, well-documented results. Fostering the employee’s professional development and career progression is a major focus of supervisors and colleagues alike.

Junior Professorship for "Molecular Plant Physiology" The successful candidate's responsibilities will include developing a cutting-edge research program to lead and recruit an associated team in the field of molecular plant physiology and/or plant systems biology.

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