🌻 TWiB March 7, 2022
It's been a busy week. Blogger Juniper Kiss has finally made it to Papua New Guinea for her fieldwork. This is excellent news for her PhD, as the fieldwork is important, but means we've run out of people to lose here. That means I'm optimistic that we'll be looking to appoint two editors when the advert comes out. This should be soon, as I've pencilled in the deadline for applications as April 17. Right now, if you're planning to apply then you should be polishing up evidence of sharing botany on blogs or social media.
Talking of deadlines, there's a couple of interesting calls come out. Plants People Planet is planning a special issue on Madagascar's Grassy Biomes. I think that could make an interesting issue, as when I think of Madagascar, I think of majestic baobabs or deforestation. You have till the end of November to submit something.
eLife has a call for pitches: “When things don’t go to plan” They "hope to open a discussion about the culture surrounding mistakes, disappointments, rejections and setbacks in science." I'd love to know someone who didn't have a possible submission for that. That deadline is March 21, if you're interested.
My setback this week is that people haven't shared a lot of light-hearted botanical news, for very understandable reasons. I'll have to see if I can find things to make up the shortfall next week and - if all goes well - you can find out when next week's email arrives. Until then, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
In Botany One
It’s all connected: modeling water potential and plant physiological processes — www.botany.one "As water potential is regarded the best indicator of plant water status, because it is the integrated result of above- and below-ground environmental conditions, it holds promise as a pivotal model variable to which other plant processes respond."
Changing seasons change tree growth, changing carbon sequestration by forests — www.botany.one An earlier spring changes the growing conditions for trees, and not always for the better.
Finding the habitat of an invisible plant — www.botany.one Finding a suitable habitat for Rafflesia arnoldii is difficult. While it produces the single largest flower on the planet, it's invisible for much of its life.
Under-damaged reed beds are harming small wetland birds — www.botany.one Small wetland birds may find nesting easier if you periodically set fire to the neighbourhood.
Is that an invasive alien species? Time to reach for the phone. — www.botany.one Smartphone apps are a tool that could help monitor, predict, and ideally prevent the spread of invasive species. But are they living up to their full potential?
News & Views
Rare daisy clings to existence near a California gold mine — www.latimes.com Botanist Maria Jesus has made a career out of trying to protect wild places where rare plants are making their last stand, and field work can mean bivouacking alone in a pup tent.
Black innovators that changed the plant world — www.latimes.com Despite underrepresentation, Black people have made considerable contributions to the fields of botany and horticulture.
What’s in a name? — datascience.si.edu Uncovering stories of women in science
Mountainous terrain shaped the genetic variation of maple populations in Japan — phys.org In a recent study published in the American Journal of Botany, researchers from the University of Tsukuba revealed that the mountainous landscape of Central Honshu, Japan, has played a role in shaping the genetic diversity of the maple species Acer miyabei.
It’s time to defend: Membrane nanodomains assist in actin remodeling — plantae.org When bacterial pathogens attack a plant, the actin cytoskeleton in the plant host undergoes rapid remodeling to coordinate a series of host immune responses.
How to Start a Vegetable Garden Fast (And on a Budget!) There are a dozen different ways to start a vegetable garden, but not all of them are fast, efficient, or cost effective. For new food gardeners, anxious to learn how to start a new vegetable garden quickly, it’s important to find a method that stays within a limited budget, requires minimal skills, and gets you growing fast.
Behold the purple tomato, a new designer super fruit — www.fastcompany.com Blueberries and blackberries are loaded with antioxidants; by tweaking three genes, tomatoes can have the same benefit.
Scientific Papers
New circumscriptions add two northern Andean species to Kohleria (Gesneriaceae) — phytokeys.pensoft.net
Recent studies of type specimens and exploratory research expeditions in the northern Andes have resulted in an updated circumscription and recognition for two species of Kohleria (Gesneriaceae) in Ecuador and Colombia. A change in the rank from a variety to species is recognized for Kohleria anisophylla (Fritsch) Wiehler.
Mendelian and non-Mendelian genetics in model plants The “Mendelian Rules” of inheritance are cornerstones of genetics, described in Mendel’s seminal publication from 1866. The experimental results and their interpretation have been discussed in numerous ways. This perspective emphasizes the contribution of Mendel’s preparations prior to his crossing experiments to the discovery of Mendelian genetics. This thoughtful experimental design, and some fortune, avoided pitfalls that could have resulted in non-Mendelian inheritance.
Multiplex de Bruijn graphs enable genome assembly from long, high-fidelity reads — www.nature.com
Although most existing genome assemblers are based on de Bruijn graphs, the construction of these graphs for large genomes and large k-mer sizes has remained elusive. This algorithmic challenge has become particularly pressing with the emergence of long, high-fidelity (HiFi) reads that have been recently used to generate a semi-manual telomere-to-telomere assembly of the human genome. To enable automated assemblies of long, HiFi reads, Bankevich et al. present the La Jolla Assembler (LJA), a fast algorithm using the Bloom filter, sparse de Bruijn graphs and disjointig generation.
Tropical forest function is of global significance to climate change responses, and critically determined by water availability patterns. Groundwater is tightly related to soil water through the water table depth (WT), but historically neglected in ecological studies. Shallow WT forests (WT < 5 m) are underrepresented in forest research networks and absent in eddy flux measurements, although they represent c. 50% of the Amazon and are expected to respond differently to global-change-related droughts. Costa et al. review WT patterns and consequences for plants, emerging results, and advance a conceptual model integrating environment and trait distributions to predict climate change effects.
Effector-mediated plant-virus-vector interactions
In this review Ray et al. focus on advances in effector-mediated plant-virus-vector interactions and the underlying mechanisms. They propose that molecular synergisms in vector-virus interactions occur in cases where both the virus and vector benefit from the interaction (mutualism). To support this view, they show that mutualisms are common in virus-vector interactions and that virus and vector effectors target conserved mechanisms of plant immunity, including plant transcription factors and plant protein degradation pathways. Finally, they outline ways to identify true effector synergisms in the future and propose future research directions concerning the roles effectors play in plant-virus-vector interactions.
Wrap-and-plant technology to manage sustainably potato cyst nematodes in East Africa — www.nature.com
Ochola et al. demonstrate the use of a biodegradable lignocellulosic banana-paper matrix as a seed wrap for the protection of potato plants against potato cyst nematode (PCN), Globodera rostochiensis. Potato cyst nematodes are devastating quarantine pests of potato globally. In East Africa, G. rostochiensis has recently emerged as a serious threat to potato production. Wrapping seed potatoes within the lignocellulose banana-paper matrix substantially reduced G. rostochiensis field inoculum and increased potato yields by up to fivefold in Kenya, relative to farmer practice, whether or not impregnated with ultra-low doses of the nematicide abamectin (ABM).
Parasite-resistant ketchup! Lignin-based resistance to parasitic plants in tomato — academic.oup.com
Somssich and Cesarino show that resistance to Cuscuta infection in Heinz tomato cultivars relies on a lignin-based response. The authors propose a multilayered model for Cuscuta resistance response in tomato.
Hysteresis in PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4 and EARLY-FLOWERING 3 dynamics dominates warm daytime memory in Arabidopsis show that hypocotyl growth in Arabidopsis thaliana during the night responds not only to the current temperature but also to preceding daytime temperatures, revealing a short-term memory of previous conditions. Daytime temperature affected the levels of PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4) and LONG HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) in the nucleus during the next night. These factors jointly accounted for the observed growth kinetics, whereas nighttime memory of prior daytime temperature was impaired in pif4 and hy5 mutants.
Many over-wintering plants grown in temperate climate acquire competence to flower upon prolonged cold exposure in winter, through vernalization. In Arabidopsis thaliana, prolonged cold exposure induces the silencing of the potent floral repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) through repressive chromatin modifications by Polycomb proteins. This repression is maintained to enable flowering after return to warmth, but is reset during seed development. Xu et al. show that embryonic FLC reactivation occurs in two phases: resetting of cold-induced FLC silencing during embryogenesis and further FLC activation during embryo maturation.
Fire-prone Rhamnaceae with South African affinities in Cretaceous Myanmar amber — www.nature.com
Shi et al. report the discovery of two exquisitely preserved fossil flower species, one identical to the inflorescences of the extant crown-eudicot genus Phylica and the other recovered as a sister group to Phylica, both preserved as inclusions together with burned plant remains in Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar (~99 million years ago).
ReadCube: https://rdcu.be/cIm7L
Soil microbiota as game-changers in restoration of degraded lands — www.science.org Coban et al. reviewed recent work on soil hydraulic properties, potential groups of microorganisms for hydrological soil restoration based on their resilience in dry soils, and future strategies for long-term restoration of degraded lands.
Careers
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.
Administration Officer The Administration Officer works in partnership with Australian Plant Phenomics Facility (APPF) and the Centre for Entrepreneurial Agri-Technology (CEAT)Â team members, providing advice and assistance on a wide range of general administration, financial and human resource matters. The position works under the broad direction of the CEAT Executive Officer, and senior APPF staff, and liaises with stakeholders of both CEAT and APPF.
Lecturer in Crop Physiology Job The School of Life and Environmental Sciences (SOLES) at The University of Sydney is seeking to appoint a Lecturer in Crop Physiology to be based at its IA Watson Research Centre in Narrabri NSW where a new International Centre for Crop and Digital Farming is currently under construction.
Jill Landsberg Trust Fund Scholarship The award comprises of a grant of $6,000 to support the field-based research of a postgraduate student working in applied ecology. The scope of research is open to terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecology.
Postdoc Researcher The Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) is looking for a Postdoc Researcher to be part of the group Epigenetics and Plant Development.
Assistant/Associate Professor Plant Biologist The Department of Biological Sciences at St. Cloud State University invites applications for a tenure-track position in Plant Biology at the rank of assistant or associate professor. We seek a broadly-trained biologist, with an emphasis on botanical organisms, who addresses questions with innovative approaches to systematic, taxonomic, and/or biogeographic issues in plant biology. Of interest are individuals with expertise among the following fields that address current issues in plant biology: systematics, taxonomy, biogeography, invasive species identification and predictive modeling, genomics, and morphology.
Postdoctoral Research Scholar The postdoctoral scholar will be responsible for corn growth experiments with permutations of synthetic microbial communities (SynComs), quantification of microbial strains in vivo, and measurement of plant and microbial gene expression responses using LC-MS/MS-based metaproteomics. Metaproteomics data generation skills including operation of state-of-the-art high-resolution LC-MS/MS systems can be taught by the lab. Experience with the analysis of microbial gene expression data using python or R, as well as a thorough understanding of microbial metabolism and physiology would be a big plus.
2 Max Planck Research Group Leader Positions in Plant Biology (W2) We seek two outstanding early-career scientists to lead independent junior research groups working in a modern area of plant biology. Candidates should hold a PhD in natural sciences, have a record of internationally recognized research accomplishments, and a strong and visionary research concept. While there is no restriction on the precise area of research, it should preferably complement and interact synergistically with the other groups and departments at the Institute.
Botanical Society of Western Pennsylvania Awards Founded in 1886, the Botanical Society of Western Pennsylvania (BSWP) is one of the oldest botanical organizations in the country. To continue this long history of botanical curiosity and education, BSWP is excited to support undergraduate student research on the flora of Western Pennsylvania.
Plant Taxonomy Skills for Ecology and Conservation This expert-led course for botany students from Africa covers taxonomy skills for conservation​ to enable the ability to independently conduct taxonomic work.
Biodiversity Conservation Officers - Heathrow Airport We currently have a vacancy for a Biodiversity Conservation Officer (BCO). Working in close association with the Lead BCO, Biodiversity Manager, as well as EHM Directors and Heathrow Managers, the Biodiversity Conservation Officer will help deliver on site management as well as developing community engagement activities. We currently maintain a number of beehives on behalf of the airport the BCO will be expected to assist with their management, for which training will be provided if necessary.
Research Associate The Specialty Crops & Turfgrass Disease Program in the Plant Pathology Department at Kansas State University is seeking a Research Associate to work on diverse extension and applied research projects to support the Kansas horticultural industries. The position will be responsible for planning and conducting experiments, collecting and analyzing data, conducting literature searches, writing academic articles and manuscripts, writing extension materials, and developing and delivering scientific and extension presentations.
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