I’ve started a project this week. On the bookshelf behind me was, well I’d like to say a shelf load of books, but really it was assorted rubbish, items I planned to sort out when I had the time. The shelf is also what’s behind me on Zoom calls, so I’ve finally cleared it. I could put books on it, but I thought I’d try something else.
I have bought some cheap growlights and even cheaper bowls for holding water. The plan is to stick the lights to the underside of the bookshelf and grow some carnivorous plants. I haven’t decided exactly which plants yet. I’m sure one will be a Drosera capensis, as they’re easy to grow. Another will be a Nepenthes of some sort. I have room for around five, I think.
Nature being what it is, I’m not expecting a rapid response from the plants when a fly or wasp comes buzzing in from the garden. But it should make any buzzing a little easier to tolerate.
I’ll try to remember to write up notes on how it goes. I don’t think they’ll appear next week, but there will be another email of the papers and the news stories you’re sharing on Mastodon, Bluesky, and Twitter. Until next time, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
On Botany One
Plants Might Get Explosive When It Comes to Ensuring Their Paternity
Like many animals, some plants can actively hamper their rivals’ attempts to reproduce in previously unimagined ways, according to a recent study published in The American Naturalist.
Snap, Upload, Save: How Citizen Photos Are Rescuing Mediterranean Pollinators
By taking and sharing photos of insects on flowers, citizens are helping scientists protect pollinators and plants.
Hellen C. Mazzottini-dos-Santos: The “Palm Lady” and A Passion for Plant Anatomy
Botany One interviews Dr Hellen Mazzottini-dos-Santos, a plant anatomist with a passion for Cerrado Palms.
The re-discovery of an endemic Hawaiian plant in an unexpected spot
A plant hidden in a herbarium may prove to be unique to Hawai’i.
How Soil and Climate Help Maintain a Flower Colour Polymorphism
Why do flowers of the same species come in different colours? Researchers have discovered that one answer to this phenomenon lies in soil conditions and adaptations to environmental stress.
Nepenthes creates an unusually slippery trap using common developmental processes
Scientists reveal how pitcher plants develop their deceptively slippery rims that send unsuspecting insects to their doom.Your email (you@example.com)
News & Views
‘Prepare yourselves for a story of breath-taking perversity’
This is Piles Copse, the largest remaining fragment of high-ground temperate rainforest on Dartmoor. It’s a tiny speck of green in a dismal, human-made desert.
How stopping deforestation is a powerful “emergency brake” climate solution
When people think of climate solutions, they often focus on smokestacks, tailpipes, and other artifacts of our fossil-fueled economy.
Trump’s ‘fear factor’: Scientists go silent as funding cuts escalate
Many worry about retribution. But for others, speaking out is worth the risk.
BSA’s NSF Award Has Been Terminated
On May 9th, the Botanical Society of America received notice from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that they were immediately terminating the grant funding that supports our Botany and Beyond: PLANTS III Program. Despite the lack of outside funding, the BSA will use some of its financial reserves to ensure the 2025 cohort of scholars and mentors can continue with plans for a mentored Botany conference experience in Palm Springs this July. We made a commitment to this cohort and we intend to honor it.
Go Belowground Course: A Journey Beneath Our Feet
If you ever stopped to wonder what’s going on beneath your feet and under the grass, flowers, and forests, then the Go Belowground! course could be for you. This field course invites you to step into this hidden world and explore the belowground lives of plants — a world of roots, rhizomes, tubers, and incredible survival strategies.
Microplastics and plants: A surprising connection
Ye Li et al. (2025) discovered that maize leaves absorb airborne microplastics (MPs) through stomata. Finding MPs in vascular tissues, they could potentially move within the plant, e.g., into developing fruits, raising concerns about human consumption. Additionally, MPs were found in leaves of several other human food plants, indicating an issue of more widespread health concern.
Viruses that roam the fungal kingdom
Mushrooms and other fungi can harbor hidden companions — and some of these may fight pesky or dangerous molds.
Paleontologists Find First Known Fossils of Living Tropical Tree Species
The fossils of the giant rainforest tree Dryobalanops rappa found in Brunei (officially Brunei Darussalam), a country on the large island of Borneo, are the first fossil evidence of a living endangered tropical tree species. The discovery highlights new potential for fossils to inform heritage values and paleoconservation in Southeast Asia.
Swedish model could help London’s trees, city told
London should take lessons from Sweden on how to protect the capital’s trees from droughts and diseases, an expert from Kew Gardens has told politicians.
It’s not a total bust for wildflowers. Find a hidden field of poppies right in L.A. County
For me, springtime means taking road trips to document the wildflower fields through Southern California. But this season has not been a good one.
Scientific Papers
GWAs reveals SUBER GENE1-mediated suberization via Type One Phosphatases (FREE)
Suberin deposition in the root endodermis is critical for plant nutrient acquisition and environmental adaptation. Han et al. used an unbiased forward genetic approach based on natural variation across 284 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions to identify novel regulators of suberization.
Lead, a toxic metal, alters auxin-mediated root growth and gravitropic responses in maize and Arabidopsis (FREE)
Toxic metal contamination in the environment is pervasive and of significant concern due to its high abundance in agricultural lands across the globe. Future engineering of plants tolerant to toxic metals requires a detailed understanding of plant responses to these toxins, which are currently poorly understood. Hazelwood et al. discovered that, among four toxic metals, lead (Pb) targets conserved cellular and developmental processes in evolutionary diverse plant systems – the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and crop plant Zea mays.
Hypoxia-activated fluorescent probes as markers of oxygen levels in plant cells and tissues (FREE)
Low oxygen signalling in plants is important in development and stress responses. Measurement of oxygen levels in plant cells and tissues is hampered by a lack of chemical tools with which to reliably detect and quantify endogenous oxygen availability. Perri et al. have exploited hypoxia-activated fluorescent probes to visualise low oxygen (hypoxia) in plant cells and tissues.
Molecular evolution of a reproductive barrier in maize and related species (FREE)
Three cross-incompatibility loci each control a distinct reproductive barrier in both domesticated maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) and its wild teosinte relatives. These three loci, Teosinte crossing barrier1 (Tcb1), Gametophytic factor1 (Ga1), and Ga2, each play a key role in preventing hybridization between incompatible populations and are proposed to maintain the barrier between domesticated and wild subspecies. Each locus encodes both a silk-active and a matching pollen-active pectin methylesterase (PMEs). To investigate the diversity and molecular evolution of these gametophytic factor loci, Cryan et al. identified existing and improved models of the responsible genes in a new genome assembly of maize line P8860 that contains active versions of all three loci.
The Magnaporthe oryzae effector Pwl2 alters HIPP43 localization to suppress host immunity (FREE)
The rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae secretes a battery of effector proteins to facilitate host infection. Among these effectors, Pathogenicity toward Weeping Lovegrass 2 (Pwl2) was originally identified as a host specificity determinant for the infection of weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) and is also recognized by the barley (Hordeum vulgare) Mla3 resistance protein. However, the biological activity of Pwl2 remains unknown. Were et al. showed that the Pmk1 MAP kinase regulates PWL2 expression during the cell-to-cell movement of M. oryzae at plasmodesmata-containing pit fields.
A rearranged Amaranthus palmeri extrachromosomal circular DNA confers resistance to glyphosate and glufosinate (FREE)
Carvalho-Moore et al. describe a rearranged eccDNA that confers resistance to both glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium due to the coduplication of the native chromosomal regions that contain the genes that encode for these herbicides target proteins.
Lost in translation: What we have learned from attributes that do not translate from Arabidopsis to other plants (FREE)
Research in Arabidopsis thaliana has a powerful influence on our understanding of gene functions and pathways. However, not everything translates from Arabidopsis to crops and other plants. Here, a group of experts consider instances where translation has been lost and why such translation is not possible or is challenging.
BioTIME 2.0: Expanding and Improving a Database of Biodiversity Time Series (FREE)
The BioTIME core team make available a second version of the BioTIME database, which compiles records of abundance estimates for species in sample events of ecological assemblages through time. The updated version expands version 1.0 of the database by doubling the number of studies and includes substantial additional curation to the taxonomic accuracy of the records, as well as the metadata.
Morphological knowledge in plant ecology and why it matters (FREE)
Plant form has been used as a surrogate for studying function from the beginning of the field of plant ecology in multiple approaches, including comparative morphology, growth form and life-form classifications, and plant architecture. Nevertheless, with new methods to directly measure functions such as photosynthesis and an increasing focus on large-scale studies and large data sets, a full consideration of morphology (form) may appear old-fashioned. Still, one branch of plant ecology, trait-based ecology, stuidies how morphology relates to functions.
Quantitative dissection of Agrobacterium T-DNA expression in single plant cells reveals density-dependent synergy and antagonism (FREE)
Agrobacterium pathogenesis, which involves transferring T-DNA into plant cells, is the cornerstone of plant genetic engineering. As the applications that rely on Agrobacterium increase in sophistication, it becomes critical to achieve a quantitative and predictive understanding of T-DNA expression at the level of single plant cells. Alamos et al. examine if a classic Poisson model of interactions between pathogens and host cells holds true for Agrobacterium infecting Nicotiana benthamiana.
In AoBC Publications
- Biotic pressure outweighs the influence of resource availability on physical defense investment in a tropical tree (FREE)
- Mycoheterotrophic continuum in rhizoctonia associations: Genetic divergence and carbon acquisition variation among Odontochilus orchids (FREE)
- Standard and non-standard measurements of wood density: how big is the breach? (FREE)
- Node of origin matters: comparative analysis of soil water limitation effects on nodal root anatomy in maize (Zea maysL.) (FREE)
- Leaf senescence-associated genes and transcriptional changes under dark conditions (FREE)
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.
Multiple positions, Hertfordshire
Scientist / Senior Scientist – Plant Chromosome Engineering: As a Scientist or Senior Scientist (depending on your experience), you will be at the forefront of developing and delivering large DNA molecules to potato cells, monitoring and validating chromosome components, with your work contributing directly to one of the most significant innovations in plant synthetic biology.
Laboratory Technician: You will be responsible for regular maintenance of sterile plant material, media preparation for various workflows, plasmid preps, maintaining general laboratory consumables for the wet-lab and on occasion performing molecular work.
Senior Scientist – Plant CRISPR R&D: You’ll be developing and improving methods for introducing and detecting precise genome edits in plants.
Research engineer/technician in tree-ring laboratory (M/F), St Aubin
The tree-ring modelling group at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE), near Paris, is looking for a dendrochronology research engineer with experience of fieldwork and crossdating with South American tree species, as well as project management skills. Spoken and written Spanish is necessary for the exchanges and coordination with local partners in Latin america.
PhD studentship on ecological modelling (M/F): From climate to tree rings: seasonal to long-term simulation of xylogenesis in a global land surface model, Gif sur Yvette
The thesis is part of the CATES project and aims to introduce a process-based representation of xylogenesis or wood formation in the ORCHIDEE global land surface model to improve the simulation of biomass growth through the assimilation of readily available tree-ring width and density data. This work will contribute to the overall CATES scientific objective of reducing uncertainties in the simulation of feedbacks of modified tree growth and physiology on the terrestrial system.
PhD Position (M/F): Nuclear Dynamics in Arabidopsis thaliana in Response to Mechanical Constraints, Strasbourg
For the selected PhD candidate, the thesis will be conducted under a cotutelle agreement between two well-established and complementary laboratories, offering an interdisciplinary training combining plant biology and biophysics. The PhD candidate will successively join both research units: Institute of Molecular Biology of Plants, Strasbourg & Laboratory Matter and Complex Systems, Université Paris Cité & CNRS.
Doctoral scholarship holder tree phenology and forest ecology, Antwerp
You will work on the preparation and defence of a PhD thesis in the field of tree phenology and forest ecology. This project will investigate the drivers of the timing of spring budburst in deciduous tree species of temperate forests. In particular, you will study the impact on budburst of non-climatic factors, such as soil fertility and tree interactions (e.g. competition in mono-specific stands, facilitation in mixed stands). Moreover, you will test whether these factors can interact with climatic drivers (e.g. temperature, light).
PhD position in the Plant Adaptation Lab at EPFL, Lausanne
The newly established Plant Adaptation Lab (PAL) is looking for a motivated student to work on a Swiss National Science Foundation funded project on plant adaptation to salinity stress.
Postdoc in Dendroecology and Ecophysiology (80-100%), Birmensdorf
You will join a dynamic team working to quantify how the climatic sensitivity of radial growth and physiological processes of key European tree species shifts with elevation. The project involves both field and lab work, with research sites in the Alps (Switzerland), Pyrenees (Spain), and Carpathians (Romania), and laboratory analyses based in Switzerland.
N. 1 (one) permanent position as Third level Researcher (R3) in the field of Plant ecophysiology, San Michele all’Adige
We are seeking a highly qualified and motivated ecophysiologist with a proven track record in applying advanced sensor technologies to address key questions in plant physiology and environmental interactions. The ideal candidate will possess extensive practical experience in the deployment, calibration, and operation of a range of cutting edge sensing systems, including, but not limited to, spectral and fluorescence imaging platforms for assessing plant health, photosynthetic efficiency, and stress indicators, as well as various gas exchange systems (e.g., portable photosynthesis systems, soil respiration chambers) for quantifying crucial physiological traits
PhD Position on Decoding Plant Microbiota–Host Specificity Using AI, Utrecht
In this MICROP project, we aim to develop predictive AI models to decode plant–microbiota host specificity, with the ultimate goal of forecasting the success of microbial introductions—ranging from single bioinoculants to complex synthetic microbial communities (SynComs). Join us as PhD candidate and contribute to a multidisciplinary effort at the intersection of microbiome ecology, genomics, and data science.
PhD position Modeling of individual plant stress responses across species, Wageningen
This vacancy is for two PhD positions that are part of the Translator work package within the core research program of CropXR. Our goal is to develop computational methods to translate integrated simulation models of plant responses to stress (drought, heat) from a model plant species (Arabidopsis thaliana) to a number of relevant annual crop species.
PhD Modelling the effects of regenerative farming on ecosystem services and biodiversity, Wageningen
The aim of this PhD is to better understand the effect of different regenerative farming practices on various landscape aspects and conversely the conditions of the landscape for successful regenerative farming. Landscape aspects include soil health, natural elements, biodiversity and water quality. You will start your research at the landscape scale, and subsequently scale your work up to the full extent of the Netherlands.
Junior Research Group Leader in Life Sciences, Brno
Are you a passionate and inquisitive researcher, 2-7 years post-PhD, with a solid scientific track record? The Central European Institute of Technology of the Masaryk University is seeking a curiosity-driven individual to lead ground-breaking research in the areas of Structural and Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Plant Biology, Molecular Medicine, and Neurosciences.
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor / Associate Professor in Bioinformatics at Aarhus University, Denmark
We seek a highly motivated researcher in bioinformatics to complement and expand our current research portfolio and teaching activities. We welcome applicants within all areas of bioinformatics with a strong focus on development of computational and statistical methods, particularly within machine learning and artificial intelligence. The applicant must have earned a PhD degree and have demonstrated excellence in research and scholarship within the field of interest.
Laboratory Technician, Madrid
We are seeking for a laboratory technician to work at the Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomics
(CBGP) in the “Evolution of transcriptional effectors regulation” group, currently embedded within the
@PlantDynamics Laboratory. Associated with “Convocatoria del año 2024 de ayudas de atracción de talento investigador “César Nombela (2024-T1/BIO-31319) funded by “Comunidad de Madrid”.
Research Associate, Manitoba
The Research Associate will conduct independent research under the purview of Drs. Dilshan Benaragama and Rob Gulden’s research program. Drs. Benaragama and Gulden are working on multiple projects on developing remote sense tools for agronomy and weed science disciplines. Research activities include gathering drone-based optical and non-optical remote sensing (RGB, Multispectral, and LiDAR) data that will be used to model crop and weed growth over the growing season under diverse crop and weed management practices, developing data processing pipelines for remote sense data and developing machine learning solutions for predicting crop and weed growth.
The post The Week in Botany May 19, 2025 appeared first on Botany One.
