I have been gently reminded that I’ve worked more seven-day weeks than six day weeks since the start of the year, and that it’s a four-day holiday for everyone else in the UK. So this is getting compiled on a Thursday evening. It will be shorter than usual in order that is definitely finished and doesn’t drift into Friday, get revised Saturday and checked over Sunday.
My plan for the weekend is/was to get a chair out into the garden, enjoy the red cherry blossoms on the tree and read a book. It may or may not be about plants, depending on whether someone can see over my shoulder.
It might not look that I’m taking time off. Thanks to the power of automation, there’s a post by Carlos scheduled for Monday, on Aristolochia pollination, a process that has puzzled me. It’s also been the subject of a recent video on Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t. Between the two of them, they’ve cleared up a lot of my confusion.
There will be another email of the papers you’re sharing on Mastodon, Bluesky, and Twitter next week. Until next time, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
On Botany One
Could Climate Change and Pollinator Loss Turn Chocolate Back into an Expensive Delicacy?
A new study outlines some of the biggest threats that environmental change poses to the worldwide production of cacao, the plant source for chocolate, and some ideas to overcome them in the near future.
Seheno Andriantsaralaza: Lessons of Resilience and Connections with Baobabs
Botany One interviews Dr Seheno Andriantsaralaza, a Malagasy conservation biologist fascinated with baobabs and their ecological importance.
Genetic factors acting prior to dormancy in sour cherry influence bloom time the following spring
Cherry trees are beloved for their beautiful white blooms in spring and juicy red fruits in summer. Their productivity is, however, threatened by global warming. Goeckeritz and colleagues analysed floral development in sour cherry and their results published in the Journal of Experimental Botany can help to breed cultivars that are better adapted to future temperature regimes.
The Secret of a Plant’s Sexual Attraction Is Betrayed by the Shadow of Its Scent
News & Views
Australian academics refuse to attend US conferences for fear of being detained
‘When academics fear travelling or partnering with US institutions, the impacts ripple through the entire global knowledge ecosystem,’ one says.
Surprising discovery in world’s most studied plant can make seeds bigger
An overlooked “gate” governs nutrient transport to seeds and might one day boost harvests.
Plantae Presents: How Plant Scientists Can Lead the Way in Green Lab Practices (Webinar)
Join us for an insightful and inspiring discussion on the sustainability challenges faced by modern scientists—and how we can overcome them. Our expert panel, with extensive experience in sustainable science, will share practical advice on making informed, eco-friendly decisions in research.
NSF halts grant awards while staff do second review
Action comes after DOGE team arrives at science agency.
Finland invests in research excellence – new funding call by Research Council of Finland to support recruitment of international talents
The Research Council of Finland (RCF) has launched a funding call to improve universities’ ability to recruit international experts to Finland. In line with the RCF’s strategy, the call will promote internationalisation and strengthen competence centres and research environments.
Taking stock of recent tree dieback in South Australia: can you help?
South Australia is in the midst of a severe drought. Many parts of the state have experienced little to no rain for months, resulting in a water crisis with water tanks and dams running dry. The effects on some of our trees seems to have also been pronounced, with dieback being widely reported. However, we don’t know how widespread the problem is and are seeking your help to better understand what is happening!
Experiment in floodplain forest: Using tree mortality to support oak regeneration
The pedunculate oaks typical of Leipzig’s floodplain forest and other German oak forests are struggling to regenerate in the understorey due to a lack of light. One reason for this is the absence of flooding in floodplain forests.
Tips for transitioning to a native garden
Emily Baisden, Seed Program Director at the Wild Seed Project has tips on how transform your garden.
Toby Carvery owner ‘sorry’ over ancient tree felling
Toby Carvery’s owner has apologised over the upset caused after the company felled an ancient oak tree and admitted “we need to tighten our protocols” in a letter seen by the BBC.
Scientific Papers
ARF degradation defines a deeply conserved step in auxin response (FREE)
In land plants, the signalling molecule auxin profoundly controls growth and development, chiefly through a transcriptional response system. The auxin response is mediated by modulating the activity of DNA-binding auxin response factor (ARF) proteins. The concentrations and stoichiometry of the competing A- and B-class ARFs define cells’ capacity for auxin response. In the minimal auxin response system of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, both A- and B-ARFs are unstable, but the underlying mechanisms, developmental relevance and evolutionary history of this instability are unknown. de Roil et al identify a minimal motif that is necessary for MpARF2 (B-class) degradation and show that it is critical for development and the auxin response.
Dual and spatially resolved drought responses in the Arabidopsis leaf mesophyll revealed by single-cell transcriptomics (FREE)
Understanding drought responses in plants at a cellular level is a crucial first step toward engineering improved drought resilience. However, the molecular responses to drought are complex as they depend on multiple factors, including the severity of drought, the profiled organ, its developmental stage or even the cell types therein. Thus, deciphering the transcriptional responses to drought is especially challenging. Tenorio Berrío et al investigated tissue-specific responses to mild drought in young Arabidopsis thaliana leaves using single-cell RNA sequencing.
Delayed flowering phenology of red-flowering plants in response to hummingbird migration ($)
McKenzie et al compile the largest North American flower color dataset to date, using GPT-4 with Vision to classify color in over 11,000 species across more than 1.6 million iNaturalist observations. They discover that red- and orange-flowering species (classic “hummingbird pollination” colors) bloom later in eastern North America compared with other colors, corresponding to the arrival of migratory hummingbirds.
Temperate forest plants are associated with heterogeneous semi-open canopy conditions shaped by large herbivores ($)
Czyżewski & Svenning analyse the light and herbivory preferences of 917 native temperate forest plant species across central and western Europe, comparing these preferences with light availability in untouched closed-canopy forests and pasture woodlands. They found that most temperate forest plants favour heterogeneous, semi-open-canopy conditions associated with high large-herbivore impacts, rather than uniform closed-canopy environments.
Read free via ReadCube: https://rdcu.be/eibNB
Synthetic deconvolution of an auxin-dependent transcriptional code ($)
Martin-Arevalillo et al deconvoluted the complexity of ARF-regulated transcription using auxin-inducible synthetic promoters built from cis-element pair configurations differentially bound by ARFs. We demonstrate using cellular systems that ARF transcriptional properties are not only intrinsic but also depend on the cis-element pair configurations they bind to, thus identifying a bi-layer ARF/cis-element transcriptional code.
An updated phylogeny of Boraginales based on the Angiosperms353 probe set: a roadmap for understanding morphological evolution (FREE)
Vasile et al revisited the phylogenetic relationships in Boraginales by analysing 162 newly sequenced samples using the Angiosperms353 probe set, together with existing data from 88 samples. Their sampling covers >80% of the genera and all currently and previously recognized families. A morphological assessment of taxonomically important gynoecial and fruit characters was done to guide our proposed family-level classification.
A call for reform: implementing genome-based approaches for species classification in Glomeromycotina (FREE)
In arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, only c. 370 species have been formally described despite these fungal organisms having coevolved with plants for hundreds of millions of years. In contrast to this, dozens of thousands of species are known for many fungal lineages with shorter evolutionary timescales. This Viewpoint highlights some plausible reasons for these striking discrepancies in species description.
Arabidopsis ecotype screening reveals novel sources of clubroot resistance and insights into resistance inheritance (FREE)
Clubroot, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, poses a persistent threat to Brassicaceae crops, particularly in regions where resistant cultivars are under strong selection pressure. To identify new sources of resistance and better understand the underlying genetic mechanisms, Gonzalez-Garcia et al evaluated 60 Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes against the highly virulent Canadian pathotype 3A.
In AoBC Publications
- Allelic value in gene regulation – implications for gene editing (FREE)
- Tiny but significant: on the importance of thrips as pollinators (FREE)
- Geographical variation in flower colour of a food-deceptive orchid reflects local pollinator preferences ($)
- Molecular polymorphisms of the nuclear and chloroplast genomes among African melon germplasms reveal abundant and unique genetic diversity, especially in Sudan (FREE)
- Modulation of calcium, callose synthesis, membrane permeability and pectin methyl-esterase activity affect cell wall composition and embryo yield during Brassica napus microspore embryogenesis (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.
Uncovering Genetic Drivers of Gene Expression in Elite Wheat Varieties (PhD), Norwich
We’re offering an exciting PhD opportunity with Prof Anthony Hall at the Earlham Institute and Dr Simon Griffiths at the John Innes Centre, in collaboration with wheat breeding companies. This studentship is fully funded and aims to investigate how genetic variation influences the expression of “elite” wheat genes crucial for traits like stress tolerance, yield and flowering time.
Senior / Research Associate in Plant Molecular Physiology, Lancaster
Applications are invited for a postdoctoral researcher in plant biochemistry within the Lancaster Photosynthesis team under the supervision of Dr Doug Orr. This new position will join the Plant Biology grouping within the Lancaster Environment Centre, which consists of roughly 40 people including PIs, postdoctoral researchers, research technicians and postgraduate students.
John Templeton and the Emergence of Irish Botany (PhD), London
Queen Mary University of London (School of the Arts), and National Museums NI (Ulster Museum) are pleased to announce the availability of a fully funded (fees and living allowance). The project is titled John Templeton’s (1766-1825) Hibernian Flora and the Emergence of Irish Botany. It examines the scientific archive and legacy of one of Ireland’s most pioneering yet under-researched botanists, John Templeton through a study of a nationally important collection of his manuscripts, journals, drawings, correspondence, and specimens held at the Ulster Museum.
(h/t @bitheolaidhe.bsky.social)
PhD position in plant-pathogen interactions (M/F), Strasbourg
Viroids infect plants and can cause important diseases in crops. However, they do not encode any proteins. Thus, all interactions with host cell machineries for replication and movement are RNA-mediated. To gain insights into viroid-host interactions, the localization and intra-/intercellular trafficking of viroid RNA will be detected and observed in vivo by using BglG and MS2 in vivo RNA labeling systems previously developed in the hosting team. These RNA labelling systems consist of tagging the viroid RNA with stem-loop aptamers that allow detection through specific binding of co-expressed RNA aptamer-binding proteins BglG / MS2-CP fused to GFP. Viroid RNA without stem-loop aptamers will be used as negative control.
Un coordinateur (H/F) / coordinatrice d’inventaire forestier en forêt amazonienne pour le CNRS, Kourou
La personne recrutée assurera la coordination de la phase d’acquisition et de traitement des données de terrain du workpackage 2 du projet ALT (projet ANR, PI Jérôme Chave – UMR EDB) et du workpackage 3 du projet GEO-TREES Guyane. Sa mission principale consistera au nettoyage (apurement terrain, gestion base de données et botanique) et au traitement des données acquises lors de l’installation des deux parcelles forestières permanentes en Guyane Française (Nouragues et Paracou), en inventoriant les arbres du sous-étage forestier pour produire des données nécessaires au paramétrage de modèles de dynamiques forestières et avancer la connaissance des écosystèmes forestiers amazoniens.
PhD Position in Functional Plant Diversity and Community Assembly (M/F/D), Lüneburg
A PhD position in plant ecology is available in the research group of Prof. Vicky Temperton (Ecosystem Functioning and Services, Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany). Research in this group focuses on interactions between plants (both aboveground and belowground) and how this affects ecosystem functioning and services, especially in naturally assembling or restored grassland communities.
PhD candidate Plant Photobiology, Wageningen
The Plant photoreceptors in the regulation of chloroplast metabolism group in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology is recruiting a motivated PhD candidate with a deep interest in plant molecular biology, particularly in the interplay between light signalling, chloroplast biology and photosynthesis.
Doctoral Researcher, Biodiversity Change, Helsinki
The Finnish Museum of Natural History LUOMUS at the University of Helsinki invites applications for a Doctoral Researcher, Biodiversity Change for a fixed-term employment for the duration of three years starting as agreed, or in September 2025 at the latest. The work will be based at the Finnish Museum of Natural History LUOMUS at the University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. The doctoral researcher will join the Biodiversity Change research group, and they will work under the supervision of Julia Kemppinen, the assistant professor in biodiversity change. The work tasks of the doctoral researcher will include conducting research on tundra plants and microclimates.
Pol II transcription during early seed germination (PhD), Warsaw
Interestingly, the conditions in which plants grow
affect the progression of the seed maturation program, which leaves a trace in dry seeds. In this project, we
focus on the novel mechanism of this memory. Despite most polymerase Pol II being removed from DNA at
the final stages of seed drying, some Pol II molecules persist on selected genes. Later, during water uptake,
those polymerases serve as bookmarks to facilitate the transcription of these genes. In this way, seed
maturation memory may be mediated by the binding pattern of polymerases to a set of specific genes.
Graduate Research Assistant, Perth
The Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis (CMCA) is a core facility at UWA that provides researchers and industry with access to advanced microscopy and analysis instrumentation. As host of the Australian Plant Phenomics Network (APPN) node at UWA, CMCA supports the digital phenotyping of crops in controlled environments and in the field—empowering breakthroughs in plant science and agriculture.
You can find USA jobs at Plantae.
The post The Week in Botany April 21, 2025 appeared first on Botany One.
