NDSU Names Plant Sciences Department Chair

Richard Horsley -
NDSU Plant Sciences Dept. Chair

Richard Horsley has been appointed chair of North Dakota State University’s Plant Sciences Department.

Horsley has been the NDSU six-rowed barley breeder in the Plant Sciences Department since July 1988. He also took over the two-rowed barley breeding program in 2006 after the retirement of Jerry Franckowiak.

“Dr. Horsley’s breadth of experiences at NDSU, stellar performance as a scientist and mentor to students and his knowledge of North Dakota agriculture will serve the university well as he leads the Plant Sciences Department,” says Ken Grafton, NDSU College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources dean and director of the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. “We are very pleased that Dr. Horsley has agreed to serve in this capacity at this time.”

Horsley will serve as chair of the Plant Sciences Department for a term of 12 to 18 months.

Horsley earned a bachelor’s degree in agronomy from the University of Minnesota in 1983. He received a master's degree in agronomy from NDSU in 1985 and a doctorate in crop and weed sciences (plant breeding) from NDSU in 1988.

His research has concentrated on the release and development of six-rowed and two-rowed malting barley cultivars acceptable to barley producers in North Dakota and the malting and brewing industries. Additionally, Horsley’s research works to identify genes affecting economically important traits by using molecular mapping techniques.

Horsley will continue to oversee the barley breeding program during his term as chair of the department.

Source: NDSU Agriculture Communications

Leafy social network: Scientists study how stomata communicate

by Mary-Ann Muffoletto

(PhysOrg.com) -- To survive, leafy plants need to take in as much carbon dioxide as possible through pores in their leaves without losing water. Known as stomata, these pores somehow work together, processing and exchanging the information necessary to open and close at opportune times to achieve constant, optimal balance.
   
An amazing and puzzling aspect of this process is that plants have no central processing unit, says Utah State University physicist David Peak.

“What we’re observing is a very primitive form of intelligence,” Peak says. “But how these stomata communicate, in what amounts to a sophisticated social network, remains a mystery.”

Peak and colleague Keith Mott, a professor of plant physiology at USU, have studied the function of stomata in intact leaves, with an emphasis on information processing, for nearly a decade. The team challenged a recent study on stomatal responses to radiant energy in a paper published in the Nov. 21, 2011 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Big boost to plant research

Palo Alto, CA--The four largest nonprofit plant science research institutions in the U.S. have joined forces to form the Association of Independent Plant Research Institutes (AIPI) in an effort to target plant science research to meet the profound challenges facing society in a more coordinated and rapid fashion.

Scientific leaders from the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research (Cornell University), The Carnegie Institution for Science, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (St. Louis, Mo.) and The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation (Ardmore, Okla.) formed the AIPI to facilitate scientific discovery through intellectual and technical collaborations. The group will also disseminate research outcomes and provide a forum for discussion of approaches to the challenges facing agriculture.

Collectively, AIPI member institutions operate nearly 60 laboratories with more than 400 personnel. Each organization offers different but complementary technical expertise that ranges from measuring individual chemicals and proteins within plants to the ability to obtain three-dimensional images of plant structures and proteins in living tissue. In addition, state-of-the-art greenhouse and field resources allow science to mature beyond the laboratory and into tangible outcomes to benefit consumers and provide for tomorrow.

"Each of these institutions possesses skilled and dedicated researchers," said David Stern, President of Boyce Thomson Institute. Researchers at each institution have had tremendous success. Together, we will be even better. AIPI is a tool to allow our collective resources to respond faster to opportunities in an organized and collaborative manner. We will achieve more. And humanity will be the beneficiary."

CALS Plans Overhaul of Plant Science Departments

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences announced Wednesday that it is entering the planning stages of a potential consolidation of the five departments related to the University’s Plant Sciences major — Horticulture, Crop and Soil Sciences, Plant Breeding and Genetics, Microbe-Biology and Plant Biology and Plant Pathology.

According to CALS administrators, combining academic resources into larger units would improve the presence and scope of the plant sciences at Cornell, as well as provide more flexibility in responding to future budget challenges.

Read full article: The Cornell Daily Sun

UGA discovery changes how scientists think about plant cell wall formation

Implications for biofuels

Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia researchers have discovered that two proteins come together in an unexpected way to make a carbohydrate, a chain of sugar molecules, in plant cell walls. This fundamental discovery changes the way scientists think about how plant cell walls are made and opens a new door to converting plants to biofuels and other carbon-based products.

In 2006, the UGA research team, led by Debra Mohnen, a faculty member in the UGA Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, discovered GAUT1, the first protein shown to synthesize pectin, a major component of the plant cell wall. Now Mohnen's team has shown that GAUT1 and a genetically similar protein called GAUT7, which does not appear to have pectin-synthesizing activity by itself, form a critical part of a pectin-synthesizing protein complex.

Moreover, the two-protein complex may serve as a "core" complex that associates with additional pectin-synthesizing proteins to form still larger carbohydrate-synthesizing complexes in the plant cells.

The findings signify a "critical step in changing our view of how the plant cell wall is made," said principal investigator Mohnen, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. The study was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis has an online look-up tool accessing its Rooting Database.
Users can search by Genus or Cultivar and retrieve rooting information for that plant.

Link: http://rooting.ucdavis.edu/Pchome.htm

Sample of data returned on search:

Name        : Abelia grandiflora                                                                                              
Cultivar    : Edward Goucher                                                                                 
Cutting Type: Softwood, terminal or subterminal
Age-Stage   : [
When taken  : July
Medium      : Perlite or well drained medium
Auxin       : Hormex - full strength
Structure   : mist
Bottom Heat : NoBottom Heat .
% Rooting   : 100%
Time to root: 4 weeks
Care        : [
Location    : Honolulu, Hawaii.
Reference   : Oka, P. 1978. Propagation of Abelia grandiflora 
              Edward Goucher. The Pl. Prop. 24(1):4-5.  ]

UC Davis - Department of Plant Sciences Job Listing

11/18/2011	Junior Specialist Department of Plant Sciences Motivated, reliable and responsible person needed for a full-time position assisting a dedicated and professionally demanding research team. Position will require extended field trips and repetitive, labor-intensive field tasks in possibly inclement weather in far-flung locations throughout California as well as general laboratory duties. The Junior Specialist will assist the research project “Tree Phenology Models for Climate Change Projections & Improved Nutrient Management.” Position will involve conducting field research and general laboratory duties with tree crops in the Central Valley and Coastal Range of California. Responsibilities include field sampling, photography and data collection, laboratory analysis of samples, preparation of laboratory solutions, basic statistical data analysis, and computer management of data files. REQUIREMENTS:  Bachelor's degree (preferably in Biology or related field). Applicant must have valid driver’s license and be available for extended field trips that may include overnight stays. Must be able to regularly lift 30-40 pounds, climb ladders up to 12 feet and work in the vicinity of bees. Good computer skills, particularly comfort with Microsoft Office suite, and at least a basic knowledge of statistics also required. Knowledge of database systems, GIS programming, statistical programs such as JMP, SAS and/or R, and computer coding languages such as Python, are highly desired but are not required. Applicant must show attention to detail and be willing to maintain a flexible schedule. This will be a limited position (1 year) that will begin as soon as possible. Salary: $2890.00/month Please email your resume/CV, along with a cover letter describing your reason for interest in the job and your qualifications, as well as 1-2 letters of recommendation, to: Katherine Jarvis-Shean Dept. of Plant Sciences kjarvisshean@ucdavis.edu
11/22/2011	Department of Plant Sciences University of California – Davis Project Scientist Position in Wheat Genetics of Drought and Heat Tolerance We offer an exciting opportunity to work as part of a large collaborative research team on the Triticeae Coordinated Agricultural Project (T CAP;www.triticeaecap.org). The selected candidate will use modern genomics and canopy spectral reflectance tools to conduct association mapping and nested association mapping studies to identify chromosome regions involved in wheat drought and heat tolerance. Researchers will have access to large trait and marker data sets to investigate genetics, map trait associations, and validate the identified chromosome regions in different genetic backgrounds. The selected candidate will also collaborate with current breeding efforts to improve wheat water use efficiency. Applicants must have a Ph.D. in genetics or plant molecular biology, demonstrated experience in QTL and association mapping for abiotic stress in wheat, strong analytical and statistics skills, demonstrated ability to work with large data sets, produce high quality scientific results, proven written and spoken communication skills and ability to work collaboratively. The appointment as Project Scientist will initially be for one year and may be renewed annually for up to five years depending on performance. The position offers a competitive salary plus benefits and will remain open until a good candidate is identified. Applications, including a letter of interest in the position, CV, and the names and contact information of three referees, should be emailed to Jorge Dubcovsky atjdubcovsky@ucdavis.edu in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis.
11/30/2011	DEPARTMENT OF LAND, AIR AND WATER RESOURCES College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences University of California, Davis 100% JUNIOR SPECIALIST POSITION Annual Full Time Salary Range $33,672/year + Benefits Duration: two years The University of California, Davis, is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. NATURE AND PURPOSE:  We are seeking an individual with a M.S. (preferable) or B.S. degree in Soil Science, Entomology, Ecology or Environmental Science. The project involves investigation of soil ecosystem services within a variety of rangeland restoration sites in the Sacramento Valley. The research supported by this position is field- and lab-based. The specialist should have experience or demonstrated capability to learn the following activities:  soil sampling, collection of soil dwelling fauna (insects and arthropods), identification of adult and immature fauna to the family level, basic soil characterization (bulk density, infiltration, and soil description). The Jr. Specialist responsibilities include participation in designing the experimental plan, organizing and setup of the overall field experiment, installation and maintenance of field equipment, assisting in regular collection of field data and laboratory analysis, faunal extractions from soil and identification and data analysis, and coordination with other UC-Davis research labs involved in the project. MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES: I.          RESEARCH IN SPECIALIZED AREAS (85%) Field sampling of soil dwelling fauna Support with installation and maintenance of study  plots Field characterization of soils via regular visits to the field year round to measure bulk density, soil organic carbon, pH, infiltration and aggregate stability. Faunal identification Nitrate resin bag deployment and collection Data entry, organization, processing and analysis II.        PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE AND ACTIVITY (15%) Participation and presentation of research at laboratory meetings and select professional meetings. Synthesis of data for publication and/or outreach efforts (written and internet formats)  To apply for this position please send a CV and a short written description of your qualifications to Toby O’Geen at atogeen@ucdavis.edu

Scientists devise efficient way of learning about complex corn traits

There's no "silver bullet" gene or gene region that controls so-called complex traits in maize, commonly known as corn.

Instead, in two research papers published this week in the journal Science, North Carolina State University crop scientists and colleagues show that lots of small changes in a number of gene regions affect complex traits – like flowering time or reproductive ability – in corn.

Finding out more about the mechanisms behind complex traits like flowering time – as well as even more difficult-to-map traits like yield or drought tolerance, for example – has the potential to help plant breeders build the best traits into tomorrow's corn plants, says Dr. Jim Holland, NC State professor of crop science, research geneticist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS) and one of the lead authors of the Science papers.

Read complete Press Release>

St. Louis-based plant science center, doctors team up to fight malnutrition

By Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Plant scientists and doctors in St. Louis are working together on a malnutrition effort they hope will have global results.Three organizations were set Tuesday to announce formation of the Global Harvest Alliance, which will create inexpensive, nutritionally complete food.Dr. Mark Manary (MAN'-uh-ree) of St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine is well-known for his work on a fortified, peanut butter-based food widely used overseas to treat severe malnutrition.Manary is now working with scientists from the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center who focus on using biotechnology to add nutritional value to staple crops. They ultimately want to get fortified crops to farmers in parts of Africa and Asia.

Local doctors, plant scientists create program to fight hunger

By Catherine Wolf
St. Louis doctors and plant scientists have started a new program to prevent hunger in Africa. The Global Harvest Alliance combines an existing project to feed children with efforts to grow genetically engineered, vitamin-rich plants. Project leader Dr. Mark Manary says the goal is to give kids a food supplement long enough to get them healthy, and to develop the plants as a future food source to prevent malnutrition. "We will be able to say, gosh if you can add X amount to that peanut, we can virtually eliminate vitamin A deficiency in this population consuming peanuts as a staple in West Africa. "Manary said malnutrition causes about half of all child deaths. Collaborators are the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.© Copyright 2009, KWMU
-->Source: KWMU

Campers learn science of gardening at arboretum

By Ashley Boyd Staff Writer

Agroup of middle-school girls is getting their hands dirty this week while learning about gardening. Speakers at the DIRT campMaster gardener Betty Hardee spoke about composting.Libby Uzzell and Jean Henderson spoke about bluebirds and gave the girls tips for making birdhouses. Amanda Espy-Brown, an adjunct geography professor at UA, recently traveled to Africa and will speak today about the role African women play in agriculture in their countries.

Working in conjunction with Bama Dining and New College, the University of Alabama Arboretum is hosting a free, weeklong community service gardening workshop.
Environmentalism and sustainability are the focal points of the camp, which is called Alabama DIRT: Directed Investigations and Research for Teens.

“It’s teaching them about sustainability in terms of using our resources in a way that leaves resources for the next generation. They’re getting hands-on experience at a young age and will hopefully continue to grow plants on their own,” said Mary Jo Modica, horticulturalist for the arboretum. Read more>

With ‘Phenomics,’ Plant Scientists Hope to Shift Breeding Into Overdrive

Elizabeth Finkel
Science Magazine

Borrowing imaging techniques from medicine, phenomics offers plant scientists new windows into the inner workings of living plants: infrared cameras to scan temperature profiles, spectroscopes to measure photosynthetic rates, lidar to gauge growth rates, and MRI to reveal root physiology. Institutes worldwide are racing to build facilities with instrument arrays that can scan thousands of plants a day in an approach to science akin to high-throughput DNA sequencing. The Australian Plant Phenomics Facility, a new $40 million venture that is the first national lab of its kind in the world, opened its High Resolution Plant Phenomics Centre in Canberra last week. And other countries are ramping up fast.

Greenhouse and Field Trials Agricultural Research Assistant - RTP, NC - Kelly Scientific Resources

Location: Morrisville, NC
Categories: Lab Technician
Website: www.kellyscientific.com

Position Description
Do you have a background in agricultural and/or plant science research? Are you looking to get your foot in the door of the agricultural chemical industry? Our client, one of the largest chemical companies in the world, is an established supplier of agricultural products and chemicals for agricultural and animal nutrition in the North Carolina area. Kelly Scientific is currently recruiting a Greenhouse Research Assistant temporary position set to last until 12/31/09.

Read more:

MISSOURI: A SITE SELECTION INVESTMENT PROFILE -- Site Selection magazine, July 2009

"...Drive along Olive Blvd. in suburban St. Louis and the names on the buildings pop out: Microsoft, TricorBraun, Smurfit-Stone. Just around the corner from these corporate campuses sits the campus of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the largest independent research institute in the world devoted to plant sciences. ..." Read more:
MISSOURI: A SITE SELECTION INVESTMENT PROFILE -- Site Selection magazine, July 2009 Source: siteselection.com

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Increased yields through better CO2 use in plants

BASF Plant Science and the University of Cologne cooperate in plant biotechnology Aim is to increase yields and improve stress tolerance in crops

8 Jul 2009 , Limburgerhof, Cologne, Germany : BASF Plant Science and the Botanical Institute of the University of Cologne announce that they have entered a cooperation in plant biotechnology. Focus is on plant traits that increase the yield of crops like soybeans, rice, and canola and improve their tolerance to adverse environmental conditions like cold, drought or salinization. The cooperation comprises both a license and an R&D agreement, which were negotiated by PROvendis, the patent marketing company for North Rhine-Westphalia’s universities.

Together with BASF Plant Science, Prof. Dr. Ulf-Ingo Flügge and Dr. Verónica G. Maurino from the Botanical Institute of the University of Cologne are working on optimizing the energy generation of key global crops. During photosynthesis, the process where carbon dioxide (CO2) is converted into carbohydrates (e.g. starch), many plants don't make optimum use of the CO2 in the air. Certain types of plants, like corn, are able to use more CO2 through an additional metabolic process. The objective of the current research project is to transfer this biochemical mechanism to other plants. The Cologne-based researchers have already been successful in genetically modifying a test plant, the so-called thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana). Thanks to the inserted genes, the plant produces special enzymes which ensure that the plant uses more carbon dioxide resulting in the production of more biomass.

Read more:

Nitrogen research shows how some plants invade, take over others

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Nitrogen research shows how some plants invade, take over others

Plants that take up -- and hold on to -- nitrogen are effective invaders

Biologists know that when plants battle for space, often the actual battle is for getting the nitrogen.

Now, research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln gives important new information on how plants can change "nitrogen cycling" to gain nitrogen and how this allows plant species to invade and take over native plants.

In an article published July 6 in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, UNL biologist Johannes "Jean" Knops demonstrates why one invasive plant species is replacing native species -- it's because of its ability to take up and hold on to nitrogen.

Biologists know that nitrogen is crucial to plant growth that invasive species often grow better and acquire more nitrogen, but have been uncertain about which mechanism allows invasive species to gain an advantage.

Read more:

Plant scientists reach for the skies with London rooftop experiments

Imperial College London news release

A futuristic £1 million rooftop 'greenhouse' which will enable central London scientists to grow large quantities of plants for experiments ranging from developing new sources of biofuels to helping sequence the tomato genome, has been built on top of a five storey building at Imperial College London.

The new Imperial GroDome is the only rooftop facility of its kind in London. It provides Imperial's plant scientists with over 200 square metres of temperature and light controlled growing space for a variety of plant species, allowing them to carry out large-scale plant experiments in an urban location for the first time.

Read more:

World's first ever 'self-watering' plant discovered in Israel

Scientists have discovered the world's first 'self-watering' plant in Israel's Negev desert – one of the driest regions on earth.

By Murray Wardrop Published: 7:00AM BST 30 Jun 2009

The Desert Rhubarb can hold 16 times more water than its rivals and has developed a unique ability to effectively water itself in its barren habitat.

Researchers were confounded by the metre-wide plant's giant leaves, compared to its desert counterparts, whose tiny leaves stop dangerous moisture loss.

But they found the plant's large leaves are the key to its success, because they are covered in microscopic streams through which water can be channelled.

Scientists claim ridges in the leaves act like mountain valleys, funnelling the water slowly and directly into the plant while stopping it evaporating.

A team from the Department of Science Education-Biology at the University of Haifa-Oranim, in Israel, said the leaves act like a mini irrigation system.

Lead researcher Professor Gidi Ne'eman said "We know of no other plant in the deserts of the world that functions in this manner.

"We have managed to make out the 'self-irrigating' mechanism of the desert rhubarb, which enables it to harvest 16 times the amount of water than otherwise expected for a plant in this region based on the quantities of rain in the desert.

Read more:

CropLife International supports Ban Ki-moon’s call to combat desertification and drought

Plant science technologies help conserve land and water
By Staff reports
Story Published: Jun 24, 2009
Story Updated: Jun 24, 2009

BRUSSELS – CropLife International welcomes UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s global appeal to help fight drought and desertification and to stem its further expansion with the help of improved science and technology.Plant science and technologies are an important part of the solution to conserve critical natural resources such as land and water. Plant science offers innovative tools to help the world’s farmers adapt to drier conditions and grow food more sustainably:

• Drought- and flood-tolerant plants are being developed through plant biotechnology, and a regulatory application has been submitted for drought-tolerant corn. Research is also being directed at developing crops that can tolerate increased levels of salinity in the soil.
  
• CropLife and its members teach Integrated Crop Management techniques to farmers worldwide each year to help them use crop protection products responsibly and in a way that makes optimal use of natural resources. For example, irrigated water use per unit of output has decreased by 20 to 50 percent in four key crops over the past two decades.
  
• Conservation tillage farming, enabled by herbicide use and biotech crops, reduces soil erosion and helps retain soil moisture, as well as significantly reducing carbon emissions due to fewer passes over the field.

“The plant science industry is committed to addressing key global issues like climate change and food security,” said Howard Minigh, CEO and president of CropLife International. “We have to double, or even triple, food production by 2030 with a fixed amount of land and natural resources. These challenges can only be met if we all work together.”

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Computers Aid in Cracking Deception in Plants

June 24th, 2009

If the growing presence of computer 'geeks' on television crime shows is any indicator, computers are increasingly becoming essential tools for detecting and combating skullduggery. However, television detectives are not the only ones taking advantage of these tools.

Researchers also are beginning to collaborate with computer scientists to help uncover biological forms of deception, known as molecular mimicry.

"Molecular mimicry is a biological mechanism that a pathogen, such as a bacterium, uses to trick a host organism into accepting it and, in some cases, to alter the host's function to its own benefit," said Dmitry Korkin, assistant professor in the University of Missouri Informatics Institute and Department of Computer Science in the College of Engineering. "All this mimicry occurs among proteins."

Korkin recently received a five-year, $613,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to apply his computational research to the study of molecular mimicry in an important plant pathogen, the soybean cyst nematode.

The soybean cyst nematode is a small parasitic roundworm that infects the roots of a soybean plant. As part of its modus operandi, the nematode secretes proteins into the soybean that change the plant's cellular function and causes it to create a specialized cell from which the nematode feeds. Scientists think molecular mimicry may be involved in this host-pathogen interaction, but detecting it experimentally is difficult due to the sheer volume of proteins involved.

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