plant science Archives - Page 94 of 94 - The Global Plant Council

Jun 02

A Postcard From… The Australian Society of Plant Scientists

By Isabel | Blog, GPC Community

A new feature on the Global Plant Council blog will be ‘A Postcard From…’ In these posts representatives from our member organizations will tell us about their society’s visions, aims and activities.

This pioneering ‘Postcard From’ was sent in by Gonzalo Estavillo and John Evans, both members of the ASPS.

The Australian Society of Plant Scientists (ASPS) promotes plant science in Australia, and provides professional contact within our community of teachers and researchers in plant biology. Originally founded in 1958, the ASPS currently has approximately 400 members from Australia and also overseas. It provides a forum for knowledge exchange so that the membership can build on both the depth and breadth of knowledge of plant functions. ASPS offers a unifying representation of plant scientists in Australia, and is linked with the Global Plant Council and many other important international plant science organizations.

One of the main activities of the ASPS is to provide mutual support and collective mentorship to facilitate the dissemination of new research. For example, there has been a long and mutually supportive interaction between ASPS and Functional Plant Biology, which is perhaps the most prestigious journal of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). ASPS is one of the foundation partner societies of ComBio, the annual international biology conference held in Australia. ASPS also sponsors other specialist workshops upon request.

ComBio meeting 2014. ComBio is the combined annual meeting of ASPS, the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), the Australia and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology (ANZSCDB), the New Zealand Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (NZSBMB) and the New Zealand Society of Plant Biologists (NZSPB). This year it takes place in Melbourne, 27th September – 1st October: http://www.asbmb.org.au/combio2015/

The Society aims to nurture a new generation of plant scientists in many ways. It sponsors student attendance to ComBio through travel awards, and encourages active student participation by awarding poster prizes. Additionally, the RN Robertson Travelling Fellowship is available to students and early career researchers to support their research in another laboratory so as to widen their experience and raise their profile.

ASPS rewards excellence at all levels of scientific career development. Eminent plant scientists are invited to give the JG Wood or RN Robertson lectures at ComBio, in honour of the first two Presidents of the Society. Outstanding young plant scientists are recognized every year by the Peter Goldacre Award and the ASPS–FPB Best Paper Award. The commitment of ASPS to plant science education is reflected by both the ASPS Teaching Award, which recognizes innovative contributions to undergraduate teaching, and the development of online resources for plant biology teaching such as Plants in Action.

The Society’s social media platforms work with members to enhance their ability to do research and to educate others in plant sciences. The ASPS website offers the opportunity to connect with other members, get updates on the latest plant science research around the world, post jobs, student scholarship opportunities and conference announcements, and provides a growing collection of teaching resources for plants sciences. Phytogen is the Society’s newsletter blog to inform our own members and general readers with an interest in developments in Australian plant science, provide a vehicle for communicating new ideas, recent professional experiences, and forthcoming events. Finally, we use our Facebook and Twitter (@asps_ozplants) accounts to interact and engage with both scientific and general audiences. Meet us and view our photos in our ASPS Facebook page!

John Evans is the current President of the ASPS and researches the physiology of photosynthesis at the Australian National University

Gonzalo Estavillo is currently a research scientist at CSIRO and tweets @GMEstavillo

May 27

Fascination of Plants Day 2015

By Isabel | ASPB, Blog, GPC Community, Public Engagement

Plants really are fascinating, and their continued research and conservation are vital for our survival. To this end, the third international Fascination of Plants Day (FoPD) was held on 18th May 2015, led by Global Plant Council member organization EPSO (European Plant Sciences Organisation). The aim of the day was to enthuse as many people around the world as possible about plant sciences, and to demonstrate the importance of plants in everything from sustainable food production to pharmaceuticals.

The day was a great success with over 874 events held at over 500 institutions in 54 countries around the world! Events were attended by a diverse range of people from all backgrounds and ages, and held at a variety of organizations including museums, universities, research institutes, schools and botanic gardens.

Thank you to everyone who sent their lovely photos to us – it was absolutely wonderful to look through them all! With so many people taking part, we couldn’t possibly report on everything, so in this blog post we provide you with a small snapshot of the diverse FoPD activities from around the world.

ARGENTINA

Events were held in several cities across Argentina including La Plata, Diamante and Esperanza.

Under the microscope

A wide variety of events were held across Córdoba aimed at every one from pre-schoolers to adults. The Museum of Natural Sciences had 18 stands featuring exhibits, games, and activities aimed to increase awareness of native forests. The National Academy of Sciences hosted lectures by distinguished scientists on diverse topics ranging from curious plant names to biotechnology; the enthusiastic audiences responded well by asking thought-provoking questions. In addition, The School of Biology at the National University of Córdoba prepared six stands and offered visits to the Botanical Museum. The Catholic University of Córdoba focused on how natural insecticides are obtained from plants and microscopic plant structures.

AUSTRIA

During the workshop “What does the Bee search for in the Flower” visitors could learn more about why insects visit flowers, and the benefits provided to both the insects as well as the plants.

‘Making the invisible visible’ was the theme of a joint event between the Faculty of Life Sciences of the University of Vienna and the Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Over 500 people attended a family event on Sunday, May 17, which involved exciting hands-on experimental workshops and guided tours. An international ‘root race’ allowed visitors to bet on how fast roots from Arabidopsis plants collected from six locations around the world would grow. Visitors also had the chance to see CT-scans and 3D rendering in action to see inside of a plant.

BULGARIA

Six FoPD events were held across Bulgaria, all of which can be seen on this blog.

At Sofia University, a variety of presentations, photography contests, demonstrations, performances and experiments explored the diversity of exotic plants, the magic of Bulgarian herds, the forests that are the lungs of the Earth, plant diseases, and the role of aquatic plants for life in the water.

Fascinating plant activities at Sofia University

GERMANY

Members of the Institute of Plant Sciences at Forschungszentrum Jülich gave guided tours and presentations to the public during the morning of FoPD. In the afternoon they built a willow hut close to the institute that will provide shade in summertime and will also be used for social events in the future.

Researchers from the institute also went into local schools to talk to young children about the importance of plants.

HUNGARY

There were 36 diverse events organized across Hungary.

In Szeged, the University of Szeged joined forces with the Institute of Plant Biology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Cereal Research Non-Profit to organise a two-day event. Lectures covering a diverse range of topics were delivered by university lecturers and plant breeders on subjects including Hungary’s biggest trees, a plant’s dispersal strategies, and the effect of climate change on plants. In parallel to these lectures were a series of demonstrations. Visitors could explore DNA extraction from strawberries using rum and pineapple, photosynthesis, writing onto leaves using light, and take part in a discussion on genetic modification.

MEXICO

A big welcome to Mexico who participated in FoPD for the first time this year! A range of diverse events were held at universities, NGOs, museums and botanic gardens across the country.

A variety of events were held at the ENES UNAM Leon. Talks and activities focused on the evolution of maize, and traditional agricultural methods used by the Aztecs. Students had the opportunity then to help plant trees and make the very first vegetable gardens on campus.

FoPD was also celebrated in Mexico by NGO Signos Iraputo, The Institute of Technology in Purisima del Rincon, the science museum in Mexico City, and the botanical gardens of INECOL in Veracruz.

RUSSIA

Fifteen hundred people attended 48 events across Russia in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, Kemerovo, Petrozavodsk, Perm, Pskov and Tula.

To see more from Russia, visit the Russian FoPD blog.

A variety events were held across the UK to celebrate FoPD.

On May 16^th the World Museum in Liverpool hosted its third FoPD in collaboration with scientists and educators from the University of Liverpool.

Over 500 visitors passed through the exhibition with Rose Froud and Andrew Lambie showing visitors of all ages how to make pots out of newspaper and then helped them plant either sunflowers or runner beans. Elsewhere, GARNet’s Geraint Parry helped visitors to extract DNA from strawberries and then load them onto a genome sequencer.

At Kew Gardens, Hugh Pritchard, Wolfgang Stuppy, Peter Toorop and Charlotte Seal welcomed over 60 visitors. Wolfgang spoke about the biodiversity of the Brazilian Amazon, and guided tours were given of the Wellcome Trust Millennium Building.

Over 170 people visited scientists at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, who hosted an open day highlighting the importance of plants in everyday life. During the day funds were also raised for the Nepalese Earthquake Appeal using plants donated from a local gardener.

The Oxford Fascination of Plants Day event took place at the Harcourt Arboretum. Displays at the event came from several different groups and organisations, including several stands from the University of Oxford Department of Plant Sciences.

For more photos from the University of Reading FoPD visit Dr M Goes Wild blog, and for more from Greenwich University see the MSc Applied Plant Science Facebook page.

USA

Co-ordinated by GPC member organization the ASPB, a number of events took place around the USA. More information and detail about all events can be found on the ASPB FoPD blog.

ASPB member David Puthoff from Frostburg State University explored how plants sense their environment, as well as how plants are used in everyday food, clothes and medicine. Over 60 first-grade students discussed how plants can tell up from down, and what cues the plants might use to make their decision.

In New Jersey, Leeann Thornton, a plant biology professor at The College of New Jersey, taught third graders about plant diversity and identification. Some children were so excited by this that they took plant identification books outside at break time to learn more trees! In addition to this pre-schoolers explored the life cycle of a plant through dancing. The children watched time-lapse movies of growing plants before talking about the role of plant stems, roots and flowers and pretending to be growing plants. The next day several parents commented that their children had talked all evening about plant dancing!

May 19

Dr Anne Osterrieder: Expert advice for plant science communication

By Isabel | Blog, Public Engagement

Dr Anne Osterrieder

Dr. Anne Osterrieder is a Research and Science Communication Fellow at Oxford Brookes University, UK. We asked her expert opinion on the best approaches to raise public awareness of the importance of plants, and what the future holds for science communication.

Anne, you split your time between research and outreach. How do these two aspects of your job influence each other?

The two parts of my role influence each other a lot. My research is fundamental plant biology, trying to understand how plant cells process and transport protein cargo. I know a lot about a very small part of cell biology. Not many people will have heard of the proteins I study, however the Golgi apparatus and cells are part of the school curriculum, which gives me a hook to start a conversation about cell biology. I strongly believe that it is our responsibility to bridge the gap between current plant science and textbooks. What is the purpose of making new discoveries if only a handful of people in the world will ever know about it?

I love it when others get excited about plant cells, and that fuels my own passion for my research. Trying out different ways to communicate science has influenced my writing, my scientific presentations, my teaching, and my thinking.

What sorts of approaches do you think are best for targeting different audiences?

I think, before embarking on any public engagement project, we need to consider two important things: are we going to mainly reach people who are already interested in plant science, or are we reaching out to new audiences? I love the concept of science festivals or Soapbox Science: taking science to public places on a busy day, to attract visitors who normally would not have visited a science event (“I never would have thought that this was so interesting!”).

I also believe it is important to design projects that allow interaction and dialogue. It is very tempting to see ourselves as the experts, spurting out knowledge like a garden hose. However, I realize that my ‘vast expertise’ is very limited to a narrow niche topic. Everyone has a different background and experiences. When we allow our different perspectives to collide, exciting and unexpected things might happen.

#soapboxscience has its fifth birthday this year – thanks to all our speakers and volunteers for 5 years of pure fun pic.twitter.com/l5dGdHXRp7

— SoapBox Science (@SoapboxScience) May 8, 2015

How can we dispel the “plants are boring” stereotype and attract more young people to enter plant science?

I spend a lot of time thinking about this question. One of the main problems is ‘plant blindness’, and the fact that plants are just there and don’t seem to be doing much. We try to dispel this myth by showing how much is going on inside plant cells. Rather than solely dispensing facts about plants, we should discuss the questions that make us curious, and inspire us to study plants. When I look at a flower, I wonder how it knows how to make petals. How does a seed know how and when to grow into a big plant? Are Golgi bodies the same size in Sequoia trees as they are in a daisy? If not, how do they know how to change their size – and if yes, how do they know how to not change their size?

By putting questions in the foreground, we can communicate what we know, and then explore together what we don’t know. But most importantly, if we want to inspire, we have to include our emotions alongside our facts. Passion and enthusiasm can make even the most boring topic exciting and gripping.

Do you have any thoughts on how the plant science community could better connect with agricultural stakeholders and policy makers?

When I went to a conference last year, I learnt about ‘EIP-AGRI’, the agricultural European Innovation Partnership, a network that aims to connect researchers, farmers, agribusinesses and other stakeholders. I think that networks like this, as well as learned societies, are important hubs for connecting scientists with other stakeholders.

Do you think science communication is something all scientists should be doing, or are dedicated specialists like yourself more effective at getting the message across, especially when it comes to heavily debated topics such as GM, genome editing or synthetic biology?

I think there is a need for both. I feel that all academic researchers should become involved in public engagement, but dedicated specialists might have more experience to tackle more difficult questions and can provide advice and training for more casual communicators. Before I became more involved with science communication, I had not realized at all that it was a discipline on its own. I think there should be much more interaction between scientists and science communicators (both professionals and researchers) to exchange information about ‘best practice’ and lessons learned.

How do you envisage the future of plant science communication?

I hope researchers embrace creativity and step out of their comfort zone to try out new ways of communication, and engage new audiences. I also hope that plant science communication will happen offline and online, and that people will maximize their impact by interlinking both!

You can find out more about Dr. Osterrieder’s public engagement projects by visiting her website, Plant Cell Biology, or by following her on Twitter @AnneOsterrieder. Hear more of Anne’s advice for plant science communication in this 11 minute video lecture:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=XKUfpiFfhgQ%3Frel%3D0

Apr 28

The Next Generation

By Isabel | ASPB, Blog, Future Directions, GPC Community, SEB

Meet Amelia and Sarah, the two newest additions to the Global Plant Council team.

As a coalition of plant and crop societies from the around the globe, the Global Plant Council (GPC) aims to bring together scientists, policy makers and other stakeholders to engage in coordinated strategies to find solutions to global problems.

The GPC currently has 29 member organizations representing thousands of scientists in diverse disciplines around the world. Online media such as this blog and the @GlobalPlantGPC Twitter account provide a fantastic resource for our member organizations to stay in touch, share ideas and develop interdisciplinary collaborations.

For Spanish speakers, we’ve also recently launched a Spanish version of our Twitter feed at @GPC_EnEspanol, kindly translated for us by Juan-Diego Santillana-Ortiz, an Ecuadorian currently studying at Heinrich-Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Amelia is in the third year of her PhD at the John Innes Centre, Norwich UK. She is researching how altering the biochemistry of epicuticular waxes affects the physiology and ultimately yield of UK wheat. She tweets @AmeliaFrizell (https://twitter.com/AmeliaFrizell)

Amelia Frizell-Armitage is in the third year of her PhD at the John Innes Centre, Norwich UK. She is researching how altering the biochemistry of epicuticular waxes affects the physiology and ultimately yield of UK wheat. She tweets @AmeliaFrizell.

To further enhance this network, the GPC has awarded two New Media Fellowships to early career plant scientists Amelia Frizell-Armitage and Sarah Jose. The role of the Fellows will be to increase visibility of the GPC through managing this blog, devising new strategies to promote GPC activities and to increase traffic flow and engagement on Twitter.

A key priority will be to increase members’ contributions to this blog to promote their organizations and associated activities. Contributing to the blog is a fantastic way to interact with other GPC members, and we are always open to suggestions for guest posts. Perhaps you want to talk about a recent meeting or activity, discuss a particularly exciting piece of emerging research, promote a newly published book, or even just give some insight into your everyday life?

Sarah Jose is a third year PhD student at the University of Bristol, UK. She is investigating the link between wax biosynthesis and stomatal development in barley and Arabidopsis, and its potential impact on the water use efficiency of plants. Find her on Twitter @JoseSci.

Whatever it is, we want to hear from you! Please get in touch on Twitter, via the comments section on the blog, or by emailing our Outreach & Communications Manager Lisa Martin.

It is an exciting year ahead for the GPC with the launch of a new online platform for the plant community that is being built in partnership with the ASPB and with support from SEB. There are also various fundraising initiatives in the works, and a Stress Resilience Forum coming up in October, which is being organized in collaboration with SEB.

Stay tuned to this blog to keep up to date with all our activities. The events calendar for member organizations is also looking busy and vibrant, and can be found here.

Mar 23

Can you crowdfund the sequencing of a plant genome?

By Isabel | Blog, Future Directions, Global Change

Dr Peng Jiang, University of Georgia, USA

Peng Jiang and Hui Guo at the University of Georgia think you can! They are currently raising money via a crowdfunding approach to sequence the first cactus genome – but the question is: why would they want to? Peng explains all in this guest blog post.

A Prickly Proposal: Why Sequence the Cactus?
In these times of growing food insecurity due to climate change and population pressures, the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus) has growing commercial and agricultural importance across much of the world – you will find it growing in Mexico and Brazil, Chile, large parts of India and South Africa, and in Spain and Morocco.

The goal of our proposal is to sequence the genome and transcriptome of the prickly pear cactus, a recognized food and forage crop in these challenging semiarid regions of the world.

With more than 130 genera and 1,500 species of Cactaceae, we will create a draft genomic and transcriptome database that would aid the understanding of this understudied plant family, and provide the research community with valuable resources for molecular breeding and genetic manipulation purposes. Here are some of the reasons why we think a first cactus genome would be so important:

The Prickly Pear Cactus

1. Ecological Improvement
The beauty of the drought-tolerance cactus is that it can grow on desert-like wastelands. Nowadays, more than 35% of the earth’s surface is arid or semiarid, making it inadequate for most agricultural uses. Without efforts to curb global warming, “Thermageddon” may hit in 30–40 years time, causing desertification of the US, such that it may become like the Sahara. Opuntia helps create a vegetative cover, which improves soil regeneration and rainfall infiltration into the soil. This cactus genome research may help us to adapt our food crops to a much hotter, drier climate.

2. Food Crops, Feed and Medicine
The fruits of prickly pear cactus are edible and sold in stores under the name “tuna”. Prickly pear nectar is made with the juice and pulp of the fruits. The pads of prickly pears (“Nopalito”) are also eaten as a vegetable. Both the fruits and pads of prickly pears can help keep blood sugar levels stable because they contain rich, soluble fibers. The fruit contains vitamin C and was used as an early cure for scurvy.

Furthermore, there has been much medical interest in the prickly pear plant. Studies ^{[1, 2, 3]} have shown that the pectin contained in prickly pear pulp lowers cholesterol levels. Another study ^[4] found that the fibrous pectin in the fruit may lower a diabetic’s need for insulin. The plant also contains the antioxidant flavonoids quercetin, (+)-dihydroquercetin (taxifolin), quercetin 3-methyl ether (isorhamnetin) and kaempferol, which have a protective function against the DNA damage that leads to cancer.

3. Biofuels in Semiarid Regions
Planting low water use, Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM; a water saving mode of photosynthesis) biofuel feedstocks on arid and semiarid lands could offer immediate and sustained biogas advantages. Opuntiapads have 8–12% dry matter, which is ideal for anaerobic digestion. With an arid climate, this prevents the need for extra irrigation or water to facilitate the anaerobic digestion process. Requiring only 300 mm of precipitation per year, Opuntiacan produce a large amount of dry matter feedstock and still retain enough moisture to facilitate biogas production. It’s possible to get as much as 2.5 kWh of methane from 1 kg of dry Opuntia.

4. Phylogenetic Importance
Trained botanists and amateurs alike have held cacti in high regard for centuries. The copious production of spines, lack of leaves, bizarre architecture and impressive ability to persist in the harshest environments on Earth are all traits that have entitled this lineage to be named a true wonder of the plant world.

The cacti are one of the most celebrated radiations of succulent plants. There has been much speculation about their age, but progress in dating cactus origins has been hindered by the lack of fossil data for cacti or their close relatives. Through whole genome sequencing, we help will reveal the genomic evolution of Opuntia by comparing this genome with that of other sequenced plant species.

Cacti are typical CAM plants. We will analyse the evolution of CAM genes in the cactus to help reveal the secret of drought tolerance. Furthermore, plant architecture genes and MADS-box gene family members will be analysed to reveal the specific architecture and structure of cactus.

Crowdfunding the Cactus Genome Project
Cactus has several fascinating aspects that are worth exploring, not just for its biology, but also its relevance to humanity and the global environment. We plan to generate a draft genome for Opuntia, and have launched a crowdfunding campaign to help fund this project – we have already raised $2300 USD (46% of what we need), but we only have 15 days to raise the rest. If you would like to help fund this project, please visit our Experiment page at: https://experiment.com/projects/sequencing-the-cactus-genome-to-discover-the-secret-of-drought-resistance.

If we are successful in raising enough money to initiate the Cactus Genome Project, not only will this be the first plant genome to be sequenced in the Cactaceae family, we will be releasing the results to the plant science community through GeneGarden, an ornamental plant genome database. Our citizen science approach is also allowing us to reach out directly to members of the public, creating exciting opportunities for outreach and engagement with plant science.

If you have any further questions, please contact project leader Dr Peng Jiang at pjiang@uga.edu.

This blog post is slightly adapted from a post originally appearing on GigaScience Journal’s GigaBlog. Reproduced and adapted with permission, under a CC-BY license.

References

Wolfram RM, Kritz H, Efthimiou Y, et al. Effect of prickly pear (Opuntia robusta) on glucose- and lipid-metabolism in non-diabetics with hyperlipidemia – a pilot study. Wien Klin Wochenscr. 2002;114(19–20):840–6.
Trejo-Gonzalez A, Gabriel-Ortiz G, Puebla-Perez AM, et al. A purified extract from prickly pear cactus (Opuntia fulignosa) controls experimentally induced diabetes in rats. J Ethnopharmacol. 1996;55(1):27–33.
Fernandez ML, Lin EC, Trejo A, et al. Prickly pear (Opuntia sp.) pectin alters hepatic cholesterol metabolism without affecting cholesterol absorption in guinea pigs fed a hypercholesterolemic diet. J Nutr. 1994;124(6):817–24.
Frati-Munari AC, Gordillo BE, Altamirano P, et al. Hypoglycemic effect of Opuntia streptacantha Lemaire in NIDDM. Diabetes Care. 1988:11(1):63–66.

plant science Archives - Page 94 of 94 - The Global Plant Council

Fascination of Plants Day 2015

Can you crowdfund the sequencing of a plant genome?

Are you an early-career researcher?

Popular Within Last Week

Popular Within Last Month

Recent publications

Search

Search