This message was sent to ##Email## To advertise in this publication please click here July 1, 2021 .ASPB SPOTLIGHT ASPB's 2021 Election Results Many thanks to those members who took the time to vote this spring; and hearty congratulations to our incoming president-elect, Gustavo MacIntosh and elected member, Elena Monti! Additionally, the recognition of Naomi Ori and Shu-Hsing Wu as Enid MacRobbie corresponding members was overwhelmingly ratified by the ASPB membership. The ASPB Centennial Challenge: Help ASPB Reach Its Goal In 2024, ASPB will celebrate its 100th Anniversary! To ensure that the Society will thrive for the next 100 years, we aspire to raise $3 million in donations by the Plant Biology 2024 meeting. Learn more and donate today to help us achieve this goal! .FROM ASPB & PLANTAE Early Career Professionals on ASPB Committees ASPB has an exciting opportunity for early career plant scientist members to get involved in ASPB and, in the process, help shape the future of the Society by becoming an Early Career Representative (ECR) on ASPB standing committees. Application deadline is July 26, 2021.  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by PhytoTech Labs Save up to 60% off - On over 400 plant tissue culture components, media, and equipment Media Optimization - Optimize your formulation with our Media Optimization Kit. Click here to get started! Bulk Savings – Complete the form to tell us more and save on your bulk components Antibiotics – Save big on high quality antibiotic powders and sterile filtered solutions Plant Growth Regulators – We have the largest selection of cytokinins, auxins, gibberellins and much more Applications for the PlantingScience 2021-2022 Master Plant Science Team Are Now Open! Are you a graduate student or post-doctoral researcher interested in a chance to get involved and trained in K-12 outreach? Would you like to mentor student research teams, without ever leaving your desk? Do you have a handful of hours per week to commit during BOTH the Fall and Spring PlantingScience Sessions? Now is your chance to be more than a mentor! Applications for the 2021-2022 Master Plant Science Team are now open. Learn more and apply by August 16, 2021. Plant Physiology Article of the Week: Regulation of touch-stimulated de novo root regeneration from Arabidopsis leaves The spotlight is on Anju Pallipurath Shanmukhan, Mabel Maria Mathew, Mohammed Aiyaz, Vijina Varaparambathu, Abdul Kareem, Dhanya Radhakrishnan, and Kalika Prasad. Their article " Regulation of touch-stimulated de novo root regeneration from Arabidopsis leaves" has an Altmetric score of 62 and 85 mentions in the past week.  PRODUCT SHOWCASE PlantScreen™ Phenotyping Systems Fully automated plant phenotyping Robotized plant maintenance and delivery High resolution digital scoring Multi-sensoric imaging modules Real-time data analysis LEARN MORE The Plant Cell Article of the Week: Recommendations for an inclusive undergraduate plant science classroom The spotlight is on Katelyn J Butler, Carina A Collins, and Jennifer D Robison. Their article "Recommendations for an inclusive undergraduate plant science classroom" has an Altmetric score of 16 and 26 mentions in the past week. Plant Direct Article of the Week: Concerted increases of FAE1 expression level and substrate availability improve and singularize the production of very-long-chain fatty acids in Arabidopsis seeds The spotlight is on Shijie Ma, Chang Du, David C. Taylor, and Meng Zhang for their article " Concerted increases of FAE1 expression level and substrate availability improve and singularize the production of very-long-chain fatty acids in Arabidopsis seeds."  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by Agrisera Save 15% off- On PSI and PSII antibodies Free posters! Photosynthesis, Respiration, Rubisco, PSII Save 25% off - On epitope tag antibodies: FLAG, GFP 3xHis, 6xHis Find the antibody- for your model species Arabidopsis thaliana, diatoms, Oryza sativa, Zea mays and many more Western blot and antibody tips you did not know about Submissions Open for Plant Physiology Focus Issue on Gene Editing and Its Applications Plant Physiology seeks research article submissions by September 30, 2021, for inclusion in a Focus Issue on the topic of Gene Editing and Its Applications. Rapid advancements in gene editing technology have provided unprecedented capability for scientists to modify plant genomes, revolutionizing basic plant biology research and crop breeding. This Focus Issue will cover a wide range of topics related to gene editing, including technical development and innovative applications in solving biological questions and in overcoming difficulties in crop improvement. .CHANGING CULTURES AND CLIMATES The mission of Changing Cultures and Climates is to provide information that supports and promotes diversity, inclusivity, and equity in the international plant science community so that it grows to more accurately reflect that of our larger, global society. Creating Supportive Environments in Academia for Black Scientists to Thrive Kevin Cox, Kiona Elliott, and Taylor Harris write about their experiences as Black early-career scientists in this Letter to the Editor published recently in The Plant Cell. They write, "Through this letter, we will highlight the importance of creating communities to prevent social isolation, promote active mentoring, and develop nurturing environments for Black scientists to thrive in academia and to develop successful independent careers." .#WeAreASPB Recognizing Plant Physiology Author Vajiheh Safavi-Rizi Meet Vajiheh Safavi-Rizi, first author of "Towards genetically encoded sensors for nitric oxide bioimaging in planta" and a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Plant Physiology, Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology at the University of Greifswald in Germany. Vajiheh believes that "the more we understand plant survival mechanisms in response to stress conditions such as hypoxia, the better we can combat the negative effects of future climate change on food production for the increasing world population." She enjoys painting, calligraphy, writing, traveling, and cooking. Recognizing The Plant Cell Author Xuyen Ha Le Meet Xuyen Ha Le, first author of "The mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) complex mediates one of three pyruvate-supplying pathways that sustain Arabidopsis respiratory metabolism." Xuyen started her research journey in the Australian Center for Ecogenomics at the University of Queensland where she learned about environmental profiling using genomics. She is now a PhD student in Harvey Millar's lab at the ARC Centre for Plant Energy Biology, with a focus on mitochondrial proteins and how they are coordinated to allow the flexibility and regulation for plant respiration and energy production. Xuyen enjoys yoga, music, traveling and photography in her free time. PRODUCT SHOWCASE SciBrite LEDs less energy, more uniformity SciBrite® LED lighting, one of Percival Scientific’s latest innovations, gives you significantly more features and benefits for your research. Our proprietary LED system provides more flexibility than lighting systems offered by other growth chamber manufacturers. Using our IntellusUltra Controller, you can control the intensities for each color to produce specific light wavelength ratios for your experiments.   LEARN MORE   Plant Analytical Services Gene Function Gene Copy Number Integration Sites Analysis Epigenetics Analysis Plant Disease Identification Plant Biochemical Analysis Plant Physiology Analysis Tissue and Cell Imaging Seed Testing   LEARN MORE   Recognizing Plant Direct Author Linkan Dash Meet Linkan Dash, first author of "slim shady is a novel allele of PHYTOCHROME B present in the T-DNA line SALK_015201." Linkan grew up on the east coast of India but is now a PhD student in the Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology at Iowa State University, where he is working on projects that aim to decipher the interplay of auxin and sugar signaling in regulating RAM maintenance in Arabidopsis and the role of PIN-like proteins that potentially regulate the asymmetric distribution of auxin driving the typical root morphology in Zea mays . In his spare time, Linkan enjoys music and sports. Share Your Moment in the Spotlight with ASPB Members! ASPB would like to highlight news coverage about plant science. If you or your research is being highlighted in newspapers, magazines, television, radio, movies, online, or other sources, please let us know! Just send a quick note, URL, and other relevant information to ASPB News production manager, Diane McCauley, at diane@aspb.org. .PLANTAE JOBS The Plantae Job Center offers job seekers and employers a great resource for finding the right match of people to careers. Job seekers get free access to a searchable list of jobs specific to science careers, as well as access to the Mentoring Center and to a list of available internships. Employers who post a job get access to over 500 searchable profiles of job seekers. With over 140,000 unique page views in 2020, the Plantae Job Center is your resource for finding your next opportunity or your next hire. Below are just a few of the jobs currently listed on the site. Postdoctoral Research Associate   University of North Texas - BioDiscovery Institute Denton, TX Learn more Research (Plant) Geneticist (Postdoctoral Research Associate)   USDA-ARS Salinas, CA Learn more Assistant Professor-Tenure System   Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Learn more Postdoc Associate in Calcium Signaling and Environmental Response   Jian Hua Ithaca, NY Learn more .PLANT SCIENCE EVENTS July 19-23, 2021   Plant Biology 2021 Worldwide Summit Abstract Submissions Now Open Virtual Learn more September 25-27, 2021   Plant Synthetic Biology 2021 Registration and Abstract Submissions Now Open Virtual Learn more For plant science events, make sure to check out the Global Plant Science Events Calendar. Also, check the calendar for the latest cancellations and postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as webinars and online events you can join. .FROM THE FIELD Evolutionary Change in Protective Plant Odors Help Flora Evade Invasive Species Over Time From Leiden University via Phys.org Plants can't run away from enemies. Still, they would like to keep life-threatening herbivores at a distance. This can be done with odors. Klaas Vrieling of the Institute of Biology Leiden found out with his team how plants change odor production to keep the munchers at a distance. Fieldwork for a Better Future From the University of California - Irvine Off a gravel road in the hills east of Irvine and down a barely navigable footpath through dense stands of head-high, bright yellow mustard plants, a series of arched metal frames indicates several research plots. Here at Loma Ridge, near the 241 toll road, UCI scientists are studying how plant and microbial ecosystems will respond to increasingly severe droughts and hotter temperatures driven by climate change. They’re also examining how local ecosystems recover from wildfire — the 2007 Santiago fire and the 2020 Silverado fire both swept through here — among other questions. Reactive and Inconsistent Practices Hamstring Efforts to Manage Invasive Plants in the United States From the University of Massachusetts Amherst As summer unfolds, more than 500 species of invasive plants will be taking root in fields, lawns, and gardens across the U.S. As plants continue to move north driven by climate change, the number of invasives will only increase. Unfortunately, inconsistent regulations that vary from state to state means that invasive plants have an edge on our attempts to control them. However, new research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently published in the Journal of Applied Ecology suggests that we already have an answer in hand — communication. Scientists Develop CRISPR/Cas9-Based Gene Drive in Plants From the University of California - San Diego via Science Daily Researchers in Yunde Zhao's lab at UC San Diego, along with colleagues at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, demonstrated the successful design of a CRISPR-Cas9-based gene drive in Arabidopsis plants. Gene drives break from the traditional inheritance rules that dictate that offspring acquire genetic materials equally from each parent, and instead transmit specific, targeted traits from a single parent in subsequent generations. This new gene drive technology will help scientists breed plants that defend against crop diseases and withstand the impacts of climate change. Stronger Corn Stalks Could Lead to Greater Food Security From Clemson University Stalk lodging destroys up to one-quarter of the U.S. corn crop each year. Stalk lodging is breakage of the stalk at or below the ear. Last August, a derecho — a straight-line windstorm with hurricane-force winds — destroyed 8.2 million acres of corn in the Midwest and caused approximately $2 billion in losses to the agricultural industry. Stalk lodging has several causes, including high nitrogen levels, disease, seed type and storm damage. Clemson University scientist Rohit Kumar's collaborative research aims to identify the genes that determine stalk strength, the first step to breeding stronger plants and improving grain yields. Plant Physiology: A Tale of Three Proteins From Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Plants, algae and cyanobacteria need only three ingredients for the synthesis of sugars via the process of photosynthesis — carbon dioxide, water and sunlight. However, the operation is far more complicated than this simple list of ingredients might suggest. Prof. Dr. Dario Leister and research group in the Department of Biology I at LMU are analyzing the complex regulation of photosynthesis. Their latest findings shed light on the roles of three proteins, named PGRL1, PGRL2 and PGR5, which participate in the control of one of the two subsystems of the photosynthetic apparatus. Genome Design of Hybrid Potato From Cell Reinventing potato from a clonally propagated tetraploid into a seed-propagated diploid, hybrid potato, is an important innovation in agriculture. Due to deleterious mutations, it has remained a challenge to develop highly homozygous inbred lines, a prerequisite to breed hybrid potato. Here, Zhang et al. employed genome design to develop a generation of pure and fertile potato lines and thereby the uniform, vigorous F1s. Why Trees Grow At Night From the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL It is a common misconception that trees grow in the daytime, when photosynthesis produces carbohydrates from CO2. However, growth not only requires carbohydrates, but also highly depends on tree water tension. A study led by the Swiss Research Institute WSL has now shown that tree growth takes place primarily in the dark, mainly because in daylight, it is inhibited by dry air, even in moist soil conditions. Therefore, trees only grow for a small number of hours per day and per season. This finding may change the way we look at the impact of climate change on forests, in particular for predicting the carbon sink of forests.   The Signal Connect with ASPB American Society of Plant Biologists 15501 Monona Drive  |  Rockville, MD 20855-2768 USA  301-251-0560  |  Click here to access our Terms and Privacy Statement  |  www.aspb.org The Signal is produced in affiliation with Multiview, Inc. 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