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Aug. 6, 2020
 
 
 
 
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ASPB SPOTLIGHT
 
 
Apply to Be an Early Career Representative on ASPB Committees
ASPB has an exciting opportunity for early career plant scientists to get involved and, in the process, to help shape the future of the Society. Several committees each will appoint an early career professional, defined as an ASPB member in good standing who began their graduate studies no more than eight years ago. Each appointee will serve up to two consecutive years.
 
 
ASPB Journals Announce Journal Portability Initiative
ASPB is pleased to announce that, effective immediately, authors who have received an editorial decline decision from any journal in the ASPB suite of titles will be able to readily transfer their manuscript to any other ASPB journal.
 
 
 
 
FROM ASPB & PLANTAE
 
 
Curious About ASPB's Partnership with OUP? Join Us August 18 for a Webinar Q&A
The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) is delighted to announce that it will partner with Oxford University Press (OUP) to produce and disseminate the ASPB journals Plant Physiology® and The Plant Cell beginning January 2021. Please join us for a webinar August 18 at noon EDT featuring brief presentations from representatives of ASPB and OUP, followed by an open forum for Q&A with society officers, editors-in-chief, and staff from both partners.
 
 
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Plant Physiology Article of the Week
The spotlight is on Kate Mary Johnson, Craig R. Brodersen, Madeline Rose Carins-Murphy, Brendan Choat, and Timothy John Brodribb. Their article "Xylem Embolism Spreads by Single-Conduit Events in Three Dry Forest Angiosperm Stems" has an Altmetric score of 43 and 33 mentions in the past week.
 
 
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The Plant Cell Article of the Week
The spotlight is Charlotte Rich-Griffin, Ruth Eichmann, Marco U. Reitz, Sophie Hermann, Kate Woolley-Allen, Paul E. Brown, Kate Wiwatdirekkul, Eddi Esteban, Asher Pasha, Karl-Heinz Kogel, Nicholas J. Provart, Sascha Ott, and Patrick Schäfer. Their article "Regulation of Cell Type-Specific Immunity Networks in Arabidopsis Roots" has an Altmetric score of 15 and 21 mentions in the past week.
 
 
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
 
 
 
 
Call for Papers: Plant Physiology Will Publish a Focus Issue on Dynamic Membranes in February 2021
This Focus Issue will capture up-to-date views and perspectives on developments at the forefront of membrane research, and it will highlight the most important gaps in understanding that will be the focus for future studies. Invited Updates will provide reviews on areas that continue to add transformative insights pertinent to existing knowledge and on nascent but important areas of future development. Submission deadline: August 24.
 
 
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Call for Papers: Plant Physiology Will Publish a Focus Issue on Redox Biology in April 2021
This Focus Issue will capture up-to-date views and perspectives of recent developments and will highlight important gaps in understanding the involved processes to catalyze future studies. Invited Updates will review areas that continue to add new and pertinent insights and highlight nascent and transformative areas of future development. Submission deadline: September 4.
 
 
2020 ASPB Conviron Scholars Program Highlights
The ASPB Conviron Scholars program delivers an experience intended to serve as a foundation for a career in plant science. For the 2020 program, a total of 16 students were chosen to participate in the program from around the world. We highlighted five of them to talk about their experiences. Check them out!
 
 
Join the 2020-2021 PlantingScience Master Plant Science Team!
ASPB invites members to join the 2020-2021 PlantingScience Master Plant Science Team. PlantingScience is a free online resource to K-12 teachers and schools. The program provides volunteer scientists, resources, and activities to support innovation in teaching, learning, and online mentoring. The Master Plant Science Team provides compensation for a cohort of 12 graduate students and postdocs who make a substantial contribution as an online scientist mentor.
 
 
Funding Opportunity: AFRI Releases RFA for Foundational and Applied Science Program
USDA's NIFA recently released a request for applications (RFA) for the AFRI FAS program. The fiscal year 2021 and 2022 program will distribute approximately $290 million each year to support research and extension proposals to advance basic and applied research in agricultural sciences across a number of disciplines. Additionally, the RFA adds new priority areas for all programs outlined in the 2018 Farm Bill in cross cutting programs such as Plant Health and Production and Plant Products; Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment; Agriculture Systems and Technology.
 
 
Call for Papers: The Plant Cell Will Publish a Genome Focus Issue in April 2021
The Plant Cell invites submissions to a Focus Issue on the Biology of Plant Genomes to be published in April 2021. Possible submissions: sequencing/analysis of plant genomes of particular interest, comparative genomics, genome evolution, advances in genome modification, epigenomics and genome-wide studies of chromatin, large-scale analyses of RNA in a genomic context, systems or synthetic biology on a genomic scale, or any of these topics as applied to plastid or mitochondrial genomes. Target date for submissions: September 1.
 
 
#WeAreASPB
 
 
ASPB Ambassador and The Plant Cell Assistant Features Editor Sunil Kumar Kenchanmane Raju featured in The Interview Portal
The Interview Portal provides resources to help students consider their career options through "Offbeat, unusual, unconventional & interesting career interviews." This week, they interviewed Sunil Kumar Kenchanmane Raju, who is a postdoc at MSU, an ASPB Ambassador, and a Plant Cell Assistant Features Editor. Sunil describes his career path and his research on comparative epigenomics for applications in crop improvement using experimental and computational approaches.
 
 
First Author Profiles
Recognizing Plant Direct author Aashima Khosla, first author of A series of dual-reporter vectors for ratiometric analysis of protein abundance in plants.
 
 
Are you a member of ASPB, active on Plantae, and have something to celebrate in the #WeAreASPB Spotlight? Contact Shoshana Kronfeld (shoshana@aspb.org) and send her the details.
 
 
PLANTAE JOBS
 
 
CARNEGIE INSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE
Postdoctoral researcher
Stanford, California
MORE INFO
PAIRWISE PLANTS
Lead, Cell Biology
Durham, North Carolina
MORE INFO
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
Postdoctoral position available
University Park, Pennsylvania
MORE INFO
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Graduate and post-doc positions, interdisciplinary research in Camelina bioenergy
Bozeman, Montana
MORE INFO
 
 
PLANT SCIENCE EVENTS
 
 
JULY 17-21, 2021
Plant Biology 2021
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
 
 
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
 
 
Scientists Discover Ancient Enzymes Evolve New Tricks
From Michigan State University via Phys.org
In a paper recently published in the journal eLife, Pengxiang Fan, MSU postdoctoral trainee studying biochemistry and genetics, and Robert Last, Barnett Rosenberg Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, reported the discovery of two, ancient tomato enzymes recruited to play a crucial role in the ongoing evolutionary arms race.
 
 
Seed Evolution: Special Edition of Plant Science Research Weekly
From Plant Science Research Weekly
Guest editor Carlos A. Ordóñez-Parra highlights a selection of new studies on the evolution of seeds. As he writes this special edition "takes the reader on a journey not only across different biological levels but also through time and space. ... [Y]ou will travel from the amaranth crops in South and Central America to the Tibetan Plateau, revisit the evolution of ovule and mucilage development, and take a trip in a floating coconut to explore how our knowledge of seeds history can inform the future of plants under ongoing climate change."
 
 
This Moss Uses Quartz as a Parasol
From PLOS One via The New York Times
Jenna Ekwealor and Kirsten Fisher were surveying plants in the Mojave Desert when they noticed moss growing beneath quartz rocks. Further investigation showed that the quartz allowed enough light for photosynthesis and maintaned a cooler, moister environment than surroundings, allowing these hypolithic plants to thrive.
 
 
 
 
Why Are Plants Green? To Reduce the Noise in Photosynthesis
From Quanta Magazine
Even after decades of molecular research on the light-harvesting machinery in plants, scientists could not establish a detailed rationale for plants' color. Recently, however, in the pages of Science, a team finally provided a more complete answer.
 
 
Tiny Plants Crucial for Sustaining Dwindling Water Supplies: Global Analysis
From University of New South Wales via Science Daily
A global meta-analysis led by UNSW scientists shows tiny organisms that cover desert soils — so-called biocrusts — are critically important for supporting the world's shrinking water supplies. For the study, the team assembled and then analysed the largest ever global database of evidence on the effects of biocrusts on water movement, storage and erosion, focussing on drylands.
 
 
 
 
Studies Shed New Light on How Biodiversity Influences Plant Decay
From eLife via EurekAlert
Plant litter decomposition is a major ecosystem function, linking plant biomass to carbon stocks in the soil and atmosphere, and releasing nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorus that influence soil biodiversity. Two new independent studies report how plant biodiversity impacts decomposition processes and could help predict how the loss of species might affect forest ecosystems.
 
 
How Ancient Monsoons and Tectonic Shifts Shaped This Flowering Mountain Hotspot
From Smithsonian Magazine
China's Hengduan Mountain range boasts one of the most biodiverse plant communities in the world. More than 3,000 kinds of plants — one-third of all plant species in China — thrive in meadows on picturesque slopes above the tree line, including a stunning array of rhododendrons and delphiniums. This biodiversity hotspot is also the oldest alpine plant system in the world.
 
 
US Identifies Some of the Mysterious Seeds Mailed From China
From The New York Times
A federal agency said it had identified 14 types of plants from unsolicited packages of seeds that appeared to have been mailed from China, revealing a "mix of ornamental, fruit and vegetable, herb and weed species." Among the plant species botanists have identified so far: cabbage, hibiscus, lavender, mint, morning glory, mustard, rose, rosemary and sage, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Last month, a number of states reported that residents were getting packages of seeds they did not order.
 
 
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