This message was sent to ##Email## To advertise in this publication please click here October 14, 2021 .ASPB SPOTLIGHT Growing Black Roots: The Black Botanical Legacy Did you know that the entire set of ten talks by the Black Botanist Week committee members, sponsored by the Holden Forests and Gardens, can be found online in one place? These are excellent educational resources. Not only are the talks fascinating and engaging, but each speaker has provided a set of teacher resources that include a complete lesson plan and PowerPoint presentation. Announcing the ASPB Centennial Challenge 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 Statement On Sexual Harassment ASPB believes that discrimination, harassment, bullying, and retaliation have no place in our society, and we want to express our strongest support to any victims of such reprehensible behaviors.  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by PhytoTech Labs 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 The Role of International Collaborations in Resolving Viral Diseases of Cassava ASPB is collaborating with AIBS and other societies that are members of the USA Nagoya Protocol Action Group to highlight efforts to incorporate the principles of access and benefit sharing into research with biological sequences. Register for an ASPB-hosted webinar on October 29, 2021 from 9:00 - 11:00 AM EDT (1:00 - 3:00 PM UTC) to hear how vital international research collaborations on viral diseases of cassava might be impacted by such provisions. Plantae Webinar Highlighting Plant Physiology Focus Issue 'Sensors and Controllers: For and From Plants' Join us October 20 at 12 PM EDT for a Plantae Webinar highlighting the Plant Physiology Focus Issue on Sensors and Controllers, featuring Shilo Rosenwasser, Sarah Guiziou, and Shiqiang Gao — three of the authors whose work is included in the Focus Issue.  PRODUCT SHOWCASE Proven Performance Get your best research results with SciBrite colored LEDs: · Unparalleled uniformity · Up to 8 evenly mixed colors No other colored lighting measures up to SciBrite! LEARN MORE Submissions Open for Plant Physiology Focus Issue on Evolution of Plant Structure and Function Plant Physiology seeks research article submissions by January 1, 2022, for inclusion in a Focus Issue on the topic of Evolution of Plant Structure and Function. Recent progress in understanding the proximate basis of plant evolution has revealed a myriad of underlying mechanisms, ranging from the genetic and epigenetic to the biophysical and micro-biotic. This focus issue calls for review or research articles, short letters, and reports that provide novel insights into evolutionary mechanisms underpinning plant phenotypic variation. U.S. DOE Now Accepting Pre-proposals for the 2022 Early Career Research Program The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is accepting proposals for the 2022 DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Program to support the research of outstanding scientists early in their careers. The program will support over 60 early career researchers for five years at U.S. academic institutions and DOE National Laboratories. Learn more and submit a pre-application by October 21, 2021.  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by Agrisera Save 15% off Environmental stress antibodies Free Posters! Respiration, PSII, Rubisco Save 25% off On epitope tag antibodies: FLAG, GFP, YPF, HA, 3xHis, 6xHis Find the antibody for Arabidopsis thaliana, algae, barley, rice, maize and many more Short videos about Western blot and antibodies Are You an ASPB Member? Would You Like to Serve on an ASPB Committee? With the active participation of its members, ASPB becomes a more effective society. Interested in having an impact on ASPB? Consider applying to serve on one of our standing committees by logging in to the member portal and completing the form linked above. We will keep your application open for 3 years; however, you can update your information and preferences by editing your member profile. Plant Physiology Article of the Week: SlKIX8 and SlKIX9 are negative regulators of leaf and fruit growth in tomato The spotlight is on Belgian researchers Gwen Swinnen, Jean-Philippe Mauxion, Alexandra Baekelandt, Rebecca De Clercq, Jan Van Doorsselaere, Dirk Inzé, Nathalie Gonzalez, Alain Goossens, and Laurens Pauwels. Their research demonstrates that two transcriptional repressors negatively regulate organ growth in tomato, with loss-of-function lines producing enlarged fruits due to enlarged cells in the fruit flesh. Their article has received a great deal of social media attention in the last week with over 100 mentions. The Plant Cell Article of the Week: Gene regulatory networks for compatible versus incompatible grafts identify a role for SlWOX4 during junction formation The spotlight is on Hannah Thomas, Lisa Van den Broeck, Ryan Spurney, Rosangela Sozzani, and Margaret Frank for their recent work, which shows that gene regulatory networks for compatible self-grafted and incompatible heterografted pepper/tomato plants identify a role for SlWOX4 during junction formation. Plant Direct Article of the Week: Proton-pumping pyrophosphatase homeolog expression is a dynamic trait in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) The spotlight is on Daniel Jamie Menadue, Matteo Riboni, Ute Baumann, Rhiannon Kate Schilling, Darren Craig Plett, and Stuart John Roy from the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide, Australia, whose findings offer a comprehensive overview of the bread wheat H+-PPase family and identify variation in TaVP homeolog expression that will be of use to improve the growth, yield, and abiotic stress tolerance of bread wheat. PRODUCT SHOWCASE Reach Your Prospects Every Week Thousands of industry professionals subscribe to association news briefs, which allows your company to push messaging directly to their inboxes and take advantage of the association's brand affinity. Connect with Highly Defined Buyers and Maximize Your Brand Exposure   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   .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. Academia's Ableist Culture Laid Bare Four group leaders with disabilities share their thoughts on how to make laboratories and fieldwork more accessible and inclusive. Between 15% and 25% of the world's population lives with one or more forms of disability. Despite some progress on disability rights, for many disabled scientists academic-research spaces and career pathways remain out of reach, both literally and figuratively. Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program Applications Now Open HHMI seeks to increase diversity in the biomedical research community. We know that the biggest challenges in science call for diverse perspectives and original thinking. The goal of the Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program is to recruit and retain individuals from gender, racial, ethnic, and other groups underrepresented in the life sciences, including those individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. Applicants must have been accepted to join a laboratory as a postdoctoral researcher at a research institution located in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico) at the time of the application due date (December 1). Postdoctoral Fellowships to Contribute to Diversity and Equal Opportunity in Higher Education Several US universities have created a program to help promote faculty diversity by supporting postdocs interested in faculty and research careers who will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in higher education through their teaching, research, and service. Most of the programs have applications due by November 1. Check out the opportunities at the Universities of California, Colorado, Michigan, Maryland, and more. .#WeAreASPB ASPB Member Robin Buell Awarded the 2022 McClintock Prize Robin Buell has been selected as the recipient of the 2022 McClintock Prize by the Maize Genetics Cooperation (MGC) Advocacy Committee (MGAC) for her groundbreaking work in plant genome structure, function, and evolution. Recognizing Plant Physiology Authors Meet Keith E. Duncan, first author of "X-ray microscopy enables multiscale high-resolution 3D imaging of plant cells, tissues, and organs." Keith is currently a research scientist in Christopher Topp's lab at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and Director of the X-ray Imaging Facility. Prior to joining Dr. Topp's lab at Danforth, Keith was a research scientist in Rick Howard's microscopy and imaging lab for 25 years at the DuPont Experimental Station, studying plant-microbe interactions with light, fluorescence, laser, and electron microscopies. In his free time, Keith enjoys sport-touring motorcycles, travel, reading, and whiskey tasting. Recognizing The Plant Cell Authors Meet Kunpeng Liu, first author of "Intragenic tRNA-promoted R-loops orchestrate transcription interference for plant oxidative stress responses." Kunpeng is a postdoc at the School of Life Sciences in Tsinghua University in China. He earned his PhD from Fudan University and is interested in transcriptional regulation of genes in plants. In his free time, he enjoys reading and running. 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. Plant Transformation Scientists   Plastomics St. Louis, MO Learn more Tenure Track Faculty Position in Molecular Cell Biology   Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC Learn more Assistant Professor   Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Learn more Assistant Dean, Agriculture & Natural Resources/Community Economic Development   The University of Tennessee Extension Knoxville, TN Learn more .PLANT SCIENCE EVENTS October 20, 2021   AG2PI Industry Event - Industry Showcase Field Day Learn more October 30, 2021   ASPB Northeastern Section 2021 Virtual Meeting Learn more November 8-11, 2021   XIX National Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Congress, XII Joint Symposium Mexico-USA, and the 2nd ASPB Mexican Section Meeting Virtual Learn more November 17, 2021   AG2PI Industry Event - Industry Collaborations Field Day 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 Color Me Better: Fixing Figures for Color Blindness From Nature A recent study found that almost half of cell-biology papers and up to one-quarter of physiology and plant-science papers in leading journals contained images that would be completely or partially inaccessible to readers with deuteranopia, a form of red–green color blindness. This article provides easy-to-follow tips to help you make sure your images convey the information you want to convey. Kew Science Launches New Science Strategy 2021 – 2025 From the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens The Earth is losing plants, fungi, and the ecosystems they are part of at an unprecedented rate. Many of the useful properties of plants and fungi remain largely untapped and hold the potential to bring equitable benefits to people and nature. Kew Science has unveiled its new Science Strategy 2021 – 2025, which outlines an ambitious plan to help stop biodiversity loss and discover sustainable nature-based solutions to some of the biggest global challenges. Building on 260 years of unique scientific experience, Kew Science has set out five scientific priorities to achieve transformative change and to help societies protect and sustainably use the world's remaining biodiversity while restoring what has been degraded: ecosystem stewardship, trait diversity and function, digital revolution, accelerated taxonomy, and enhanced partnerships. In Plant Stress Response, One Protein Lures, Binds Its Own Killer From Purdue University Like the plot of a mystery novel, research has found a twist in the way plants cannibalize their own cells to survive under stress. In response to drought, cold, lack of sunlight and other stress, cellular proteins interact in different ways to help a plant survive. A primary protective act is the destruction and recycling of some of the plant's own cellular materials into what is needed for others. A Purdue University-led research team has identified proteins involved in this protective process and discovered how they act upon each other. A better understanding of these mechanisms could lead to ways to help plants withstand severe conditions. An Invasive Plant Is Taking Over the Kansas Prairie, and It May Be Too Late to Stop It From North Carolina Public Radio Across the Great Plains of Kansas, a type of grass planted intentionally decades ago is now threatening to wipe out the grassland ecosystem. Some landowners are trying to eradicate the invasive grass, but it may already be too late to keep it from changing the state's prairie landscape forever. Scientists Warn Biodiversity Loss Risks 'Ecological Meltdown' From the BBC The UK has an average of about half its biodiversity left, far below the global average of 75%, a study has found. A figure of 90% is considered the "safe limit" to prevent the world from tipping into an "ecological meltdown", according to researchers. The UK has seen relatively stable biodiversity levels over recent years, albeit at a "really low level," team researcher Dr. Adriana De Palma explained in a news briefing. Husker Scientist Leads Effort to Understand, Adapt Legume Nitrogen Conversion From the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Soybeans and other legumes interact with nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria called rhizobia that are able to convert nitrogen in the air into a form the plant can use to grow and reproduce. Corn and other crops can't, requiring nitrogen fertilizers to maximize growth and yield — problematic because overapplication or runoff can pollute soil and water. Researchers are trying to find alternative, sustainable sources of nitrogen to solve that problem. "Can we transfer this capability to non-legumes?" asked Marc Libault, a University of Nebraska–Lincoln plant scientist. Study Sheds Light on Photosynthesis in Iron-Low Leaves From Dartmouth University Iron is central to photosynthesis, the process that converts light energy into chemical energy in plants. Since people obtain a majority of their calories and nutrients from plants, it is important that researchers understand how plants process the mineral. New research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences focuses on activity in chloroplasts, where 90% of the iron in plant leaves is stored and where photosynthesis takes place. "Many strategies to optimize iron usage have been documented, but we knew fairly little about the mechanisms of how chloroplasts adapt to iron deficiency prior to this study," says Garo Akmakjian, lead author of the paper and now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Riverside. Sweet Corn Yield Gain Over 80 Years Leaves Room for Improvement From the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign New research from the University of Illinois shows sweet corn, when planted at high densities, has steadily increased in yield since the 1930s. The historical view underscores the importance of planting modern density-tolerant hybrids at their optimal densities, and suggests an opportunity to improve density tolerance even more. "Over time, steady improvement in plant density tolerance has contributed greatly to genetic yield gain in field corn. While our recent research indicates plant density tolerance in modern sweet corn hybrids could be exploited to improve yield, historical changes in plant density tolerance in sweet corn were unknown," says Daljeet Dhaliwal, doctoral student in the Department of Crop Sciences at Illinois and lead author on a new Frontiers in Plant Science article.   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. Disclaimer: The media articles and/or advertisements featured in The Signal do not express or reflect the opinions of the American Society of Plant Biologists or any employee thereof. 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