This week has been about bug hunting. It turns out that every post with a YouTube video in it has broken, at the point where the video is embedded. That means a few posts stop in the middle of the article. There's around 200 more to fix, so that'll keep me busy this coming week. I'm hoping that I'll be able clear the bugs and launch a couple of new items in March.
I'm eager to stop chasing bugs and get doing something with botany because, here, the garden is just starting to wake up. I saw the first daisy in the lawn yesterday as well as a dandelion. There's still the occasional cold breeze, but it's a sign that winter must yield. Elsewhere people will celebrate the passing of the heat. It's a reminder that the seasons are always turning.
With passing time in mind I'll finish with a reminder that if you're a researcher who can, or who cannot, work with omics tools, Deborah Narh, Jason Hoeksema and colleagues would like to hear from you via their survey. You can read more about it in the blog post. They're looking for responses before the end of March, so get them in this week. There will be another email of the papers and the news stories you’re sharing on Mastodon and Bluesky next week. Until next time, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
On Botany One
Cycads attract beetles with heat in the night
Pollination looked different at the time of the dinosaurs. Without showy flowers, heat was used to attract beetle pollinators.
Sarah Covshoff
Also, the two puzzles Sudoku Garden and Plant Hunt: Flora of Western Australia.
And last week's Week in Botany, where I was prematurely celebrating.
News & Views
Every Sunday between 8-9pm, people share photos of the flowers they have found growing wild in Britain and Ireland during the previous week on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, Threads or Mastodon using the hashtag #WildflowerHour.
The Sainsbury Laboratory Symposium 2026 (#SLS26) will explore the cellular, genetic and mechanical forces that sculpt plant form, bringing together researchers working across scales of morphogenesis. With the theme “Shaping Life: Mechanisms of Morphogenesis”, the symposium will cover topics ranging from the molecular and genetic regulation of plant development to biomechanical processes, live imaging, computational modelling and the evolution of form. We invite talks and posters that cover these topics.
cam.ac.ukWe are delighted to announce that the 2025 New Phytologist Tansley Medal for excellence in plant science has been awarded to Camille S. Delavaux.
New Phytologist FoundationThe Workshop on Molecular mechanisms controlling flowering will take place this year in Côte d’Azur, France.
Key Dates : Pre-registration deadline: 1st March. Payment deadline: 1st April. Abstract submission deadline : 15th April. Notifications on presentation formats: 5th May. The number of participants is limited to 120 persons.
OryzaNet is a new BBSRC-funded network bringing together rice researchers, scientists, social scientists, stakeholders and innovators to strengthen collaboration, share expertise, and shape the future of rice science.
A deceptively simple question underlies many global environmental policies: where, exactly, are the world’s forests? A new study suggests the answer depends heavily on which map one consults—and that the differences are large enough to reshape climate targets, conservation priorities, and development spending.
MongabayTAIR (The Arabidopsis Information Resource), together with our nonprofit host Phoenix Bioinformatics, is pleased to announce the public release of TAIR12, the latest reannotation of the Arabidopsis thaliana genome, now available under accession number PRJEB100887 at the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), released Feb 13, 2026. The Arabidopsis thaliana genome is a crucial resource for researchers in microbiology, genetics, plant biology, pharmacology, crop science, and related fields.
Phoenix BioinformaticsWhy do some flowers invest in bright colours while others stay plain? Traditional ideas in pollination biology suggest that showy flowers have an advantage because they attract pollinators more easily. Yet pollinators do not make decisions in isolation.
Functional Ecology: Plain Language SummariesAcross the UK, species-rich meadows have almost vanished. Since the Second World War, more than 95% have been lost, including floodplain meadows that once shaped rural life, agriculture and local identity. These landscapes are not just fields of grass: they are living archives of history, biodiversity and culture. As environmentalists race to protect what remains, an unexpected ally has emerged in this effort…art.
In a university ecosystem that breeds hunger for status, Epstein made scholars feel like celebrities.
The GuardianEssential plant biology, by Alison Smith et al., is an impressive tome. As a textbook it provides a very good – and up-to-date – overview of the present-day understanding of how plants work in the first quarter of the 21st century.
Plant CuttingsThis Week in Botany
5 Years Ago: A carnivorous plant that feeds its pollinators
10 Years Ago: Good things come in small packages
15 Years Ago: The lingua franca of taxonomy
Scientific Papers
“Here, we review why anthropogenically disturbed microbial communities need restoration, the positive outcomes of doing so for plant conservation, community dynamics, and ecosystem functioning, and best practices when taking these approaches. We also highlight knowledge gaps in this emerging field, such as the mechanisms underlying successful microbially based restoration of plant communities, how shifting climate conditions will impact global microbiomes, and the potential for off‐target effects.”
“Climate change is increasing the probability of wildfires in the non-fire-prone forests of Central Europe. Systematic knowledge on tree resistance to fire would help to improve the future management of forests to ensure their long-term adaptation to climate change impacts. However, a systematic classification of the fire resistance of tree species occurring in Central Europe remains largely unexplored. While observations from surface-fire-dominated ecosystems show that bark constitutes an important interface between fire and tree physiology, the influence of bark traits remains an open question, due to conflicting study results. To address this gap, we conducted heating experiments on stem discs with intact bark, assessing bark thermal conductivities of six tree species common in Europe (the native species Abies alba, Fagus sylvatica, Larix decidua, Picea abies, Pinus sylvestris, and the non-native Pseudotsuga menziesii ).”
“As de novo assembled genomes are becoming increasingly affordable, helping to overcome the bias introduced by relying on a single reference genome, there is a growing need for suitable pangenomic tools to explore the genomic diversity within a species. We developed a new pipeline called panREPET that identifies TE insertions shared by groups of individuals. Unlike other pangenomic tools, panREPET operates independently of a reference genome and provides the precise sequence and genomic coordinates of each TE copy for each genome.”
“Plant-derived pigments offer sustainable alternatives to synthetic colorants, yet their practical deployment in textiles is limited by restricted chemical diversity and low abundance. Liverworts represent a source of diverse chemical compounds, and the model liverworts Marchantia polymorpha is an emerging as chassis for bioengineering and synthetic biology. Here, we report the biotechnological application of auronidins, a rare class of flavonoid pigments, as textile dyes.”
“Temperatures are rising globally and threatening the persistence of natural plant populations. Elevated temperatures disrupt gametogenesis, fertilization, and seed filling, often at lower thresholds than those affecting photosynthesis, growth, or survival. While crop scientists have found that key reproductive stages are particularly vulnerable to heat stress across plant systems, ecological and evolutionary studies have largely focused on other fitness metrics to estimate populations’ resilience to warming. We advocate for integrating pollen and ovule developmental metrics into ecological and evolutionary studies to improve predictions of plant population dynamics under future climates.”
“While BRASSINOSTEROID (BR) SIGNALING KINASEs (BSKs) are known to interact with the BR receptor BR‐INSENSITIVE 1 (BRI1), the extent of their genetic redundancy and essential contribution to BR signaling remain unclear. This study aimed to systematically investigate the function of BSK family members and uncover novel developmental outputs controlled by BR signaling via BSKs mediated pathway in Arabidopsis.”
“Mechanical properties of plant cells and tissues change dynamically, influencing plant growth, development, and interactions with the environment. Despite their central roles in plant life, current knowledge of how these properties change in vivo is very limited. Here, we have combined Brillouin microscopy and molecular rotors to investigate stiffness, viscosity, and porosity in living Arabidopsis thaliana seedling roots during differentiation and in response to stress and genetic manipulation.”
“In multicellular organisms, cell division shapes tissue architecture, cell identity, and function. In walled organisms like plants, division plane orientation irreversibly defines tissue topology and is tightly regulated. While divisions often follow the shortest path enclosing cell volume, certain cells deviate, dividing perpendicular to the growth axis. Tissue-scale mechanical stress has been proposed to guide such orientation, but how these cues are integrated remains unclear. Here, we reexamine the role of the actin cytoskeleton in orienting cell division in Arabidopsis root epidermis.”
“Nucleotide-binding, leucine-rich repeat (NLRs) proteins are the major class of plant intracellular immune receptors that recognise pathogen effectors, with activation triggering defence responses. Molecular engineering of NLRs can be an effective and reliable method to obtain new effector recognition specificities with the potential to tackle established and emerging plant diseases in modern agriculture.”
“Trans-species RNA interference (tsRNAi), in which plants produce small RNAs (sRNAs) to silence target genes in pathogens, has emerged as a promising strategy for disease control. However, whether tsRNAi constitutes an endogenous, regulated immune response remains unclear. Here, we show that ARGONAUTE10 (AGO10) plays a critical role in pathogen-induced tsRNAi.”
Evolution of moss leaf-like organs through variations in deeply conserved developmental principles 🆓
“By tracking phyllid morphogenesis from a single initial cell to full maturity, we uncover the cellular growth dynamics underlying organ development. We demonstrate that auxin spatially inhibits cell divisions and promotes cellular elongation and differentiation. However, unlike in vascular plants, moss PIN transporters do not participate in polar auxin transport during phyllid development but mainly reduce intracellular auxin concentration.”
In AoBC Publications
- Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning: Increased species diversity does not increase the productivity of cultivated kelp 🆓
- Linking moss structural and functional traits to soil water fluxes and soil erosion 🆓
- The LbMUG3-LbSTI Regulatory Module Mediates Salt Gland Development and Salinity Tolerance in Recretohalophyte Limonium bicolor 🆓
- Severe inbreeding depression in an ecologically important grass is revealed by examining germination, not seed production 🆓
- Flower colour polymorphism in Anemone coronaria correlates with the activity pattern and colour preferences of its visitors 🆓
Careers
The Kamoun Lab at The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) is seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher or research assistant to join our team. This position focuses on the biology of plant immune receptors and the application of this knowledge to crop disease resistance, with particular emphasis on nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) proteins and their interactions with pathogen virulence effectors.
The Sainsbury LaboratoryThe appointee will be a highly motivated ecologist with plant identification knowledge who will to contribute to the teaching within the School of Biological Sciences and carry out associated administrative duties within the School. Applications from candidates with experience in ecological consulting are welcomed.
University of ReadingFor all positions, we look for candidates with the following profile:
strong scientific background in molecular plant sciences, genetics, quantitative biology, computational biology or a related discipline
PhD in a relevant field, preferably awarded within the past 2–3 years, or close to completion. Applicants nearing completion must have submitted their doctoral thesis by the end of the selection process.
High level of English language proficiency
Strong motivation to conduct scientific projects in an international, interdisciplinary research environment
Motivation to contribute to a dynamic and diverse academic community
Excellent communication, organizational, and analytical skills
Motivation to actively plan your next career step.
ceplas.euAt the Department of Biological Sciences there is a vacancy for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position within Climate Change Ecology. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is preparing its Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) and the Postdoctoral Research Fellow will act as the Chapter Scientist, supporting the Working Group II Chapter 14 “Terrestrial, freshwater and cryospheric biodiversity, ecosystems and their Services” author team.
University of BergenPacific Conservation Biology is seeking Associate Editors to join the editorial board. The journal focuses regional conservation, mechanisms for conservation oriented biological research, and results of relevant research. Pacific Conservation Biology is published by CSIRO Publishing. Editors-in-Chief determine the publishing strategy of the journal and lead a team of Associate Editors to manage the peer review process of papers received by the journal. Applications from researchers outside of Australia are greatly encouraged especially from the Pacific islands including but not limited to Fiji, Palau, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Samoa and more.
CSIROThis position will lead Plant Synthetic Biology Australia’s (PSBA) plant transformation services as part of an expert team. You will be responsible for managing projects and leading the team focussed on transforming key crop species that align with PSBA’s service offerings.
Adelaide UniversityThis project aims to advance our understanding of C₄ photosynthesis and improve predictions of C₄ plant performance across Australia and globally. Outcomes will include more accurate estimates of C₄ productivity and carbon uptake, with significant implications for climate change projections, land use planning, and food security.
University of Technology SydneyCover image: Encephalartos ferox ssp. ferox by Ryan Tippett/iNaturalist CC-BY-NC
