• Plants In Action Edition 1
  • Plants In Action, 2nd Edition PDF files
  • Functional Plant Biology
  • Phytogen
  • Plant Detectives
Contact
facebook
twitter
email
  • About
    • 2021 Executive Committee
    • Discipline Representatives
    • ASPS representation
    • Website & Communications Sub-Committee
    • Past Presidents
    • AGM
    • Constitution
    • ASPS Diversity and Inclusion
  • Members
    • Join
    • Member log in
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member directory
    • Life Members
      • ASPS Life Member Professor Graham Farquhar
      • ASPS Life Member Associate Professor Hendrik (Hank) Greenway
      • ASPS Life Member Dr Marshall (Hal) D Hatch
      • ASPS Life Member Dr Paul E Kriedmann
      • ASPS Life Member Dr Mervyn Ludlow
      • ASPS Life Member Emeritus Professor Rana Munns
      • ASPS Life Member Conjoint Professor Christina E Offler
      • ASPS Life Member Professor (Charles) Barry Osmond
      • ASPS Life Member Emeritus Professor John W Patrick
      • ASPS Life Member Dr Joe Wiskich
    • Corresponding Members
    • Elected Fellows
  • Events
    • National Science Week 2021
    • ASPS 2021
      • ASPS2024 Abstract submission
    • ComBio2022
    • Upcoming Events/Add an Event
  • Awards & Funding
    • Peter Goldacre Award
    • Jan Anderson Award and Lecture
    • JG Wood Lecture
    • RN Robertson Lecture
    • RN Robertson Travelling Fellowship 2025
    • ASPS-FPB Best Paper Award
    • ASPS Education and Outreach Award
    • Student Travel Awards
    • ASPS Student Poster Prizes
  • Employment
    • Job Board
    • Post a Job
  • Publications
    • Phytogen
    • Functional Plant Biology
    • Plants In Action Edition 1
    • Plants In Action, 2nd Edition PDF files
  • Research
    • Ecophysiology
    • Genetics & Molecular Biology
    • Cell Biology
    • Plant-Microbe Interactions
    • Plant Development
    • Whole Plants
  • Teaching
    • ASPS Teaching and Outreach Award Winners
    • Teaching Philosophy
    • Teaching Outreach
    • Resources
  • Menu
    • other stuff

ASPS President’s letter and updated executive and discipline representatives web pages

05 February 2017

Your membership is paid to  (year, month, day).

Hello ASPS members,

Meet your new Executive Committee and Discipline Representatives.

President’s Letter

By Sergey Shabala

University of Tasmania

Dear Colleagues,

From January 1 I have the responsibility of leading the ASPS for the next two years. This is a great honour and a privilege, and I will try my best to ensure that plant science in Australia maintains its high international profile and continues to enjoy the strongest possible reputation. I would like to use this opportunity to thank John Evans, as the outgoing President, for the fantastic job he has done over the last two years taking ASPS community through the harsh realities of a modern-day academic and political life. I would also like to thank the outgoing Honorary Treasurer, Brent Kaiser, and Honorary Secretary, Martha Ludwig for their sterling efforts in running of the society over this period. I look forward to working with the new committee and hope that we can serve our members equally as well.

Next year the ASPS will celebrate a major milestone – a 60th anniversary since its establishment. All this time Australian plant science has been at a forefront of international research. I believe that it may be highly appropriate to try to highlight our major milestones and summarise achievements of Australian plant science over this period in an article and then disseminate it via media, and would encourage someone to put a hand up for doing this. Do I hear any voices from volunteers?

Last year I attended several international meetings in my field and was pleased to see great representation from Australian researchers amongst delegates. We are also doing extremely well in international rankings when it comes to various metrics. Of 115 Australian highly cited scientists listed by Thompson Reuters in 2016, 18 belong to plant science community. We are also doing remarkably well in the overall rankings, being 5th country after USA, UK, Germany and China.  For a country with such a small population, this is a commendable achievement. And while we all know about the difficulties in getting ARC grants, our current success rate (18%) is much higher that in many other countries. So, I believe we have all the reasons to be optimistic and look for more exciting developments in our field in the near future.

It would be very tempting for me to stop at this point and simply wish you best success in your work. Yet, I do not want to leave an impression that our road is covered by rose petals and we do not have issues. Similar to many other disciplines, Australian plant science is facing some big challenges. Some of them are under our control and therefore could be resolved in the short-term, while other are systemic and will require much more efforts and time. One of immediate issues is changing a format of our annual meetings. At the last Combio conference all founding societies have voted unanimously to move away from the existing format making Combio meetings bi-annual events, and having smaller (society-specific) conferences every alternating year. While these changes will be implemented only from 2019, we will need to start making plans much earlier. Other issues that our discipline is facing are (in no specific order): gender equality in Academic positions in Biological Sciences; collegiality and peer support in our discipline; the quality and integrity of peer review, both for publication and grants; proliferation of ‘predatory’ and poor quality journals; and scientific literacy in the public domain. While all these issues are not our discipline-specific, it is important that Australian Plant Sciences does its part in moving quickly towards resolving these or at least putting actions in place to initiate change.

Over the upcoming months the ASPS newsletter will feature viewpoints on these topics and more to stimulate discussion and propose ways in which our society can help promote change. For any of this to happen we need your input and support so we are calling for your active involvement – it is your society after all, and should be representing your views. You may also have additional things that the society should be working towards – so please get in touch.

This is all from me for now. I wish you a successful 2017 and hope it will be a year of new exciting discoveries, fruitful collaborations, and success for all of you.

Sergey Shabala

ASPS President’s letter and updated executive and discipline representatives web pages

05 February 2017

Your membership is paid to  (year, month, day).

Hello ASPS members,

Meet your new Executive Committee and Discipline Representatives.

President’s Letter

By Sergey Shabala

University of Tasmania

Dear Colleagues,

From January 1 I have the responsibility of leading the ASPS for the next two years. This is a great honour and a privilege, and I will try my best to ensure that plant science in Australia maintains its high international profile and continues to enjoy the strongest possible reputation. I would like to use this opportunity to thank John Evans, as the outgoing President, for the fantastic job he has done over the last two years taking ASPS community through the harsh realities of a modern-day academic and political life. I would also like to thank the outgoing Honorary Treasurer, Brent Kaiser, and Honorary Secretary, Martha Ludwig for their sterling efforts in running of the society over this period. I look forward to working with the new committee and hope that we can serve our members equally as well.

Next year the ASPS will celebrate a major milestone – a 60th anniversary since its establishment. All this time Australian plant science has been at a forefront of international research. I believe that it may be highly appropriate to try to highlight our major milestones and summarise achievements of Australian plant science over this period in an article and then disseminate it via media, and would encourage someone to put a hand up for doing this. Do I hear any voices from volunteers?

Last year I attended several international meetings in my field and was pleased to see great representation from Australian researchers amongst delegates. We are also doing extremely well in international rankings when it comes to various metrics. Of 115 Australian highly cited scientists listed by Thompson Reuters in 2016, 18 belong to plant science community. We are also doing remarkably well in the overall rankings, being 5th country after USA, UK, Germany and China.  For a country with such a small population, this is a commendable achievement. And while we all know about the difficulties in getting ARC grants, our current success rate (18%) is much higher that in many other countries. So, I believe we have all the reasons to be optimistic and look for more exciting developments in our field in the near future.

It would be very tempting for me to stop at this point and simply wish you best success in your work. Yet, I do not want to leave an impression that our road is covered by rose petals and we do not have issues. Similar to many other disciplines, Australian plant science is facing some big challenges. Some of them are under our control and therefore could be resolved in the short-term, while other are systemic and will require much more efforts and time. One of immediate issues is changing a format of our annual meetings. At the last Combio conference all founding societies have voted unanimously to move away from the existing format making Combio meetings bi-annual events, and having smaller (society-specific) conferences every alternating year. While these changes will be implemented only from 2019, we will need to start making plans much earlier. Other issues that our discipline is facing are (in no specific order): gender equality in Academic positions in Biological Sciences; collegiality and peer support in our discipline; the quality and integrity of peer review, both for publication and grants; proliferation of ‘predatory’ and poor quality journals; and scientific literacy in the public domain. While all these issues are not our discipline-specific, it is important that Australian Plant Sciences does its part in moving quickly towards resolving these or at least putting actions in place to initiate change.

Over the upcoming months the ASPS newsletter will feature viewpoints on these topics and more to stimulate discussion and propose ways in which our society can help promote change. For any of this to happen we need your input and support so we are calling for your active involvement – it is your society after all, and should be representing your views. You may also have additional things that the society should be working towards – so please get in touch.

This is all from me for now. I wish you a successful 2017 and hope it will be a year of new exciting discoveries, fruitful collaborations, and success for all of you.

Sergey Shabala

January GPC E-bulletin

05 February 2017

Your Asps membership is paid to  (year, month, day)

Global Plant Council E-Bulletin January 2017
Forward to a Friend  | View web version (also click here to translate to other languages!)
Email Us
Email Us
GPC Website
GPC Website
GPC Blog
GPC Blog
@GlobalPlantGPC
@GlobalPlantGPC
@GPC_EnEspanol
@GPC_EnEspanol
Facebook
Facebook
Donate
Donate
E-Bulletin / 
January 2017
Happy new year, and welcome to the first 2017 issue of the Global Plant Council’s monthly e-Bulletin! We can’t wait to see what amazing discoveries another year of plant science will hold!

The GPC’s e-Bulletin is a monthly round-up of the latest plant science news, events, reports, funding opportunities and blog posts from the GPC community. If you have anything you would like us to help promote then please do get in touch! Contact Lisa, GPC’s Outreach & Communications Manager: lisa@globalplantcouncil.org.

Latest News / 
View more…If you have news you would like us to share on our website, please contact lisa@globalplantcouncil.org 

This month 49 new breaking news stories were posted on the GPC website including…

In Journal of Experimental Botany: Crop achilles’ heel costs farmers 10 percent of potential yield
Crop ancestors evolved in an environment where most of their leaves were exposed to full sunlight, so lower leaves of modern crop plants cannot photosynthesize efficiently when shaded by overcrowded neighbors.

In New Phytologist: the Venus flytrap uses its prey’s nitrogen compounds to extract energy
The carnivorous Venus flytrap captures insects for more than just nutritional purposes, a research team from the University of Freiburg revealed.

In Nature Plants: ‘Gene-silencing’ technique is a game-changer for crop protection
Researchers at the University of Surrey and University of Queensland developed a revolutionary new crop protection technique which offers an environmentally-friendly alternative to genetically-modified crops and chemical pesticides. 

Also:
Nature Plants celebrated its 2nd anniversary with a free collection of popular articles

Current Plant Biology issued a special issue on genomic resources and databases for its 3rd anniversary

Events /
View more…
If you have a conference, meeting, workshop, training course or other event coming up, we can include it in our Events calendar! Please email lisa@globalplantcouncil.org
Phenome 2017
10–14 February 2017, Tucson, AZ, USA. New Breeding Technologies in the Plant Sciences
07–08 July 2017, Gothenburg, Sweden. 

XIX International Botanical Congress
23–29 July 2017, Shenzhen, China. 

Policy /

Lots of new reports, and an archive of useful documents from the last few years, are available on our website. Head to the Resources page and click ‘Reports’.

Updated statement from EPSO: Crop Genetic Improvement Technologies
EPSO acknowledges the interpretation of the EU GMO legislation as both process- and product-based and considers that this could help to clarify the legal status of the NPBTs. In its update EPSO includes recently published reports from Belgium and Italy.
On the blog / 
View more…Would you like to contribute an article to the GPC’s blog? Please get in touch! Email lisa@globalplantcouncil.org
2016 Plant Science Round Up
GPC New Media Fellow Sarah Jose rounds up another fantastic year of discovery in plant science.…¡y nos fuimos por las ramas!
Professor Edith Taleisnik discusses her new book on the history of plant physiology research in Argentina.

Break down barriers between seed banks and field study
In this SciDevNet repost, Marie Haga and Ann Tutwiler call for a better integration of seed banks and field studies.

In case you missed it: 
Genome editing: an introduction to CRISPR/Cas9
At the end of December, Dr. Damiano Martignago (Rothamsted Research) gave us an introduction to CRISPR/Cas9 in plant science.

Members / 

Click here for details of the GPC Member Societies and Affiliates and their representatives. 

Please contact Ruth Bastow (ruth@globalplantcouncil.org) to find out how your organization can join the Global Plant Council. 

The GPC is a coalition of plant and crop science societies and affiliates from across the globe. The GPC seeks to bring plant scientists together to work synergistically toward solving the pressing problems we face.
Please click here to make a donation via PayPal to help support the GPC.
Copyright © 2017 Global Plant Council, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive updates from the Global Plant Council. If you no longer wish to receive the monthly GPC E-Bulletin, or think you have received this email in error, please unsubscribe using the link provided.
The Global Plant Council is a not-for-profit entity registered in Switzerland.
Our registered mailing address is: 

Global Plant Council

3rd Floor, Bow House
1a Bow Lane

London, EC4M 9EE

United Kingdom

Add us to your address book

 

 

 

Cyclotides: small plant defence molecules to drive pharmaceutical innovation

01 February 2017

COMBIO 2016 winner of the ASPS Student Poster Awards

Georgianna Oguis

Institute for Molecular Bioscience – University of Queensland, Australia

Plants have evolved quite a number of ways to evade predators. An obvious strategy for an organism incapable of rapid movement out of danger is to produce toxins. Whilst the most notable plant defence molecules are small molecule secondary metabolites, there exists great many peptides that are also expressed in plants. One such class of these peptides are known as cyclotides, and these have special properties worth talking about. The discovery of cyclotides goes back to 1973 when Norwegian doctor Lorents Gran discovered that the active ingredient of the herbal tea African women drink in order to induce birth is apparently an ultrastable peptide that can survive boiling and oral ingestion1. Gran named the molecule kalata B1—after the local name of the plant kalata-kalata (Oldenlandia affinis). Since then many other cyclotide-related studies spawned. However, it was only in 1999 that the term “cyclotide” was coined; and these specifically pertain to head-to-tail cyclised plant peptides which have three disulfide bridges that are arranged to form a knotted topology2. Cyclotides are found to exhibit a range of biological activities including anthelminthic, cytotoxic, molluscicidal and antimicrobial activities3. Other than these, cyclotides have very promising applications both in agriculture and in peptide-based therapeutics—the former being the hypothesised evolutionary role as an insecticide and the latter which can be attributed to their ultrastable properties (brought about by its cyclic structure and knotted topology), thus be used as frameworks for peptide drug engineering.

Before the year concluded in 2016, the first cyclotide-based bioinsecticide called Sero-X was made commercially available. The product was developed and is being manufactured by the Australian-owned company InnovateAg. The insecticide is currently being applied to control pests on cotton and macadamia crops. Although there are yet no cyclotide-based peptide therapeutics on the market, the possibility of this scaffold appearing in a commercial product may not be that far off as several proofs of the concept have already been published3. The main idea behind this is to “graft” or replace a number of native cyclotide amino acids with specific sequences which can target cancer cells, adipocytes, cell receptors, and possibly many other targets. By having these sequences grafted into the cyclotide scaffold, we are able to create ultrastable peptide therapeutics that are highly specific and would not interfere with healthy cells. There is repeated emphasis on “ultrastability”, as this property is essential to improved peptide drug delivery and half-life. A particular peptide-based drug may be stable in vitro but when administered in vivo, an entire array of enzymes, compounds, acids and proteases plus the non-optimal environment can encumber peptide function, or lead to degradation. Another good point, or perhaps one of the best points of cyclotides, is that they are naturally produced in plants. This implies that we can utilise plants as biofactories for the production of these cyclotide-based therapeutics. The advantage of this plant-based system is that we are able to cheaply produce medicines in large quantities, making them affordable to all walks of life, especially to people in developing countries who will finally be given VIP access to life’s basic necessities.

My winning poster entry at ComBio 2016 entitled “The key drivers of cyclotide production in butterfly pea” is but a glimpse of a very big picture. I am part of a big group headed by Prof. David Craik, the driver of research in the areas of cyclotide therapeutic and plant biosynthesis of cyclotides. I would love to think of our group as a factory where we are categorised into several subgroups that are unified with a goal. For instance, the chemists and structural biologists synthesise and characterise the peptides. The cell biologists and biochemists subsequently test these peptides in vitro and in vivo. The molecular biologists and plant scientists then express the peptides of interest into the plants for possible mass production. I happened to be sitting at the end of the chain where my colleagues and I try to establish an optimised system for the production of pharmaceuticals in plants. The poster features one of the many aspects of production in plants we are looking at. In a nutshell, I want to know what drives cyclotide production in butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea), as this specific plant expresses chemically diverse cyclotides in all life stages and in such great abundance. Once I have characterised the key drivers, I can potentially use these to drive the production of cyclotide-based pharmaceuticals in other plant systems that are economically important. In other words, we need to identify the best driver to race the fastest car in a professional team, and hopefully cross that finish line first to bag the golden trophy.

 

References:

1   Gran L. On the effect of a polypeptide isolated from “Kalata-Kalata” (Oldenlandia affinis DC) on the oestrogen dominated uterus. Acta Pharmacol Toxicol. 1973;33:400–8.

2   Craik DJ, Daly NL, Bond T,Waine C. Plant cyclotides: a unique family of cyclic and knotted proteins that defines the cyclic cystine knot structural motif. J Mol Biol. 1999;294:1327–36.

3   Oguis GK, Kan MW, Craik DJ. Natural functions and structure-activity relationships of cyclotides. Adv Bot Res. 2015;76: 187-226.

Contact: Georgianna Oguis @ g.oguis@imb.uq.edu.au

 

miR156-targeted SPLs as repressors for transfer cell development in Arabidopsis?

29 December 2016

by Suong Nguyen, The University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia


Although it has been two months since ComBio2016, my memory of all the events occurring at the

Suong's poster awarded at ComBio2016 ... and on her birthday!

Suong’s poster awarded at ComBio2016 … and on her birthday!

conference is still fresh as if they happened just yesterday. These were the feelings of admiration, fascination and enjoyment attending plenary lectures, symposia, colloquia and poster teasers, and the pleasurable meetings and conversations I had with colleagues and friends during lunchtime and break-times. Particularly, during the poster sections, I had great opportunities to talk to and discuss my research with many eminent plant biologists, from whom I received constructive comments on the work presented in my poster. One of the most memorable moments at ComBio2016 is when I was awarded the Poster Award on the last day of the conference (which was also my birthday J).

My PhD research at The University of Newcastle has focused on elucidating the genetic controls of the development of transfer cells – a specialised cell type functioning in enhancing nutrient transport in plants. My ComBio2016 poster summarised my recent findings that transfer cell development in Arabidopsis phloem parenchyma is a novel trait specific to vegetative phase change, and that this novel trait is regulated by microRNA miR156 and its SPL target genes. The poster attracted a lot of attention and comments from the conference attendees, which later contributed to improving the manuscript I was drafting to report these findings. A month after the conference I submitted this manuscript to Plant Physiology and then just in the last few days I received notification that the manuscript has been accepted (conditional with minor revisions). A welcome Christmas present!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank ASPS for providing me the Travel Grant to attend ComBio2016 and communicate my research there, and I am very honoured and grateful at receiving the ASPS Poster Award. Besides precious “academic moments” the conference brought me, and as an international student, in exploring the extraordinary beauty of Brisbane. I am very much looking forward to ComBio2017 and a great trip to Adelaide.

Call for ASPS Teaching Award and RN Robertson Travelling Award applications

20 November 2016

Your membership is paid to [wpmlfield name=”paidtodate”] (year, month, day)

 

Hello ASPS Members,
Applications for the 2017 Teaching Award are now open. The deadline for applications is 9 December 2016. If you have demonstrated innovation and / or excellence in plant science teaching and learning, and/ or have made other novel contributions to these activities, please consider applying for this award.  See full details at http://www.asps.org.au/awards/teaching-award. Completed applications should be sent to secretary@asps.org.au.
Applications for the 2017 RN Robertson Travelling Award are now being accepted. The closing date is 20 January 2017, with a decision by mid-February. See full details at http://www.asps.org.au/awards/robertson-fellowship. Completed applications should be sent to secretary@asps.org.au.
Best wishes,
Martha Ludwig

 

Assoc. Prof. Martha Ludwig 
Deputy Head of School, Genetics Program Coordinator, Honorary Secretary of the Australian Society of Plant Scientists

Chemistry and Biochemistry  •  M310, Perth WA 6009 Australia
T+61 8 6488 3744  •  E martha.ludwig@uwa.edu.au

Call for early career representatives on the Science and Technology Australia executive committee

19 October 2016

Your membership is paid to [wpmlfield name=”paidtodate”] (year, month, day).

 

Dear ASPS members,
The attached document is a request for expressions of interest from early career researchers as early career representatives on the Science and Technology Australia executive committee (2 year appointment). These positions will be voted on at the AGM on 25 November. If people with interest in this could please email me (Ulrike Mathesius) by 4th November. Applicants will need written support from two other members.
Thank you!
Uli

2016 Combio poster winner investigates the role of laccases of Botrytis cinerea during grape infection

16 October 2016

by Aruni Buddhika, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW


Aruni and her prize winning poster at Combio 2016.

Aruni and her prize winning poster at Combio 2016.

I am Aruni Buddhika, 2nd year PhD student from Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW.  My PhD research has focused on understanding the role of laccases of Botrytis cinerea during grape infection. I am investigating the differential expression profiles of laccase isoforms during the infection process to elucidate the specific role of each laccase isoform during the infection. I presented some of my research findings at the COMBIO – 2016. I am delighted that I was awarded a student poster prize in the poster competition. This is a really great recognition for my research, and a great encouragement to continue my research carrier.  I am really grateful for organizers from ASPS for awarding me the student poster prize. COMBIO-2016 was a great platform for me to learn new things and to share knowledge. The posters were displayed for three days and it was a great opportunity to expose my work for renowned scientist and researchers in the field. I really appreciate the questions, comments and suggestions given since, they will be useful in further development of my research. Plannery lectures were really informative and contained lots of new facts allowing young scientist to learn. Besides meetings, social gatherings were awesome, particularly the conference dinner which made us a great place to meet people and share ideas and knowledge. I am really proud to be a member of ASPS and looking forward to join with the next conference.

Phyoten blog, call for New Phytologist Tansley Medal (early career researcher) and GPC e-bulletin for September

14 October 2016

Your membership is paid to [wpmlfield name=”paidtodate”] (year, month, day).

See John Evans speaking at the opening of the LT Evans Plant Growth Facility at the International Rice Research Institute, Philippines in our latest Phytogen blog post

Calling all early-stage career scientists!

 The New Phytologist Tansley Medal is awarded annually in recognition of an outstanding contribution to plant science by an early career researcher (student and post-doctoral researchers with up to five years’ experience since gaining/defending their PhD are eligible). The winner will receive a prize of £2000 (GBP) and will author a Tansley insight review that will be published in New Phytologist, accompanied by an Editorial announcing the winner and finalists. The application deadline for this year’s competition is 30 November 2016.

 The Tansley Medal is an opportunity to recognise an outstanding scientist in the early stages of his or her career, and supporting the next generation of plant scientists is a core aspect of the activities of the New Phytologist Trust. I would be very grateful if you would support us in this endeavour by spreading the word to anyone you know who might be eligible to apply for the 2017 Tansley Medal. If you have any queries regarding the medal or the submission process please do not hesitate to get in touch. More details on the Tansley Medal can be found at: http://www.newphytologist.org/tansleymedal.

Global Plant Council E-Bulletin September 2016
Forward to a Friend |  View web version (also click here to translate to other languages!)
Email Us
Email Us
GPC Website
GPC Website
GPC Blog
GPC Blog
@GlobalPlantGPC
@GlobalPlantGPC
@GPC_EnEspanol
@GPC_EnEspanol
Facebook
Facebook
Donate
Donate
E-Bulletin / 
September 2016
Yes, we know it’s already October…apologies that your September edition of the Global Plant Council’s monthly e-Bulletin is a little late! The GPC team has been busy travelling in recent days and weeks, and this email comes to you from sunny Brisbane, Australia, where we’ve just had a great week at the ComBio 2016 conference, and held our Annual General Meeting! We’ll tell you more about our trip when we get back to GPC HQ, but in the meantime, welcome to any new subscribers!

The GPC’s e-Bulletin is a monthly round-up of the latest plant science news, events, reports, funding opportunities and blog posts from the GPC community. If you have anything you would like us to help promote then please do get in touch! Contact Lisa, GPC’s Outreach & Communications Manager: lisa@globalplantcouncil.org.

Latest News / 
View more…

If you have news you would like us to share on our website, please contact lisa@globalplantcouncil.org 




This month 60 new breaking news stories were posted on the GPC website including…

In Current Plant Biology: Microbes help plants survive in severe drought
University of Washington (USA) research finds that plants can better tolerate drought and other stressors with the help of natural microbes. 

In New Phytologist: Plant diversity alleviates the effects of flooding on crops
New research shows that, in grasslands, growing mixtures of plants with higher diversity can help to alleviate the negative impacts of flooding.

In Nature Plants: Future drought will offset benefits of higher CO2 on soybean yields
A study of soybeans grown in atmospheric conditions expected by 2050 has yielded a new and worrisome finding: higher CO2 will boost plant growth under ideal growing conditions, but drought – expected to worsen as the climate warms and rainfall patterns change – will outweigh those benefits.

From Journal of Experimental Botany:

  • Plant peptides – taking them to the next level

A recent Special Issue of Journal of Experimental Botany comes in response to the particularly fast-moving pace of discovery in peptide signalling. 

  • Leaf hydraulic conductance shifts our understanding of plant water transport
New work by Patrizia Trifiló et al. shows that water transport beyond the xylem is important in explaining the decline of whole-leaf hydraulic conductance with dehydration.

From Elsevier: Free Current Opinion in Plant Biology articles from a special issue on Agriculture & Climate Change Conference 2015
Elsevier has made a series of 9 articles free to access following the 2015 Agriculture & Climate Change Conference in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 

Events /
View more…

If you have a conference, meeting, workshop, training course or other event coming up, we can include it in our Events calendar! Please email lisa@globalplantcouncil.org

International Symposium on Plant Senescence
31 October–1 November 2016. Jeju, Korea. 

International Agrobiodiversity Congress 2016
06–09 November 2016. New Delhi, India. 

Reunión Argentina de Fisiología Vegetal
13–16 November 2016. Ciudad de Corrientes, Argentina. 

1st Cold Spring Harbor Asia Conference: Latest Advances in Plant Development & Environmental Response
29 November–02 December 2016. Awaji, Japan. 
13–16 November 2016. Ciudad de Corrientes, Argentina. 

Policy /

Lots of new reports, and an archive of useful documents from the last few years, are available on our website. Head to the Resources page and click ‘Reports’.

Seeds of Resilience: A Compendium of Perspectives on Agricultural Biodiversity from Around the World
This report by the Global Alliance for the Future of Food focuses on the role seeds and seed diversity can play in sustainable agriculture, food security, and nutrition

Global Plant Council Nutritional Security White Paper (PDF)
In case you missed it earlier in the year, you can download the Global Plant Council’s Nutritional Security white paper here.

Funding Opportunities /

Spotted a funding opportunity we’ve missed? Please tell us about it by emailing lisa@globalplantcouncil.org

New Phytologist is now accepting nominations for its 2017 Tansley Medal! This prestigious award is open to all students and early career researchers within 5 years of their PhD. 
More info…

The Cyclamen Society has established a new grant fund to provide up £5000 GBP for relevant research projects. International applicants are encouraged to apply; the research may be directly or indirectly related to Cyclamen.
More info…

On the blog / 
View more…

Would you like to contribute an article to the GPC’s blog? Please get in touch! Email lisa@globalplantcouncil.org

Bringing forgotten ideas on plant biomechanics into the 21st century
Sarah Jose interviews Dr Winfried Peters who told us about his research into plant cell biomechanics, and how some forgotten 19th and 20th century ideas proved valuable. 

Come together
In this reblog from Nature Plants, the pros and cons of attending plant science conferences are discussed. 

Cassava brown streak: lessons from the field
University of Bristol PhD student Katie Tomlinson shares the highlights and learnings from a recent field trip to Uganda. 

1000 Plants
A familiar face is behind this blog post on the 1000 Plants initiative – former GPC New Media Fellow Amelia Frizell-Armitage missed us and asked to write us a post! 

Members / 

Click here for details of the GPC Member Societies and Affiliates and their representatives. 

Please contact Ruth Bastow (ruth@globalplantcouncil.org) to find out how your organization can join the Global Plant Council. 

The GPC is a coalition of plant and crop science societies and affiliates from across the globe. The GPC seeks to bring plant scientists together to work synergistically toward solving the pressing problems we face.
Please click here to make a donation via PayPal to help support the GPC.
Copyright © 2016 Global Plant Council, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive updates from the Global Plant Council. If you no longer wish to receive the monthly GPC E-Bulletin, or think you have received this email in error, please unsubscribe using the link provided.
The Global Plant Council is a not-for-profit entity registered in Switzerland.
Our registered mailing address is: 

 

Global Plant Council

3rd Floor, Bow House
1a Bow Lane

London, EC4M 9EE

United Kingdom

Add us to your address book

Science & Technology Australia – October Newsletter

10 October 2016

Your membership is paid to [wpmlfield name=”paidtodate”] (year, month, day).


Science & Technology Australia – October Newsletter

View this email in your browser

Twitter

Facebook

Google Plus

YouTube

Dear colleagues,

This month we’ve been working hard to pull together a stimulating and practically-focused Science meets Business. With an excellent line-up of speakers and a similarly experienced list of delegates, the day promises to be stimulating, creative, practically-focused and forward looking – and a terrific opportunity to make new connections and perhaps even forge new partnerships. We still have only a handful of places left and will close registrations in a week, so if you’ve been putting off registering or are yet to send us your nominated delegates, please don’t delay.

Among our guest speakers at Science meets Business are Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science the Hon. Craig Laundy MP, and Shadow Minister for Science Senator the Hon. Kim Carr. We look forward to hearing from them about how all the innovation buzz is being translated into action. I’m pleased to report that I met recently with the co-convenors of the Parliamentary Friends of Science, the Hon. Karen Andrews MP and the Hon. Richard Marles MP, and both have enthusiastically committed to re-convene this important group. This will happen in the coming weeks and STA will soon start to work with the Friends of Science to stage their first event of the new Parliament.

Now is the time to start thinking about who among your membership might benefit from attending Science meets Parliament: to be held in the second half of March 2017, this is a great opportunity to network and develop new skills, and I encourage you to put forward delegates who are keen to engage with politics and who have not previously had the chance to attend.

I recently met with the Chief Scientist and leaders at Innovation and Science Australia to discuss the R&D Tax Incentive review, the Commonwealth Science Council’s horizon scanning, and other emerging issues and initiatives in science and technology. STA is preparing a submission to the Tax Incentive Review consultation; I encourage members to please make contact if you would like to discuss or contribute to this submission. The President, Professor Jim Piper and I also met recently with CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall, to hear about his plans for our important national research organisation.

Members will have noted the recent call for applications to join STA’s Executive Committee: as we speed toward the November AGM it’s time to consider whether you’d like to join our leadership group and help steer the organisation’s strategic directions and priorities. Positions up for election this year are President-elect, Secretary, Policy Chair and Early Career Researcher Representative. Any fully paid-up member of an STA ordinary member organisation is welcome to nominate: please get in touch if you’d like more information. Nominations close on 11 November, and the election will occur at the AGM in Canberra on 25 November. All members of our member organisations are welcome to attend the AGM: please let us know if you’re intending to be there: I hope to see a strong representation and look forward to the opportunity to meet more members.

I’ve enjoyed the privilege of speaking with a number of you in the past month – in Brisbane, Canberra and Sydney – and hearing your views about STA’s current and future directions. I’m very much looking forward to catching up with old connections and making new friends at our event in Melbourne in a few weeks’ time. If I haven’t had the chance to speak with you yet, please know you are welcome to call or email any time.

Cheers,
Kylie

Science meets Business 2016
The second Science meets Business event is now only a couple of weeks away. Building on the success of last year’s event, this year we have an outstanding array of speakers and attendees for this exciting and engaging day of discussions and networking. You can see the list of speakers here.

We still have a few spots left so get in touch this week if you’re interested in attending. For those who can’t make it, we will have details and recordings available afterwards on our website.

LIFE in Perth
Following SEX and MURDER, the third Science of Life and Death event – staged by the Australian Academy of Science and produced by STA – is LIFE in Perth on 10 November. LIFE will explore artificial wombs, life extension and improving health through genetic modification. Host Bernie Hobbs will be joined by:

  • Dr Hayley Dickinson, Embryology and Placental Biology, Hudson Institute for Medical Research
  • Professor Ryan Lister, Lister Lab, University of Western Australia
  • Dr Brenda McGivern, Law School, University of Western Australia 

For more information and to book tickets, go here

MARS the live experience
Science & Technology Australia has proudly partnered with National Geographic Live to bring Buzz Aldrin and leading scientists from international space agencies to Australia to discuss the challenges and opportunities in colonising Mars. Thanks to our partnership STA can offer a 20% discount on tickets, redeemable by following this link.

Dr Lisa Randall
Dr Lisa Randall, the first female theoretical physicist to hold tenure at Harvard University, is touring Australia this November in her debut tour. In addition to working to uncover a ‘fifth dimension’, Dr Randall is also a leading advocate for the role of women in science and building an environment that helps young women pursue their interests in science. For more information, please click here.

Member News
The Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists is holding its annual scientific meeting in conjunction the Molecular Pharmacology of G Protein-Coupled Receptors meeting in Melbourne 27-30 November.

Registrations for MathsFest Australia 2016 are now open. MathsFest takes place between 28 November and 13 December with nearly 40 international speakers confirmed.

The 23rd Australian Statistical Conference 2016 is on in Canberra from 5-9 December 2016. It will be held in conjunction with the 14th Australasian Data Mining Conference and the 9th Australian Conference on Teaching Statistics.

The RACI National Centenary Conference 2017 is being held in Melbourne on 23-28 July 2017.

Opportunities
The Australian and Singaporean Governments are holding two joint research workshops next year on data science and marine science. To indicate your interest, contact Andrew Ford at the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (Andrew.Ford@industry.gov.au) and copy International Science (international.science@industry.gov.au) and the Australian Academy of Science (grants@science.org.au) by no later than 14 October 2016.

The Australian Geoscience Council and the Australian Academy of Science are providing grants for early-career Australian and New Zealand geoscientists for career related travel. Applications close 31 October.

Nominations are open for the 2017 Clunies Ross Awards to recognise contributions from individuals to use technology to benefit Australia.

Members, would you like us to feature your upcoming event on our website and in our newsletter? Please get in touch at info@sta.org.au.

Copyright © 2016 Science & Technology Australia, All rights reserved.

« First‹ Previous67891011121314Next ›Last »

Recent Posts

  • ASPS2025 Student and Carers’ Support Travel Grants Now Open
  • ASPS2025 Student and Carers’ Support Travel Grants Now Open
  • ASPS2025 Student and Carers’ Support Travel Grants Now Open
  • ASPS2025 Student and Carers’ Support Travel Grants Now Open
  • May Phytogen and GPC E-bulletin

Tags

ASPS 60 Awards Global Plant Council Phytogen Plant Nutrition Trust Travel Scholarship RN Robertson Travelling Fellowship Science Meets Parliament Women in science

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
Copyright 2017 Australian Society of Plant Scientists Disclaimer & Privacy
Website by Michael Major Media