Hello ASPS members,

In this short edition of Phytogen we have a research profile from ASPS member Dr Francine Perrine-Walker (The University of Sydney). See below.

Research Profile: Dr Francine Perrine-Walker, The University of Sydney.

In its asexual stage, Phytophthora sp. forms chlamydospores (#) which are thick-walled, long-term survival spores and sporangia (*) where short-lived, one-celled, flagellated zoospores are kept safe until fully developed for release in the presence of water.

In its sexual stage, the pathogen forms oospores (white and black arrowheads in Figs d-g) resulted from fertilization of the oogonium (female organ) by an antheridium (male organ). Some species are homothallic (self-fertile) while others are heterothallic i.e., requiring cross fertilization.

The marvel of this pathogen? Unlike true fungi, its cell walls contain cellulose instead of chitin! How does one tell them apart when infecting a plant cell?

In the absence of transformed lines with fluorescent tags such as the Green Fluorescence Protein, basic techniques can still shed some light on this pathogen’s cell wall structures. By growing them on agar plates and mating cultures, fluorescent stains such as Calcofluor White (CW) and Aniline Blue (AB) can be used to detect β-1,4-glucans such as cellulose and chitin (Fig.d) and

β-1,3-glucans (Figs. a, b, c and g) respectively. Note when stained with CW, cell wall structures appear blue while with AB, they appear yellow under fluorescence respectively. The latter is the most abundant form of β-glucans in the cell walls of plant

fungal pathogens and, β-1,3-glucans have been shown to act as MAMPs (microbe-associated molecular patterns)

and play a role in plant immune responses.

However, such methods cannot describe the dynamic changes in cell wall content during infection. This requires cutting edge molecular tools other than GFP in combination with high-end microscopy.

Dr Francine Perrine-Walker (The University of Sydney)

Welcome to the May edition of Phytogen!

Winter is coming… all over Australia, but the Society continues to shine thanks to its dedicated members. This issue highlights Dr Dugald Reid’s (ASPS whole plant representative contribution) newly installed laboratory at La Trobe University, as well as Dr. Neeta Lohani’s Science Meets Parliament 2023 report and Dr Celine Mens’ R.N. Robertson Travelling Fellowship 2023 report.

Whole Plant Representative contribution

Dugald Reid, Group Leader, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University.

Overview of legume nodulation projects at La Trobe University.

Dr. Penelope Smith and Dr. Dugald Reid work on symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legumes at La Trobe University in Melbourne. The lab uses a combination of Molecular Biology, Genetics, Genomics and Biochemistry and now have six legume species growing in the lab. Below is a snapshot of some of the people involved and their projects.

Meysam Khodaparast Afarmajani (above) has recently finished his PhD and has just started a project analysing variation in nitrogen fixation efficiency in diverse pea and lentil germplasm.

Sumaira (above) is a PhD student investigating the role of transporters in symbiotic nitrogen fixation in soybean.

Jacob Heath Golder (above) is purifying faba bean lines for a diversity panel while conducting his Masters project on zinc transporters.

Dr. Ronan Broad (above) is a postdoc evaluating the impact of removing environmental suppression of nitrogen fixation via gene editing in cowpea and soybean.

Dr. Tim Cameron (above) is a postdoc investigating the control of nodule function via DAP-seq while establishing a model system to study nitrogen dynamics in intercropped legume-wheat.

Science Meets Parliament 2023 report

Dr. Neeta Lohani, Associate Research Fellow in Agriculture & Plant Science, Food Sciences, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW, Australia.

Current Affiliation: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

As a scientist interested in the intersection of science and policy, I was compelled to participate in the Science Meets Parliament (SMP) event. This annual gathering fosters discussions between scientists and policymakers on the role of science in shaping Australia’s future. I attended as a delegate representing the Australian Society of Plant Scientists (ASPS), which also sponsored my participation. The event was immensely beneficial, enhancing my advocacy skills, fostering relationships with policymakers, and facilitating interactions with fellow scientists and researchers.

Before the main event in Canberra, I took part in a 3-day virtual program featuring keynote speeches and panel discussions with distinguished scientists, politicians, and policy experts. This preparatory program provided insights into the policy landscape and honed our communication skills. A notable highlight was the presentation by UCLA Professor Terence Tao, regarded as the world’s foremost living mathematician and the 2022 Global Australian of the Year.

The day at Parliament was filled with various activities, starting with a session led by Dr. Cathy Foley, Australia’s Chief Scientist, and Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt. They discussed their experiences in science and its critical role in addressing complex challenges and shaping the future. This was followed by a panel emphasizing the need for collaboration between the scientific community and industry in Australia. I also participated in the parliamentary question time, an enlightening experience. Later that evening, we attended the national gala dinner, which provided a fantastic opportunity to network with prominent scientists and parliamentarians. The dinner included speeches from key government figures such as Richard Marles (Deputy Prime Minister), Ed Husic (Minister for Industry & Science), and Karen Andrews (Shadow Home Minister). A statement by The Hon Ed Husic MP struck a chord with me: “Science isn’t a ‘nice to have’ only when times are good. It is essential to the prosperity of this country, to our national wellbeing, and to a modern economy.” For me, the gala’s highlight was Paul Girriwah House’s didgeridoo performance.

Attending SMP was incredibly valuable for me as both a scientist and an advocate. I am deeply grateful to ASPS and would encourage all researchers to participate in this event, as it provides a crucial platform for engaging with policymakers, underscoring the significance of our scientific endeavours, and fostering collaborations that support evidence-based decision-making.

First day and opening event of SMP in person 2023.

From left to right: Misha Schubert (CEO, Science & Technology Australia), Dr. Cathy Foley (Australia’s Chief Scientist), Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt (Distinguished Professor and Vice-chancellor of the Australian National University).

Dr. Neeta Lohani (in the center) with other women delegates at the SMP, 2023

Minister for Industry & Science, The Hon Ed Husic MP and Paul Girriwah House, Ngambri Elder playing the Didgeridoo.

R.N. Robertson Travelling Fellowship report 2023

Dr. Celine Mens, The University of Queensland 

I obtained my PhD in molecular plant biology at the University of Queensland in 2022 focussing on nitrogen-dependent regulation of legume nodulation. Since then, I started a postdoc position on legume genomics which involves creating a pan-genome as a tool to improve symbiotic nitrogen fixing efficiency in mungbean. To do so, I generated large amounts of HiFi PacBio and RNAseq data of eight mungbean accessions capturing genetic diversity in an Australian Nested Association Mapping (NAM) population to assemble into a mungbean pan-genome. We had planned to work with the bioinformaticians at the National Center for Genome Resources (NCGR) in Santa Fe, US to help us with the high-computing needed to create a pan-genome and make it publicly available. However, we recognised the importance of also having in-house expertise and knowledge for genome analysis and interpretation within our team. 

I had the opportunity to visit NCGR for two weeks with the support of the R.N. Robertson Travelling fellowship in March 2024. The team at NCGR manage the Legume Information System (LIS) which houses genome data for commonly researched legumes like mungbean, cowpea, soybean and peanut. They curate the sequences and provide links between data storage and tools like BLAST as well as tools their team have developed like the Genome Context Viewer. I had the chance to immerse myself in the world of bioinformatics with someone on hand to help trouble-shoot every error that popped up in the HPC (High Performance Computing) terminal. They took me through every step needed to go from sequencing data to a structurally and functionally annotated genome, as well as creating a user-friendly interface that would allow data sharing with my supervisor and colleagues that did not require a terminal interface. While in the same time-zone, I was also able to attend a workshop on differential gene expression run by NCGR while my analyses were running in the background. My PhD research did not rely as heavily on bioinformatics and it has been great to expand my skillset in this way. 

On my weekends, I had the chance to explore the beautiful city of Santa Fe with its rich cultural history, the New Mexico landscapes, and the snowy mountains in southern Colorado. 

I would like to express my gratitude to the Australian Society of Plant Scientists, the R.N. Robertson Fund and the University of Western Australia for providing me with the funds to visit NCGR. I would also like to give a big thank you to Andrew Farmer and Joann Mudge for their help and time invested, and their continued involvement in this research. Lastly, I would also like to thank my supervisor Michael Udvardi for his support and helping me connect with the team at NCGR.

Indigenous art in the town centre of Santa Fe (left) and horseback riding on the weekend in the beautiful New Mexican country (right).

Look out for the next Phytogen edition in late June! In the meantime, we’re looking forward to seeing Australian Plant Scientists at IPMB in Cairns!

 “The secret of improved plant breeding, apart from scientific knowledge, is love” – Luther Burbank (1949-1926), American botanist.

Newsletter written and edited by Lucas Auroux and Janet Wheeler.

This month in Phytogen we introduce our new Website and Communications Sub Committee including the new editors of Phytogen, Razlin Azman and Lucas Auroux.

Fascination of Plants day is 18^th May 2024. Get in contact with Scott Boden if you have ideas or want to get involved.

We have the first 2024 Science Meets Parliament report for Lim Chee and the 2023 ASPS Education and Outreach Award report by winners Robert Sharwood, Michelle Donovan-Mak, Jayakumar Bose, David Randall, Jing He, Oula Ghannoum and Zhonghua Chen.

Announcing an extension to 2024 ASPS award applications to Sunday April 28th for the;

Peter Goldacre Award

Jan Anderson Award

ASPS Education and Outreach Award

R.N. Robertson Travelling Fellowship

And a call to join ASPS members Matt Gilliham and Michelle Watt on the ARC College of Experts. Nominate HERE.

Science Meets Parliament 2024 report

Lim Chee Liew, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University.

In March 2024, I had the pleasure of representing the Australian Society of Plant Scientists (ASPS) as a delegate to the Science Meets Parliament (SMP), an annual event at the parliament house, Canberra, organised by Science and Technology Australia (STA). This year was the biggest ever event with 360 delegates, 90 Parliamentarians, and more than 50 amazing speakers.

Over the two-day event, I have the opportunities and privileges to hear from leaders and policy maker about how to play an active role in shaping our scientific policies and future. One of the highlights was the incredible speech by Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Cathy Foley who emphasised the fundamental science is equal to if not more important than translational science because of the social benefits and “be a well and not a waterfall of expertise” to engage effectively with parliamentarians and public as an expert. Minister of industry and science, Ed Husic acknowledged Australian researchers for advancing science, health and tech and announced new STEM funding that supports for collaboration with research institutes in Asia and the passing of Australian Research Council Amendment Bill 2023 in Parliament. On top of these, I was really impressed by the insightful National Press Club addresses from STA president Prof Sharath Sriram which highlighted the need of Australia to boost R&D spending to 3% GDP as a bold investment to create an innovation ecosystem and more job opportunity of high value jobs. “Be a smart country, rather than a lucky one” was my take home message from Prof Sharath Sriram.

There is more work to be done in order to bridge the gap on what the parliamentarians do and what we scientists know through science communication and engagement. As scientists, we need to be equipped with advanced skills in policy engagement, communications, advocacy, and influence. Feyi Akindoyeni on the panel of advocacy also stressed on communication being persuasion, cut through and relevance, build a relationship and make sure your ask is clear. I have also increased my understanding about how scientists can engage with the media from media representatives and science communicators Brandon How, Donna Lu, and Nate Byrne. CEO of CSIRO, Doug Hilton highlighted the importance of collaboration by using metaphor of “just like food, science is much better, and far more enjoyable, when shared”.

On top of the excellent seminars and talks, the Gala Dinner at the Great Hall, Parliament House was the networking highlight of the SMP. I got my opportunities to engage with scientists and parliamentarians from different area of expertise. Attending Question Time was another highlight for me where I get to watch Parliament in action in person.

It was a great honour to represent ASPS to attend SMP2024. It was a great fun and eye-opening event! It provided me an excellent opportunity to learn about communicating and engaging with policy makers and also to network with scientists from diverse area of STEM.

2023 ASPS Education and Outreach Award winners report.

Ensuring Food Security Through Innovative Food Production at Western Sydney University.

The Team: Robert Sharwood, Michelle Donovan-Mak, Jayakumar Bose, David Randall, Jing He, Oula Ghannoum and Zhonghua Chen.

Image – From Left to Right: Michelle Donovan-Mak, Jing He, Zhonghua Chen, Jayakumar Bose, Robert Sharwood, Oula Ghannoum and David Randall.

Summary:

Our team has created an innovative learning environment tailored to current and future leaders in the horticulture, plant biology, and food science sectors with the long-term vision of providing healthier, and more sustainable, plants and food. In 2017, Western Sydney University and Horticulture Innovation jointly established the National Vegetable Protected Cropping Centre (NVPCC), which is used to train the next generation of growers, food practitioners, plant scientists, corporate leaders and educators. We developed three courses to bridge the protected cropping career pathway gap, Graduate certificate, Graduate diploma, and Master of Science with relevant majors. Industry informed and tailored subjects use innovative pedagogical approaches, including: flexible learning, online learning pods, and live flipped-learning tutorials. Academic materials are presented in multiple forms to engage all VARK learning styles, visual (YouTube, pictorial, graphical) audio (sound clouds, recorded lectures), reading/writing (written documents, checklists, writing tasks), kinaesthetic (hand-on practical in greenhouses, laboratories, entomological field collections).

Hello ASPS members,

Welcome to 2024.

Save the date for our 2024 ASPS Hybrid meeting in your state, Thursday 28th November 2024. 

Thank you to Dr Georgia Koerber for her service to our Society as Phytogen’s Editor for the past 5 years. The January edition of Phytogen includes profiles of the latest ASPS Life member, Emeritus Professor Hans Lambers and Corresponding Member, Professor Steve Long. Yuhan Liu and Amanda Johnson’s award reports are also included. Access Phytogen HERE.

The January newsletter for The Global Plant Council is available HERE.

Welcome to Phytogen for 2024.

In this edition we start the year with a new ASPS Life Member Emeritus Professor Hans Lambers and new Corresponding member Professor Steve Long. Details below.

The 2023 Plant nutrition Trust report by Yuhan Liu.

Amanda Johnson’s report on her ASPS student travel award.

Remember to save the date for the ASPS Hybrid meeting in your state, Thursday 28th November 2024.

Thank you to Dr Georgia Koerber for her service to our Society as Phytogen’s Editor for the past 4 years.

ASPS Life Member Emeritus Professor Hans Lambers

ASPS Corresponding Member Professor Steve Long

The 2023 Plant Nutrition Trust Awards Travel Report

By Yuhan Liu
Integrative Legume Research Group, School of Agriculture & Food Sustainability
The University of Queensland

With the support of the Plant Nutrition Trust Award, I attended the 15th European Nitrogen
Fixation Conference (ENFC) at Naples, Italy from 31st August to 3rd September 2023 along
with 331 attendees including 91 PhD students. A satellite meeting on signalling in nitrogen
fixation was held on the first day where I was invited for an oral presentation and my talk
Root meristem growth factor peptides and their effects on root development and nodulation
in soybean was well received. The opening lecture of main conference was provided by Prof.
Marcel Kuypers from the Max Planck Institute of Marine Microbiology. It was insightful about
the importance of microbial nitrogen fixation in the changing ocean and its vital role across
all ecosystems.
The remainder of the conference combined classic topics on legume BNF and a timely theme
about the BNF impacts on the environment and climate change. Two legume model plants,
Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus were the most studied across research groups.
While more agriculturally relevant species were less studies due to their larger physiological
structure or complex genetics. Additionally, the use of synthetic biology in engineering
nitrogen fixation in non-legume plants such as cereals was discussed. The long-term aim of
developing this in other plants requires the backbone of the signalling mechanisms in legume
BNF. Some fascinating discussions about the changes of rhizobium nutritional status during
early root hair infection have offered insights into the progressive bacterial nutrient limitation
observed when immobilized in mature infection threads. These findings suggest a potential
association between rhizobia nutritional imbalance and gradual stiffening of the plant cell
wall. Furthermore, some other presentations discussed the impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal
fungi (AMF) on nodulation. Notably, experiments involving double inoculation of rhizobia and
AMF suggested an increase of legume nodulation attributed to the rising phosphorus uptake.
This raises further investigations about the tripartite association between legume, rhizobia
and AMF. As such, examining the distinct roles of the peptide hormones and other
components in symbiosis is essential to understanding how nodulation and mineral
fertilization efficiency impact on biomass and agroecosystem.
The concluding remarks were presented by Prof. Ray Dixon from the John Innes Center, UK.
It was fulfilled with inspiring thoughts and future challenges, such as the gap between
laboratory investigations and the success of field work which needs a scientific breakthrough.
Teamwork and collaboration were present throughout with well-developed research
cooperation within European groups being reflected in final acknowledgements of each
presentation.
In addition to attending the conference, I visited two world-leading research groups,
Professor Tom Beeckman in the Root Development department and Professor Sofie
Goormachtig in the Rhizosphere department at the VIB- UGent Center for plant system
biology on 7th September. I discussed the signalling peptide work in model plant, Arabidopsis
thaliana and my legume investigation with each team, respectively. These visits were very
rewarding. I also gave an oral presentation to the two groups and introduced Australia and
UQ research to promote the future collaboration. Finally, visiting their research facilities
including labs and glasshouses broadened my vision about leading agricultural research in
Europe.
I would like to express my gratitude for receiving Plant Nutrition Trust Travel Award. Beyond
the financial support, I am grateful for the recognition of what I have accomplished in my PhD
so far. I felt honoured as an awardee and acknowledged the award support during my
presentations and will continue to acknowledge the support in my future presentations,
research publication and PhD dissertation

ASPS report for Student Travel Award 2023 – Amanda Johnson

My name is Amanda Johnson, I am a PhD student at the Queensland University of Technology. My research is on genes that control flowering in avocado, mango, and macadamia trees. I am a molecular biologist with a background in plant protection. I am characterizing paralogs of flowering Locus T a floral promoter and terminal flowering locus 1 a repressor of flowering. I attended the 2023 Australian Society of Plant Scientists conference in Hobart from the 28^th of November to the 1^st of December 2023, held at the University of Tasmania. I presented a poster (number 148). I would like to thank the ASPS for awarding me financially and making it possible to attend.  

I enjoyed being able to network with other students and members of the plant society. The poster sessions were great, I got to present my work and see other students’ work as well. I really enjoyed the Earth and Beyond session and the panel discussion that followed. The keynote speaker Gioia Massa from NASA was brilliant as were all members of the panel. I got a lot out of the presentations in each of the sessions and enjoyed being able to approach the speakers afterwards. I attended the AGM and found it informative. I like how the society encourages participation from all age groups and sexes, however, I did notice a session where the male older facilitator did not involve the younger woman facilitator of Shri Lankan descent in any introduction of speakers. This was noticed by several people.  

Welcome to Phytogen for November 2023. There are just two days left to register so you can join us in Hobart on the Tuesday 28th November.Register here: https://www.asps.org.au/conferences/asps-2023

As we approach our meeting we are putting a call out for people who would like to help with the Website & Communications Sub-Committee. Here we are:

We hope that when you recognise us at the end of this month, you can say hello and we can get you busy promoting plant science.

Welcome to Phytogen for October 2023. At the end of  November will be our meeting in Tasmania. Registration and poster abstract submissions are open until November 7th!

We look forward to seeing you all.

Awards and Lectures have been announced. Heartfelt congratulations to all.

Peter Goldacre Award: Dr Tatiana Soares da Costa

Jan Anderson Award: Associate Professor Caitlin Byrt

ASPS Education and Outreach Award: WSU Team

ASPS-FPB Best Paper Award: Dr Babar Shahzad

RN Robertson Lecture: Professor Kathleen Soole

Annals of Botany Lecture: Professor Christine Faulkner

via GIPHY

Here are biographies and you can look forward to catching up with them in Tasmania.

Peter Goldacre Award – Tatiana Soares da Costa, Waite Research Institute, University of Adelaide.

Jan Anderson Award – Caitlin Byrt, Research School of Biology, Australian National University.

Associate Professor Caitlin Byrt is a bioengineer at The Australian National University working on engineering novel crops and on plant-inspired membrane biotechnologies. The crop biotechnologies Caitlin and team are developing are designed to support achieving yield security goals in challenging environments in the future and to meet new market demands, and the membrane biotechnologies are designed to enable precious metal, mineral, nutrient and clean water resources to be harvested from industrial and urban wastewater and seawater so that they can be reused. Membrane biotechnology can contribute to the efficient use and reuse of the resources required for sustainable agriculture and renewable clean energy generation and storage. Caitlin’s research works have been cited by >4500 and led to fellowship opportunities such as an ARC DECRA (2005-2008) and an ARC Future Fellowship (2018-2023). Caitlin serves as start-up company co-founder and co-director for Membrane Transporter Engineers Pty Ltd and Deputy Director (Research) for the ARC Training Centre for Future Crops Development.

Dr Caitlin Byrt is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow located at the Research School of Biology at the Australian National University (Image: Jamie Kidston/ANU).

Education and Outreach Award – Ensuring Food Security Through Innovative Food Production at Western Sydney University. The Team: Robert Sharwood, Michelle Donovan-Mak, Jayakumar Bose, David Randall, Jing He, Oula Ghannoum and Zhonghua Chen.

Image: From Left to Right: Michelle Donovan-Mak, Jing He, Zhonghua Chen, Jayakumar Bose, Robert Sharwood, Oula Ghannoum and David Randall.

Our team has created an innovative learning environment tailored to current and future leaders in the horticulture, plant biology, and food science sectors with the long-term vision of providing healthier, and more sustainable, plants and food. In 2017, Western Sydney University and Horticulture Innovation jointly established the National Vegetable Protected Cropping Centre (NVPCC), which is used to train the next generation of growers, food practitioners, plant scientists, corporate leaders and educators. We developed three courses to bridge the protected cropping career pathway gap, Graduate certificate, Graduate diploma, and Master of Science with relevant majors. Industry informed and tailored subjects use innovative pedagogical approaches, including: flexible learning, online learning pods, and live flipped-learning tutorials. Academic materials are presented in multiple forms to engage all VARK learning styles, visual (YouTube, pictorial, graphical) audio (sound clouds, recorded lectures), reading/writing (written documents, checklists, writing tasks), kinaesthetic (hand-on practical in greenhouses, laboratories, entomological field collections).

ASPS-FPB Best Paper Award: Dr Babar Shahzad

Dr. Babar Shahzad holds a Master of Hons from the University of Agriculture Faisalabad in Pakistan and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Sciences (Plant Physiology) from the University of Tasmania. His doctoral work examined the “Physiological basis of differential salinity stress tolerance between cultivated and wild rice species” and resulted in the publication of three groundbreaking research papers and six reviews in internationally recognized peer reviewed journals. Dr. Shahzad is interested in researching and comprehending how plants have evolved various metabolic pathways, as well as the inherent capacity to adapt to extreme environmental conditions.  His work includes an overview of plant growth regulators and their function to mitigate salt, drought, and heavy metal stress.

Unravelling the physiological basis of salinity stress tolerance in cultivated and wild rice species

Babar Shahzad, Ping Yun, Lana Shabala, Meixue Zhou, Gothandapani Sellamuthu, Gayatri Venkataraman, Zhong-Hua Chen and Sergey Shabala

Published: 22/02/2022 Functional Plant Biology 49 (4) paper

RN Robertson Lecture: Professor Kathleen Soole, Flinders University of South Australia.

I graduated from University of Adelaide in 1986 with BSc (Hons) in Plant Biochemistry after studying agricultural science. In 1990 I was awarded my PhD from University of Adelaide where I began to identify the components of the plant mitochondrial electron transport chain responsible for non-phosphorylating NADH oxidation and their regulation. Prof Joe Wiskich was my supervisor and he became a long-term colleague, mentor and friend. After my PhD I worked in the UK for 4 years on a project looking at bacterial cellulases and silage degradation, returning to a lectureship at Flinders University, also in Adelaide. I have been an active member of Australian Society of Plant Scientists over the years, twice holding the Hon. Treasurer position, Education officer and President in 2018-2020. I am now a Dean in the College of Science and Engineering at Flinders, where I continue to actively promote plant science at all levels.

Annals of Botany Lecture: Professor Christine Faulkner, John Innes Centre, UK.

Prof Christine Faulkner completed her PhD at the University of Sydney, followed by postdoctoral positions at universities and research institutes across the UK. Christine is currently a Group Leader in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the John Innes Centre, where she leads a team that investigates how plant cells communicate during plant-microbe interactions. Together, the Faulkner lab have been pioneers this field and have characterised key mechanisms of how both plants and microbes target plasmodesmata to control cell-to-cell connectivity in immunity and infection. The team use a range of approaches, including quantitative imaging and mathematical modelling to test hypotheses, and collaborates with interdisciplinary researchers across a wide international community including Australia, China, the USA, Germany, and the Netherlands. Christine’s research has been funded by several agencies, including by a prestigious European Research Council Consolidator Grant.

IPMB 2024 Registration and call for abstact submissions opens August 2023

IUBMB 2024 in Melbourne, 22nd-26th September 2024. Registration information August 2023.

Please login and check your ASPS membership is up to date. Encourage your colleagues and students to join ASPS.

Tweet to @asps_ozplants your news and upcoming events and follow on Facebook to keep up to date.

Hello everyone and welcome to Phytogen for September 2023. There is less than 2 weeks before early bird registration closes for ASPS2023 on Tuesday 26th September 2023. Click on the links below…..

Registration is now open, register then submit your abstract.

Abstract submission

Within a day or two of registering you will receive an email from asps.hobart2023@gmail.com with abstract submission instructions (check your junk if you do not receive)

Use this abstract template SessionNumber_Surname

• Oral presentation abstracts due Tues 26th September 2023 (early bird poster abstracts also welcome)
• Poster presentations abstracts due Tues 7th November 2023

Abstract enquiries: asps23abstract@gmail.com

IPMB 2024 Registration and call for abstact submissions opens August 2023

IUBMB 2024 in Melbourne, 22nd-26th September 2024. Registration information August 2023.

Please login and check your ASPS membership is up to date. Encourage your colleagues and students to join ASPS.

Tweet to @asps_ozplants your news and upcoming events and follow on Facebook to keep up to date.

This is the week for you to apply for travel awards to ASPS2023. Applications close this Friday 28th July 2023 !

Click on the links below…..

Student conference travel awards

Carers’ support travel grant for ASPS2023 awards

Indigenous travel grant awards

Applications for all three close this Friday 28th July 2023 !

Registration is now open, register then submit your abstract.

Abstract submission

Within a day or two of registering you will receive an email from asps.hobart2023@gmail.com with abstract submission instructions (check your junk if you do not receive)

Use this abstract template SessionNumber_Surname

• Oral presentation abstracts due Tues 26th September 2023 (early bird poster abstracts also welcome)
• Poster presentations abstracts due Tues 7th November 2023

Abstract enquiries: asps23abstract@gmail.com

IPMB 2024 Registration and call for abstact submissions opens August 2023

IUBMB 2024 in Melbourne, 22nd-26th September 2024. Registration information August 2023.

Please login and check your ASPS membership is up to date. Encourage your colleagues and students to join ASPS.

Tweet to @asps_ozplants your news and upcoming events and follow on Facebook to keep up to date.

Welcome to Phytogen for June 2023. Here is a short issue to match with passing of the shortest day, the winter solstice. Now we are heading towards the end of the year, it is time to plan to attend ASPS2023 in November in Hobart.

There is still time to apply for the Jan Anderson Award with applications closing 30th June 2023.

For everyone travelling consider applying for travel awards, there are:

student conference travel awards,

carers’ support travel grant for ASPS2023 awards, and

Indigenous travel grant awards.        Applications for all three of these close 28th July 2023.