Dear past and present ASPS members,

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There are new plant science employment opportunities in Melbourne and Perth.

ON THE PULSE – RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM 2016

2016 marks the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s International Year of Pulses – a celebration of the importance of these legumes.

On Tuesday 12 July, the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment at the University of Sydney will host the 2016 Research Symposium, On the Pulse.

On the Pulse brings together domestic and international researchers to discuss strategies and advances that are future proofing pulse agriculture, focusing on three themes: pulse diversity, pulse benefits to agronomy and genetic pulse sustainability.

Download the Symposium program (PDF, 1.37MB)

Event details

Tuesday 12 July 2016
8.15am – 6.00pm
Veterinary Science Conference Centre
University of Sydney

Free Registration

For more information

Liz Kenna

+61 2 9351 5697

liz.kenna@sydney.edu.au sydney.edu.au/agriculture/outreach/symposium

“The interaction between the different cell types of the plant are controlled through complex physical, chemical and environmental signals”

The first half of 2016 has been a busy time for the study of whole plants. Several teams of researchers across the country have been awarded funding for questions at the whole plant scale as well as some significant recognition to individuals in the field.

Congratulations to Professor Peter Waterhouse from the Queensland University of Technology for his Laureate Fellowship to investigate how plants distinguish between ‘self’ and ‘non-self’ genes. The implications for this research certainly have broad repercussions for plant scale research, particularly among agricultural efforts to improve crop production.

Many other researchers across the country have had significant success in securing research funding for plant scale research with some common themes emerging. Management of plants in urban landscapes has been recognised twice in this years ARC Linkage programs. Dr Jie Li and the team at RMIT are focused on the management of trees in suburban environments and the unique challenges faced by soil conditions in close proximity to building structures. Again with a focus on trees in urban landscapes, Dr Stephen Livesley and the team at the University of Melbourne are investigating the role that urban tree plantings have on biodiversity and strategically address the management challenges faced by local councils in maintaining them. Both of these projects reflect the increasing recognition that plants are a critical component for society outside of natural and food production systems.

Some of the most fundamental questions related to whole plant research pertain to the development of plant architecture. Professor John Bowman and the team at Monash University have secured ARC Discovery funding to investigate the development of plant architecture and how it is regulated. Also in the ARC Discovery scheme, Dr Gavin Flematti and the team at the University of Western Australia secured support to investigate the role of a yet to be characterised hormone in seed germination and seedling development whilst Dr Oliver van Aiken (also at the University of Western Australia) secured ARC Discovery funding to investigate the touch response in plants. Combined, these topics illustrate that there is still so much to learn about the fundamental nature of plants.

One of the most significant ways for researchers to develop their research activities is through the award of Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) also from the ARC. These awards enable early career researchers to pursue questions and foster research programs with long lasting repercussions. This year we have three DECRA awardees in the field of plant science. Dr Simon Williams (Australian National University) is working on protecting wheat from necrotropic fungi, Dr Reena Narsai (LaTrobe University) is working to improve germination rates in cereals and Dr Stefane Wege (University of Adelaide) is investigating how plants acquire and cope with chloride. Congratulations to Simon, Reena and Stefane on their achievement. The scope of the projects no doubt reflects the importance of plant health to our environmental, economic and social welfare.

There are many events on the horizon for ‘whole plant’ scientists. One of the best places to check for upcoming events is the ASPS website under the ‘events’ tab (https://www.asps.org.au/events). Of particular note for whole plant research is the upcoming phenotyping workshop being held in Canberra from the 18^th-23^rd September. In recent years, advancements in high throughput phenotyping have been rapid and there is no better place to learn about these developments than this workshop.

Overseas there are many upcoming conferences as usual during the northern hemisphere summer period. Of particular note is the 17^th International Photosynthesis conference held in Maastricht (Netherlands) this year from the 7^th -12^th August (http://www.ps2016.com). Also The European Plant Biology congress is in Prague (Czech Repuplic) from the 26-30^th June (http://www.europlantbiology2016.org) with a great array of topics on the agenda. Every year the ASPS support numerous scientists to attend conferences such as these, particularly useful for those ECR and PhD students seeking to broaden their profile and make links with international researchers.

On a final note, please let me know of any major achievements by whole plant researchers that might otherwise go unrecognised. I am particularly interested in hearing from achievements by PhD or early career researchers that may not get recognition via the regular avenues. I would be delighted to help raise the profile of people (or teams) who are making major achievements across any aspect of ‘whole plant’ research.

Dr Andrew Merchant

Australian Research Council Future Fellow

Senior Lecturer in Plant Metabolism

Faculty of Agriculture and the Environment

University of Sydney

(andrew.merchant@sydney.edu.au)

By Belinda Worland

PhD Candidate in the School of Agriculture & Food Sciences at The University of Queensland

ComBio 2015 was the very first scientific conference I had attended since starting my PhD at The University of Queensland in early 2015. I was able to immerse myself for a week in a diversity of lectures and symposia covering topics of both general and specific interest related to plant biology. Two symposia in particular caught my attention. Both were on nitrogen nutrition and crop genetics focussing on maize. My undergraduate research and my PhD relate to nitrogen use in sorghum, a close relative of maize. I was familiar with the published work of Dr. Darren Plett and Dr. Julie Dechorgnat, however their research overview added a new depth of understanding that will facilitate my own discoveries. It was also exciting to see some very interesting unpublished research being presented. During the poster sessions and social events, I was able to meet these speakers and ask many questions while discussing their work. This is just one example of my ComBio 2016 experience I shared with fellow ASPS students. It was a great event to meet and interact with some of the people who have inspired and continue to motivate my own scientific interests and investigations.

For further information please email: belinda.worland@uqconnect.edu.au

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

Hello ASPS members,

Just a reminder that ASPS student travel grant applications close this Friday June 10th.

The 2nd Global Summit on Plant Science has been added to the ASPS events page.

A new employment opportunity in Canberra has just been posted the ASPS site. Click here for further details.

Global Plant Council E-Bulletin May 2016 Forward to a Friend |  | View web version (also click here to translate to other languages!)

Email Us GPC Website GPC Blog @GlobalPlantGPC @GPC_EnEspanol Facebook Donate E-Bulletin /  May 2016 Welcome to the May edition of your Global Plant Council e-bulletin, which contains a round-up of highlights from the plant science community around the world in the last month. We are excited to say that the Spanish Society for Plant Physiology (Sociedad Española de Fisiología Vegetal; SEFV) has recently joined the GPC as a Member Society, so ¡hola! to all our new members! As well as Society Members, we now also accept ‘Affiliate’ research institutions and organizations to join the Global Plant Council. We are delighted to welcome The Center for Plant Aging Research at the Institute for Basic Science in South Korea, and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology in Golm, Germany, as our first two Affiliate Members. If you would like to know more about becoming a Society Member or an Affiliate Member of the GPC, please get in touch with us!

Latest News /  View more… If you have news you would like us to share on our website, please contact lisa@globalplantcouncil.org  This month 62 new breaking news stories were posted on the GPC website including… From New Phytologist: The 37th New Phytologist Symposium: Plant developmental evolution Sarah Lennon, New Phytologist’s Managing Editor, provides an overview of this recent plant ‘evo-devo’ symposium, held in Beijing, China, 15–19th May 2016. In Nature Plants: Mechanism discovered for plants to regulate their flowering in a warming world Researchers from Australia’s Monash University have discovered a new mechanism that enables plants to regulate their flowering in response to raised temperatures. From Journal of Experimental Botany: Latest thinking on photorespiration for crop improvement The Journal of Experimental Botany delves deep into “the photorespiration problem” with a new Special Issue featuring in depth reviews, opinion pieces and original research.  From the GPC Community… Strengthening the cooperation between Argentinian and German plant science for phenotyping and bioeconomy Roland Pieruschka provides an update on links between the Latin-American Plant Phenotyping Network and its European counterparts. 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 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society PhD Student Conference 21–23 June 2016. Oslo, Norway.  EPSO/FESPB Plant Biology Europe 2016 26–30 June 2016. Prague, Czech Republic.  International Conference on Arabidopsis Research 2016 29 June–3 July 2016. Gyeongju, Korea.  Society for Experimental Biology Annual Main Meeting 4–7 July 2016. Brighton, UK.  ASPB Plant Biology 2016 9–13 July 2016. Austin, Texas, USA Reports / 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’. Lots of new reports were published this month – here are a few but don’t forget to check out the Reports section of our Resources page for more! Growing Food for Growing Cities: Transforming Food Systems in an Urbanizing World This report by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs highlights the problems of feeding a growing – and increasingly urbanized – human population, and makes recommendations for strategies that could help.  More… The State of the World’s Plants The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew (London, UK) has released the first ever global assessment of current knowledge on the diversity of plants on earth, the threats these plants face, and the effectiveness of policies to deal with these threats. More… Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects A detailed and extensive study carried out by the US National Academy of Sciences reports that GM crops are safe to eat, and that new technologies in genetic engineering and conventional plant breeding are blurring the once clear distinctions between these two crop improvement approaches. More… Funding Opportunities / Spotted a funding opportunity we’ve missed? Please tell us about it by emailing lisa@globalplantcouncil.org Calls for several funding opportunities have been made in the past few weeks – this article on our website gives you a bit of information about some of these: Global Challenges Research Fund, Newton Fund Agri-Food Competition, Agri-Innovation Den, Validation of diagnostic tools for animal and plant health (Horizon 2020), BBSRC LINK funding and Industrial Partnership Awards, Hello Tomorrow Challenge, and African Union Research Grants. More… Read this article to find out more about the Innovation Challenge for Cassava. More… There is no monetary prize for this one, but the FAO’s World Food Day Poster and Video Contest looks like a fantastic opportunity to engage children and young people on the subjects of climate change and sustainable agriculture and food production! Finally, congratulations to the 15 recipients of an ASPB Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) to support them during a 10-week plant science summer project – a fantastic opportunity for the next generation of plant scientists! 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 Choosing your growth media for plant science In light of a new paper from the University of Bristol, Sarah Jose reports on the effects that growth media can have on Arabidopsis.  More… Underutilized crops and insects replace fishmeal in aquaculture feed In a guest post from scientists with the FishPLUS project, Crops for the Future discuss efforts to improve the sustainability of fish farming using fishmeal made from insect larvae that are fed on underutilized crops.  More… Round-up of Fascination of Plants Day 2016 May 22nd was International Fascination of Plants Day – Sarah Jose provides a social media-round-up in case you missed it!  More… The flower breeders who sold X-ray lilies and atomic marigolds This repost from The Conversation magazine discusses the science behind some of the more unusual flowers you might find on display at this year’s Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show.  More… 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.