Welcome to the last edition of Phytogen for 2024!

For this final edition of the year, we take a look back at the local conference and the annual general meeting of the Society held at the end of last month. We welcome some new faces to the Society who will commence their roles in 2025. We also continue to spotlight our student members. This month we feature Yalin Liu, a first-year PhD student affiliated with the School of Biosciences at The University of Melbourne.

We welcome contributions from students and researcher at any time for publication in Phytogen. Its free and a great way to give your research profile a boost and share your findings! Send your contribution to our editors Raz (razlin.azman@csiro.au) or Lucas (L.Auroux@latrobe.edu.au).

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2024 ASPS Local Conferences

The ASPS 2024 conference was a hybrid conference held concurrently across Australia and New Zealand at the end of last month. This event brought together plant scientists across Australia, with strong participation from NSW and ACT (117 attendees), QLD (64), SA (66), VIC (55), and WA (55). Colleagues from other states/territories joined online, making it a truly national gathering of ideas and research. It featured local meetings connected virtually for the ASPS and NZSPB award presentation session, where each award winner presented. This event brought together plant scientists to share research, collaborate, and strengthen connections within and across states and territories. 

The ASPS would like to sincerely thank the local organising committees for making these events possible with the generous supports of our sponsors: 

• National sponsors: Bioplatforms Australia, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture, and ThermoFisher Scientific.
• Award and lecture sponsors: Functional Plant Biology, The Annals of Botany Company, and Agrisera Antibodies.
• Local sponsors: the Australian Plant Phenomics Network (VIC, WA, NSW); the Australian Genome Research Facility (WA); Qiagen (WA), John Morris Group (WA), Licor Inc, the Western Sydney University School of Science and Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (NSW); ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture and the Queensland University of Technology (QLD); Flinders University, The University of Adelaide, ARC Centre of Excellence for Plants for Space, Waite Research Institute and the South Australian Genomics Centre (SA). 

 

Here are some winners for best talks and posters. Congratulations to all winners and thank you to all presenters for sharing your research at the conference. Your participation continues to make our annual conferences a success and a platform for plant scientists in Australia to share their research and form professional networks.

NSW & ACT

Best Student Presentation

Nicole Bison

University of British Columbia (visiting the Australian National University)

Academic profile | The University of British Columbia interview  | X: @Nicole Bison

 

Student Presentation Runner-up

Xuan Hu

Australian National University

Academic profile

 

 

Best Student Poster

Edward Chaplin

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney interview

 

Student Poster Runner Up

Haoran Li

Australian National University

VICTORIA

Best ECR Presentation

Lim Chee Liew

LaTrobe University

Lim Chee Liew Profile | La Trobe University

X: @LimCheeLiew

Best Student Presentation 

Olivi Doolanm LaTrobe University

Olivia Doolan | La Trobe University Profile

Best Poster

Thomas Cobbinah, La Trobe University

LinkedIn

 

 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Best Presentation 

Samantha Norman

University of Western Australia

LinkedIn

 

Best Poster 

Andrew Tuckey

University of Western Australia

X: @andy_tuckey

 

 

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ASPS 2024 annual general meeting

The Society’s Annual General Meeting was held on 29 November 2024. On behalf of the Society we would like to thank Professor Martha Ludwig whose term as President will end on 1 January 2025. Martha’s work strengthened the links between each state and profoundly enhanced the exhibition of plant science in Australia, thank you Marta. The President-Elect, Professor Brent Kaiser, will become the new President of the Society on 1 January 2025. Welcome Brent! Martha will continue to stay on the Society exec. 

(L): Martha Ludwig ; (R): Brent Kaiser

Voting at the Annual General Meeting resulted in the election of new volunteers to fill the vacant positions from 2025:

Honorary secretary

Associate Professor Mary Byrne

University of Sydney

Academic profile | Lab Webpage

Associate Professor Mary Byrne is a plant geneticist studying plant development. Her group has made contributions to our understanding of genetic pathways that distinguish stem cell from differentiated cell fate in the plant shoot meristem, and to our understanding of genes and genetic pathways that determine leaf shape. She is a passionate teacher of undergraduate and graduate students studying plant science and genetics.

Discipline representatives

Welcome new discipline reps, and many thanks to outgoing discipline reps for their contribution to ASPS and Phytogen during the year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Student representatives

Welcome to our new student representatives, representing VIC, QLD, WA and SA. We thank Zane Marks (U of Adelaide) for his effort and contribution to ASPS and Phytogen in 2024.

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Student Contribution

Yalin Liu

PhD student, School of Biosciences, The University of Melbourne

Yalin Liu | Google scholar

yalliu1@student.unimelb.edu.au

 

Yalin Liu is a first-year PhD student in Mike Haydon’s Lab at the University of Melbourne, bringing a wealth of experience in molecular biology, biochemistry, and plant science. 

Her research journey began during her master’s studies in the Constabel’s Lab at the University of Victoria, Canada, where she employed CRISPR knock-out techniques to study the transcriptional regulation of tannins in poplar trees. “This project deepened my understanding of gene regulation mechanisms in plants and provided me with extensive hands-on experience in wet lab” Yalin reflects. Her work was summarized in a peer-reviewed publication: Yalin Liu, Dawei Ma, C. Peter Constabel. CRISPR/Cas9 disruption of MYB134 and MYB115 in transgenic poplar leads to differential reduction of proanthocyanidin synthesis in roots and leaves. Plant and Cell Physiology, 2023, DOI:10.1093/pcp/pcad086. Following her MSc, Yalin further expanded her skill set by learning epigenetic techniques as a research assistant in Hong Kong.

Currently, Yalin’s PhD research focuses on unravelling the molecular mechanisms that control the circadian clock in wheat. Her work seeks to understand how plants integrate environmental signals to regulate developmental processes like leaf senescence, a crucial factor in crop productivity. “My passion lies in exploring how transcriptional regulation controls the circadian system to optimize plant growth and stress responses,” she explains. Her research promises to provide new insights into the role of the circadian clock in wheat, offering practical applications in crop improvement and sustainability.

Acknowledgements: Yalin Liu’s work is funded by the University of Melbourne and GRDC.

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Editors’ note

We hope you had a great time at this year’s ASPS 2024 conference. Phytogen will be back at the end of January 2025. Until then, enjoy the time off! 

 

 

 

 

Invited contribution: student contribution by Yalin Liu

Newsletter written and edited by Lucas Auroux and Razlin Azman.