Recent Posts

To be in Petri or in soil, that is the question (Mol Plant)

Frequently, research on root growth in Arabidopsis has been carried out in transparent Petri dishes, although in the natural environment the soil-buried root actually grows in complete darkness. It is an essential question to check if experimental results reflect the natural growth of plants. It is well-known…

A modular cloning toolkit for genome editing in plants (bioRxiv)

Genome editing with the CRISPR/Cas system is now widely used in functional studies across biological sciences including plant biology. Typically, this system involves a DNA nuclease and a guide RNA that directs the nuclease to a specific location in the genome. Golden Gate (GG) is a cloning method that…

All aboard the mentor-ship: making and using an Individual Development Plan

All aboard the mentor-ship: making and using an Individual Development Plan Recorded September 10, 2019  About This Webinar Individual Development Plans (IDPs) are a tool to facilitate student-trainer relationships and help students and post-docs of all levels to evaluate their project and career…

TurboID-based proximity labeling reveals that UBR7 is a regulator of N NLR immune receptor-mediated immunity (Nature Comms)

Identification of protein- protein interactions helps understand the signaling cascade in multiple biological process including development, biotic and abiotic stress. Previously, a proximity-based labelling approach referred to as BioID had been used to identify proteins in close proximity to a protein…

Review: Methods to quantify primary plant cell wall mechanics ( J. Exp. Bot)

Plant growth and morphogenesis are linked to cell wall properties, so a deep understanding of cell wall biochemistry and mechanics is essential for studying plant development. In a recent review, Bidhendi and Geitmann describe current and emerging techniques for the analysis of cell wall mechanics. Classic…

Review: Imaging technologies to uncover the role of Ca2+ signaling in plant nutrient homeostasis (Plant Cell Environ)

Maintaining nutrient homeostasis is ridiculously challenging, in large part due to the tremendous effects individual nutrients have on other nutrients’ uptake and action, as well as the interactions between nutrient homeostasis and environmental conditions. In order to maintain the “right” amount…

How to be an effective mentor

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How to be an effective mentor Recorded July 25, 2019  About This Webinar Being an effective mentor involves making yourself available to support and advise someone when they need it, delivering that support in a way that makes sense to them, and always keeping that person's best interests in…

Review: Crop breeding technologies to feed the world (Nature Biotech)

The world demands food, plant scientists and breeders have the challenge of feeding a growing population. In a recent review Hickey et al. summarize the state-of-the-art technologies used for crop improvement. In use since 2003, ‘speed breeding’ is a set of improved methods for fast-tracking plant…

Addressing fundamental questions in plant science through synthetic biology

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Addressing fundamental questions in plant science through synthetic biology Recorded July 10, 2019  About This Webinar In this seminar, we examined the role that synthetic biology can play in answering fundamental questions in plant science. In studying plants for the past hundred years, we’ve…