April 12, 2013 Contact: Kathy Munkvold kmunkvold@aspb.org

ASPB Names 2013 Awards Recipients

Honors to be presented at Plant Biology 2013 in Providence

ROCKVILLE, MD -- The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2013 awards, honoring excellence in research, education, outreach, and service.

Adolph E. Gude, Jr. Award

Natasha Raikhel, University of California, Riverside

The 2013 Adolph E. Gude, Jr. Award, is given every three years in recognition of outstanding service to the science of plant biology. Raikhel has made significant contributions through her research into protein trafficking and service to the discipline, most notably as editor-in-chief of Plant Physiology and in establishing the visionary Center for Plant Cell Biology (CEPCEB) at UC Riverside.

Charles Reid Barnes Life Membership Award

Robert Turgeon, Cornell University

Established in 1925, the Charles Reid Barnes Life Membership Award is ASPB’s oldest award, honoring lifelong service in plant biology. Turgeon is recognized for his meritorious work in plant biology, including outstanding contributions to the understanding of phloem transport.

Stephen Hales Prize

Brian A. Larkins, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Established in 1927, the Stephen Hales Prize is among the Society’s oldest and most prestigious awards; it honors exceptional research accomplishments and service to ASPB. Larkins is recognized for his early pioneering work that brought molecular biology to plant studies and the many outstanding examples of his leadership in promoting plant sciences. The recipient of the Hales Prize delivers a lecture at ASPB’s annual meeting the following year.

Charles Albert Shull Award

Harvey Millar, University of Western Australia, Perth

Created in 1971, the Charles Albert Shull Award recognizes young researchers for outstanding contributions to plant biology in mid-career. Millar is recognized for his impressive body of research on plant mitochondria and bioinformatics that has provided important new insights into plant mitochondrial composition and function.The recipient of the Shull Award delivers a lecture at ASPB’s annual meeting the following year.

Excellence in Education Award

Erin Dolan, University of Georgia, Athens

The Excellence in Education Award recognizes outstanding, teaching, mentoring, and educational outreach in plant biology.Dolan is recognized for her development of innovative teaching methods; extensive record of mentoring; leadership as both former chair of the ASPB Education Committee and member of the Education Foundation Board; and widespread, influential outreach efforts.She has also published numerous science education research articles and is currently editor-in-chief of CBE Life Sciences Education.

Early Career Award

Michael Gore, Cornell University

The Early Career Award was instituted in 2005 to honor outstanding research by scientists at the beginning of their career. Gore is recognized for his extraordinary contributions to the development and application of large-scale genomic tools for crop improvement through quantitative genetics, including the first haploytype map (HapMap) and genome-wide association resources for maize.

Eric E. Conn Young Investigator Award

Daisuke Urano, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Japan

The Eric E. Conn Young Investigator Award honors early career plant scientists for outstanding research anddemonstrated excellence in outreach, public service, mentoring, or teaching. Urano is recognized for his research accomplishments toward understanding the regulation of G protein activation in plants, his significant contributions to a number of ASPB activities, and excellence in mentoring students and postdoctoral researchers.

Martin Gibbs Medal

Jen Sheen, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital

The Gibbs Medal is presented biennially to an individual who has pioneered advances that have served to establish new directions of investigation in the plant sciences. Sheen is recognized for her seminal and innovative contributions to the understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying the plant signal transduction cascades that mediate nutrient, hormone, and environmental stress responses and pathogen defenses in plants. As the recipient of the 2013 Gibbs Medal, Sheen will convene the Martin Gibbs Medal Symposium at the 2014 ASPB annual meeting in Portland, Oregon.

ASPB Leadership in Science Public Service Award

Robert Ziegler, International Rice Research Institute

The ASPB Public Affairs Committee awards theASPB Leadership in Science Public Service Award annually to recognize individuals who have advanced the mission of ASPB and its members through significant contributions to plant science and public policy leadership. Zeigler is recognized for an outstanding commitment throughout his career to improving agriculture in the developing world for the benefit of the resource poor. He will speak as part of the awards symposium at Plant Biology 2013 in Providence, Rhode Island, this July.

ASPB–Pioneer Hi-Bred Graduate Student Fellowship

Rachel Egger, Stanford University

The ASPB–Pioneer Hi-Bred Graduate Student Fellowship is made possible by the generosity of Pioneer Hi-Bred International and recognizes and encourages innovative graduate research in areas of plant biology that relate to important commodity crops. Egger is a PhD student studying maize anther development in Virginia Walbot’s laboratory. Her dissertation research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that regulate asymmetric cell division, a critical event in anther patterning and pollen formation.

Fellow of ASPB Award

Ray Chollet, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

John Cushman, University of Nevada, Reno

John Harada, University of California, Davis

Jeffrey Harper, University of Nevada, Reno

Sally Mackenzie, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Susan Wessler, University of California, Riverside

Established in 2007, the Fellow of ASPB Award is granted in recognition of distinguished and long-term contributions to plant biology and service to the Society by current members in areas that include research, education, mentoring, outreach, and professional and public service. This prestigious honor may be granted to no more than 0.2% of the current membership each year.

Corresponding Membership Award

Luis Herrera-Estrella, CINVESTAV (Mexico)

Susanne von Caemmerer, Australian National University (Canberra)

Youngsook Lee , POSTECH (South Korea)

First given in 1932, the Corresponding Membership Award honors up to three distinguished plant biologists residing outside the United States with life membership in ASPB. Herrera-Estrella, von Caemmerer, and Lee have been nominated for the Corresponding Membership Award. Corresponding members are elected by the ASPB membership, so these nominees’ names have been placed on the 2013 Election Ballot.

The 2013 ASPB awards will be formally presented during the opening session of Plant Biology 2013, ASPB’s annual meeting, which will be held July 20–24 in Providence, Rhode Island.

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ASPB is a professional scientific society, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, devoted to the advancement of the plant sciences worldwide. With a membership of some 4,500 plant scientists from throughout the United States and around the world, the Society publishes two of the most widely cited plant science journals: The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology. For more information about ASPB, please visit http://www.aspb.org/. Also follow ASPB on Facebook at facebook.com/myASPB and on Twitter @ASPB.

PDF of Press Release

ASPB NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 8, 2013

CONTACT: Kathy Munkvold, Associate Director of Public Affairs

kmunkvold@aspb.org, (301) 296-0914 (office)

Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell are the first plant science journals to apply this novel technology to improve scholarship

As part of its efforts to make articles published in its journals ever more useful to researchers, the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) will, from January 8, 2013, enrich Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell articles with Utopia Documents. All PDF versions of new articles published from the start of 2013 — along with many more published over the preceding years — will incorporate the advanced features that are accessible to the user via the free Utopia Documents PDF viewer.

ROCKVILLE, MD, USA, and MANCHESTER, UK, January 8, 2013 – Imagine how useful a PDF would be in which it is possible to link in-text references directly to the articles referenced, to export tables into a spreadsheet, and to highlight a term and get a wealth of related links. Imagine how much such a document would improve research and scholarship. Reflecting ASPB’s commitment to experimentation and innovation in research communication, this possibility is now a reality for ASPB’s journals, Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell.

ASPB aims for its journals not only to be avenues for the exchange and communication of knowledge, but, wherever possible, to also be catalysts for innovation. In that light, the Society will enhance and enrich the PDF versions of articles in its journals with the state-of-the-art techniques used by Utopia Document’s PDF viewer to bring features to those PDFs that before now could be realized only in web versions of the article. The technology behind the Utopia Documents tool allows users to view interactive and extractable tables that can be rendered as graphs; active links to citations in the paper; and link-outs, directly from the PDF, to numerous relevant information resources without the need to retype or even copy and paste any keywords or phrases. The result is that the PDFs are as interactive as the HTML versions of the articles, if not more so.

As Steve Pettifer, originator of Utopia Documents, puts it, "Navigating the scientific literature can be cumbersome and time-consuming. Utopia Documents was conceived to help researchers and students cope more readily with the scientific literature. It is a software tool designed by scientists for scientists, frankly, to make life easier. Scientists are always short of time, and to be able to discover—and get to —needed information faster and more conveniently is a major advantage.”

Mike Blatt, incoming Editor-in-Chief of Plant Physiology, agrees. "As a former Editor of the Biochemical Journal, I took part in the launch of Utopia and have seen it grow over the past four years. I am convinced that Utopia will prove immensely attractive both for authors and readers of Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell.

ASPB was founded in 1924 to promote the growth and development of plant biology, to encourage and publish research in plant biology, and to promote the interests and growth of plant scientists in general.

For more information about the Society, visit http://aspb.org.

For more information about Utopia Documents, visit http://utopiadocs.com.

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ASPB is a professional scientific society, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, devoted to the advancement of the plant sciences worldwide. With a membership of some 4500 plant scientists from throughout the United States and more than 50 other nations, the Society publishes two of the most widely cited plant science journals: The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology. For more information about ASPB, please visit http://www.aspb.org/. Also follow ASPB on Facebook at facebook.com/myASPB and on Twitter @ASPB.

ASPB NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 3, 2012

CONTACT: Kathy Munkvold, Associate Director of Public Affairs

kmunkvold@aspb.org, (301) 296-0914 (office)

Thirty-Four ASPB Members Elected to 2012 Class of AAAS Fellows

Plant Biologists Honored for Advancing Science

ROCKVILLE, MD — Thirty-four members of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) were elected to the 2012 class of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellows. This year’s class includes ASPB members from academic, independent, and government research institutions in the United States and abroad. Each year the AAAS Council elects fellows based on their contributions to science and technology in the areas of research; teaching; technology; services to professional societies; administration in academe, industry, and government; and communicating and interpreting science to the public. Fellows are defined as AAAS members "whose efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished.”

New Fellows will be honored with a certificate and a blue and gold rosette to symbolize their distinguished achievements at the AAAS Annual Meeting, Fellows Forum on February 16, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts.

The following ASPB members have been named AAAS Fellows:

Section on Agriculture, Food, and Renewable Resources:

• Richard M. Bostock – University of California, Davis
• Edward S. Buckler – Cornell University; USDA-ARS
• John James Finer – The Ohio State University
• Avtar Krishan Handa – Purdue University
• Maria J. Harrison – Cornell University; Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research
• Karen E. Koch – University of Florida
• Cathie Martin – John Innes Centre
• Melvin J. Oliver – USDA-ARS; University of Missouri-Columbia
• Michael Karl Udvardi – Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
• Jonathan D. Walton – Michigan State University

Section on Biological Sciences:

• Paul G. Ahlquist – University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Gynheung An – Kyung Hee University, South Korea
• Susan H. Brawley – University of Maine
• Thomas P. Brutnell – Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
• Nicholas C. Carpita – Purdue University
• Luca Comai – University of California, Davis
• Xing Wang Deng – Yale University
• Joseph R. Ecker – Salk Institute for Biological Studies
• Jonathan Gershenzon – Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Germany
• Beverley R. Green – University of British Columbia, Canada
• Georg Jander – Cornell University; Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research
• Alan M. Jones – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Daniel F. Klessig, Cornell University; Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research
• Elena M. Kramer – Harvard University
• Sheng Luan – University of California, Berkeley
• Blake C. Meyers – University of Delaware
• Joseph P. Noel – Salk Institute for Biological Studies
• Eran Pichersky – University of Michigan
• Danny J. Schnell – University of Massachusetts Amherst
• Jane Silverthorne – National Science Foundation
• Keiko U. Torii – University of Washington
• Geoffrey O. Wasteneys – University of British Columbia, Canada
• Ruth Welti – Kansas State University
• Shuqun Zhang – University of Missouri-Columbia

The entire list of 2012 AAAS fellows can be found on the AAAS website: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2012/1130fellows_2012.shtml

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ASPB is a professional scientific society, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, devoted to the advancement of the plant sciences worldwide. With a membership of some 4500 plant scientists from throughout the United States and more than 50 other nations, the Society publishes two of the most widely cited plant science journals: The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology. For more information about ASPB, please visit http://www.aspb.org/. Also follow ASPB on Facebook at facebook.com/myASPB and on Twitter @ASPB.

PDF of Press Release

Previously overlooked asymmetry in Arabidopsis and tomato leaves

Research published in The Plant Cell shows that the spiral pattern of leaf formation from the point of growth affects the developing leaf’s exposure to the plant hormone auxin; this exposure leads to measureable left-right asymmetry in leaf development, in species previously assumed to have symmetric leaves.

Is your leaf left-handed?

Previously overlooked asymmetry in Arabidopsis and tomato leaves.

The front of a leaf is different from the back of a leaf and the tip is different from the base. However, a leaf from a tomato or an Arabidopsis plant superficially appears to be bilaterally symmetrical, or the same on the left and right sides. Don’t let its appearance fool you; there is an underlying asymmetry between the left and right sides of such leaves—it just took a while for scientists to discover it. The story begins with the mechanism by which leaves form along a stem. In broad-leafed plants, dicots, leaves form from the meristem, an actively dividing tissue at the top of the plant, so that as you look down the stem, the oldest leaves are at the bottom. Leaves don’t just become arranged by random chance either—phyllotaxis, the arrangement of leaves or flowers along a stem, affects key plant characteristics, such as how much light can filter through to lower leaves. Leaves can form opposite each other, or in alternation, or in whorls; often leaves form in spirals where the next leaf is offset by roughly 137 degrees, known as the "golden angle”, which is related to the Fibonacci sequence.

Recent research has shown that leaf initiation in the meristem is specified by locally high concentrations of the plant hormone auxin. In a study published in The Plant Cell, an international group coordinated by Neelima R. Sinha, Ph.D., of the University of California at Davis, examined how the pattern of auxin concentrations might affect the symmetry of the leaf. She explains, "As leaves are initiated within a spiral context, we might expect that they would be asymmetric and exhibit the same handedness of the spiral, like propeller blades. Yet, superficially many leaves appear symmetrical.” To examine whether the spiral pattern of leaves affected symmetry, her team first modeled the anatomy of the forming leaves and the location of the highest concentrations of auxin, finding that the two were not perfectly aligned. Following up, they found that this difference caused asymmetry at both the molecular level, altering gene expression, and the anatomical level, altering leaf shape, in tomato and Arabidopsis thaliana leaves. Indeed, the authors found measurable anatomical differences between the left and right sides of both young and mature leaves, identifying a previously overlooked axis of asymmetry.

Dr. Sinha summarizes: "Our results show that asymmetry is indeed very much present in the leaves around us and that the spiral, within which they are initiated, influences their development from the earliest stages. Quite literally, the handedness of the spiral in plants transmits its asymmetry to leaves. By studying these asymmetries, we can begin to understand the mechanisms by which plants produce such a staggering array of leaf shapes in such regular arrangements.”

This work was funded through a National Science Foundation grant (IOS-0820854) andSystemsX.chPlantGrowthRTD.

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The research paper cited in this report is available at the following link:

[http://www.plantcell.org/content/early/2012/06/21/tpc.112.098798.full.pdf+html]

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The Plant Cell (http://www.plantcell.org/) is published by the American Society of Plant Biologists. For more information about ASPB, please visit http://www.aspb.org/.

Figure credit: Richard Smith

Figure caption: Model of developing leaves

Restrictions: Use for noncommercial, educational purposes is granted without written permission. Please include a citation and acknowledge ASPB as copyright holder. For all other uses, contact diane@aspb.org.

CONTACT: Kathy Munkvold, Public Affairs Manager

kmunkvold@aspb.org, (301) 296-0914 (office)

ASPB Names 2012 Award Recipients

 Honors to be presented at Plant Biology 2012 in Austin

ROCKVILLE, MD. -- The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2012 awards, honoring excellence in research, education, outreach, and service.

Charles Reid Barnes Life Membership Award

Andrew Hanson, University of Florida, Gainesville

Established in 1925, the Charles Reid Barnes Life Membership Awards is ASPB’s oldest award, honoring lifelong service in plant biology. Hanson, this year’s honoree, is recognized for his unique and multifaceted contributions to plant biology, his exemplary use of comparative genomics approaches to deepen our understanding of plant metabolic pathways, and his research in the areas of folate biosynthesis and biofortification.

Stephen Hales Prize

Ian Sussex, Yale University

Established in 1927, the Stephen Hales Prize is among the Society’s oldest and most prestigious awards; it honors exceptional research accomplishments and service to ASPB. Sussex is recognized for over 60 years of outstanding seminal contributions to diverse areas of plant development research. He is particularly esteemed for his work on embryo lethal mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana, work that helped convince plant researchers that Arabidopsis is a potent model organism. The recipient of the Hales Prize delivers a lecture at the following year’s ASPB annual meeting, so Sussex will speak at Plant Biology 2013 in Providence, RI.

Charles F. Kettering Award

Stephen Long, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Established in 1962 by an endowment from the Kettering Foundation, the Charles F. Kettering Award recognizes excellence in the field of photosynthesis. Long has earned this year’s award for his many seminal discoveries of the responses of photosynthesis to changes in the physical environment as well as the role of photosynthesis in mitigating climate change. Most recently, he and collaborators are developing plants as renewable sources of liquid fuel and addressing the social, economic, and ethical dimensions of allocating part of the food-producing landscape to the production of fuel.

Charles Albert Shull Award

Elizabeth Ainsworth, USDA/ARS; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Created in 1971, the Charles Albert Shull Award recognizes young researchers for outstanding contributions to plant biology in mid-career. Ainsworth is recognized for her impressive scholarship, which she also incorporates into her teaching and service. Her pioneering research on current and potential impacts of global and environmental change on both natural and managed plant ecosystems is widely appreciated. The recipient of the Shull Award delivers a lecture at the following year’s ASPB annual meeting, so Ainsworth will speak at Plant Biology 2013 in Providence, RI.

Dennis R. Hoagland Award

Mary Lou Guerinot, Dartmouth College

The Dennis R. Hoagland Award honors Hoagland’s contributions and leadership in plant mineral nutrition. Guerinot received this year’s award for her seminal contributions to the field of iron nutrition, work that has revolutionized our understanding of the uptake, long-distance transport, and distribution of iron to subcellular compartments, as well as iron deficiency signaling pathways in plants.

Excellence in Education Award

Peggy G. Lemaux, University of California, Berkeley

The Excellence in Education Award recognizes outstanding, teaching, mentoring, and educational outreach in plant biology. Lemaux is recognized for her outstanding contributions as a plant biology educator and educational leader and for her internationally known outreach program to promote a better public understanding of the benefits and risks of agricultural biotechnology. Lemaux’s ongoing activities allow consumers, farmers, public opinion leaders, and government officials to make informed decisions about biotechnology issues.

Early Career Award

Michael Nodine, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

The Early Career Award was instituted in 2005 to recognize outstanding research by scientists at the beginning of their career. Nodine is recognized for his exceptional contributions and creativity in plant embryogenesis and seed biology research, particularly with respect to the function of micro RNAs and the timing of the maternal-zygotic transition in plants.

Lawrence Bogorad Award

Wolf Frommer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

The Lawrence Bogorad Award is made biennially to a plant scientist whose work both illuminates the present and suggests paths to enlighten the future. Frommer is recognized for his major contributions in the development of fundamental tools and technologies essential for breakthrough discoveries that advance our understanding of glucose, sucrose, ammonium, amino acid, and nucleotide transport in plants.

Robert Rabson Award

Yuki Tobimatsu, University of Wisconsin–Madison

This award, made for the first time this year, recognizes Bob Rabson’s steadfast advocacy for plant biology through the creation of funding programs in the Department of Energy for research in basic energy sciences. Tobimatsu is recognized for his exceptional work, thoughtful independent analysis, and effective collaborations in the areas of lignin biosynthesis and cell wall biochemistry.

ASPB Leadership in Science Public Service Award

Peter Raven, Missouri Botanical Garden (President Emeritus)

The ASPB Public Affairs Committee awards theASPB Leadership in Science Public Service Award annually to recognize individuals who have advanced the mission of ASPB and its members through significant contributions to plant science and public policy leadership. Raven is known world-wide for his work as a conservationist and botanist. Although now retired, he served as the president of the Missouri Botanical Garden for four decades. Raven has been recognized for his achievements though numerous awards. He is a member of the National Academy of Science and served on the President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology. He will speak as part of the awards symposium at Plant Biology 2012 in Austin this July.

ASPB–Pioneer Hi-Bred Graduate Student Fellowship

Jessica Rutkoski, Cornell University

The ASPB–Pioneer Hi-Bred Graduate Student Fellowship is made possible by the generosity of Pioneer Hi-Bred International and recognizes and encourages innovative graduate research in areas of plant biology that relate to important commodity crops. Rutkoski is a Ph.D. student in Mark Sorrells’ laboratory in the Plant Breeding graduate program at Cornell University. Her dissertation research focuses on stem rust in wheat, a devastating disease caused by the pathogen Puccinia graminis. Jessica’s goal is to develop wheat varieties that have quantitative resistance to stem rust, which has the potential to be much more durable than single-gene resistance.

Fellow of ASPB Award

Judy Callis, University of California, Davis

Karen Koch, University of Florida

Danny Schnell, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Elizabeth Vierling, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Eleanore Wurtzel, Lehman College, The City University of New York

Established in 2007, the Fellow of ASPB Award is granted in recognition of distinguished and long-term contributions to plant biology and service to the Society by current members in areas that include research, education, mentoring, outreach, and professional and public service. This prestigious honor may be granted to no more than 0.2% of the current membership each year.

Corresponding Membership Award Nominees

Frank Gubler, CSIRO Plant Industry Canberra (Australia)

Agepati Srinivasa Raghavendra, University of Hyderabad (India)

First given in 1932, the Corresponding Membership Award honors up to three distinguished plant biologists residing outside the United States with life membership in ASPB. Gubler and Raghavendra have been nominated for the Corresponding Membership Award. Corresponding Members are elected by the ASPB membership, so these nominees’ names have been placed on the 2012 Election Ballot.

The 2012 ASPB awards will be formally presented during the opening session of Plant Biology 2012, ASPB’s annual meeting, which will be held July 20–24 in Austin, Texas.

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ASPB is a professional scientific society, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, devoted to the advancement of the plant sciences worldwide. With a membership of some 4,500 plant scientists from throughout the United States and more than 50 other nations, the Society publishes two of the most widely cited plant science journals: The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology. For more information about ASPB, please visit http://www.aspb.org/. Also follow ASPB on Facebook at facebook.com/myASPB and on Twitter @ASPB.

Seven ASPB Women's Young Investigator Travel Award Winners Announced

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Each year the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) awards travel grants to early career women investigators through a competitive process to attend the Plant Biology Annual Meeting. The goal of the Women’s Young Investigator Travel Award (WYITA) program is to increase attendance of female investigators in their first five years as an independent scientist in academia, industry, or government at the annual meeting by providing travel funds. Selection is based first on the science and quality of the abstract submitted relative to the amount of time as a young investigator, second on a statement describing why travel should be supported, and third on financial need.

This year seven women were selected and each will receive a $1000 award to attend the Plant Biology Annual Meeting in Austin, TX. A list of recipients including their abstract titles follows.

Jane Geisler-Lee, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

"Phytotoxicity, Accumulation and Transport of Silver Nanoparticles by Arabidopsis thaliana”

Susanne Hoffmann-Benning, Michigan State University

"New Aspects of Phloem-Mediated Long-Distance Lipid Signaling in Plants”

Yan Lu, Western Michigan University

”Novel Transcriptional Regulation of Biosynthesis of Aspartate-Derived Amino Acids”

Mautusi Mitra, University of West Georgia

"Employing Functional Genomics to Study the Regulation of Tetrapyrrole Metabolism in the Green Microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii”

Karolina Mukhtar, University of Alabama at Birmingham

"Functions of Secretory Pathways and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Plant Immunity”

Allison Phillips, Wisconsin Lutheran College

"Analysis of stunter1, a Maize Mutant with Reduced Gametophyte Size and Maternal Effects on Seed Development”

Rebecca Silady, Southern Connecticut State University

"grv2, an Embryo Defective Mutant, Functions in the Late Endocytic Pathway”

Congratulations to each of the 2012 WYITA award winners.

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University of Glasgow plant biologist will assume position in January 2013

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The American Society of Plant Biologists has appointed Michael R. Blatt, PhD, FRSE, as the next editor-in-chief of its primary research journal Plant Physiology.

Plant Physiology is a monthly, international, peer-reviewed journal devoted to the physiology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, genetics, biophysics, and environmental biology of plants. It was founded in 1926 and has risen to become one of the world’s most prominent plant biology journals, with a five-year impact factor of 7.016. It is the most highly cited plant science journal, garnering nearly 56,000 citations in 2010.

Blatt is the Regius Professor of Botany and Head of Plant Sciences within the Institute of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology at the University of Glasgow. He is a Guggenheim fellow; a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland’s national academy of sciences; and a fellow of the James Hutton Institute. He holds a dual BSc with honors in biochemistry and botany from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a PhD in biological sciences from Stanford University. He is currently a deputy chair of the editorial board of the Biochemical Journal, an editorial adviser for the Journal of Experimental Botany, and a member of the editorial panel for Frontiers in Plant Traffic and Transport.

Blatt is especially interested in continuing to develop the journal’s use of new technologies to ensure that it supports and embraces the way plant scientists work today. "I am convinced that Plant Physiology will strengthen its leading position in the field if it is able to take early advantage of the most far-reaching elements of online delivery,” he told the search committee in announcing his interest in the position.

"Mike brings energy and vision to the journal, and we are excited about the opportunities he brings to the journal for growth in new directions," says Sally Mackenzie, chair of the Editor Search Committee and the ASPB Publications Committee. ASPB President Steve Huber also expressed enthusiasm for Blatt’s selection, noting that "Mike brings strengths that will perpetuate Plant Physiology as a leading journal in the plant sciences in the years to come.”

Blatt will work closely with current chief editor Donald R. Ort, PhD, over the next year to ensure a smooth transition for the journal. Ort, who is plant physiologist and research leader with the Global Change and Photosynthesis Research Unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and Robert Emerson Professor in Plant Biology and Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, has served as editor since 2005.

Additional information about Plant Physiology can be found at its website (www.plantphysiol.org), Facebook page (facebook.com/PlantPhysiology), and Twitter feed (twitter.com/PlantPhys).

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ASPB is a professional scientific society, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, devoted to the advancement of the plant sciences worldwide. With a membership of nearly 5,000 plant scientists from throughout the United States and more than 50 other nations, the Society publishes two of the most widely cited plant science journals: The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology. For more information about ASPB, please visit http://www.aspb.org/. Also follow ASPB on Facebook at facebook.com/myASPB and on Twitter @ASPB.

NEWS RELEASE — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: 

• Roger Beachy, Donald Danforth Plant Science Centerrnbeachy@danforthcenter.org
• Adam Fagen, American Society of Plant Biologists, afagen@aspb.org, 301-296-0898
• James Giese, Agronomy, Crop, Soil Science Societies, jgiese@sciencesocieties.org, 608-268-3976
• Jan E. Leach, American Phytopathological Society, jan.leach@colostate.edu, 970-491-2924
• Ian Maw, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, imaw@aplu.org, 202-478-6031
• Tom Van Arsdall, National Coalition for Food and Agriculture Research, tom@vanarsdall.com, 703-509-4746

1,200 Speak Up for Federal Research Funding for Food and Agriculture

More than 1,200 individuals, companies, organizations, educational and research institutions, and other stakeholders have joined together to stress the vital importance of robust research funding for food and agriculture. This initiative represents one of the largest and most diverse efforts to speak up in support of science for food and agriculture.

The letter asks the members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the "super committee”) to increase or at least maintain federal funding for research for food and agriculture as the committee develops overall budget proposals for the future. Recent studies have concluded that research funding for food and agriculture needs to be increased steadily and significantly if future challenges are to be met. For example, signatory Dana Peterson, CEO of the National Association of Wheat Growers, said that, "The super committee must maintain a long-term investment in the public agriculture research system if we are going to increase crop production to meet the demands of a growing, global population for nutritious food.”

The select committee is the bipartisan group charged with issuing a recommendation to Congress by the end of November 2011 to reduce federal budget deficits by at least $1.5 trillion over the next ten years.

The signatories come from all 50 states and represent many sectors—from small family farms to large multinational corporations, from individual academic departments to some of the nation’s largest and most prestigious educational institutions. Dr. Roger Beachy, former director of U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, said that the extraordinarily broad range of interested parties emphasizes "the importance of U.S. agriculture remaining sustainable and internationally competitive into the future.”

The success of the agriculture and food industry plays a significant role in the overall health of the U.S. economy and has been one of the few bright spots in recent years. In 2010, U.S. farms and ranches spent $288 billion to produce goods valued at $369 billion; the value of U.S. food and agriculture exports is expected to be more than $140 billion in 2011, creating a record trade surplus of $42.5 billion for the sector. Furthermore, the jobs of 21 million Americans depend on the vitality of the U.S. agriculture and food sector.

Investments in publicly funded research are critical for maintaining a successful agriculture and food sector. For every $1 invested in publicly funded agricultural research, $20 in economic activity is generated. Although the private sector engages in its own research and development, it depends upon the results of foundational research provided by public support. According to signatory Michiel van Lookeran Campagne, head of Syngenta Biotechnology, "Federally-funded research for food and agriculture has been a foundation on which technology innovators and growers in the U.S. have built the most competitive agricultural sector in the world. Syngenta invests about a $1 billion a year in R&D for agricultural innovation to help farmers improve productivity, and the sustainability of their business and the environment…. We translate the knowledge from public sector research in basic science and technology into new products and techniques for growers. Federal funding for this research is essential for U.S. competitiveness.”

As the letter concludes, "continued investment in science for food and agriculture is essential for maintaining the nation’s food, economic, and national security,” a statement that is endorsed by more than 1,200 individuals and organizations from across the United States.

The letter and list of signatories is available at <http://bit.ly/vOnFvh>.

# # #

Executive Committee

2011–2012

Officers and Elected Members

• Steven C. Huber (President), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Peggy Lemaux (President-Elect), University of California, Berkeley
• Nicholas C. Carpita (Immediate Past President), Purdue University
• Julia Bailey-Serres (Secretary), University of California, Riverside
• Jonathan D. Monroe (Treasurer), James Madison University
• Gloria Muday (Elected Member), Wake Forest University
• Marguerite J. Varagona (Elected Member), Monsanto Company
• Richard Vierstra (Elected Member), University of Wisconsin–Madison

Committee Chairs

• Erin Dolan (Chair, Education Committee), University of Georgia
• Mary Lou Guerinot (Chair, Board of Trustees), Dartmouth College
• David P. Horvath (Chair, Membership Committee), USDA-ARS
• Leon V. Kochian (Chair, International Committee), USDA-ARS and Cornell University
• Marta Laskoski (Chair, Women in Plant Biology Committee), Oberlin College
• Sally A. Mackenzie (Chair, Publications Committee), University of Nebraska–Lincoln
• Richard T. Sayre (Chair, Public Affairs Committee), New Mexico Consortium at Los Alamos National Laboratory
• MariaElena B. Zavala (Chair, Minority Affairs Committee), California State University, Northridge

• Kent D. Chapman (Southern Section Representative), University of North Texas
• Estelle M. Hrabak (Northeastern Section Representative), University of New Hampshire
• Zhongchi Liu (Mid-Atlantic Section Representative), University of Maryland, College Park
• David C. Logan (Western Section Representative), University of Saskatchewan
• Sarah Wyatt (Midwestern Section Representative), Ohio University

Staff

• Crispin Taylor, Executive Director

News from ASPB FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 15, 2011

CONTACT: Adam Fagen, Public Affairs Director

afagen@aspb.org, (301) 296-0898 (office)

ASPB Education Foundation Awards Grants for

Plant Science Outreach

Winners seek to enhance public understanding of plants

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) Education Foundation (http://www.aspb.org/educationfoundation) has awarded $105,700 to four recipients of its annual grants program. Founded in 1995, the Education Foundation was established to provide information and education to increase the public’s knowledge about the role of plants in all areas of life.

The Education Foundation’s flagship activity is its grants program, which provides funding for activities led by ASPB members that enrich the public’s understanding of the following:

• Importance of plants for the sustainable production of medicine, food, fibers, and fuels;
• Critical role plants play in sustaining functional ecosystems in changing environments;
• Latest developments in plant biotechnologies, including genetic modifications that enhance the disease and stress resistance of crops;
• Contributions of discoveries made in plants to discoveries that improve human health and well-being; and
• Range of careers related to plant biology or available to plant biologists.

The Education Foundation especially seeks projects that will produce resources that can be widely shared and disseminated and programs or relationships that can be sustained over time.

The winning projects are

Helping Education Foundation Resources Go Viral!

Peggy Lemaux, University of California, Berkeley

For 20 years Lemaux has developed and disseminated educational resources related to biotechnology. In the late 1990s, she and her team started http://ucbiotech.org/ as a platform for disseminating the displays, games, and 4-H curriculum they developed on issues such as food, agriculture, agricultural practices, and biotechnology. With her 2011 Education Foundation grant, Lemaux and colleague Barbara Alonso will update information and enhance user-friendly interfaces for the biotechnology resources offered on the site. The duo also will enhance, update, and expand their educational resources catalog and continue to loan quality displays for enhancing public understanding of biotechnology to users around the country. Lemaux and Alonso will also systematically develop and monitor social media, including Facebook and Twitter, to promote ASPB educational resources.

Plants iView was initiated by the Plant Biology Association of Graduate Students (PBAGS) at Illinois in recognition of the challenges of interacting with the surrounding community to promote and communicate plant science to a general audience. Communication of science is a key element for the development of teacher–scholars, but these skills are often overlooked within formal graduate training programs. Leakey will use his 2011 Education Foundation Grant to develop several aspects of the Plants iView project: (1) creating an interactive learning environment for middle school students that will allow graduate students to communicate higher-level concepts about plant science through small group leadership, (2) developing lesson plans and multimedia instructional supplements for small-group activities in collaboration with middle school science teachers, and (3) creating a project webpage/blog for broader dissemination of inquiry-based lesson plans and materials.

In 2010, as an extension of the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center’s (ABRC’s) mission to acquire, preserve, and distribute resources important to the Arabidopsis community, the Ohio State team began the development of an educational outreach program. The program was designed to bring Arabidopsis teaching tools to K–12 settings and expand their use in undergraduate education. To gain experience and feedback from students, teachers, and administrators, ABRC partnered with three schools in Ohio to create a series of hands-on exercises named "Greening the Classroom: Bringing the Model Plant Arabidopsis from the Bench to the Classroom.”

The project funded by the ASPB 2011 Education Foundation Grant program will

Plants are underrepresented in K–12 instruction. The current efforts of ASPB to meet this need will be furthered by the development and dissemination of a coloring and activity book designed to engage the minds of preschoolers and young children. The book will use fun images developed to reflect key science content and quality artistry. Using these images in combination with vetted, age-appropriate educational activities, Jones and Ellis will develop a resource that will teach the 12 Principles of Plant Biology (previously identified by the ASPB Education Foundation) at a level understandable to youngsters.

A major goal of this project is to establish the baseline for an understanding of plant biology by young children. The team will develop an evaluation tool currently termed ”Draw a Plant” where student drawings of plants will be evaluated for accuracy, helping to gauge the effectiveness of the coloring book. Such a tool is also expected to be useful in evaluating other plant science educational products targeted at a similar age group. Jones and Ellis also will engage evaluation experts from the University of North Carolina’s School of Education. The importance of this type of cross-campus outreach is another strong benefit of this project.