Fractal patterns in colonies of E.coli

Tim Rudge and Fernan Federici have been noticed by Scientific American for their images of bacterial growth patterns. Their paper was recently published in ACS Synthetic Biology, showing how complex fractal patterns in colonies of E. coli emerge simply from the physical interactions of rod shaped cells.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/oscillator/2013/06/09/fractal-bacteria/

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/lab-rat/2013/06/09/the-fractal-patterns-of-bacterial-colonies/

Blowing in the wind: how hidden flower features are crucial for bees

New research reveals that velcro-like cells on plant petals play a crucial role in helping bees grip flowers.

Read the article

Katrina Alcorn, Heather Whitney and Beverley Glover (2012). 'Flower movement increases pollinator preference for flowers with better grip', doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2012.02009.x is published in Functional Ecology on Tuesday 29 May 2012.

Seed size is controlled by maternally produced small RNAs, scientists find

Z. Jeff Chen, the D.J. Sibley Centennial Professor in Plant Molecular Genetics at The University of Texas at Austin and his colleagues, including David Baulcombe at the University of Cambridge, provide the first genetic evidence that seed development is controlled by maternally inherited "small interfering RNAs," or siRNAs.

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Read the publication.

Lighting up plant cells to engineer biology

Jim Haseloff's lab have developed a new technique for measuring and mapping gene and cell activity through fluorescence in living plant tissue.

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Three articles in Research Horizons magazine

Under the Microscope #5 – Daisy
In this video Dr Beverley Glover explains how a daisy is a collection of tiny flowers grouped together to make it look like a single big flower. Read more.

Flower power: how to get ahead in advertising
Some plants go to extraordinary lengths to attract pollinators. A unique collaboration between plant scientists and physicists is revealing the full extent of botanical advertising. Read more.

Canopy commerce: forest conservation and poverty alleviation
Innovative approaches for protecting the future of Sierra Leone's Gola Forest - globally important for its biodiversity and its carbon reserves - are being developed by a collaboration of conservation agencies and University of Cambridge researchers. Read more.

Study highlights how litterfall could lead to a release of stored carbon from the soil

A new study shows that as climate change enhances tree growth in tropical forests, the resulting increase in litterfall could stimulate soil micro-organisms, leading to a release of stored soil carbon.

Read more.

Food Security in Research Horizons magazine

The challenge of global food security features in much of the research and teaching in the Department of Plant Sciences. A recent issue of "Research Horizons" features three projects from the Department and one from the Sainsbury Laboratory - read online here.

There are also other articles addressing the broader context of the food security challenge that illustrate how Cambridge University can provide multidisciplinary solutions to this complex problem.

You can ask experts including Department members about food security in an online dialogue here: Your chance to ask the experts

Independent and Parallel Recruitment of Preexisting Mechanisms Underlying C4 Photosynthesis

Work conducted by Naomi Brown and others in Julian Hibberd's lab (including two former Part II students) is published in Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.1201248). Naomi provided the first evidence that multiple genes important in the C4 pathway share a common regulatory mechanism. The work also shows that genes in phylogenetically distant C3 plants are primed to be recruited into the C4 pathway, and so offers major insight into the origins of the C4 pathway. When Naomi returns from maternity leave she will investigate the importance of these new findings on a recently funded grant by the BBSRC.

Seeding growth: plant sciences

An article from Research Horizons Magazine:

The study of plants is blossoming in Cambridge, with new facilities, new research and soon a major new institute.

Increasingly, plants are recognised as being at the heart of sustainable solutions to many global concerns, whether it’s the need to secure food supplies, develop biofuels or tackle environmental issues. ‘Plant-related research is now much more prominent as a result of this new awareness,’ said Professor Sir David Baulcombe, Head of the Department of Plant Sciences and first incumbent of the newly created Regius Professorship of Botany. ‘We want to be in a position in Cambridge to step up to the mark and generate the understanding and applications needed to meet these challenges.’

Read more online

Tributes paid to Richard Savage

From the Royston Weekly News 23rd April 2010:

Tributes have been paid to a Cambridge University librarian who died after being hit by a train.

Richard Savage, of Greville Road, off Mill Road, Cambridge, died at Royston station on Friday morning.

Read the full article.

Floral Iridescence, Produced by Diffractive Optics, Acts As a Cue for Animal Pollinators

Heather Whitney and Beverley Glover have been published in Science: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1166256.

News report in The Daily Telegraph.

News report in The University of Cambridge.

Clocks help plants grow faster

Researchers at the University of Cambridge found that the biological clock in plants increases photosynthesis, helping them grow faster.

More information here.

Review calls for national strategy for crop science research

BBSRC Review of Crop Science Research: Media Release 12/05/04

An independent review panel is calling for a national strategy for crop science research in order to help UK agriculture benefit from breakthroughs in the laboratory. In a review commissioned by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the UK's largest funder of plant science, and published today, the panel proposes a stronger national focus on research underpinning "public good" plant breeding.

"Agriculture is changing quickly and is under a range of influences that will place many demands on crop science over the next 20 years," says Professor Chris Gilligan from the University of Cambridge, head of the review panel and a member of the BBSRC Council. "This is happening at a time of rapid advances in the fundamental understanding of plant science, enabled by developments in molecular biology, which offers great scientific opportunity. Whilst the UK is a world leader in plant science and genomics, we now need a national strategy for crop science research that will help us make better use of the advances in the research arena and help UK agriculture deal with the changing demands it will face over the coming years."

The report highlights a number of new challenges faced by UK agriculture caused by climate change, international competition (particularly in an expanded European Union), the threat of new pests and diseases and changing food demands from the public. In addition, the report outlines the ongoing demands to reduce inputs to farming systems, understand the links between diet and health and develop novel non-food crops for biofuels and biopharmaceuticals. The UK's position as a world leader in many areas of plant and crop science places the country in a strong position to deal with these challenges effectively.

"A national strategy for crop science research will help focus efforts on key targets and technologies for the future, and will bring together funders of research, end users and the public to discuss the ways to take advantage of the output from the excellent plant science base in the UK," says Gilligan. "We advocate greater focus on the dietary value of food crops and the development of non-food uses for crops. We also recommend a national plant breeding initiative for public benefit in the UK, along with research on generic problems of drought, pest and disease resistance that will help developing nations as well as the UK. We must also strike a clear balance between the appropriate and acceptable use of GM and non-GM technologies, assessing the benefits and costs on a case-by-case basis."

"As the UK's largest funder of plant science, BBSRC plays a key role in supporting the basic research which underpins our understanding of crops and transferring these advances to beneficial applications," says Dr Alf Game, head of the plants, microbes and genetics branch at BBSRC. "We recognise the need for closer links between research funders and will be discussing with funders and users in this area, to see how we may take forward some of the proposals contained in the report." The report is available in full at: http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/media/pressreleases/04_05_12_csr.html.

Contact:
Andrew McLaughlin or Matt Goode, 01793 413 301 press.office@bbsrc.ac.uk.

Notes
BSBRC annually spends around £65 million on plant and crop science research. BBSRC Council set up the Crop Science Review panel in July 2003 to take a medium to long-term (10-20 year) view of future crop science research. In preparing the report, the panel has sought a wide range of views in the UK and overseas from academia, research institutes, industry, government departments, non-government organisations. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is the UK funding agency for research in the life sciences. Sponsored by Government, BBSRC annually invests around £300 million in a wide range of research that makes a significant contribution to the quality of life for UK citizens and supports a number of important industrial stakeholders including the agriculture, food, chemical, healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors.
http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk