The New Phytologist Foundation

We are delighted to announce that Professor Maarja Öpik will be New Phytologist's next Editor-in-Chief. Maarja will take up the position from January 2025 for an initial term of five years. Maarja has served as a member of New Phytologist's editorial board since 2013 and is Professor of Molecular Ecology and Director of the Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences at the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Tartu, Estonia. Maarja’s research addresses the interactions between plants and mycorrhizal fungi, with specific focus on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity patterns. Maarja pioneered one of the first public databases in the field, MaarjAM, which is now widely used as a tool for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal identification and in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal ecological research. Maarja will lead an outstanding international board of Editors that focuses on all aspects of plant biology, spanning the journal’s five sections: Physiology & Development, Interaction, Environment, Evolution, and Transformative Plant Biotechnology. Maarja noted that 'New Phytologist is a journal that inspires its readers and authors, and this is the main quality that I aspire to keep, strengthen and develop as an Editor-in-Chief. Publishing inspiring papers and maintaining an active, engaging scientific community contributes towards strengthening the journal and its community.' Maarja will take over the position from Professor Alistair Hetherington, who will step down as Editor-in-Chief after 12 years of outstanding service. Professor Keith Lindsey, Chair of the New Phytologist Foundation’s board of Trustees, commented: 'We are grateful for the many years of excellent leadership offered by Alistair Hetherington, and the journal’s achievements under his tenure as Editor-in-Chief are many. As we look forward, I am delighted to welcome Maarja, an exemplary scientist and editorial colleague to the position of Editor-in-Chief. We are excited to support Maarja’s vision for the journal, and her commitment to the ethos of the Foundation in promoting plant science and supporting the international community of plant biologists. We look forward to the next chapter of the journal’s development under Maarja’s leadership.'

Save the date! Following on from the highly successful 46th New Phytologist Symposium: Stomata, we present two more talks from leading scientists Sally Assmann and Keiko Torii, hosted by Hanna Hõrak. ⌚ 15:30 GMT (UTC+0), 26 November 📍 Online via Zoom Register to attend for free: https://lnkd.in/ebgVpyNW

A GENE that controls when potato plants form their tubers also limits nitrogen uptake, scientists have discovered.  https://lnkd.in/eV3kn3-v Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics - CRAG The New Phytologist Foundation

 I'm excited to announce the publication of my first-author research article exploring the role of the gene StCDF1 in regulating nitrate reduction in potatoes. Our findings reveal that silencing StCDF1 significantly boosts nitrogen use efficiency, effectively equipping potatoes to flourish even in low-nutrient soils.  In the face of climate challenges, could genetic pathways like StCDF1 be pivotal for sustainable agriculture? This study opens up exciting possibilities for future crop resilience and environmental sustainability. #Agriculture #PlantBiology #SustainableFarming #Research #NitrogenEfficiency Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics - CRAG Wageningen University & Research Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC) The New Phytologist Foundation

Currently, large gaps remain in understanding the mechanisms that govern #PlantVirus disease #ecology. A new paper by #Spanish scientists from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, INIA and the Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas found that #PlantVirus community structuring is shaped by habitat heterogeneity & traits for host plant resource utilisation. Their research was published in The New Phytologist Foundation journal: https://lnkd.in/dX4xCdCW #PlantScience KU Leuven Plant Institute Agencia de Gestión Agraria y Pesquera Natural Resources Institute RTDS Group Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics - CRAG Michael McLeish Israel Pagán Fernando García-Arenal López

🆕 Our latest issue is online now! 📚 https://lnkd.in/eWRB6itR Highlights include: 🌱 Virtual Issue: Marine macrophytes in a changing world 🌱 Carotenoid-carbohydrate crosstalk 🌱 Fruit development in cucumber On the cover: A dense kelp forest dominated by Laminaria hyperborea at around 15 m depth in Orkney, Scotland. 📖 Read the Virtual Issue Editorial by Dan Smale and Nathan King: https://lnkd.in/eC6eYdfV

Today's the day! Applications for the 2025 New Phytologist Tansley Medal for excellence in plant science close today, Friday 1 November. All the information you need is here 👇 https://ow.ly/EvGP50TWX0l

Congratulations to Belinda Medlyn, who has received an honorary doctorate from the Universitat de Barcelona! 🔗 https://ow.ly/7b8y50TWZVS Belinda has served on the Editorial Board of New Phytologist since 2017.

🚨 Deadline tomorrow! Don't miss your opportunity to apply for the 2025 New Phytologist Tansley Medal for excellence in plant science! Applications close tomorrow, Friday 1 November. https://ow.ly/nWMb50TWX0r

I am excited to announce the publication of our latest research paper on The New Phytologist Foundation, which explores the morphological evolution of Neotropical grass pollen over an 23-million-year record. Morphological diversity is a fundamental aspect of plant biodiversity, our study sheds light on the evolutionary processes within Neotropics grass. We combine scanning electron microscopy imaging with computational analysis to quantify 40-morphometrics of grass pollen exine from the Neotropics since the Early Miocene (23 million years ago). Three spatial–temporal pollen sets were assembled to further elucidate the variation and evolutionary traits of grasses through space and time. Our results reveals that three spatial–temporal pollen groups occupy unique, partially overlapping regions of their exine morphospace. The direction of this shift is consistent over time, progressing towards less dense ornamentation. Interestingly, the extent of the occupied morphospace did not vary significantly. This is the first time that the true morphological variation in Poaceae pollen micro-ornamentation becomes apparent through time. Our hypothesis provides a new window to understand grass diversification in tropics and beyond. A big thanks to our co-authors teams: Carina Hoorn; Phil Jardine; William D. Gosling; Mao Li , Luke Mander, and Limi Mao. Also thanks to our department Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics - University of Amsterdam For more details, please check out the full paper here: