Plant & Microbial Biology, UC Berkeley

In recognition of 150 Years of Women at Berkeley, Breakthroughs magazine features remarkable women researchers. From the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, Professor Mary Wildermuth spearheaded a community program to strengthen middle school science education, while Professor Emerita Zinmay Renee Sung conducted historical research into Asian American women’s experiences at Berkeley. Read more about how women at Rausser College are helping to see the bigger picture and make a better world: https://nature.berkeley.edu/breakt//extracurricular-honors

One thing that drew me to science early on was an interesting property of living systems: the fact that cells as small as bacteria are highly organized and many of their component parts reside in specific subcellular locations, says associate professor and bacteriologist Kathleen Ryan. Read about her career path in research and her love of science in the fall issue of Breakthroughs: https://nature.berkeley.edu/breakthroughs//why-i-do-science

New research from Plant & Microbial Biology Professor Sabeeha Merchant found that genes which have transferred from one organism to another can be expressed because of unknown mutations. Learn more about the mechanism: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-19983-4

Bats and other animals carrying pathogens don't innately pose a health risk to humans. Postdoctoral fellow Cara Brook discusses the conditions necessary for zoonotic spillover in a recent U.S. News and World Report article: https://www.usnews.com//scientists-focus-on-bats-for-clues

Graduate student Helen Liu wrote an article about how algae can use trace elements to survive in environments without iron. Learn more here: https://qb3.berkeley.edu/news/honey-i-shrunk-the-plants/

Postdocs Ren-Jie Tang, Chao Wang, and Kunlun Li, with graduate student Thomas Kleist and faculty members Peggy Lemaux and Sheng Luan, recently published a study in Nature on the role of crucial minerals in plant adaptation to their environments. Read the paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-020-0621-7

In a recent video, professor Britt Glaunsinger discusses the genetics, evolution, and virulence of coronaviruses. Given COVID-19's rapid spread around the world, understanding the virus' genetic landscape and molecular structures has never been more vital. Watch the video here: https://nature.berkeley.edu//2/03/molecular-virology-video

In a recent study, postdoc Yuan Chen, alumna Claire Bendix, and adjunct associate professor Jennifer Lewis have developed a potential technique to prevent citrus greening, a disease which has already resulted in a 50 to 70 percent reduction in crop production in Florida. Read more about their research: https://www.agdaily.com//new-technique-may-help-protect-o/

Congratulations to professor Sabeeha Merchant for receiving the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Investigator Award! Merchant will join the Symbiosis in Aquatic Systems Initiative, which was launched in 2019, to study aquatic symbioses in marine and freshwater environments. Learn more about her research and the Initiative here: https://nature.berkeley.edu//professor-sabeeha-merchant-re

The annual Chancellor's Campus-Community Partnership Award has been granted to the "Be A Scientist" program, which places researchers in middle schools in the community. The program, spearheaded and led by professor Mary Wildermuth, focuses on mentoring students and improving science curriculum. Read more: https://nature.berkeley.edu//professor-mary-wildermuth-rec

Nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors, or NLRs, help plants find signs of pathogen infections in cells. In a recent scientific review, assistant professor Ksenia Krasileva and postdoc Janina Tamborski provide an overview of NLRs. They cover the receptor's natural history and evolution, previous engineering attempts, and proposals on how to use evolutionary knowledge to advance future research into novel disease-recognition capabilities. Read the study here: http://ow.ly/FFFD50yCT7f

We are excited and grateful to announce that the College of Natural Resources has been renamed the Rausser College of Natural Resources in recognition of a land...mark gift made by Dr. Gordon Rausser, Robert Gordon Sproul Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and former dean of the College. Rausser’s gift is the largest donation ever received by the College and the largest naming gift of any academic unit on the campus. It will deepen the capacity of the College’s research, teaching, and public service initiatives. Learn more: https://nature.berkeley.edu//college-natural-resources-rec #raussercollege See more

New research from assistant professor Benjamin Blackman details the genetic programming and functions of the monkeyflower plant. The study investigates the plant's "landing pads," which pollinators use to obtain easy access to the flower's nectar. Read more about the study: https://news.berkeley.edu//how-the-monkeyflower-gets-its-/

In a study published today in Nature, professor John Taylor and Cooperative Extension specialist Peggy Lemaux examine the mycobiomes living on sorghum leaves and roots. Working with other Berkeley researchers, Lemaux and Taylor investigated the interaction between fungal communities and their plant hosts, in response to severe drought conditions. Read more on the study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-13913-9

In this photo essay, PMB graduate student Nanticha Lutt takes us on a tour of the Plant Gene Expression Center. "The Plant Gene Expression Center’s greenhouse ...is the heart of a collaboration of the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Plant & Microbial Biology Department [...]. It’s heartbeat pumps in seeds, grants, graduate students, and dirtideas and doctorates flow out." http://ow.ly/JtBF50x9kCz See more

In the greenhouses of UC Berkeley’s Oxford Tract, researchers from the Department of Integrative Biology and the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology studied the relationship between commercial tomatoes and their microbiomes. The paper, co-authored by professor Steven Lindow, will help develop agricultural practices which consider the importance of microbial transmission. https://news.berkeley.edu//how-do-you-cultivate-a-healthy/

After nearly three decades at the forefront of forensics, Steven B. Lee, PhD ‘99, can speak with authority about what real CSI looks like. Hint: it’s nothing like the depictions on television. Read more: https://nature.berkeley.edu/breakthroughs/fa19/steven-lee