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UID:5560-1773221400-1773225000@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Do Sacred Plants Have Standing? Religious Freedom of Expression & Biocultural Recovery of Sacred & Ceremonial Plants
DESCRIPTION:Presented by Gary Nabhan. \nIndigenous communities and other traditional ethnic enclaves have long integrated sacred and ceremonial plants into their spiritual traditions\, but the affirmation of their legal rights to protect and maintain cultural access to such plants has been fraught with outdated conceptions of what “religion” and “legitimate practice of spiritual traditions” entails\, especially with respect to plants and animals used in ceremonies and their legal status as “sacred persons”. Case studies from the contested U.S.-Mexico border and war-torn Middle East will suggest some ways that public perception and case law are evolving to accommodate these Indigenous rights more fully. \n \nBiography\nGary Nabhan PhD is a contemplative desert ecologist and Franciscan Brother. He founded the Sacred Plants Biocultural Recovery Initiative and worked with indigenous spiritual leaders and elected officials to declare the saguaro cactus as a sacred sentient being with legal protection on 100\,000 ha of Sonoran Desert lands. He is author\, Coauthor or editor of 35 books in 6 languages and over 150 scholarly articles and book chapters. \n  \n  \n  \n  \nAbout People\, Plants and the Law Online Lecture Series\nThe People\, Plants\, and the Law lecture series explores the legal and lively entanglements of human and botanical worlds. \nToday people engage with and relate to plants in diverse and sometimes divergent ways. Seeds—and the plants that they produce—may be receptacles of memory\, sacred forms of sustenance\, or sites of resistance in struggles over food sovereignty. Simultaneously\, they may be repositories of gene sequences\, Indigenous knowledge\, bulk commodities\, or key components of economic development projects and food security programs. \nThis lecture series explores the special role of the law in shaping these different engagements\, whether in farmers’ fields\, scientific laboratories\, international markets\, or elsewhere.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/do-sacred-plants-have-standing-religious-freedom-of-expression-biocultural-recovery-of-sacred-ceremonial-plants/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:People Plants and the Law
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260303T100000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260303T110000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20260216T054815Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260303T013537Z
UID:5747-1772532000-1772535600@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Talking Plant Science: Frank Sainsbury
DESCRIPTION:The ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture is proud to bring you the next seminar in our Talking Plant Science series\, presented by Dr Frank Sainsbury. \nReprogramming Viruses to Protect Plants from the Inside and Out\nViruses are deceptively simple and remarkably potent. They infect all forms of cellular life and while viruses are known for disease\, they exist as partners in different types of symbiotic relationships with their hosts\, ranging from parasitic to mutualistic. Thanks to modern biotechnology they have also been harnessed for bespoke benefits in medicine and agriculture. My research group uses recombinant virus-like particle expression to understand the structure-function relationship of virus capsids and to rebuild viruses as containers for proteins and non-native nucleic acids. Using these approaches\, we are exploiting some of the unique properties of viruses to devise ways to prevent the spread of plant pests and pathogens\, including nematodes and disease-causing viruses. The environmental stability of bacteriophage capsids makes for long-lived carriers of RNA-based pesticides to soil. The ability of persistent plant viruses to exist relatively unchanged for millennia inside their hosts provides an opportunity to bestow crop resistance to herbivores and parasitic plant viruses via enduring extrachromosomal transcription in plants. Both projects support our goal to use reconstructed and reprogrammed virus-like particles as delivery vehicles in challenging environments where stability and/or transfer of sensitive cargos are current bottlenecks. \n \nDr Frank Sainsbury\nGriffith University \nDr Frank Sainsbury leads a physical virology lab at Griffith University. His research group is primarily interested in virus capsids\, pushing the boundaries of how they assemble\, and what can be learned from using them as biochemical reaction vessels and delivery vehicles. Dr Sainsbury trained as a plant virologist at the John Innes Centre in the UK and was hooked by the deceptive simplicity of viruses and by their potential for use in biotechnology. His PhD work included the invention of protein expression systems in plants that have supported Phase III clinical trials of influenza vaccines and led to a major UK innovation award. Since taking up an ARC DECRA at the University of Queensland in 2014\, he has developed a program of research into the assembly\, engineering\, and uses of virus-like particles. In 2018 he was awarded a CSIRO Fellowship in Synthetic Biology to explore the directed assembly of virus coat proteins into protein cages with non-natural geometries. He subsequently moved to Griffith University and in 2023\, he was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship to evolve virus capsids for applied uses in agriculture and health.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/talking-plant-science-frank-sainsbury/
CATEGORIES:Talking Plant Science
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260218T090000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260218T100000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20251207T152648Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260218T013905Z
UID:5554-1771405200-1771408800@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Honoring the Gift: A Share-Alike Approach to Free Access to Seeds and Collaborative Futures
DESCRIPTION:Presented by Claudia Irene Calderón\, Jean-Michel Ané and Jorge L. Contreras. \nSeeds represent more than just genetic material. They are gifts that embody community stories\, cultural memory\, and ecological adaptation\, serving as the foundation of our food systems. This talk will delve into how we can honor these gifts through ethical frameworks and collaborative practices that safeguard free access and reciprocity. We will begin by sharing lessons from the MaSE project\, which promotes mutual learning between Indigenous communities and academic institutions to develop culturally grounded guidelines for seed sovereignty collaboratively. Next\, we will explore the scientific and ethical dimensions surrounding research on nitrogen-fixing maize landraces from Oaxaca. This case exemplifies both the promise of agroecological innovation and the risks of biopiracy when Indigenous contributions are overlooked. Lastly\, we will examine legal approaches to open seed germplasm transfers\, such as Bioleft (in Argentina) or the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI)\, which seek to challenge restrictive intellectual property regimes and foster commons-based stewardship. Together\, these perspectives encourage us to envision collaborative futures where diverse forms of knowledge\, cultural commitments\, scientific advancements\, and legal frameworks converge to safeguard biodiversity and promote ethical sharing. \n \nBiographies\nProfessor Jean-Michel Ané is a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in both the Department of Bacteriology and the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His primary research focuses on elucidating the molecular mechanisms that drive efficient symbiotic relationships between plants and microbes. The ultimate aim of his work is to leverage this understanding to improve agricultural productivity and sustainability for the production of food\, feed\, and biofuels. \n  \n  \n  \n  \n \nProfessor Jorge Contreras is a Distinguished University Professor\, the James T. Jensen Endowed Professor for Transactional Law and Director of the Program on Intellectual Property and Technology Law and the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law in Salt Lake City\, Utah\, USA. His research focuses on intellectual property and innovation law\, and he has written extensively on patent pledges and other forms of open innovation in the life sciences. \n  \n  \n  \nDr Calderón is an Affiliated Professor at Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala and a Teaching Faculty in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her work uses participatory and transdisciplinary approaches to advance just agroecological transitions. With extensive experience at the intersections of gender\, indigeneity\, health\, and agroecology\, she is committed to re-centering ancestral knowledge and fostering respectful collaborations that value different ways of knowing. Through initiatives such as MaSE “Maize Sovereignty for Everyone\, Mutual Learning for the Defense and Culturally Acceptable Use of Indigenous Biodiversity”\, she promotes mutual learning between Indigenous communities and academic institutions to co-create ethical frameworks for seed sovereignty that safeguard biodiversity and strengthen sustainable food systems. \n  \n  \nAbout People\, Plants and the Law Online Lecture Series\nThe People\, Plants\, and the Law lecture series explores the legal and lively entanglements of human and botanical worlds. \nToday people engage with and relate to plants in diverse and sometimes divergent ways. Seeds—and the plants that they produce—may be receptacles of memory\, sacred forms of sustenance\, or sites of resistance in struggles over food sovereignty. Simultaneously\, they may be repositories of gene sequences\, Indigenous knowledge\, bulk commodities\, or key components of economic development projects and food security programs. \nThis lecture series explores the special role of the law in shaping these different engagements\, whether in farmers’ fields\, scientific laboratories\, international markets\, or elsewhere.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/honoring-the-gift-a-share-alike-approach-to-free-access-to-seeds-and-collaborative-futures/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:People Plants and the Law
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251202T100000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251202T110000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20251119T192354Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251201T154201Z
UID:5506-1764669600-1764673200@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Talking Plant Science: Lizzie Wandrag
DESCRIPTION:The ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture is proud to bring you the next seminar in our Talking Plant Science series\, presented by Dr Lizzie Wandrag. \nSpecies interactions as drivers of plant community dynamics under global change\nSpecies interactions\, including mutualisms\, competition and plant-soil feedbacks\, govern patterns of coexistence\, community assembly\, and ecosystem resilience. Yet these interactions are often the first components of ecosystems to be disrupted under global change. I will explore how species interactions shape plant performance and community composition\, drawing on empirical examples from both native and invaded systems. I will highlight how species interactions mediate invasion success and impact\, and how altered disturbance regimes amplify or suppress these processes. Together\, these perspectives underscore the central role of species interactions in shaping plant community dynamics in a rapidly changing world\, and highlight the need to integrate species interactions into community ecology to improve predictions of community change. \n \nDr Lizzie Wandrag\nUniversity of Tasmania \nLizzie a plant community ecologist with a focus on examining how biotic interactions affect and are affected by plant species’ and community response to global change. She is increasingly interested in the role of the soil microbiome in driving plant community composition and recovery from perturbation\, \nLizzie often works with weedy and invasive plant species. Examining the factors that allows some plant species to dominate in some locations provides opportunities to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that govern plant community composition more generally.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/talking-plant-science-lizzie-wandrag/
CATEGORIES:Talking Plant Science
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251118T050000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251118T060000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20250911T155426Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251124T133929Z
UID:5331-1763442000-1763445600@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Making and Marketing Biocultural Heritage in Agriculture: From the Andean Community to Asia
DESCRIPTION:Presented by Rosemary Coombe and David Jefferson. \nMuch socio-legal research on intellectual property in relation to food and agriculture focuses on the influence of global policy norms on domestic law-making and the expansion of new international trade opportunities for small-scale producers. Other studies have examined controversies and contestations around government actors claiming foods as manifestations of their national heritage. We depart from both mainstream analytical approaches\, employing perspectives from legal anthropology on how ‘policy travels’ to consider new articulations of human rights and sustainability objectives. We evaluate and synthesise a growing body of ethnographic research (much of it done by and with international NGOs) that explores how Indigenous\, ethnic minority\, and other communities living in rural areas in the Global South articulate proprietary claims over seeds\, crops\, agricultural methods\, and culinary knowledge as important forms of biocultural heritage in socioecological initiatives. These novel proprietary claims\, exist inside\, outside\, and often alongside conventional intellectual property vehicles. Influenced by environmental development NGOs\, farmers’ movements\, and food sovereignty aspirations\, communities assert biocultural rights norms to identify goods derived from collective territorial enterprise. Drawing from earlier research focused on Andean Community member states\, we now consider examples from China\, the Philippines\, and Nepal of how biocultural heritage territories are designated\, agroecology principles are asserted\, biocultural goods are made and marketed\, and agritourism initiatives promoted. Together\, these examples demonstrate interlinkages between Andean and Asian communities as global policy norms of biodiversity conservation\, traditional knowledge protection\, climate change mitigation\, and food security and sovereignty are interpreted through articulations of collective rights to heritage. \n \nBiographies\nRosemary Coombe\nRosemary J. Coombe is a Full Professor in the Departments of Anthropology and Social Science. She held the Tier One Canada Research Chair in Law\, Communication and Culture at York University from 2001- 2022. She supervises graduate students in Anthropology and Socio-Legal Studies. Prior to becoming a CRC at York\, she was a Full Professor of Law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. She holds doctoral degrees in law and anthropology and publishes widely in anthropology\, cultural studies\, law and society and food and heritage studies. \nHer early work addressed the cultural\, political\, and social implications of intellectual property laws. Her book\, The Cultural Life of Intellectual Properties (1998\, reprinted in 2008) is a legal ethnography of the ways in which intellectual property law shapes cultural politics in consumer societies. She now does research on ‘the work of culture’ in an era of informational capital. Topics include the protection of biological diversity and its relation to cultural diversity\, and the emergence of ‘biocultural heritage’ protections. Generally\, she explores the ‘culturalisation’ of claims\, entitlements\, and social justice aspirations under conditions of neoliberalism\, sustainable development objectives\, and evolving and emerging fields of human rights\, particularly Peasants’ Rights. \nDavid Jefferson\nDr David J Jefferson (he/him) is an Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury Faculty of Law\, where he teaches Environmental Law\, Land Law\, and Intellectual Property. David is a legal anthropologist whose research covers a range of issues related to biodiversity conservation\, biotechnology regulation\, intellectual property in the agricultural and food sectors\, ecosystem rights laws\, and the protection of Indigenous knowledge systems. The field sites where David works are in Aotearoa New Zealand\, Australia\, and the Andean Community of South America. He holds a PhD in Law from the University of Queensland\, a JD from the University of California\, Davis\, and an MA in Psychology from Suffolk University. David has been the recipient of several competitive research awards\, including a United States Fulbright fellowship for work in Ecuador. His first book\, Towards an Ecological Intellectual Property: Reconfiguring Relationships Between People and Plants in Ecuador was published in 2020 \nAbout People\, Plants and the Law Online Lecture Series\nThe People\, Plants\, and the Law lecture series explores the legal and lively entanglements of human and botanical worlds. \nToday people engage with and relate to plants in diverse and sometimes divergent ways. Seeds—and the plants that they produce—may be receptacles of memory\, sacred forms of sustenance\, or sites of resistance in struggles over food sovereignty. Simultaneously\, they may be repositories of gene sequences\, Indigenous knowledge\, bulk commodities\, or key components of economic development projects and food security programs. \nThis lecture series explores the special role of the law in shaping these different engagements\, whether in farmers’ fields\, scientific laboratories\, international markets\, or elsewhere. \nThis People\, Plants and the Law lecture is brought to you in collaboration with The International Society for the History and Theory of Intellectual Property (ISHTIP).
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/making-and-marketing-biocultural-heritage-in-agriculture-from-the-andean-community-to-asia/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:People Plants and the Law
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251028T170000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251028T180000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20250911T152442Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251028T134037Z
UID:5324-1761670800-1761674400@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Re-imagining (Re)production in Intellectual Property Law: Proprietary Fruit and the Making of Botanical Kinds
DESCRIPTION:Presented by Susannah Chapman. \nOver the past several decades\, many fruit breeding programs have begun to commercialize new varieties via the strategic use to two legal techniques: the use of plant variety protection—coupled with contracts to create small “clubs” of select growers—and the use of branding to foster ready consumer demand for the protected fruit that the club would produce. In these highly proprietary supply chains\, the production of new varieties is inextricably tied to the seasonal production of brand-compliant fruit. \nThis talk explores the work that is required to make an already-existing variety grow into to its varietal image year after year. In doing so\, it invites reflection on the distinction between creative production and mundane reproduction that permeate many accounts of plant breeding by exploring the work of “making” that comes after the “creation” of new botanical kinds. Implied in the internal infrastructure through which intellectual property law identifies its object is the idea that crop varieties are produced (bred or “created”)\, after which they are classified and named. Once bred and authored into the world\, the variety is effectively reproduced (cultivated)\, unless and until it is “bred” into something different. Such a distinction maps onto wider genealogical models of reproduction-as-generation. Cultivation here is generally not envisaged as a creative act\, but a reproductive—or copying—one. Rather\, it is only in certain instances of plant reproduction\, where there is a biological shift in the progeny that is deemed sufficient to create a break in botanical kind\, that the copying reproduction of cultivation is reclassified as a creative\, productive act of breeding. \nIn following the creative work of growing brand-compliant crop varieties\, this talk shows how emerging intellectual property arrangements are reworking\, in some ways\, the very distinctions between reproduction and production upon which they depend. Such re-imagining opens up space to consider\, however narrowly\, the ways in which plant reproduction—and reproduction more broadly—is always enmeshed in wider social\, ecological\, and technoscientific relations. \n \nBiography\nSusannah Chapman\nSusannah Chapman is a Lecturer in Sociocultural Anthropology at University College Cork. Trained as an environmental and legal anthropologist\, she has a keen interest in plant-human relations\, food systems\, and environmental governance. Her work asks questions about the signification and care of plants but also the coloniality\, biopolitics\, and translational practices of contemporary efforts to regulate\, conserve\, and transform plant life\, including trees. Her interest in these questions is rooted in her prior experience working on many different kinds of farms\, from diverse polycultures to simplified monocultures\, across the United States and a general love of plants. She has written on the loss and recuperation of apple tree diversity in the United States\, the propertization of horticultural supply chains in Australia\, and the regulation of plant life in The Gambia since the late nineteenth century. \nAbout People\, Plants and the Law Online Lecture Series\nThe People\, Plants\, and the Law lecture series explores the legal and lively entanglements of human and botanical worlds. \nToday people engage with and relate to plants in diverse and sometimes divergent ways. Seeds—and the plants that they produce—may be receptacles of memory\, sacred forms of sustenance\, or sites of resistance in struggles over food sovereignty. Simultaneously\, they may be repositories of gene sequences\, Indigenous knowledge\, bulk commodities\, or key components of economic development projects and food security programs. \nThis lecture series explores the special role of the law in shaping these different engagements\, whether in farmers’ fields\, scientific laboratories\, international markets\, or elsewhere.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/re-imagining-reproduction-in-intellectual-property-law-proprietary-fruit-and-the-making-of-botanical-kinds/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:People Plants and the Law
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251007T140000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20251007T150000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20250910T150002Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251006T193144Z
UID:5319-1759845600-1759849200@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Talking Plant Science: Junko Kyozuka
DESCRIPTION:The ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture is proud to bring you the next seminar in our Talking Plant Science series\, presented by Distinguished Professor Junko Kyozuka. \nStep by step evolution of strigolactone signalling pathway\nStrigolactones (SLs) serve dual functions as hormones that regulate growth and development and as rhizosphere signalling molecules that promote symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in flowering plants. How SLs acquired these dual roles remained unclear. We reported that the ancestral function of SLs was as rhizosphere signals\, which were later co-opted as hormones through the gradual evolution of signalling components. SLs are perceived by DWARF14 (D14)\, which interacts with the F-box protein MAX2 and SMXL repressors; D14 arose via duplication of KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2)\, a receptor for the unidentified ligand KL\, in the common ancestor of seed plants. KAI2 itself likely originated via horizontal gene transfer prior to streptophyte evolution. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that KL signaling was established in the common ancestor of land plants. \nTo investigate the ancestral role of KL signaling\, we analyzed its function in two bryophytes\, the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha and the moss Physcomitrium patens. In both species\, KL signaling modulates growth by regulating cytokinin accumulation. We propose that the functions of KL signalling in bryophytes may reflect its original role in optimizing growth and development. \n \n  \nDistinguished Professor Junko Kyozuka\nTohoku University
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/talking-plant-science-junko-kyozuka/
CATEGORIES:Talking Plant Science
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250930T093000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250930T103000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20250807T184237Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250930T181716Z
UID:5241-1759224600-1759228200@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Experiences of scientists supporting community engagement regarding crop genetic resources and the law: examples from traditionally based maize systems in North America
DESCRIPTION:Presented by Daniela Soleri\, Alma Piñeyro\, and Emmanuel Carlos González Ortega. \nIn situ conserved crop genetic resources (CGRs) occur in the form of native or local crop varieties\, developed and cultivated by peasant/farming communities\, including indigenous communities across North America. The global significance of these CGRs has led to the construction of legal frameworks regarding core issues of access\, use\, benefit sharing\, liability and redress\, and the threats to the integrity and conservation of these crop varieties and the associated ancestral knowledge. Until recently\, most of these frameworks have supported an industrial agriculture and food system paradigm and associated assumptions. As social and biological scientists\, we describe our methods and experiences from work with indigenous maize-growing communities around some of those core issues. Regarding the exploitation of community CGRs – early documentation of community opinions regarding Intellectual Property Rights in seeds\, food and tribal name\, and a recent example of the inadequacy of current protocols intended to prevent inequitable exploitation and eventual privatization of community CGRs. Regarding protecting the integrity of community CGRs\, we summarize previous and ongoing work to uphold a constitutional mandate in Mexico to protect community CGRs of native maize from gene technology contamination\, through a grassroots and bottom-up collaborative approach with peasants and small-scale maize producers that we have called “community biosafety.” We do not speak for these communities\, but rather as scientists and partners testing conventional assumptions about agriculture and food systems\, and alternatives to these. From our standpoints\, we reflect on lessons learned of utility for current and future research and practice around the interface of the legal\, western scientific\, and community perspectives on native and local crop varieties. \n \nBiographies\nDaniela Soleri\nDaniela Soleri has a PhD in ethnoecology with an emphasis in anthropology and participatory research\, and a minor in plant science. She is a Research Scientist\, Department of Geography\, University of California\, Santa Barbara\, USA. As an ethnoecologist Soleri’s research uses theory and methods from social and biological sciences to explore epistemic justice in food systems. With these tools she documents and investigates people’s knowledge and management of their crop plants and foods\, and the implications for improving science practice and public policy. Together with colleagues she has described the informal\, adaptive processes and practices developed by small scale farmers to support desirable\, viable maize and bean populations\, or by transnational migrants to maintain healthy\, culturally significant food systems in new places of residence. She tests assumptions that are fundamental in some food system research such as the function of seed selection\, definitions of a crop variety\, farmers’ attitudes towards new seed technologies and their related risk assessment\, and the homogeneity of the nutrition transition in migrant communities. Her studies of the perceptions and goals of maize farmers viz a vis maize seed technologies – local varieties\, and commercial hybrids and transgenics – are unique in distinguishing these technologies and documenting farmers’ own preferences\, providing evidence of a more nuanced picture of the larger seed technology debate than is typically seen. In different ways\, her research asks: Through respectful collaboration\, how can researchers understand and support communities’ own efforts to construct food systems that reflect valued livelihoods\, foods and cultural traditions while adapting to 21st century challenges including agrobiodiversity loss\, rising social inequity\, noncommunicable diseases\, migration\, and the climate crisis? More here. \nAlma Piñeyro\nAlma Piñeyro-Nelson is a biologist from the Faculty of Sciences at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM; National Autonomous University of Mexico)\, México (2007) and holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences\, also at UNAM (2013). Her professional training includes a postdoctoral stance at the University of California at Berkeley\, USA\, where she was a UC-Mexus postdoctoral fellow (February 2013-April 2015). Since June 2015\, she has been a Full professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM; Metropolitan Autonomous University) at its Xochimilco campus\, where she works in the Department of Agricultural and Animal Production\, teaching undergraduates in the agronomy major. Her areas of expertise are: molecular genetics of plant development\, developmental evolution\, agrobiodiversity conservation\, as well as biosafety and biomonitoring of genetically modified organisms in Mexico\, particularly maize. She has published several research articles related to her research areas and coordinated\, together with Dr. Elena R. Álvarez-Buylla the multi-authored book: “El maíz en peligro ante los transgénicos: un análisis integral sobre el caso de México” (Ed.CEIICH-UNAM/UCCS\, 2013). Piñeyro has worked with small-holder producers and peasants from different parts of Mexico (Oaxaca\, Tlaxcala\, Mexico City\, Chiapas\, Tabasco) throughout her career. Since 2022 she has been PI (Principal Investigator) or co-PI in three research projects funded by the National Council for Science and Technology (Mexico) focused on documenting transgene presence in different maize samples (native seed\, hybrid seed\, grain\, processed flour\, food) and has led multidisciplinary efforts focused on the co-construction of communitary biosafety measures in localities in Oaxaca and Tabasco. \nEmmanuel Carlos González Ortega\nDr. Emmanuel González-Ortega currently is a researcher with/for Mexico (“Investigador por México”) at the Autonomous Metropolitan University-Xochimilco in Mexico City. He holds a PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Barcelona\, a MsSC in Plant Biotechnology from the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (Cinvestav) in Mexico\, and has Biotechnology Engineering degree from the Interdisciplinary Professional Unit of Biotechnology of the National Polytechnic Institute (UPIBI-IPN) in Mexico. González-Ortega is an expert in biosecurity of genetically modified organisms (GMO)\, GMO risk assessment\, monitoring and identification of transgenic maize in the field and in foods produced with maize. He has participated in research projects aimed to the construction of bottom-up initiatives on maize biosecurity in indigenous/rural communities in several regions of Mexico. González-Ortega has been nominated by Mexican government to participate in several multilateral discussions in the context of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity such as “Risk assessment and risk management of GMO” and “Monitoring and Identification of GMO” discussions on the Development of the methodology for the second assessment and review of the effectiveness of the Nagoya Protocol. He has been recognized as expert in Synthetic Biology to participate in the Ad hoc Technical Expert Group on Synthetic Biology. He is interested in the biological\, ecological\, social\, and cultural implications of the presence of GMOs. González-Ortega also has scientific expertise in molecular biology\, molecular genetics\, molecular virology. He is a member of the National System of Researchers\, Level I\, of the Secretariat of Science\, Humanities\, Technology\, and Innovation (SECIHTI) in Mexico. \nAbout People\, Plants and the Law Online Lecture Series\nThe People\, Plants\, and the Law lecture series explores the legal and lively entanglements of human and botanical worlds. \nToday people engage with and relate to plants in diverse and sometimes divergent ways. Seeds—and the plants that they produce—may be receptacles of memory\, sacred forms of sustenance\, or sites of resistance in struggles over food sovereignty. Simultaneously\, they may be repositories of gene sequences\, Indigenous knowledge\, bulk commodities\, or key components of economic development projects and food security programs. \nThis lecture series explores the special role of the law in shaping these different engagements\, whether in farmers’ fields\, scientific laboratories\, international markets\, or elsewhere.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/experiences-of-scientists-supporting-community-engagement-regarding-crop-genetic-resources-and-the-law-examples-from-traditionally-based-maize-systems-in-north-america/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:People Plants and the Law
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250623
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250628
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20240801T162000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240801T162000Z
UID:4253-1750636800-1751068799@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Plant Success Research Retreat 2025
DESCRIPTION:The fifth annual Plant Success Research Retreat will occur in the week beginning 23 June 2025. The retreat is open to all Centre Members to attend in person and virtual attendance will also be available. \nMore details to come
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/plant-success-research-retreat-2025/
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250417T110000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250417T120000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20250325T194440Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250416T165120Z
UID:4997-1744887600-1744891200@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Talking Plant Science: Peter Reich
DESCRIPTION:The ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture is proud to bring you the next seminar in our Talking Plant Science series presented by Professor Peter Reich. \nFrom plant traits to biodiversity-ecosystem function to climate mitigation and justice: A journey across scales\, disciplines\, and domains\nUnderstanding and stewarding nature is our collective challenge. \nWill ecosystems maintain their biodiversity and function under global environmental change\, and continue to sequester carbon and slow climate change?  Can traits (means and diversity) simplify the complexity of ecology enough that we can make predictable sense of it? To help address these issues I engage in studies at scales from leaf to globe and on topics from ecophysiology to community assembly to biogeochemistry. This work ranges from identification of global trait-tradeoff and metabolic response functions; to ecosystem-scale experiments with factors such as CO2\, temperature\, rainfall\, fire and biodiversity; to cross-continental observations and earth system modeling of global biogeochemical cycles. Using examples from diverse ecosystems I will show how framing research around fundamental hypotheses about complex issues\, and how they scale across hierarchies\, space and time\, can help uncover both predictable general patterns and unexpected surprises. \nSuch understanding is also useful to how we might approach natural climate solutions\, which need to consider not just carbon sequestration but impacts of\, and impacts on\, biodiversity and justice too. And finally\, we ecologists need to better link our domains (e.g. natural climate solutions) with other pathways to decarbonization. If we combine increased acquisition and storage of carbon on land with just decarbonization via increased energy efficiency\, reliance on renewable energy\, and electrification\, we can slow and stop climate change (and save a boatload of money) by mid-century. \nJustly and too late\, yet just in time. \n \nProfessor Peter Reich\nPeter B. Reich is Director of the Institute for Global Change Biology at the University of Michigan\, and has long-standing affiliations with the Department of Forest Resources\, University of Minnesota and the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment\, Western Sydney University. Reich helped pioneer the development and up-scaling of trait-based ecology and is a world leader in running state-of-the-art ecosystem-scale climate change and biodiversity experiments. He also helped launch the science education channel\, MinuteEarth\, now with >750 million views on various platforms. Reich is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and a BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Laureate in Ecology and Conservation Biology. He is an avid but extremely mediocre cross-country skier and piano player\, and also regularly engages (with a bit less frustration) in pick-up basketball and bread baking. He worries incessantly about the state of people and nature on our planet\, yet despite so much evidence of our collective failures\, is an optimist about our shared future.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/talking-plant-science-peter-reich/
LOCATION:https://uqz.zoom.us/j/84296813859
CATEGORIES:Talking Plant Science
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20241210T180000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20241210T190000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20240917T184229Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T160831Z
UID:4532-1733853600-1733857200@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:WIPO Treaty on TKGR 2024: Constructing Guidelines for Disclosure and ABS
DESCRIPTION:Presented by Uma Suthersanen\, Professor of Global Intellectual Property Law at the Queen Mary University of London \nIn May 2024\, a new international treaty was adopted which introduced a new\, and hitherto controversial\, norm namely the international obligation for applicants to disclose the source or origin of genetic resources (GR) and/or the associated traditional knowledge (TK) in patent applications (Article 3). In its aims\, this disclosure mechanism promotes: (i) “the efficacy\, transparency and quality of the patent system”\, while not unduly burdening patent offices\, in addition to the requisite examination of novelty/inventive step that all patent offices must conduct under the global norms (TRIPs Agreement); (ii) preventing the grant of patents erroneously; and (iii) national compliance of obligations under international and national access and benefit sharing (ABS) regulations to ensure that users of TKGRs comply with the requirements for access to GRs\, including prior informed consent and benefit sharing under mutually agreed terms. \nHowever\, the Treaty stresses that the sole fact of a failure to disclose will not allow Contracting Parties to “revoke\, invalidate\, or render enforceable” patent rights. (Article 5(3)). Post grant sanctions are allowed in cases of “fraudulent intent”. This ambivalent attitude towards sanctions permits contracting parties considerable flexibility in the implementation of the disclosure mechanism. \nMy presentation will focus on this ambivalence\, especially in light of the following three questions. First\, what is the trigger for the disclosure mechanism to apply? Specifically\, what does “based on” TKGR mean in relation to a complex and multiple patent applications? Second\, does the disclosure mechanism include digital sequence information (DSI)? (Articles 8 and 9). Finally\, what is the point of the international disclosure mechanism without revocation or invalidity procedures/results? Specifically\, how do we interpret the opaque references to “fraudulent intent” in disclosure? In looking at these questions\, one should be cognisant of the readiness of national patent systems to incorporate such disclosure mechanisms (including the availability of accessible databases\, monitoring\, opposition proceedings\, etc)\, the coherence of disclosure/sanctions mechanisms within this treaty\, as well as the CBD/Nagoya protocol\, the WIPO Patent Law Treaty (art. 10\, PLT)\, and the lessons learnt from other patent systems (e.g. US Bayh-Dohl’s failure on disclosure requirements). \n \nBiography \nProfessor Suthersanen holds a Chair in Global Intellectual Property Law and was the Director of the Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute until 2024. Her research encompasses legal\, socio-economic\, and comparative aspects of intellectual and intangible property. Professor Suthersanen has served as a consultant and given evidence to international and regional bodies including WIPO\, UNESCO\, UNCTAD\, European Parliament\, European Commission\, and the Governments of Israel and Singapore. More recently\, she was invited to sit as a WIPO expert on the Ad hoc Committee on traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions\, IGC 46\, 2023 and served as a consultant to the WIPO Division on Traditional Knowledge during the Diplomatic Conference 2024 leading to the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property\, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge.  \nHome page: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/law/people/academic-staff/items/suthersanen.html \nAbout People\, Plants and the Law Online Lecture Series\nThe People\, Plants\, and the Law lecture series explores the legal and lively entanglements of human and botanical worlds. \nToday people engage with and relate to plants in diverse and sometimes divergent ways. Seeds—and the plants that they produce—may be receptacles of memory\, sacred forms of sustenance\, or sites of resistance in struggles over food sovereignty. Simultaneously\, they may be repositories of gene sequences\, Indigenous knowledge\, bulk commodities\, or key components of economic development projects and food security programs. \nThis lecture series explores the special role of the law in shaping these different engagements\, whether in farmers’ fields\, scientific laboratories\, international markets\, or elsewhere.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/wipo-treaty-on-tkgr-2024-constructing-guidelines-for-disclosure-and-abs/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:People Plants and the Law
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20241113T110000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20241113T120000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20240929T193829Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241112T171843Z
UID:4588-1731495600-1731499200@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Talking Plant Science: Vanessa Adams
DESCRIPTION:The ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture is proud to bring you the next seminar in our Talking Plant Science series presented by Associate Professor Vanessa Adams. \nThe good\, the bad and the ugly: the dynamics of plant species retention in the landscape\nSuccessful conservation of plants depends upon an understanding of the biogeography of species; how actions can counteract threats to species loss and maintain natural assemblages of species; and the social values placed on these systems and how this influences communities and individuals to support these actions (or not). Thus\, conservation and environmental management sit at the cross-section of physical and human geography and effective action will leverage knowledge from both. This talk will present what we know about the good\, bad and ugly of plant retention in the landscape\, historic drivers causing the ugly\, and future looking solutions that can leverage the good. Lastly – it will pose the question of how can we prioritize actions (e.g. in stu or ex situ conservation\, restoration or protection) to maximise species retention taking into account land use changes\, climate change\, and complex interactions between these? \n \nAssociate Professor Vanessa Adams\nDr Vanessa Adams is an Associate Professor in Conservation and Planning and ARC Future Fellow at the University of Tasmania. Her research focuses on modelling dynamic social-ecological systems to inform conservation decisions that improve ecosystems and the communities they support. This means her research is broadly aligned with three themes: ecological modelling (to understand dynamic ecosystems)\, socio-economic aspects of conservation (to understand the human dimensions of social-ecological systems)\, and conservation decision theory (to inform decision making). Vanessa was raised in New Mexico (USA) but now calls Australia home. She has worked in a variety roles ranging from actuarial analyst for global consulting firm Mercer HR to research scientist at universities. She spent a year as a Fulbright scholar conducting research at University of Queensland in 2004 and completed her PhD at James Cook University in 2011. During her PhD she was awarded a Sir Keith Murdoch fellowship through the American Australian Association to support a component of her research conducted in Fiji modelling costs of conservation actions to local fishermen. Vanessa partners with relevant government agencies and NGOs to ensure that her research is relevant to policy makers and is positioned to influence on-ground conservation.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/talking-plant-science-vanessa-adams/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Talking Plant Science
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20241112T170000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20241112T180000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20240917T183913Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241111T223447Z
UID:4528-1731430800-1731434400@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Rethinking biodiversity-based economies for justice and conservation
DESCRIPTION:Presented by Rachel Wynberg\, DST/NRF Bio-Economy Chair and Professor in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences\, the University of Cape Town and Dr. Sarah Laird\, Co-Director\, People and Plants International\, the University of Kent. \nRachel Wynberg and Sarah Laird presently co-direct a process of “rethinking” the relationship between conservation and equity\, and the biodiversity-based economy\, including access and benefit-sharing. https://rethinking-abs.org/ \nAccess and benefit sharing (ABS) is a policy approach that links access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge to the sharing of monetary and non-monetary benefits. It first found expression in the 1992 UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)\, but is also part of the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA)\, the World Health Organization’s Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework (PIP)\, and the Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It spans a wide range of sectors and issues\, including equity in scientific research\, conservation of biodiversity\, and support for traditional knowledge and Indigenous and local stewards of biodiversity. \nMultiple laws and policies are now in place across the world to implement ABS. While this might signal progress\, questions remain about their efficacy. Typically\, these laws and associated benefit-sharing agreements serve as legal compliance mechanisms that justify a ‘business as usual’ approach without fundamentally changing power relations or economic disparities. Moreover\, while science and technology have transformed dramatically over the lifetime of ABS\, including an exponential increase in the use of genetic sequence data – or digital sequence information (DSI) – ABS approaches have remained largely static and have narrowed to a transactional effort to channel financial benefits\, with few addressing the relationship between benefit sharing\, social justice\, poverty alleviation\, and biodiversity conservation. Rather than enhance scientific collaboration and capacity building\, such policy efforts have often had a restrictive effect. \nDespite a substantial investment of funding\, capacity and resources\, and a plethora of laws and studies\, ABS has met with surprisingly little analysis as an approach to promote equity in science\, remedy past and current injustices\, and conserve biodiversity. It also remains fixed in pro-growth strategies to achieve conservation and development that are now well recognised to have failed. Our presentation aims to take a step back\, and to think anew about models of development that underpin ABS and more transformative approaches to achieve justice and conservation in biodiversity-based economies. We will address the limitations of “benefit sharing” that does not include paying attention to power imbalances and inequities – and ask how we can think in more innovative ways about paradigms that de-emphasize scale and global markets\, measure impact differently\, and enable long-overdue recognition for other ways of knowing and being. We believe there is a great deal that has been learned over the years on ABS\, biotrade and non-timber forest products\, equitable research partnerships and commercialization\, conservation and in other areas. But moving forward\, laws must be more strategic\, and they must accommodate vastly complex social\, cultural\, economic\, and ecological conditions\, as well as a dramatically changing world – in science and technology\, business\, severely threatened biodiversity\, and in culture and society. \n \nBiography – Rachel Wynberg\nRachel Wynberg is a Professor in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town in South Africa where she holds a government-funded Research Chair focused on Environmental and Social Dimensions of the Bio-economy. With a background in both the natural and social sciences\, she has a strong interest in inter- and trans disciplinarity and policy engagement across the humanities\, arts and sciences. Her research spans topics relating to just\, ethical and biodiverse bio-economies; seeds\, farmers’ rights and agrobiodiversity; knowledge politics; agroecology and food sovereignty; the governance of wild species; and emerging technologies and equity in science. \nAs a scholar-activist and policy analyst\, she has been involved in research and policy-making relating to biodiversity use and commercialisation since the inception of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992\, advising governments\, civil society organisations and international agencies. She continues to be actively involved with policy debates and civil society movements in southern Africa and globally\, serving on the Boards of several NGOs\, including Biowatch South Africa and the Union for Ethical Biotrade. She is an elected member of the Academy of Science in South Africa\, and was a member of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (HLP) Expert Group and a lead author for the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Sustainable Use assessment. \nFurther information can be found at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rachel_Wynberg and at www.bio-economy.org.za \nBiography – Sarah Laird\nDr. Sarah A. Laird is a forester and ethnobiologist by training. Her interests cover a range of inter-related issues\, including forest-based traditional knowledge and livelihoods\, biodiversity policy\, emerging technologies\, and the ethical and conservation dimensions of the commercial use of biodiversity. \nSince the 1990s\, Sarah has collaborated with communities around Mt Cameroon on ethnobiological research and knowledge exchange programs to support and conserve threatened traditional management practices and cultural forests. Her current policy work includes that on the ethical and conservation implications of transformative scientific and technological advances\, particularly within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity. \nSarah holds a BA in History from McGill University\, an MSc in Forestry from Oxford University\, and a PhD in Ethnobiology from the University of Kent. \nShe is Co-Director of People and Plants International (www.peopleandplants.org) and a Research Associate with the University of Cape Town’s Bioeconomy Chair (https://bio-economy.org.za/biodiversity-research/). Her publications can be found at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sarah_Laird. \nAbout People\, Plants and the Law Online Lecture Series\nThe People\, Plants\, and the Law lecture series explores the legal and lively entanglements of human and botanical worlds. \nToday people engage with and relate to plants in diverse and sometimes divergent ways. Seeds—and the plants that they produce—may be receptacles of memory\, sacred forms of sustenance\, or sites of resistance in struggles over food sovereignty. Simultaneously\, they may be repositories of gene sequences\, Indigenous knowledge\, bulk commodities\, or key components of economic development projects and food security programs. \nThis lecture series explores the special role of the law in shaping these different engagements\, whether in farmers’ fields\, scientific laboratories\, international markets\, or elsewhere.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/rethinking-biodiversity-based-economies-for-justice-and-conservation/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:People Plants and the Law
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Amsterdam:20241030T090000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Amsterdam:20241031T170000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20240128T132952Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260113T002143Z
UID:3881-1730278800-1730394000@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Genotype by Environment by Management (GxExM) Symposium III
DESCRIPTION:Event information\nIn collaboration with Wageningen University & Research the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success is coordinating a hybrid (in-person and online) symposium on October 30 and 31 in Wageningen\, Netherlands. The symposium will focus on a range of topics related to the study of Genotype by Environment by Management (GxExM) interactions and their importance for crop improvement. \nThe symposium will be conducted to stimulate new approaches\, building on a foundation of sharing understanding and insights from case studies\, leading to discussion of ideas that will advance experimental\, modelling and prediction methods to enhance crop improvement strategies. \nMore information about the event is available on the Wageningen University website > \nThe presentations and discussions during the symposium will be recorded (whenever permission is granted) and made available online\, to improve accessibility for all participants. If you have any questions about the format of the meeting or your potential for involvement\, please contact fred.vaneeuwijk@wur.nl. \nSee event flyer here>  \nRecordings of the event can be found on the Plant Success YouTube Channel > \nGxExM Background\nThe potential importance of GxExM interactions has been considered for many performance properties of agricultural systems. There are complex and growing pressures acting upon the global crop systems on which we depend for our livelihoods. \nUniversally\, significant yield gaps have been identified between potential and realised on-farm crop productivity for most crop systems. Further\, the sustainability of the current and required levels of crop productivity to meet the expectations of future needs are continually questioned. \nThe challenges are diverse\, complex and multi-faceted. Crop breeders seek to utilise available genetic resources to develop improved cultivars. \nCrop agronomists seek to define agronomic management practices that will work for the improved cultivars. \nFarmers seek to combine the improved cultivars with appropriate agronomic practices to achieve a target on-farm productivity while balancing short and long-term risks and rewards. \nThere have been and continue to be many calls for integrated efforts. \nThere are successful examples of integrated efforts between breeders\, agronomists in partnership with farmers. A number of such efforts have emphasised the importance of considering the potential influences of GxExM interactions at multiple levels within the crop systems.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/genotype-by-environment-by-management-gxexm-symposium-iii/
LOCATION:Zoom
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20241023T090000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20241023T100000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20240912T201634Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241022T143940Z
UID:4515-1729674000-1729677600@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:People-Plant Interrelationships and the Law – but whose law? Expanding the conversation through Ethnobiology and Biocultural Ethics
DESCRIPTION:Presented by Dr. Kelly Bannister\, Co-Director\, POLIS Project on Ecological Governance\, Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria. \n“Variety is the spice of life” is a well known phrase that can be traced back to a poem called The Task published in 1785 by William Cowper. Little did Cowper know that he was onto something bigger than just pleasure! A couple of centuries later\, scientists tell us that variety – in the form of biological diversity or ‘the variety of life on earth in all its forms and interactions’ – is essential for the very continuance of humankind. We also know from interdisciplinary fields such as ethnobiology that cultural diversity and linguistic diversity (specifically Indigenous cultures and languages) are inextricably linked with the world’s biological diversity – and that all are facing imminent risk amid the complex social-and ecological crises of our time. \nRecognizing the vital role that diversity has in our future on earth necessarily invites complexities into conversations about entanglements of “people\, plants and the law.” For example\, how might the conversation diversify by adding an “s” to “law” and to “people\,” intentionally considering Indigenous laws and laws of Nature alongside colonial law? And what of the entanglements between law and ethics\, given in some legal traditions there is no distinction? The conversation might shift\, in ways that are messy\, difficult\, inconvenient – but perhaps also interesting and productive? \nThis presentation offers a conversation-widening perspective on plants\, peoples and laws based in biocultural diversity research and ethics policy development in Canada\, drawing from recent spicy decades in ethnobiology and related fields seeking to collaborate across Western and Indigenous systems of knowledge\, laws and ethics. \n \nBiography\nKelly Bannister is Co-Director of the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance at the Centre for Global Studies (University of Victoria\, B.C. Canada)\, an instructor with the Institute for Zen Leadership (Wisconsin\, USA) and an independent consultant. She has a Ph.D. in Botany (Ethnobotany and Phytochemistry) and did postdoctoral studies in applied ethics. Her lifelong interest in the ethics of biocultural research was seeded during her doctoral studies in the mid-late 1990s\, which was the ‘peak’ of biodiversity prospecting based on Indigenous knowledge\, amid intense global controversy over appropriation of Indigenous knowledge and protection of Indigenous intellectual property and biocultural heritage rights. She has been involved in ethics policy development locally\, nationally and internationally ever since\, examining the role of voluntary and soft law instruments (e.g.\, ethical codes\, community protocols\, research agreements\, consent arrangements) to address power relations and facilitate equitable practices in collaborative research involving Indigenous knowledge. Kelly is devoted to understanding if and how we can work well across diverse worldviews\, wisdom traditions\, legal orders and knowledge systems to address the pressing social\, cultural and ecological issues and inequities of our time. Her current work in biocultural ethics and embodied ethical praxis is informed by Indigenous and relational ethics\, as well as conflict resolution\, intercultural communication\, somatic movement\, martial arts and Zen. Beyond her intrigue with people-plant interrelationships\, she is deeply interested in what influences and governs how we treat one another and the natural world\, across cultures\, species and generations. \nHome page: https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/globalstudies/people/staff/bannisterkelly.php \nAbout People\, Plants and the Law Online Lecture Series\nThe People\, Plants\, and the Law lecture series explores the legal and lively entanglements of human and botanical worlds. \nToday people engage with and relate to plants in diverse and sometimes divergent ways. Seeds—and the plants that they produce—may be receptacles of memory\, sacred forms of sustenance\, or sites of resistance in struggles over food sovereignty. Simultaneously\, they may be repositories of gene sequences\, Indigenous knowledge\, bulk commodities\, or key components of economic development projects and food security programs. \nThis lecture series explores the special role of the law in shaping these different engagements\, whether in farmers’ fields\, scientific laboratories\, international markets\, or elsewhere.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/people-plant-interrelationships-and-the-law-but-whose-law-expanding-the-conversation-through-ethnobiology-and-biocultural-ethics/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:People Plants and the Law
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240927T090000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240927T100000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20240827T161645Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240926T143849Z
UID:4456-1727427600-1727431200@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Talking Plant Science: Daniela Bustos-Korts
DESCRIPTION:The ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture is proud to bring you the next seminar in our Talking Plant Science series presented by Associate Professor Daniela Bustos-Korts. \nFrom trait dynamics to GxE for the target trait: Utilizing Stay Green and Multiple Physiological Traits for Enhanced Wheat Adaptation to Contrasting Drought Conditions\nUnderstanding and predicting genotype adaptation to complex stresses such as drought can be significantly enhanced by integrating information from secondary phenotypes. These phenotypes may include various yield components measured at a single time point or encompass trait dynamics over time. The stay green trait\, which reflects a genotype’s ability to maintain greener canopies under drought conditions\, has emerged as a promising candidate for yield prediction; genotypes exhibiting this trait tend to sustain grain filling rates\, resulting in improved yields during drought events. However\, modelling these traits presents challenges due to the hierarchical error structure inherent in high-throughput phenotyping\, which encompasses measurement\, plot\, and genotypic errors\, alongside the complex dynamics of the trait itself. In this study\, we employ one-dimensional and two-dimensional P-splines to disentangle measurement and plot errors from true genotypic signals. This approach enables us to effectively model the dynamics of the stay green trait and its interaction with genotype-by-environment (GxE) effects over time\, as demonstrated with a diverse panel of spring wheat grown in contrasting water regimes in Chile. \n \nAssociate Professor Daniela Bustos-Korts\nDaniela’s main interest is genotype to phenotype modelling to characterize and predict crop adaptation across multiple environments. These modelling approaches integrate physiology\, crop modelling and statistics. She works at Universidad Austral de Chile\, leading projects about wheat adaptation to dry environments. She also teaches bachelor and postgraduate courses focusing on models to support breeding and agronomic management decisions.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/talking-plant-science-daniela-bustos-korts/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Talking Plant Science
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240926T100000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240926T110000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20240901T155203Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240901T155203Z
UID:4488-1727344800-1727348400@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Centre for Plant Success Webinar Series: Daniel Otwani and Hanh Vo
DESCRIPTION:Daniel Otwani\nExploring grain filling duration for yield in grain sorghum\nYield increase in sorghum has been achieved by increasing grain number. Scope exists to increase yield by changing grain size\, however this has been limited by the negative association between grain size and grain number. Extending the grain filling duration (GFD) has potential to increase grain size without the trade-off with reduced grain number. This study aimed to: \n\nestablish a replicable method to estimate GFD in sorghum\nestablish the extent of genetic variation for GFD in sorghum\nestablish the association of GFD with other yield determinants in sorghum and\nexamine the putative value of an extended GFD to sorghum yield across environments\n\nA diverse panel of 904 sorghum genotypes were evaluated in three environments across two years. An improved method of estimating GFD in sorghum is proposed\, significant variation in GFD beyond current commercial sorghum hybrids reported\, and a simulation of longer GFD and its impact on sorghum yield across Australian environments presented. \nHanh Vo\nIdentifying genes that are associated with rapid dehydration responses to low humidity\nHumidity can vary significantly throughout the day and low humidity causes increased transpiration rate through stomatal pores. In response to low humidity\, angiosperms can rapidly synthesise the stress hormone abscisic acid (ABA)\, which activates mechanisms preventing excessive water loss. Previous studies have indicated that within the ABA biosynthesis pathway\, only the genes encoding the rate-limiting enzyme nine-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED) are significantly induced within the timeframe of stomatal closure. Despite their critical role\, the genetic pathway responsible for the rapid upregulation of NCED genes remains uncharacterised. \nTo characterise the genes involved\, we are using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Plants were exposed to low humidity\, and the physiological and gene expression responses at key time points were identified. This research aims to provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of plant stress responses\, advancing our understanding of how plants survive in challenging and variable arid environments. \nThis event is open to Centre Members only. If you are a Centre Member who would like to attend\, please contact admin@plantsuccess.org for the Zoom invitation.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/centre-for-plant-success-webinar-series-daniel-otwani-and-hanh-vo/
LOCATION:Zoom
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240812
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240813
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20240806T153249Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240806T153249Z
UID:4261-1723420800-1723507199@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:National Science Quiz 2024
DESCRIPTION:The ARC CoE for Plant Success is proud to be a sponsor of the 2024 National Science Quiz! \nHosted by ABC’s Nate Byrne this year’s quiz features top scientists\, comedians\, and exciting demonstrations. The quiz will be broadcast on YouTube from Monday 12 August. Get ready to test your knowledge and have fun with STEM! Play along at any time at home or at school. \nFind out more here: www.nationalsciencequiz.com.au
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/national-science-quiz-2024/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240806T100000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240806T110000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20240711T175441Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240806T190549Z
UID:4225-1722938400-1722942000@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Talking Plant Science: Jenny Mortimer
DESCRIPTION:The ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture is proud to bring you the next seminar in our Talking Plant Science series presented by Associate Professor Jenny Mortimer. \nRedesigning plants to support long-term Space exploration and for on Earth sustainability\nHumans are planning to explore Space further than ever before\, with a return to the lunar surface happening as part of the Artemis III mission in 2026\, and with a crewed landing planned for the surface of Mars in the 2030s. Important to this is the ability to support astronauts to thrive in space\, as opposed to just survive. Food is a key part of this\, and with ~10 tonnes of food required for a 4-person mission to Mars\, there is an urgent need to produce food in situ\, as well as materials and therapeutics. Growth of plants on planetary surfaces will be in closed environment agriculture (CEA) facilities\, similar to vertical farming systems being developed here on Earth. However\, plants did not evolve to grow in these environments. Here\, I will discuss how we can use the lens of Space to innovate for sustainable agriculture. Beyond that\, we can use the strict circular economy of Space to develop robust and sustainable in plantabiomanufacturing\, supporting a transition to a bioeconomy .  \n \n  \nAssociate Professor Jenny Mortimer\nJenny Mortimer is Associate Professor of Plant Synthetic Biology in the School of Agriculture\, Food and Wine at the University of Adelaide (UoA)\, Australia\, where she is also Deputy Director of the Waite Research Institute. She is Chief Investigator (CI) and UoA node leader of the ARC Centre of Excellence Plants for Space (P4S). She is also an Affiliate Staff Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory\, USA\, and a Director of Plant Systems Biology at the Joint BioEnergy Institute\, USA. After completing her PhD at Cambridge University\, UK\, she began exploring how engineering the plant cell wall could deliver sustainable and economically viable biofuels: first as a postdoc in Cambridge\, then as a research fellow at RIKEN Japan\, before joining Berkeley Lab in 2014\, and Adelaide in 2021. Her team’s research focuses on understanding and manipulating plant cell metabolism\, with a focus on complex glycosylation. The goal is to develop crops which contribute to a sustainable and renewable bioeconomy. \nAt Adelaide\, her group is using synthetic biology to develop new crops for food and materials production in controlled growth environments – including for Space settlement (P4S)\, applying new agricultural biotechnologies to develop resilient field crops as a CI in the ARC Training Centre for Future Crops Development\, and developing Australian feedstocks for sustainable jet fuel as a CI in ARC Research Hub for Engineering Plants to Replace Fossil Carbon. In the US\, her group works to reengineer the plant cell wall for the sustainable production of fuels and biochemicals from biomass\, and to enhance plant-microbiome interactions for sustainable biomass crop production. She was selected as a World Economic Forum Young Scientist (2016/17)\, where she contributed to the WEF Code of Ethics for Researchers (widgets.weforum.org/coe)\, and she is an editor for the journals Plant Cell Physiology and Plant Journal. \nYou can find out more information on the lab here: mortimerlab.org/
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/talking-plant-science-jenny-mortimer/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Talking Plant Science
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240801T100000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240801T110000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20240901T155421Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240901T155421Z
UID:4490-1722506400-1722510000@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Centre for Plant Success Webinar Series: Chantelle Beagley and Chamilka Ratnayake
DESCRIPTION:Chantelle Beagley\nDissecting the genetics of domestication in legumes as a contribution towards a comparative understanding of crop evolution.\nCrop domestication is a complex process in which wild species become adapted for human use. Many species in the legume family are important global food crops\, but compared to other major crops such as cereals\, very little is known about the genetic basis for their domestication. This knowledge is critical for understanding of domestication history\, conservation of adaptative mechanisms across phylogenies\, and trait interaction and trade-offs. It can also inform crop improvement strategies including neo-domestication and the use of diversity from wild relatives. \nMy PhD examines the genetic basis for domestication in two major crop legumes\, common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and pea (Pisum spp). I will present an overview of work on a number of different traits (including flowering time\, seed size and dormancy) and highlight some of the interesting new insights that have emerged. \nChamilka Ratnayake\nAnthocyanin – An alternative to conventional reporter systems (Towards a combinatorial strategy for novel regulatory networks and modified metabolic pathways in Nicotiana benthamiana)\nGiven that many agronomical plants are polyploids\, mixing and matching the biochemical pathways in the allotetraploid model plant Nicotiana benthamiana has an enormous potential to contribute towards expanding the metabolic solution space of crop plants. To study the regulation of metabolic pathways of interest at transcriptional level\, we are undertaking a transgene-free genome editing approach to engineer the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway\, in a way that differently-hued anthocyanins will function as a reporter system to monitor the gene expression of those selected pathways. Through bioinformatic analyses\, we have identified the flavonoid hydroxylase genes in N. benthamiana that are responsible for the different shades of anthocyanins. Moreover\, we have generated some stable transformants of different anthocyanin shades by silencing the above genes using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Subsequently\, these colours will be linked to specific metabolic pathways of interest through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homologous recombination. This novel non-transgenic reporter system will help to overcome the limitations of existing transgene-based plant monitoring systems\, enabling real time plant monitoring in field through visual cues to detect and assess the activation and deactivation of metabolic pathways. Furthermore\, this study aids to address the constraints faced by a conventional plant breeder as well as a synthetic biologist\, bridging the gap in-between. \nThis event is open to Centre Members only. If you are a Centre Member who would like to attend\, please contact admin@plantsuccess.org for the Zoom invitation.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/centre-for-plant-success-webinar-series-chantelle-beagley-and-chamilka-ratnayake/
LOCATION:Zoom
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240618
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240620
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20240416T181636Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240416T181636Z
UID:4083-1718668800-1718841599@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Plant Success Research Retreat 2024
DESCRIPTION:The fourth annual Plant Success Research Retreat will take place over two days from 18-19 June 2024 in Brisbane\, Queensland. The retreat is open to all Centre Members to attend in person and virtual attendance will also be available.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/plant-success-research-retreat-2024/
LOCATION:The University of Queensland\, The University of Queensland\, St Lucia\, QLD\, 4072\, Australia
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20240617T090000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20240617T160000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20240319T114548Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240815T200217Z
UID:3987-1718614800-1718640000@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success Symposium
DESCRIPTION:Event information\nHear from invited speakers and Centre members on their research and discuss opportunities for collaboration. Topics will include genomic prediction for varied environments\, phylogenetic comparative analysis\, advanced water status measurements for field and lab\, and how the Nagoya protocol affects plant research in Australia. \nThis free event will be held in person at The University of Queensland St Lucia\, and online via Zoom.  \nRecordings from this event are available on YouTube >\nFeatured speakers\n\nDr Greg Rebetzke\nCSIRO\nGreg is a Chief Research Scientist at CSIRO Agriculture and Food\, where he contributes to the understanding of genetic and physiological factors affecting water productivity and adapting to changing climates in rainfed winter cereals. His goal is then to deliver elite trait-containing germplasm\, and improved phenotyping and genetic methods for trait enrichment in commercial breeding programs. \n  \nProfessor Jacqueline Batley\nUniversity of Western Australia\nJacqui has expertise in the fields of plant molecular biology\, genetics and genomics\, gained from working in both industry and academia. Her research applies breakthrough biotechnological advances for canola crop improvement\, through identification of genomic regions controlling traits\, which are being translated to commercial outcomes. Her work had led to new canola cultivars\, with enhanced productivity\, profit\, and yield stability through identification of genes linked to shatter tolerance\, blackleg disease resistance and oil quality. She is currently focussing on blackleg resistance in the Brassicaceae and investigating evolution of resistance genes across the plant kingdom.  \nProfessor Charlie Messina\nUniversity of Florida\nCarlos (Charlie) Messina is a professor of predictive breeding in the Department of Horticultural Sciences. Charlie works with breeders to improve the nutritional value of Florida produce and to reimagine agriculture as a solution to climate change. He also specializes in developing AI for plant breeding\, which he believes will enable society to harmonize crop improvement efforts for regenerative agricultural systems that improve human health\, nutrient security and adaptation to climate change. \n\n  \nProfessor Christine Beveridge\nThe University of Queensland\nThe focus of Christine’s research has been the role of plant hormones in regulating and coordinating plant development\, particularly shoot architecture. She discovered the plant hormone strigolactone and that sugar signalling is a driver of shoot branching. More recently her focus has shifted to identifying how different genetic and physiological networks work together to control plant productivity. Christine is the Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture. \n\n  \nProfessor Brendan Choat\nWestern Sydney University\nBrendan’s research centres on the physiological ecology of plants with a primary focus on plant hydraulics\, water relations and functional anatomy. He has held positions at Harvard University in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology\, the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California\, Davis\, and Australian National University before moving to the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment. He is editor in chief for the PrometheusWiki Project and on the editorial board of the journal Plant Biology. In 2010 he was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers. In 2013\, Prof Choat was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship for his work on mapping drought responses in trees. \n  \n  \nThe presentations and discussions during the symposium will be recorded (whenever permission is granted) and made available online\, to improve accessibility for all participants. If you have any questions about the format of the meeting or your potential for involvement\, please contact admin@plantsuccess.org.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/arc-centre-of-excellence-for-plant-success-symposium/
LOCATION:The University of Queensland\, The University of Queensland\, St Lucia\, QLD\, 4072\, Australia
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240606T100000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240606T110000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230244
CREATED:20240901T155601Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240901T155601Z
UID:4492-1717668000-1717671600@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Centre for Plant Success Webinar Series: Shunichiro Tomura and Taylor Wass
DESCRIPTION:Shunichiro Tomura\nEnsemble approach for genomic prediction in crop breeding\nThe application of genomic prediction has increased genetic gain in crop breeding. However\, further acceleration across varying environments is required to meet the increasing yield demand. One bottleneck has been a low selection accuracy in genomic prediction models. A variety of models have been developed and evaluated\, revealing that their prediction performance remains low and none of them have consistently outperformed others. Other approaches need to be proposed to mitigate such issues\, and our research investigates the power of ensembles of multiple prediction models. Conceptually\, by combining information for prediction captured by each model\, more comprehensive information can be formed as “a collection of wisdoms”\, expected to raise prediction performance. We naïvely averaged prediction results from each model\, and despite the simplicity\, the ensemble approach outperformed other models demonstrating that there is a potential that ensemble modelling approaches can enhance prediction accuracy in crop breeding. \nTaylor Wass\nA Computational modelling approach to understand shoot architecture\nWhile network structures underpinning determinants of plant architecture have been comprehensively elucidated in the literature\, information is lacking regarding how the interplay of these networks and their components translates into the expression of the plant in 3D space. Traditional models of plant architecture fail to consider the physiological context of a given organ when applying growth rules\, and as such are unable to portray phenotypic plasticity. \nUsing an integrative approach featuring our in-house network simulation package PSoup\, in concert with functional-structural plant modelling\, we aim to develop a platform capable of dynamically representing the state of determinants of plant architecture\, such as hormone fluxes or carbon allocation\, and applying growth rules based on their values in 3D space. The emergent properties of these models can be used to inform crop models and guide the design of experiments to further understand the mechanisms governing shoot architecture traits\, such as branching and flowering. \nThis event is open to Centre Members only. If you are a Centre Member who would like to attend\, please contact admin@plantsuccess.org for the Zoom invitation.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/centre-for-plant-success-webinar-series-shunichiro-tomura-and-taylor-wass/
LOCATION:Zoom
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240417T110000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240417T120000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230245
CREATED:20240310T165154Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240416T181355Z
UID:3978-1713351600-1713355200@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Talking Plant Science: Alex Wu
DESCRIPTION:The ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture is proud to bring you the next seminar in our Talking Plant Science series presented by Dr Alex Wu. \nCrop modelling for informing leaf photosynthesis and crop yield improvement\nAn increasing global food demand begs new strategy for crop yield improvement. Leaf CO2 assimilation is an important driver of crop growth and yield. However\, the translation of leaf photosynthetic manipulation to crop yield performance is less straightforward. Yield is a complex emergent property driven by instantaneous leaf CO2 assimilation\, summed over the whole canopy of the crop and across the entire crop life cycle\, all interacting with environmental effects on growth and development of the crop. Here\, I will present a ‘cross-scale’ crop modelling effort used to develop integrative leaf-to-field modelling tools\, offering new predictive capabilities to aid photosynthesis and yield improvement. This: (i) enables in silico field testing of putative strategies for leaf photosynthetic manipulation in target population of environments; (ii) offers a platform for the dissection of crop growth components and identification of key photosynthetic properties for growth enhancement. The two-pronged\, but complementary pathways are generating new information on the value proposition of photosynthetic manipulation and informing fundamental and applied research directions\, helping to discover and support new strategies for crop yield improvement. Potential synergies with other crop research technologies are discussed. \n \nDr Alex Wu\nAlex Wu is a crop modeller. He completed a postdoc in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis and an ARC DECRA. He is known for his research on modelling leaf photosynthetic CO2 assimilation and field crop yield performance for supporting yield improvement. He has developed in-depth understanding\, using cross-scale crop modelling\, of two-way interactions between leaf biochemical\, canopy structure\, and whole crop growth and yield. Alex has generated a priori yield impact assessment of photosynthesis bioengineering of crops\, aiding fundamental research for enhancing yield improvement outcomes. He was awarded the Australian Society of Plant Scientist Peter Goldacre Medal in 2020.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/talking-plant-science-alex-wu/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Talking Plant Science
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240411T100000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240411T110000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230245
CREATED:20240327T144939Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240327T144939Z
UID:3903-1712829600-1712833200@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Centre for Plant Success Webinar Series: Alicia Hellens
DESCRIPTION:Alicia Hellens\nPart 1- The transcription factor bZIP11 acts antagonistically with trehalose 6-phosphate to inhibit shoot branching\nThe ontogenetic regulation of shoot branching allows plants to adjust their architecture in accordance with the environment. This process is due to the regulation of axillary bud outgrowth into branches\, which can be induced by increasing sugar availability to the buds through decapitation of the shoot tip. Different sugar signalling components have been identified in the induction of shoot branching. However\, the molecular components that maintain bud dormancy in response to sugar starvation remain largely unknown. In this part of the talk I will present findings from one chapter of my PhD\, which identified a new model of interactions between sugar signalling molecules\, Tre6P\, bZIP11\, and SNRK1 in the inhibition of axillary shoot branching. \nPart 2 – Life beyond a PhD: my first year as a kiwifruit rootstock breeder\nKiwifruit is New Zealand’s largest commercial fruit crop bringing over $8 billion annually via cultivars grown for Zespri. The Kiwifruit Breeding Centre is a joint venture between Zespri and the New Zealand crown research company Plant and Food Research\, to provide more kiwifruit better and faster for Zespri. Kiwifruit cultivars that produce desirable fruit do not necessarily have good root systems or resistance to disease. For this reason\, commercial kiwifruit plants are not grown from seed but are the result of grafting onto a rootstock. A rootstock can also impact characteristics onto the scion such as low vigour in vegetative growth. In New Zealand there are two commercial rootstock varieties both of which have drawbacks. With a rapidly changing climate it is more vital than ever that rootstocks are bred for current and future environments both in New Zealand but also around the world. Therefore\, the rootstock breeding program is focusing on developing new\, environmental specific rootstocks targeting desirable\, sustainable\, traits. In this part of the talk I will give an overview of the kiwifruit breeding pipeline and discuss rootstock-specific traits of interest in our programme. \nThis event is open to Centre Members only. If you are a Centre Member who would like to attend\, please contact admin@plantsuccess.org for the Zoom invitation.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/centre-for-plant-success-webinar-series-alicia-hellens/
LOCATION:Zoom
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240410T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240410T123000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230245
CREATED:20240327T203052Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240327T203052Z
UID:4039-1712739600-1712752200@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Indigenous and Heirloom Seeds: Stewardship\, Sovereignty and Legal Protection
DESCRIPTION:Event information\nIntellectual property has been protecting plants and seed in the United States since the 1930s. Over the last century\, the reach of intellectual property over seeds and plants has consistently expanded. At the same time\, there have been a number of international initiatives that have attempted to regulate how plants and seeds are used and exchanged. The result is a complex and changing legal landscape that impacts the way seeds and plants are used as well as who gets to control and benefit from that use. This workshop will look at techniques used to ensure Indigenous intellectual property\, traditional ecological knowledge and traditional crop varieties are protected. We will hear about the key features of intellectual property law and other plant protection and methods that exist in seed stewardship. \nRegister to attend >\nSpeakers\n\n\n\n\nAlexandra Zamecnik\, Executive Director\, Native Seeds/SEARCH\nCollaboration\, representation and transparency in heirloom seed stewardship: Examples from Native Seeds/SEARCH\nAlexandra Zamecnik is the Executive Director of NS/S. She has a Masters in International Relations and has extensive experience working in conservation and natural resources management in Mexico and Central America. She is focused on strengthening NS/S’s policies and practices around seed stewardship and seed sharing. \n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n\n\n\n\nDr. Andrea Carter\, Director of Agriculture & Education\, Native Seeds/SEARCH\nChallenges and Opportunities in Southwest Seed Stewardship\nDr. Andrea Carter is the Agriculture\, Education & Outreach Director. She serves as a link between the NS/S seed bank and small-scale farmers across the Southwest. She received her PhD in Plant Science from the University of Arizona and focused her research on drought-adapted crops. \n\n\n\n  \n  \n\n\n\n\n\nBobby Stone\, Board Member\, Native Seeds/SEARCH\nA life of Farming and Seed Saving in Gila River\nRobert Stone is the former Lt. Governor for Gila River Indian Community. He is the vice chair of the NS/S Board of Directors. He is recognized as a spiritual leader\, traditional singer\, traditional farmer\, artist\, and indigenous seed and food advocate. Bobby attended Central Arizona College where he earned a degree in Agriculture Technology\, and then continued at University of Arizona. Bobby has been a life-long farmer and he maintains a seed bank with an array of indigenous crops. \n\n\n  \n\n  \n\n\n\n\nDr. Brad Sherman\, School of Law\, University of Queensland\nAn Overview of Intellectual property protection for seed\nBrad Sherman is UQ Laureate Professor and a member of the ARC Centre for Plant Success at the University of Queensland\, Australia where he researches on intellectual property. He is currently working on a history of intellectual property in the citrus industry in California and Arizona. \n\n\n\n  \n  \n  \n\n\n\n\nDr. Allison Fish\, School of Law\, University of Queensland\nUsing public databases to prevent biopiracy of seed\nAllison Fish is a Senior Lecturer in Law and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Policy Futures at the University of Queensland in Brisbane\, Australia. Allison’s research focuses on the use of law and technology to manage of intangible cultural heritage in India and Australia.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/indigenous-and-heirloom-seeds-stewardship-sovereignty-and-legal-protection/
LOCATION:City High  37 E Pennington St\, Tucson\, AZ 85701\, City High 37 E Pennington St\,\, Tucson\, AZ 85701\, AZ\, United States
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240222T100000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240222T110000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230245
CREATED:20240213T161316Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240213T161316Z
UID:3901-1708596000-1708599600@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Centre for Plant Success Webinar Series: Tara Kemp
DESCRIPTION:Tara Kemp\nRealizing partitions as latin squares and cubes\nA latin square of order n is a square array in which each of n symbols occurs exactly once in every row and column\, similar to a Sudoku puzzle. L. Fuchs posed a question about the existence of quasigroups with disjoint subquasigroups and this problem is equivalent to the existence of latin squares with disjoint subsquares. The existence of these latin squares is a partially solved problem and it can be extended to a problem on latin cubes with disjoint subcubes. In this talk\, I will discuss the results that I have found for both latin squares and latin cubes. \n  \nThis event is open to Centre Members only. If you are a Centre Member who would like to attend\, please contact admin@plantsuccess.org for the Zoom invitation.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/centre-for-plant-success-webinar-series-tara-kemp/
LOCATION:Zoom
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20231116T100000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20231116T110000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230245
CREATED:20221219T183912Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231025T133855Z
UID:3002-1700128800-1700132400@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Centre for Plant Success Webinar Series: Maddie James
DESCRIPTION:Maddie James\nThe role of chromosomal inversions during adaptation\nTo understand adaptation at the genetic level\, researchers typically focus on variation in single nucleotide polymorphisms or gene expression. However\, other aspects of the genome also impact how species evolve. Chromosomal inversions\, segments of the DNA that are flipped in orientation\, can arise within a genome and are known to play a major role during adaptation. For instance\, chromosomal rearrangements can link together sets of advantageous alleles\, which can facilitate adaptation in certain situations such as in the presence of gene flow. In this talk I will overview what chromosomal inversions are\, methods to quantify them\, their role during adaptation\, how they can impact crop breeding programs\, and some empirical evidence of their contribution to the divergent adaptation of Senecio ecotypes. \n  \nThis event is open to Centre Members only. If you are a Centre Member who would like to attend\, please contact admin@plantsuccess.org for the Zoom invitation.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/centre-for-plant-success-webinar-series-maddie-james/
LOCATION:Zoom
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20231106T083000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20231107T173000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230245
CREATED:20230601T181039Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231025T184128Z
UID:3494-1699259400-1699378200@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Genotype by Environment by Management (GxExM) Symposium II
DESCRIPTION:Event information\nIn collaboration with The University of Florida the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success is coordinating a hybrid (in-person and online) symposium on November 6 and 7 in Gainesville\, USA. The symposium will focus on a range of topics related to the study of Genotype by Environment by Management (GxExM) interactions and their importance for crop improvement. \nThe symposium will be conducted to stimulate new approaches\, building on a foundation of sharing understanding and insights from case studies\, leading to discussion of ideas that will advance experimental\, modelling and prediction methods to enhance crop improvement strategies. \nIn-person attendance is limited and will be assigned on a ‘first come\, first serve’ basis\, so we encourage you to finalise your attendance plans as soon as possible. The presentations and discussions during the symposium will be recorded (whenever permission is granted) and made available online\, to improve accessibility for all participants. If you have any questions about the format of the meeting or your potential for involvement\, please contact admin@plantsuccess.org. \nView the program >\nRegister to attend >\nFeatured speakers\n\nDr Greg Rebetzke\nCSIRO\nDr Greg Rebetzke\, Chief Research Scientist at CSIRO Agriculture and Food\, contributes to the understanding of genetic and physiological factors affecting water productivity and adapting to changing climates in rainfed winter cereals. His goal is then to deliver elite trait-containing germplasm\, and improved phenotyping and genetic methods for trait enrichment in commercial breeding programs. \n  \nProfessor Christine Beveridge\nThe University of Queensland\nThe focus of Christine’s research has been the role of plant hormones in regulating and coordinating plant development\, particularly shoot architecture. She discovered the plant hormone strigolactone and that sugar signalling is a driver of shoot branching. More recently her focus has shifted to identifying how different genetic and physiological networks work together to control plant productivity. Christine is the Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture. \n  \n\nProfessor Graeme Hammer\nThe University of Queensland/Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI)\nGraeme conducts research on the physiology and genetics of complex adaptive traits in field crops with a focus on water productivity in cereals. His research underpins the development of mathematical models of crop growth\, development and yield that enable simulation of consequences of genetic and management manipulation of crops in specific target environments.  \n\n  \n  \nDr Daniela Bustos-Korts\nUniversidad Austral de Chile\nDaniela’s main interest is genotype to phenotype modelling to characterize and predict crop adaptation across multiple environments. These modelling approaches integrate physiology\, crop modelling and statistics. She works at Universidad Austral de Chile\, leading projects about wheat adaptation to dry environments. She also teaches bachelor and postgraduate courses focusing on models to support breeding and agronomic management decisions. \n\n\n  \n\nDr Jose Crossa\nCIMMYT\nJose Crossa works at the Biometrics and Statistics Unit conducting research on genomic models and models for genomic x environment interaction to help CIMMYT researchers achieve their goals. He also teaches courses on statistical genetics. \n  \n\n  \n\nGxExM Background\nThe potential importance of GxExM interactions has been considered for many performance properties of agricultural systems. There are complex and growing pressures acting upon the global crop systems on which we depend for our livelihoods. \nUniversally\, significant yield gaps have been identified between potential and realised on-farm crop productivity for most crop systems. Further\, the sustainability of the current and required levels of crop productivity to meet the expectations of future needs are continually questioned. \nThe challenges are diverse\, complex and multi-faceted. Crop breeders seek to utilise available genetic resources to develop improved cultivars. \nCrop agronomists seek to define agronomic management practices that will work for the improved cultivars. \nFarmers seek to combine the improved cultivars with appropriate agronomic practices to achieve a target on-farm productivity while balancing short and long-term risks and rewards. \nThere have been and continue to be many calls for integrated efforts. \nThere are successful examples of integrated efforts between breeders\, agronomists in partnership with farmers. A number of such efforts have emphasised the importance of considering the potential influences of GxExM interactions at multiple levels within the crop systems. \nView the event flyer >
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/genotype-by-environment-by-management-gxexm-symposium-ii/
LOCATION:Zoom
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20231005T100000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20231005T110000
DTSTAMP:20260430T230245
CREATED:20221219T183830Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230827T140430Z
UID:3000-1696500000-1696503600@www.plantsuccess.org
SUMMARY:Centre for Plant Success Webinar Series: Hannah Drieberg and Sivakumar Sukumaran
DESCRIPTION:This event is open to Centre Members only. If you are a Centre Member who would like to attend\, please contact admin@plantsuccess.org for the Zoom invitation.
URL:https://www.plantsuccess.org/event/centre-for-plant-success-webinar-series-presenter-s-tbc-5/
LOCATION:Zoom
ORGANIZER;CN="Plant Success":MAILTO:admin@plantsuccess.org
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR