Some months after we published the original research article entitled “Germacrene A Synthase in Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) Is an Enzyme with Mixed Substrate Specificity: Gene Cloning, Functional Characterization and Expression Analysis” in Frontiers in Plant Science journal (see the blog post here), they invited us to write Focused Review article based on the recommendation of Prof Kazuki Saito, the chief editor of the specialty section. The original research article was democratically chosen based on the Frontiers online analytics systems to “climb the tier”.

It´s a pretty chemical paper about the volatiles emitted by different organs of basil. This study was led by Chinese postdoc Yifan Jiang, who together with Jiayan, Shuai and Ülo (all from Ülo Niinemets´ workgroup) studied the volatile emissions of Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum). The idea was to find out which organs emit which molecules and how much. Intraspecific volatile variability of 41 compounds (check table 2)!

Ok, this study is basically about how phone and internet waves (i.e. electromagnetic pollution) affect the volatiles and essential oils in basil (and there are lots of them in basil). So, apparently these waves either lower the amount of some compounds and raise the others. It´s a stress! But, like the authors conclude that although: “However, the composition of the studied plant was significantly altered, and it remains to be investigated whether such changes alter culinary or health properties of the essential oil.”

Another study through Ülo Niinemets´connection in Romania (see the one about the effects of wifi and phone waves on volatiles here). This time they looked into how textile dyes and antibiotics (which are the main classes of organic pollutants in soils and fresh waters) affect wheat growth and development. It was an experiment done in the lab, where they already added pollutants to the soils 14 days after sowing the seeds.

Our new paper, “Global leaf trait estimates biased due to plasticity in the shade” (link to full text) was published online in Nature Plants on December 19^th. It highlights a literally shady issue in plant science that has in some cases led to the underestimation of plant rates of growth and photosynthesis, among other traits.

It´s a deeply methodological paper comparing the Rubisco responses measured in different ways. And more or less a follow-up paper to the one from last year, also led by Jeroni (link to blog post). A necessary stepping stone to put in place before big breakthroughs can be made. (Hopefully) soon…

This study is the extension of our previous paper that was published by Lucian Copolovici in 2012. We made it broader and added gene expression analysis of some important terpene synthases such as β-phellandrene synthase and (E)-β-caryophyllene/α-humulene synthase.

This paper has been out already since August. But as this is a review paper, hopefully the point of this paper has not yet became obsolete. Shade seems to be a pretty sustainable property of almost all communities dominated by woody plants. And if shade is present, then all the shade-accompanying factors are probably present as well, in some form or another. And these accompanying factors are mostly what our review is about. Shade is not just lack of light, but also changed humidity, soil conditions, different herbivores and no on. Moreover, shade affects species´ capability to polytolerate other abiotic stresses as well.

EcolChange will represent a synergistic network of expertise to elaborate global and local scenarios for terrestrial ecosystems in the context of global change. Through lateral integration of six top-level research teams, it will contribute towards further internationalization and strengthening of the research agenda and provide the necessary resources to target national priorities in environmental and agricultural research and adaptation to climate change. It aims to (1) integrate studies of ecosystem function, biodiversity and adaptability, (2) create symbiosis between macroecological big-data, genetic and experimental approaches, (3) incorporate ecological knowledge into principles of adaptation to global change through sustainable ecosystem management, (4) enhance ecologically sustainable economic growth via smart regional planning in forestry and agriculture: functionally diverse forests, cultivars for future climates, novel crops, sustainable nutrient cycles.