News

Researchers from the Cereal Symbiosis team within the Crop Science Centre have made significant strides in understanding one of the most crucial relationships in plant evolution: arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis. This ancient partnership between fungi and plants is believed to be one of the key adaptations that enabled plants to colonise land …

New research from the University of Cambridge shows that bee-pollination reduces disease spread in plants and highlights the importance of environmental factors such as pollination in managing plant virus transmission.The study, published in Virology Journal on 28 June, looked at whether insect pollination could influence the transmission of viruse…

This year’s Plants @ Cambridge Botanicon took place at St John's College on Friday 28 June. It brought together colleagues from across the plant biology network at Cambridge to consider the future of plant biology research. The event was organised by a team of early-career researchers from Plants @ Cambridge members including the Department of Plan…

Studying Plant Sciences at Cambridge can open up a wealth of career opportunities. In this series, we hear from Plant Sciences alumni about their experiences of studying here, how it shaped their careers and what they are doing now. If you would like your alumni story featured, please email us at alumni@plantsci.cam.ac.uk.About JenDr Jen Bromley co…

Studying Plant Sciences at Cambridge can open up a wealth of career opportunities. In this series, we hear from Plant Sciences alumni about their experiences of studying here, how it shaped their careers and what they are doing now. If you would like your alumni story featured, please email us at alumni@plantsci.cam.ac.uk.About RobertDr Robert Brad…

A new legal requirement for developers to demonstrate a biodiversity boost in planning applications could make a more meaningful impact on nature recovery if improvements are made to the way nature’s value is calculated, say researchers at the University of Cambridge.The study led by Dr Cicely Marshall, a member of the Forest Ecology and Conservati…

This year the Department of Plant Sciences is celebrating 300 years since the appointment of the first Professor of Botany at Cambridge. As part of the celebrations, pioneering Cambridge botanist, Agnes Arber is being remembered with a blue plaque and a new PhD prize. Agnes Arber (1879 – 1960) was a plant morphologist and the first woman botanist t…

Assumptions that tropical forest canopies protect from the effects of climate change are unfounded, say researchersA new study, co-authored by Professor David Edwards, head of the Tropical Ecology and Conservation group, shows that crucial strongholds for biodiversity are under threat as temperatures are rising in tropical forests.The study, publis…

A recent discovery from the Crop Science Centre has revealed unprecedented genetic variation in plant-parasitic nematodes. This research, published in the journal Cell Genomics, helps us better understand how these tiny but destructive parasitic worms evolved.The team behind this research, led by Dr Sonawala, discovered variation in the proteins es…

Two Department of Plant Sciences academics awarded prestigious European Research Council Advanced GrantsThe funding provides leading senior researchers with the opportunity to pursue ambitious, curiosity-driven projects that could lead to major scientific breakthroughs.‘Many congratulations to Beverley and Ian... It is fantastic that their ambitiou…

Cambridge partnership set to prepare and protect Central and West African countries against epidemics of virus diseases in banana and cassava through new investmentResearchers in the Epidemiology and Modelling Group join a new international programme aimed at increasing the resilience of 10 Central and West African countries against incursions of v…

A “bright” new map of the bryophyte developmentAll plants on land undergo a unique reproductive cycle, alternating between generations. Unlike vascular plants, bryophytes—a group encompassing liverworts, mosses, and hornworts—feature a dominant haploid phase, with only one copy of each chromosome. This fundamental difference influences how these mu…

Celebrating the 300th anniversary of the first Professor of Botany at Cambridge2024 marks the three-hundredth anniversary of the appointment of the first Professor of Botany at Cambridge, and will be a year of celebration for the department.Three hundred years ago the study of botany, or plant sciences as it has since become known, at Cambridge foc…

New BBSRC grant to grow our understanding of petal diffraction gratings developmentA new grant from BBSRC will enable Professor Beverley Glover’s Evolution and Development group to deepen our understanding of the development of petal diffraction gratings and their role in attracting pollinators. Diffraction gratings are regular arrangements of surf…

CRISPR: The Cutting-Edge Solution to Tackle Parasitic Plant ThreatsScientists from the Crop Science Centre, Dr Min-Yao Jhu and Dr Evan Ellison, have released a research review article shedding light on the pivotal role of CRISPR gene-editing technology in combatting the destructive impact of parasitic plants on crops.Read here: https://www.cropscie…