If you have nice photos of orchids, please consider helping our colleague @milneorchid.bsky.social!

Blog - A change of name | Molecular Plant Sciences | Biology We've been working on Begonia luxurians for 10 years. It is a very photogenic species, and popular amongst house plant collectors for its lush leaves.

A new blog is out on our @instmolplantsci.bsky.social website! Go check it out! Our Head of Institute, Prof. Catherine Kidner, discusses how taxonomic changes in the genus Begonia impact present genomic research! biology.ed.ac.uk/plant-scienc...

Andrew Hudson, Sannie Fu, Jacob Suissa and Sandy Hetherington standing in a row. Sannie is wearing a hat in the style of a mortar board that says congratulations Sannie.

Huge congratulations to the newest Dr from the lab - Dr @sannie-zishanfu.bsky.social
@instmolplantsci.bsky.social!!!
A special thanks to Jacob Suissa for making the trip over from the US! It’s been great spending the last couple of days chatting about all things ferns and lycophytes 🌿

This #FossilFriday we welcomed Dr Artai Santos from @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social to our Evo-Devo seminar. Artai shared amazing findings on Cretaceous seagrasses with evidence of herbivory from El Chango, México.
#palaeobotany #EvoDevo @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social @instmolplantsci.bsky.social

Thank you @sandyheth.bsky.social for being an amazing supervisor!! It was a wonderful PhD journey working in the group at the @instmolplantsci.bsky.social. Thanks so much Andrew and Jacob, for the enjoyable discussion. Look forward to continue exploring ferns and more in the future!

Saskia Hogenhout standing in a seminar room

A wonderful seminar by @saskiahogenhout.bsky.social today! Thanks for making the trip north to @instmolplantsci.bsky.social

What to learn more about the enigmatic organism Prototaxites?? Have a read of our new Quick Guide in @currentbiology.bsky.social
It includes another great palaeo-reconstruction of the Rhynie ecosystem from @matt-humpage.bsky.social

Blog - Celebrating women in science | Molecular Plant Sciences | Biology International Day of Women and Girls in Science celebrates the contribution and important roles of women and girls in STEM.

A new blog is out on our website! Go check it out! For International Women and Girls in STEM day (11.02) @hee-kyung-ahn.bsky.social reflects on the gender gap in science, highlighting achievements and remaining challenges. biology.ed.ac.uk/plant-scienc...

The frequency and importance of polyploidy in tropical rainforest tree radiations The presence of more than two copies of the genome in an organism, termed ‘polyploidy’, is a crucial force in plant evolution, generating genetic, phenotypic and ecological diversity. [Correction ad...

New Publication:
The frequency and importance of polyploidy in tropical rainforest tree radiations

@instmolplantsci.bsky.social @edinburghbiology.bsky.social

#polyploidy #plantevolution

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Very proud to present, together with @plantteaching.bsky.social, Agnes Uhereczky, @yoselin.bsky.social, Sofie Goormachtig and @mehta-lab.com, our @jxbotany.bsky.social community resource paper on building a diverse and inclusive plant science community 🌱. academic.oup.com/jxb/advance-... (🧵 1/2)

Plants use cell-surface and intracellular receptors that collaborate to detect pathogens🦠. We discovered that a key #ubiquitin recognition event recruits both receptor types into an unexpected dual receptor complex that boost the translation of defence proteins and establishes robust #PlantImmunity👇🏾

Read all about Diego's hunt for lycophytes around Scotland in this post!
👇👇

Blog - Bringing the wilderness to IMPS: Fieldwork in Scotland to generate a lycophyte living collection – likely UK’s largest! | Molecular Plant Sciences | Biology This blog was written by Diego Sanchez Ganfornina, of the Molecular Palaeobotany and Evolution Group (Hetherington Lab | Biology MPEG), collating considerations and reflections through his spring fiel...

A new blog is out on our website! 📄 Go check it out! Diego Sanchez Ganfornina from @sandyheth.bsky.social's lab talks about the field work he just completed in Scotland. He is trying to generate a lycophyte living collection – likely UK’s largest! 🌿 biology.ed.ac.uk/plant-scienc...

Students and staff gathered to provide cider and toasted bread as offerings. We all enjoyed a bit of time in the sun ☀️ and learned something new! (🧵 3/3)

... is intended to encourage an abundant crop.Wassailing is a tradition from the west country region of England - famous for its apples - and is intended to encourage an abundant crop. We are hoping for more than 4 apples this year! (🧵 2/3)

Paul performing the Wassailing blessing wearing a ceremonial hat decorated with ivy and other plants. He is holding a drinking horn filled with cider

Toasted bread hanging from the branches of a young apple tree. People are around it are holding mugs filled with cider

This week we had a special celebration. Paul (from our Plant Growth Facilities team) performed a Wassailing blessing for the young apple trees 🍎 around the institute. Wassailing is a tradition from the west country region of England - famous for its apples - and... (🧵 1/2)

A manifesto for plant science education Plants provide oxygen, food, shelter, medicines and environmental services, without which human society could not exist. Tackling pressing and global challenges requires well-trained plant scientists...

It was wonderful to present our Manifesto for Plant Science Education (published in @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social) at the Botanic Garden Education Network (BGEN) conference today. 🌱 Thank you Lauren Baker & organising committee for the invite! nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Paul Kenrick, Laura Cooper and Sean McMahon

Sandy Hetherington and Laura Cooper holding a bottle of fizz with balloons

The very first Dr from the group! Congratulations Laura @transitionalform.bsky.social @instmolplantsci.bsky.social for passing your viva yesterday!! 🎉🎉
Thanks so much @seanhmcmahon.bsky.social and Paul Kenrick for acting as examiners

Aberdeenshire fossil dating back 410 million years joins museum collection Researchers say the fossil found in Aberdeenshire is neither plant nor fungus as previously thought.

Really exciting to get some press coverage on our Prototaxites paper @instmolplantsci.bsky.social @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Reconstruction of Prototaxites in the Rhynie chert ecosystem. Reconstruction by Matt Humpage, Northern Rouge Studios.

Excited to share our new investigation of Prototaxites!
We found no support for a fungal affinity and instead suggest it is best considered an entirely extinct complex eukaryotic lineage
Great team effort @transitionalform.bsky.social Corentin Loron, and many others!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Blog - Art and Science: sister fields, intertwined | Molecular Plant Sciences | Biology This month, we spoke with Irene Aldazabal, an Argentinian artist and PhD researcher collaborating with Professor Gerben van Ooijen’s lab at the Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences.

A new blog is out on our website. Go check it out! Selen Dinge from @vanooijenlab.bsky.social discusses the intersection between art & science with Irene Aldazabal, fellow PhD student and artist. Irene has explored visual & spatial representations of biological time. biology.ed.ac.uk/plant-scienc...

This is great!
Last week at @instmolplantsci.bsky.social I was asked what lessons about plants I wish were covered in schools, and my response was "Developmental Plasticity" 🌱
We still have so much to learn about and from plants, and this short video is a good one to share with your educator pals!

So lucky to be part of this wonderful community of plant scientists 🌱

Plant Science Day attendees

It's our annual #PlantScience Day! 110 attendees, 2 amazing plenary talks from Prof. John Christie @glasgow.ac.uk and Prof. Mary Williams @plantteaching.bsky.social , 10 talks from IMPS members, 15 posters and 4 awards!

#MolecularBiology #PCR #STEMLearning #ScienceOutreach #PhDLife #PlantResearch #Trichomes #WomenInSTEM #NationalMuseumofScotland

She has also presented her ongoing PhD research on trichomes, engaging the students with current research in plant molecular biology. It was an inspiring experience to see young students actively exploring experimental techniques and developing their scientific understanding.

She has assisted students in understanding the principles of PCR, performing DNA extraction, micropipetting, restriction enzyme digestion, and analyzing gel electrophoresis results, including interpreting band sizes and patterns.

IMPS PhD Student Anshika Bhatla recently had the privilege of volunteering at the National Museum of Scotland, supporting senior secondary pupils in hands-on molecular biology workshops organized by the Public Engagement Manager from the University of Edinburgh.

She has assisted students in understanding the principles of PCR, performing DNA extraction, micropipetting, restriction enzyme digestion, and analyzing gel electrophoresis results, including interpreting band sizes and patterns.