NEWS FROM
PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM
 |
 |
Published monthly on behalf of SPPS by Wiley-Blackwell.
 |
|
|
|
 |
Changes in atmospheric CO2 affect respiration efficiency
|
The increasing atmospheric have resulted in a general increase in photosynthesis and biomass, but less is known about how plants adapt to this environmental change in terms of respiration. Now, scientists at University of Illinois at Chicago have taken up this issue by growing Arabidopsis thaliana plants adapted to Pleistocene sub-CO2 levels of 200 µl/l at current 360 µl/l CO2. The results show that these plants exhibited reduced respiration as compared to plants adapted to ambient CO2. The lower respiration rate was, however, not associated with a corresponding reduction in nitrogen content of the tissues. The results suggest, that plants adapt to changes in atmospheric CO2 by adjusting mitochondrial energy coupling and activity of the so called alternative pathway, where photosynthate is consumed in a less energy efficient way leading to lower ATP production.
Read full article free: Gonzalez-Meler et al (December 2009) Physiologia Plantarum 137: 473-484
|
|
NEWS IN BRIEF
FROM OTHER JOURNALS
|
|
Impoverished flora is susceptible to climate change
|
|
Source: Winter et al (22 December 2009) PNAS 106: 21721-21725
|
|
|
|
Cutting Down Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon
|
|
Source: Nepstad et al (4 December 2009) Science 326: 1350-1351
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Prepare to register for the 6th SPPS PhD Student Conference
|
| |
|
|
Registration for the upcoming 6th SPPS PhD Conference will start in February 2010. From www.phd-spps.com
|
|
|
Registration for the upcoming 6th SPPS PhD Conference will start in February 2010. At that time, you will be able to register online on the conference's official homepage. Please remember, that SPPS may provide grants for PhD students to cover their expenses for active participation in SPPS Congresses. Please note, however, that a member can apply for a grant only if she/he has been a member of SPPS also during the previous year. For more information on the SPPS grants, please contact the Secretary General Anna Kärkönen. The conference will be held during 2-5 September 2010 in Espoo.
The SPPS PhD Conference is arranged every second year and alternates with the SPPS Congress, which is also biannual. They usually attract around 50 PhD students coming from primarily the Scandinavian countries but also include some participants from the Baltic countries, Europe and America. The venue circulates through the Nordic countries and a local organising committee is responsible for making a scientific programme of very high standards and including a number of internationally recognised invited speakers.
| |
|
|
Several internationally recognised speakers have been invited to the SPPS PhD Conference. From www.phd-spps.com
|
|
|
For the upcoming 6th SPPS PhD COnference the following speakers have been invited: Eva-Mari Aro (University of Turku), Ken Birnbaum (New York University), Kirsi-Marja Oksman-Caldentey (VTT), Thomas Laux (University of Freiburg), Gareth Jenkins (University of Glasgow), Christine Foyer (Newcastle University), Maria Israelsson Nordström (Stockholm University) and Elena Baena-Gonzalez (Instituto Gulbenkian de Cincia). The most recent PhD Conferences and the list of invited speakers include: - 2008 - 5th: Haslev, Denmark - 50 participants
Invited speakers: Heribert Hirt, Cathie Martin, Poul Erik Jensen, Marten Koornneef, Edgar Peiter and Rebecca Schwab
Read the proceedings - 2006 - 4th: Lycksele, Sweden - 75 participants
Invited speakers: Simon Turner, Christine Foyer, Eva Ohlsson, Lene Lange, Peter Sylwan, Matias Kirst, Eva-Mari Aro
Read the proceedings - 2004 - 3rd: Asker (Oslo), Norway - 30 participants
Invited speakers: Thomas Vogelmann, Peter Hedden, GarryWhitelam, Antje Rohde, Andrea Polle, Bjørn Sundberg, Riitta Julkunen Tiitto, Charles Guy, Dominique Van Der Straeten
Read the proceedings The local organising committee is looking forward to seeing you in Espoo!
You can find more information about the 6th SPPS PhD conference at the official homepage and in a former article in SPPS Newsletter.
|
|
