News

Max Harman, graduate student in the PRL Walker lab, was awarded a 2024 Michigan Soybean Association Scholarship.

Researchers from the PRL Vermaas lab participated in Girls' Math and Science Day, an event designed to encourage young girls to pursue scientific interests.

With a Traveling Fellowship from The Company of Biologists, PhD student Manuel Bellucci came to the PRL Sharkey lab from the University of Rome to study the protective role of isoprene.

In a recent study in Plant Physiology, Michigan State University researchers revealed a misconception that had been growing in plant science about one of the fundamental puzzle pieces of photosynthesis. In correcting the record, researchers can now think about using this knowledge to improve plant function and grow more efficient crops.

Liana Acevedo-Siaca came to Michigan State University-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory, or MSU DOE-PRL in October 2022 as a postdoctoral researcher in David Kramer’s lab. She is now preparing to move across the Atlantic to the Netherlands to start as an Assistant Professor in the Horticulture and Product Physiology Group at Wageningen University in April 2024.

MSU is a pioneer in plant science, and the renewal of important programs such as the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory and the DOE-supported Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center helped bolster DOE-funded expenditures.

Fixed-term Assistant Professor Jinjie Liu discusses her work with CURE, the Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience, at Michigan State University.

A recent publication in Metabolic Engineering looks at how cyanobacteria balance cellular energy between “source and sink,” which may have downstream applications in bioproduction. 

How are astronauts going to grow their food when they’re in space? It’s a question that Michigan State University scientists are asking, and one that they’re growing closer to answering.

Lisa Yun, a graduate student in the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory Ducat lab, has worked at national laboratories and universities since beginning her professional career. When considering an internship, she wanted to experience industry work to better understand the differences between the workload and organization compared to academia. She wanted to work at a startup, more specifically, she wanted to be in a smaller environment with a goal for sustainability.

Donghee Hoh, a postdoctoral researcher of the Kramer Lab, was awarded the 2023 American Society of Plant Biologists, or ASPB, Women’s Young Investigator Travel Award. The award paid for travel to the ASPB conference held this August in Savannah, Georgia. Women members of ASPB who are early in their career are eligible for this award.

A recap of 2023 in pictures from the PRL.

In a study published in The Plant Journal, researchers looked at the complex regulation of the storage of cell wall mixed-linkage glucan, or MLG, in sorghum, a crop that’s a promising biofuel feedstock. MLG is a component of the cell wall that is believed to have several biological functions, but its precise role during the vegetative growth of plants is not understood well.

Can seeds sent into space grow better plants on Earth? Federica Brandizzi is a University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University and an MSU Research Foundation Professor who wanted to find out.

Leah Johnson is the 2023 recipient of the Kende Award, which acknowledges the best doctoral dissertation in plant sciences at Michigan State University over the last two years.

For a small field like computational biology, joining an international workshop is a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn from, collaborate with and talk to professionals and students from around the world. This is how Duncan Boren of the Vermaas Lab felt when he learned about the CompBioAsia program.

Gregg Howe and James Tiedje were included in this year’s annual list of Highly Cited Researchers, showing they are among the world’s most influential scientists.

Researchers from Michigan State University have shed light on the biological puzzle of how plants launch immune responses. Reporting in Nature Communications, the team revealed one protein that plays a key role in mobilizing a plant’s antimicrobial defenses

Five researchers and professors from Michigan State University, including the PRL's Gregg Howe, have been recognized in the “2023 Highly Cited Researchers” list, a ranking organized annually by Clarivate Analytics.

WKAR's Megan Schellong spoke with Tom Sharkey, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Michigan State University, to discuss his research findings on how plants store food for their future when they sense there's less daylight available.

Rhomboid-like protein 10, or RBL10, is thought to be an enzyme that degrades other proteins in the chloroplast membrane, but its function is largely unknown. Researchers in the Benning lab in the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory are studying how RBL10 affects photosynthetic membrane lipid metabolism, an essential process in photosynthesis.

Food security is an important area of study to Walker lab graduate student Luke Gregory. That’s why when he found an internship for Bayer on LinkedIn, he knew it was the one for him. Bayer’s vision “Health for all, hunger for none,” interested Luke.

The upcoming daylight savings time “fall back” may be a drag for many people — but new research from Michigan State University scientists reveals that plants have found ways to cope. In a paper recently published in the journal Plant Physiology, MSU College of Natural Science faculty members Tom Sharkey and Yair Shachar-Hill and their team demonstrate that plants have multiple fine-tuned systems to deal with varying day lengths, which, in turn, could help to develop new crop varieties that can grow in a wider range of climates.

The movement of electrons across wires is what allows us to use electricity every day. Biological nanowires, microscopic wires made of proteins, have caught researchers’ attention for their ability to carry electrons over long distances. In a recent study published in Small by the Vermaas lab at the PRL, researchers expand our understanding of biological nanowires through the use of computer simulations.

Berkley Walker didn’t plan on becoming a scientist; he wanted to be an entrepreneur. And he got started early on that goal: In high school in Portland, Ore., he started a granola bar company, which helped pay for his bachelor’s degree in microbiology.

Gregg Howe is a PRL researcher who is internationally known for his work on plant resilience. He recently spent a year in Japan as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar, where he collaborated with Japanese scientists on research focused on understanding and improving plant resilience traits.

As potential for biofuel, switchgrass is a perennial plant that is of great interest to researchers. Scientists from the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory Walker lab are looking at how these plants regrow, even when regrowing with less than its usual carbon storage.

Trees including oak and poplar will emit more isoprene — a compound that worsens air pollution — as global temperatures rise, according to new MSU research.

Growing the legacy – Michigan State University embarks on campaign to recruit new plant science faculty.

The MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory Community Building and Outreach Committee participated in the inaugural MSU Detroit Early Honors Experience, a collaboration between Detroit Public Schools Community District and several departments at MSU. The day PRL participated in was focused on teaching Detroit high schoolers plant science concepts and research techniques out in the field.

In plants, the jasmonate signaling pathway helps plants control their defense responses to environmental stresses. Like the human body, plants respond differently to individual threats. Just as people wouldn’t get a fever due to a sprained ankle, plants deal with harmful elements in particular ways. A study from the Howe lab looks at how plants respond to environmental threats in the correct way.

MSU researchers reveal a biological pathway that could be targeted to breed more resilient crops.

Mentored by MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory members, four undergraduate students participated in laboratory research this summer, as a part of the Plant Genomics @ Michigan State University Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.

Binod Basyal is a postdoctoral research associate at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Lab within the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. He tells us about his research, his background and the importance of optimism in solving complex problems.