News

Michigan State University has again been named a top producer of Fulbright U.S. Scholars — establishing MSU as the only research institution in the nation to achieve this status in the last nine consecutive years. With nine scholars, including the PRL's Gregg Howe, MSU is also notably among the top five-highest-producing institutions this year.

By explaining a photosynthetic peculiarity in switchgrass, MSU researchers from the Walker lab may have unlocked even more of the plant’s potential.

Researchers from the Vermaas lab created a more efficient tool to solve the problem of ring piercings in molecular simulations. This work is published in Biomolecules.

Complicated sets of biological data can be challenging to extrapolate meaningful information from. Wanting to find a better way to look at this data led Berkley Walker, assistant professor at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, to team up with statistician and Assistant Professor Chih-Li Sung from the Department of Statistics and Probability.

A new study from researchers at Michigan State University underscores that we still have much to learn regarding how plants will function — and how nutritious they will be — as more carbon enters our atmosphere.

For research, plants are frequently grown under stable lighting, which does not reflect natural conditions. In a series of experiments with changing light conditions, simulating the natural interplay of light and shadow, researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam-Golm and the College of Natural Science at MSU reveal the importance of two key proteins for the dynamic control of photosynthesis.

Donghee Hoh is the 2022 recipient of the Kende Award, which acknowledges the best doctoral dissertation in plant sciences at Michigan State University over the last two years.

With nearly $11M from DOE, MSU is leading a collaboration to usher the US into new frontiers of clean energy with inspiration from microbes.

Three scientists affiliated with the MSU College of Natural Science have been recognized as being among the world’s most influential scientists thanks to their papers’ usefulness to other researchers in their fields. Biochemist Gregg A. Howe, ecosystem scientist G. Philip Robertson, and microbial ecologist James Tiedje are among 11 MSU scientists named to the 2022 Highly Cited Researchers List compiled by Clarivate Analytics.

Daipayan Sarkar is a postdoctoral researcher from the Vermaas lab, where his research focus is on fundamental aspects of photosynthesis and its widespread application in sustainability research.

NASA launched a spacecraft this past week that will travel beyond the moon and back … and a piece of Michigan State University is aboard.

Eleven Michigan State University researchers, including the PRL's Gregg Howe, have been recognized in the 2022 Highly Cited Researchers List compiled by Clarivate Analytics.

Researchers from the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory Benning lab have received a $1,076,813 grant from the National Science Foundation to bring research into the undergraduate classroom setting with a project looking at how the chloroplast reacts to stress responses in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Michigan State University and the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, operated by Stanford University, are working to build new microscopes that allow scientists to peer into plant cells like never before.

İlayda Korkmaz is an undergraduate student in the Benning Lab who is majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology as well as Political Science. She is interested in energy and enzymes. In her free time, she likes to read, paint and watch movies.

The MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory is excited to welcome two new members to its faculty body: Assistant Professor Daniela Strenkert, who has her academic appoint with the Department of Plant Biology, and Research Assistant Professor Stefan Schmollinger with an academic appointment with the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology.

Abhijnan Chattopadhyay, former graduate student in David Kramer’s lab, is headed to the National Institute of Health (NIH) at North Carolina Research Triangle Park for his postdoctoral fellowship.

Bianca Serda is a second-year graduate student in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Molecular Plant Sciences programs here at Michigan State University. "I have learned that there are many resources available to help move my research forward, all I need to do is ask what is available for me and somehow, I find what I need."

Join the Molecular Plant Sciences program Fall and Spring semester for the Monday seminar series.

Ten Michigan State University laboratories were acknowledged by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety as a part of their inaugural Laboratory Safety Recognition Awards this year.

New findings in microbes called cyanobacteria present new opportunities for plant science, bioengineering and environmental protection.

The Brandizzi Lab at MSU is sending seeds to space aboard NASA’s Artemis I mission to explore how humanity can sustain itself outside of Earth.

Drew Mitchell is a former undergraduate student in the Benning lab and Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. "If there is something I’m struggling to find, or a problem that’s giving me trouble, there’s always someone [at the PRL] who is willing to chat about it and help if they can."

This study shows that plant genes called MYCs which are known for their role in promoting stress responses, potently inhibit growth and seed production.

New research from the Vermaas lab with the objective to determine how molecular chaperones may regulate amyloid fibril formation, potentially by interacting with the N17 or PRD regions within HTTExon1.

Third-year graduate student Bianca Serda from the Sharkey lab attended two scientific conferences this summer: The Gordon Research Conference on Biogenic Hydrocarbons and the Atmosphere in June, and the American Society of Plant Biologists Plant Biology Conference in July.

The new field of phytonanotechnology, which involves the use of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) to enhance/alter plant systems, promises to have an immense impact on critical global problems related to climate change and the scale of food production.

Similar to how chameleons can change colors to blend into their surroundings, cyanobacteria can tune their coloring to better absorb light in different environments.

Plant gene regulation dictates how plants grow under differing environmental conditions, and researchers from the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory are looking at how different genes control light-dependent processes in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Mauricio Tejera-Nieves is a postdoctoral researcher in the Walker lab and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. "Above all, I think the most valuable resource is its people, in my experience everyone is so knowledgeable and willing to collaborate."

The newest state budget includes more than $300 million in funding for Michigan State University, with more than $50 million supporting MSU agriculture improvements.

In June 2022, plant cell wall researchers from around the world were able to meet in person for the first time in three years at the 9th International Cell Wall Research Conference in East Lansing, Michigan.

Now with Ph.D. in hand, former MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory graduate student Yang-Tsung Lin is ready to continue his studies in algae as a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Sabeeha Merchant’s lab at UC Berkeley, beginning in July 2022.

Friday, June 3, 2022, the City Limits Bowling Center saw the RETURN of Gutter Ball 26! After a two-year hiatus, over 60 bowlers fought tooth and nail for the chance to win the prestigious title of “Gutter Ball 26 Champion.”