Welcome to the last edition of Phytogen for 2024!
For this final edition of the year, we take a look back at the local conference and the annual general meeting of the Society held at the end of last month. We welcome some new faces to the Society who will commence their roles in 2025. We also continue to spotlight our student members. This month we feature Yalin Liu, a first-year PhD student affiliated with the School of Biosciences at The University of Melbourne.
We welcome contributions from students and researcher at any time for publication in Phytogen. Its free and a great way to give your research profile a boost and share your findings! Send your contribution to our editors Raz (razlin.azman@csiro.au) or Lucas (L.Auroux@latrobe.edu.au).
2024 ASPS Local Conferences
The ASPS 2024 conference was a hybrid conference held concurrently across Australia and New Zealand at the end of last month. This event brought together plant scientists across Australia, with strong participation from NSW and ACT (117 attendees), QLD (64), SA (66), VIC (55), and WA (55). Colleagues from other states/territories joined online, making it a truly national gathering of ideas and research. It featured local meetings connected virtually for the ASPS and NZSPB award presentation session, where each award winner presented. This event brought together plant scientists to share research, collaborate, and strengthen connections within and across states and territories.
The ASPS would like to sincerely thank the local organising committees for making these events possible with the generous supports of our sponsors:
- National sponsors: Bioplatforms Australia, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture, and ThermoFisher Scientific.
- Award and lecture sponsors: Functional Plant Biology, The Annals of Botany Company, and Agrisera Antibodies.
- Local sponsors: the Australian Plant Phenomics Network (VIC, WA, NSW); the Australian Genome Research Facility (WA); Qiagen (WA), John Morris Group (WA), Licor Inc, the Western Sydney University School of Science and Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (NSW); ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture and the Queensland University of Technology (QLD); Flinders University, The University of Adelaide, ARC Centre of Excellence for Plants for Space, Waite Research Institute and the South Australian Genomics Centre (SA).
Here are some winners for best talks and posters. Congratulations to all winners and thank you to all presenters for sharing your research at the conference. Your participation continues to make our annual conferences a success and a platform for plant scientists in Australia to share their research and form professional networks.
NSW & ACT
Best Student Presentation
Nicole Bison
University of British Columbia (visiting the Australian National University)
Academic profile | The University of British Columbia interview | X: @Nicole Bison
Student Presentation Runner-up
Xuan Hu
Australian National University
Best Student Poster
Edward Chaplin
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney interview
Student Poster Runner Up
Haoran Li
Australian National University
VICTORIA
Best ECR Presentation
Lim Chee Liew
LaTrobe University
Lim Chee Liew Profile | La Trobe University
X: @LimCheeLiew
Best Student Presentation
Olivi Doolanm LaTrobe University
Olivia Doolan | La Trobe University Profile
Best Poster
Thomas Cobbinah, La Trobe University
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Best Presentation
Samantha Norman
University of Western Australia
Best Poster
Andrew Tuckey
University of Western Australia
X: @andy_tuckey
ASPS 2024 annual general meeting
The Society’s Annual General Meeting was held on 29 November 2024. On behalf of the Society we would like to thank Professor Martha Ludwig whose term as President will end on 1 January 2025. Martha’s work strengthened the links between each state and profoundly enhanced the exhibition of plant science in Australia, thank you Marta. The President-Elect, Professor Brent Kaiser, will become the new President of the Society on 1 January 2025. Welcome Brent! Martha will continue to stay on the Society exec.
(L): Martha Ludwig ; (R): Brent Kaiser
Voting at the Annual General Meeting resulted in the election of new volunteers to fill the vacant positions from 2025:
Honorary secretary
Associate Professor Mary Byrne
University of Sydney
Academic profile | Lab Webpage
Associate Professor Mary Byrne is a plant geneticist studying plant development. Her group has made contributions to our understanding of genetic pathways that distinguish stem cell from differentiated cell fate in the plant shoot meristem, and to our understanding of genes and genetic pathways that determine leaf shape. She is a passionate teacher of undergraduate and graduate students studying plant science and genetics.
Discipline representatives
Welcome new discipline reps, and many thanks to outgoing discipline reps for their contribution to ASPS and Phytogen during the year.
Student representatives
Welcome to our new student representatives, representing VIC, QLD, WA and SA. We thank Zane Marks (U of Adelaide) for his effort and contribution to ASPS and Phytogen in 2024.
Student Contribution
Yalin Liu
PhD student, School of Biosciences, The University of Melbourne
yalliu1@student.unimelb.edu.au
Yalin Liu is a first-year PhD student in Mike Haydon’s Lab at the University of Melbourne, bringing a wealth of experience in molecular biology, biochemistry, and plant science.
Her research journey began during her master’s studies in the Constabel’s Lab at the University of Victoria, Canada, where she employed CRISPR knock-out techniques to study the transcriptional regulation of tannins in poplar trees. “This project deepened my understanding of gene regulation mechanisms in plants and provided me with extensive hands-on experience in wet lab” Yalin reflects. Her work was summarized in a peer-reviewed publication: Yalin Liu, Dawei Ma, C. Peter Constabel. CRISPR/Cas9 disruption of MYB134 and MYB115 in transgenic poplar leads to differential reduction of proanthocyanidin synthesis in roots and leaves. Plant and Cell Physiology, 2023, DOI:10.1093/pcp/pcad086. Following her MSc, Yalin further expanded her skill set by learning epigenetic techniques as a research assistant in Hong Kong.
Currently, Yalin’s PhD research focuses on unravelling the molecular mechanisms that control the circadian clock in wheat. Her work seeks to understand how plants integrate environmental signals to regulate developmental processes like leaf senescence, a crucial factor in crop productivity. “My passion lies in exploring how transcriptional regulation controls the circadian system to optimize plant growth and stress responses,” she explains. Her research promises to provide new insights into the role of the circadian clock in wheat, offering practical applications in crop improvement and sustainability.
Acknowledgements: Yalin Liu’s work is funded by the University of Melbourne and GRDC.
Editors’ note
We hope you had a great time at this year’s ASPS 2024 conference. Phytogen will be back at the end of January 2025. Until then, enjoy the time off!
Invited contribution: student contribution by Yalin Liu
Newsletter written and edited by Lucas Auroux and Razlin Azman.
