A Botanical Podcast

In this second bonus episode of “A Botanical Podcast,” host Shiran Ben-Zeev and guest Eric von Wetttberg debate plant domestication as an abrupt event vs. as a continuum. (Spoiler alert: The host and guest agree on more than they disagree!) They discuss Eric’s wide-ranging research interests and special fondness for legumes. They discuss and offer numerous examples of wild relatives of domesticated plants, gene flow, archeological traditions around the world, the importance of collections, the topic of bitterness, and the “coevolutionary dance between plants and people.”Eric von Wettberg's laboratory group, the Crop Genetic Heritage Laboratory, studies the consequences of population bottlenecks for adaptation to harsh environments, merging approaches from genomics and evolutionary ecology. A great many crops are deficient in genetic diversity as a result of extreme population bottlenecks resulting from domestication and breeding. This limits their capacity for adaptation to new or altered habitats. Understanding the consequences of domestication and breeding bottlenecks can help us develop more resilient crops to weather extremes.  They aim to examine the evolutionary ecology of wild relatives of crops to help breed better crops, conserve crop genetic resources, and build resilience into agricultural systems. They primarily work on legumes, with a current focus on legumes of the Near East and South and Southeast Asia. In parallel work, they strive to introduce new crops to Vermont through participatory breeding approaches.Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericvonwettberg/Bluesky: @evonwetto.bsky.socialInstagram: @ericvonwettbergDisclaimerThe Botanical Society of America (BSA) has produced and provides this podcast for people who love plants, plant research, and BSA journals. The information presented is based on current scientific understanding and may be subject to change as new research emerges. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are the personal views of the host and guests, and not the views, policies, or opinions of BSA or any of its officials. The appearance of any host or guest does not imply an endorsement by BSA of them, their employer, any entity they represent, or any view or content they express or create outside of this podcast. Reference to any product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by BSA.  This podcast may not be republished or repurposed without the consent of the BSA.Websites / Social Media Handles Botanical Society of America BlueskyBotanical Society of America InstagramBotanical Society of AmericaAmerican Journal of BotanyApplications in Plant SciencesPlant Science Bulletin...

For this lively bonus episode of “A Botanical Podcast,” host Shiran Ben-Zeev and guest Irwin Goldman share their enthusiasm for a subject of great mutual interest: plant breeding and domestication. In addition to discussing research, they introduce anecdotes, poetry, and the ideas expressed by economists, plant breeders, and even our human ancestors to the conversation. In determining what makes a vegetable palatable and delicious, humans often choose traits that are counter to what’s best for a plant’s fitness. Shiran and Irwin provide many examples and touch on the debates around plant breeding vs. gene editing.  Irwin Goldman is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a faculty member in the Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics program. He teaches courses in vegetable crops, plant breeding, evolutionary biology, indigenous food systems, and plants and human well-being. His research is focused on breeding and genetics of vegetable crops, including human health attributes of vegetables. Irwin and his students have helped develop new strains of beet, carrot, and onion that are in use in many vegetable-growing regions around the world. Irwin has a BS degree from the University of Illinois, an MS from North Carolina State University, and a PhD from Wisconsin. He completed postdoctoral work at the University of Illinois.Lab webpage: https://goldman.horticulture.wisc.edu/Institutional affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Plant and Agroecoystem SciencesDisclaimerThe Botanical Society of America (BSA) has produced and provides this podcast for people who love plants, plant research, and BSA journals. The information presented is based on current scientific understanding and may be subject to change as new research emerges. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are the personal views of the host and guests, and not the views, policies, or opinions of BSA or any of its officials. The appearance of any host or guest does not imply an endorsement by BSA of them, their employer, any entity they represent, or any view or content they express or create outside of this podcast. Reference to any product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by BSA.  This podcast may not be republished or repurposed without the consent of the BSA.Websites / Social Media Handles Botanical Society of America BlueskyBotanical Society of America InstagramBotanical Society of AmericaAmerican Journal of BotanyApplications in Plant SciencesPlant Science Bulletin...

Prepare to be inspired! Podcast host Shiran Ben-Zeev and Caprice Disbrow, a Biology and Botany Instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College, enthusiastically talk about the SRJC Campus Biodiversity Initiative, whose goals are to increase awareness of and deepen knowledge of the species found on campus, engage with campus biodiversity, and provide research and career development opportunities through independent and course-based learning, research, and stewardship. The Initiative is a collaboration among faculty, staff, students, and community partners to build gardens and landscaping to beautify the campus in a thoughtful and intelligent way—as well as to measure and improve biodiversity, with additional social, mental health, and creativity benefits. Caprice discusses the origin of the project and how it is growing and building communities of plants and people (and other biodiversity!). There's so much we can learn from each other.Find out more at https://www.srjcbiodiversity.org/.Caprice Disbrow holds a bachelor’s degree in plant biology from UC Davis and a master’s degree in plant ecology from Sonoma State University. Prior to falling in love with teaching, she worked as a professional botanist at Jacobs Engineering and served on the board of the California Native Plant Society Milo Baker Chapter. At Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC), she’s taught major’s and non-major’s botany, introductory biology, and ecology. She also curates the SRJC Herbarium, and co-coordinates the SRJC Campus Biodiversity Initiative. Ironically, despite studying plants (which lack neurons), she is now diving deep into the psychology of science education, metacognition, identifying/correcting misconceptions, and learning how to learn. She is excited to examine how Campus Biodiversity Initiative and herbarium experiences impact a person’s identity in STEM education. DisclaimerThe Botanical Society of America (BSA) has produced and provides this podcast for people who love plants, plant research, and BSA journals. The information presented is based on current scientific understanding and may be subject to change as new research emerges. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are the personal views of the host and guests, and not the views, policies, or opinions of BSA or any of its officials. The appearance of any host or guest does not imply an endorsement by BSA of them, their employer, any entity they represent, or any view or content they express or create outside of this podcast. Reference to any product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by BSA.  This podcast may not be republished or repurposed without the consent of the BSA.Websites / Social Media Handles Botanical Society of America BlueskyBotanical Society of America InstagramBotanical Society of AmericaAmerican Journal of BotanyApplications in Plant SciencesPlant Science Bulletin...

Herbaria are amazing libraries of plant biodiversity—they serve as time capsules of a particular time and place, but they are also so much more! Listen in on this conversation between our podcast host and Adam Schneider, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, as they discuss their love of plant collections and how herbaria and iNaturalist (a social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity across the globe) complement each other. They also talk about Adam's research on parasitic plants. Are parasitic plants evil? Maybe they're just weird, and like all of us, just trying to survive! Thinking about parasitic plants challenges what we think plants are. Challenge yourself and enjoy this episode of "A Botanical Podcast"!Dr. Adam Schneider is an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. His research focuses on the evolution and diversity of parasitic plants, using a wide range of methods including field study, genomic sequencing, greenhouse experiment, phylogenetic analysis, museum specimens, and crowdsourced data via iNaturalist. At the same time, he curates the UWL herbarium, an archive of tens of thousands of wild-collected plant specimens that are used in research, teaching, and outreach. Beyond teaching and research, Dr. Schneider is on the board of the Botanical Club of Wisconsin and the managing editor of the peer-reviewed journal Systematic Botany.DisclaimerThe Botanical Society of America (BSA) has produced and provides this podcast for people who love plants, plant research, and BSA journals. The information presented is based on current scientific understanding and may be subject to change as new research emerges. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are the personal views of the host and guests, and not the views, policies, or opinions of BSA or any of its officials. The appearance of any host or guest does not imply an endorsement by BSA of them, their employer, any entity they represent, or any view or content they express or create outside of this podcast. Reference to any product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by BSA.  This podcast may not be republished or repurposed without the consent of the BSA.Websites / Social Media Handles Botanical Society of America BlueskyBotanical Society of America InstagramBotanical Society of AmericaAmerican Journal of BotanyApplications in Plant SciencesPlant Science Bulletin...

Join us "in the weeds" for this fascinating conversation with Chris Martine, a Professor at Bucknell (and incoming President of BSA), who has many interests and talents, as well as an infectious enthusiasm for plants and the people who study them.  Chris and Shiran talk about numerous topics, including Chris's deep dive into Solanaceae, the Nightshade Family, and in particular the bush tomatoes that grow primarily in the Australian Monsoon Tropics. They talk about how cool herbaria are and how Botany is a welcoming community for anyone curious about plants. Chris makes a strong case that "Plants Are Cool, Too!" You can check out his YouTube series of the same name at https://www.youtube.com/@PlantsAreCoolToo.DisclaimerThe Botanical Society of America (BSA) has produced and provides this podcast for people who love plants, plant research, and BSA journals. The information presented is based on current scientific understanding and may be subject to change as new research emerges. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are the personal views of the host and guests, and not the views, policies, or opinions of BSA or any of its officials. The appearance of any host or guest does not imply an endorsement by BSA of them, their employer, any entity they represent, or any view or content they express or create outside of this podcast. Reference to any product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by BSA.  This podcast may not be republished or repurposed without the consent of the BSA.Websites / Social Media Handles Botanical Society of America BlueskyBotanical Society of America InstagramBotanical Society of AmericaAmerican Journal of BotanyApplications in Plant SciencesPlant Science Bulletin...

Welcome to the first episode of the second season of "A Botanical Podcast"! Host Shiran Ben-Zeev talks with Dr. Karolina Heyduk, University of Connecticut, about why she and her colleagues and students sometimes have slumber parties with (very special) plants. She's interested in how plants adapt to stressful conditions, such as a lack of water and super-high temperatures. Karolina is very interested in the ecophysiology of plants, especially CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) photosynthesis, and by the end of this episode you will be, too!DisclaimerThe Botanical Society of America (BSA) has produced and provides this podcast for people who love plants, plant research, and BSA journals. The information presented is based on current scientific understanding and may be subject to change as new research emerges. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are the personal views of the host and guests, and not the views, policies, or opinions of BSA or any of its officials. The appearance of any host or guest does not imply an endorsement by BSA of them, their employer, any entity they represent, or any view or content they express or create outside of this podcast. Reference to any product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by BSA.  This podcast may not be republished or repurposed without the consent of the BSA.Websites / Social Media Handles Botanical Society of America BlueskyBotanical Society of America InstagramBotanical Society of AmericaAmerican Journal of BotanyApplications in Plant SciencesPlant Science Bulletin...

In this episode of “A Botanical Podcast!” host Shiran Ben Zeev and Dr. Jessica Savage have a wide-ranging conversation about how flowering plants respond to shifting seasonal changes in temperatures, especially when those changes are unpredictable—early warming periods (false springs), followed by light or hard freezes. What is the difference between plants that flower and those that wait? What is the impact of freezing on plants in flower? Jessica draws on research by her and people in her lab who are working to help us better understand the physiological basis of plant phenology and seasonality.Jessica is a whole plant physiologist with expertise in vascular physiology, floral physiology, phenology, and physiological ecology in seasonally cold climates. She has a strong disposition toward research tied to the phloem (she must have a sweet tooth!). She is an Associate Professor at a primary undergraduate institution and has a passion for mentoring undergraduate and graduate students (especially master’s students). She developed and runs a community-engaged research program focused on tree phenology in coastal forests around Lake Superior and is the Chair of the Physiological and Ecophysiological Section of BSA. Before starting as a faculty member, she was a Putnam Research Fellow at the Arnold Arboretum and a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. She received her PhD from the University of Minnesota in Plant Biological Sciences. The research discussed in the podcast was funded by the National Science Foundation (IOS 1656318).Jessica A. SavageUniversity of Minnesota - DuluthWebsite bit.ly/savageplantphys BlueSky @savageplantphys.bsky.social DisclaimerThe Botanical Society of America (BSA) has produced and provides this podcast for people who love plants, plant research, and BSA journals. The information presented is based on current scientific understanding and may be subject to change as new research emerges. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are the personal views of the host and guests, and not the views, policies, or opinions of BSA or any of its officials. The appearance of any host or guest does not imply an endorsement by BSA of them, their employer, any entity they represent, or any view or content they express or create outside of this podcast. Reference to any product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by BSA.  This podcast may not be republished or repurposed without the consent of the BSA.Websites / Social Media Handles Botanical Society of America BlueskyBotanical Society of America InstagramBotanical Society of AmericaAmerican Journal of BotanyApplications in Plant SciencesPlant Science Bulletin...

Is it better/more advantageous to be a juvenile or an adult? As with humans, in plants, "it’s complicated"! In this episode of “A Botanical Podcast!” host Shiran Ben Zeev and Erica Lawrence-Paul discuss vegetative phase change in plants, i.e., the transition between juvenile and adult phases of vegetative growth. This transition can be visually subtle and easy to overlook in many species; however, morphological and physiological differences between juvenile and adult phases can lead to meaningful differences in plant and tissue function.Dr. Erica Lawrence-Paul is an NSF postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Jesse Lasky’s lab in the Department of Biology at the Pennsylvania State University. She earned her doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania, studying the ecophysiological significance of the plant developmental transition, vegetative phase change, with a particular focus on photosynthetic and leaf carbon economic traits. Her current work focuses on understanding how natural variation in the timing of vegetative phase change and phase-specific differences in stress tolerance contribute to plant abiotic stress response and local adaptation.Erica Lawrence-Paul, Pennsylvania State UniversityBlueSky: @ehlawrence-paul.bsky.social DisclaimerThe Botanical Society of America (BSA) has produced and provides this podcast for people who love plants, plant research, and BSA journals. The information presented is based on current scientific understanding and may be subject to change as new research emerges. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are the personal views of the host and guests, and not the views, policies, or opinions of BSA or any of its officials. The appearance of any host or guest does not imply an endorsement by BSA of them, their employer, any entity they represent, or any view or content they express or create outside of this podcast. Reference to any product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by BSA.  This podcast may not be republished or repurposed without the consent of the BSA.Websites / Social Media Handles Botanical Society of America BlueskyBotanical Society of America InstagramBotanical Society of AmericaAmerican Journal of BotanyApplications in Plant SciencesPlant Science Bulletin...

In this episode, the host Shiran Ben Zeev and guest Jordan Dowell nerd out on a discussion of how plants choose to defend themselves against predators and/or manipulate other organisms to help them live their best lives, and how plants use chemistry to communicate---and what we can learn from that. They talk about the special challenges of surviving and thriving in harsh environments and touch on the evolution of chemical diversity and the effects of chemical diversity on organismal interactions across spatial and temporal scales. Dr. Jordan Dowell is an assistant professor at Louisiana State University and an Associate Editor of the BSA's Applications in Plant Sciences. He studies the evolutionary ecology of plant-plant chemical communication and the impacts of multifunctional traits on biotic interactions from single-cells to landscapes using various techniques, from metabolomic and genomic approaches to remote sensing and field-based studies.Jordan Dowell, Louisiana State Universityhttps://jordandowell.github.io/BlueSky: volatileorganic.bsky.socialDisclaimerThe Botanical Society of America (BSA) has produced and provides this podcast for people who love plants, plant research, and BSA journals. The information presented is based on current scientific understanding and may be subject to change as new research emerges. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are the personal views of the host and guests, and not the views, policies, or opinions of BSA or any of its officials. The appearance of any host or guest does not imply an endorsement by BSA of them, their employer, any entity they represent, or any view or content they express or create outside of this podcast. Reference to any product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by BSA.  This podcast may not be republished or repurposed without the consent of the BSA.Websites / Social Media Handles Botanical Society of America BlueskyBotanical Society of America InstagramBotanical Society of AmericaAmerican Journal of BotanyApplications in Plant SciencesPlant Science Bulletin...

In this episode* of A Botanical Podcast, Dr. Andrea E. Berardi from James Madison University joins show host Dr. Shiran Ben Zeev to discuss the evolution of flower color and why plants change their colors. They discuss the role of plant-pollinator interactions and environmental relationships. This topic ties into the upcoming “Paradigm Shifts in Flower Color” special issue of the American Journal of Botany (https://botany.org/home/publications/ajb/ajb-special-issue-call-for-papers-paradigm-shifts-in-flower-color.html).*Note: At 18:15, Dr. Berardi mentioned that nectar is an efficiency trait when in fact nectar is a reward trait. We thank her for pointing this out in post-production.Andrea Berardi is an Assistant Professor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She is a plant evolutionary biologist whose research focuses on evolutionary, genetic, and ecological processes underlying speciation, specifically focusing on how floral traits play a role in reproductive isolation and adaptation to the environment. Her favorite traits to study are floral color and plant secondary/specialized metabolites. She is co-editing a special issue of American Journal of Botany on "Paradigm Shifts in Flower Color," along with Justen Whittall, Eduardo Narbona, and José Carlos del Valle García.Andrea Berardi homepage Andrea Berardi Instagram This podcast is hosted and produced by BSA member Dr. Shiran Ben Zeev. He is a postdoctoral fellow at Penn State University who studies plant–plant interactions in crops. DisclaimerThe Botanical Society of America (BSA) has produced and provides this podcast for people who love plants, plant research, and BSA journals. The information presented is based on current scientific understanding and may be subject to change as new research emerges. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are the personal views of the host and guests, and not the views, policies, or opinions of BSA or any of its officials. The appearance of any host or guest does not imply an endorsement by BSA of them, their employer, any entity they represent, or any view or content they express or create outside of this podcast. Reference to any product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by BSA.  This podcast may not be republished or repurposed without the consent of the BSA.Websites / Social Media Handles Botanical Society of America BlueskyBotanical Society of America InstagramBotanical Society of AmericaAmerican Journal of BotanyApplications in Plant SciencesPlant Science Bulletin...