Watch highlights from this year's photosynthesis hackathon in Ghana: tinyurl.com/dz8ca9ud @cam.ac.uk @openjii.bsky.social @rwth.bsky.social @cambridgeafrica.bsky.social @cgiar.org @plantphys-cam.bsky.social

Hackathon Ghana 2026: From Field Photosynthesis to Genetic Architecture

How do genetic differences shape the way plants capture light, process carbon, and survive drought? Watch the highlights from the JII Open Challenge photosynthesis hackathon in Ghana, March 2026: a unique, fast-paced hackathon bringing together data scientists, plant researchers, software engineers, and innovators to uncover the links between genotypic variation and photosynthetic performance.

tinyurl.com

Hacking photosynthesis for a food-secure future - global teams use AI / ML to find genetic links for climate-resilient crops in Africa at hackathon in Ghana: tinyurl.com/3uuu6c9d @openjii.bsky.social @rwth.bsky.social @cambridgeafrica.bsky.social @cgiar.org @plantphys-cam.bsky.social @cam.ac.uk

🍃⏰️🍃 Abstract Deadline 🍃⏰️🍃 There's just two weeks left to submit your abstract for a chance to talk at Photosynthesis 2026 🌱 Find out more & register now 👉️ photosynthesis2026.com 🐤 Early-bird registration and oral abstract submission closes March 31st 🐤 #photosynthesis #plantscience

The international conference on photosynthesis research will be happening in Liverpool at the end of July. It promises to be a broad and interesting conference about all things photosynthesis! ☀️🌱🥼 Abstract deadlines: 31st March - presentations 15th May - posters Hope to see you there!

🚨 SPECIAL ISSUE - CLOSING SOON 🚨 🤖 Accelerating progress in plant science via AI-driven research 🤖 ✍️ Guest edited by Johannes Kromdijk & Zoran Nikoloski 📅 Deadline: 31 January 2026 📄 Research and review paper inquiries are welcome, contact us 👉 bit.ly/JXBissues #JXBspecialissues #PlantScience 🧪

Journal of Experimental Botany@jxbotany.bsky.social · 8mo ago

🤖🌿 UPCOMING SPECIAL ISSUE 🌿🤖 💻 Accelerating progress in plant science via AI-driven research 💻 Guest edited by Johannes Kromdijk & Zoran Nikoloski 📅 Deadline: 31 January 2026 📣 Got a manuscript? 👉 Contact the JXB office: bit.ly/JXBissues #JXBspecialissues #PlantScience 🧪 (1/2)

Check out the newest publication from our lab!! 🌱🌽❄️

Plant Physiology@plantphys.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Sub-optimal temperature leads to tighter coupling between photosynthetic electron transport and CO2 assimilation under fluctuating light in maize (Cristina R G Sales , Stéphanie Arrivault , et al) doi.org/10.1093/plph... #PlantScience @aspbofficial

Check out some of expected reviews so far 📝 @plantphys-cam.bsky.social @mpi-mp-potsdam.bsky.social @sebiology.bsky.social #PlantScience 🧪 (2/2)

🤖🌿 UPCOMING SPECIAL ISSUE 🌿🤖 💻 Accelerating progress in plant science via AI-driven research 💻 Guest edited by Johannes Kromdijk & Zoran Nikoloski 📅 Deadline: 31 January 2026 📣 Got a manuscript? 👉 Contact the JXB office: bit.ly/JXBissues #JXBspecialissues #PlantScience 🧪 (1/2)

Are you interested in crop improvement using photosynthesis? We have a new PhD project in our lab available as part of the Plant BioDesign project. Using sequence diversity in PsbS and LHCII antennae to uncover optimal strategies. Find more detail here: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Designing photoprotection in future crops (Plant BioDesign Cambridge project) at University of York on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Designing photoprotection in future crops (Plant BioDesign Cambridge project) at University of York, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

Our postdoc Ali is looking for some help working with an Arabidopsis diversity panel! Let him know if you have any ideas 🌱 #software #science #plantscience #arabidopsis

Ali Leverett@alileverett.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Can anyone help: I want to take photos of arabidopsis rosettes everyday as they grow to get growth curves for a lot of ecotypes. Does anyone know of software that can be used to read the label from inside the photo and rename the file with the plant ID and then amend the date to the file name too?

Check out Ali’s new paper! 🌱

Ali Leverett@alileverett.bsky.social · 10mo ago

New paper - led by Isabella Østerlund Rho-GTPase overexpression can impact the development of cell shape and airspace structure in Arabidopsis. These genetic changes can also reduce photosynthesis, due to lower mesophyll conductance nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

A massive congratulations to @tinaschreier.bsky.social for being awarded an ERC Starting Grant!! Exciting news for the photosynthesis world. Best of luck to you, Tina! 🍃🥼 Read more here: www.biology.ox.ac.uk/article/dr-t...

Dr Tina Schreier awarded ERC Starting Grant

biology.ox.ac.uk

About 10 tickets left. register today and be part of the @blackinplantsci.bsky.social community Registration closes this week. blackinplantscience.org/bips-confere...

Had an amazing time at PEPG Workshop 2025 in Lisbon! It was great to gain hands-on experience in plant physiology techniques including chlorophyll fluorescence and gas exchange. Grateful to @sebiology.bsky.social and #PEPG for the opportunity to learn and connect with such a brilliant community!”

Thrilled to join the #JXB75 Symposium, marking the 75th anniversary of the @jxbotany.bsky.social , founded by @sebiology.bsky.social The meeting opened with workshops on manuscript prep & publication ethics, followed by talks on plant science spanning beginning to future!

Check out our recent pre-print which identifies the role of the first stromal residue involved in PsbS’ NPQ function! We found mutating the c-term b-strand reduced induction but increased relaxation ☀️ 🌿 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Mutation of a stromal C-terminal threonine residue of Photosystem II subunit S slows down NPQ induction and speeds up relaxation

In order to prevent damage by excess light, photosystem antennae can switch to an energy dissipative mode (termed non-photochemical quenching, NPQ). In higher plants, this switch is facilitated by the...

biorxiv.org

Welcome Anna! Excited to have you as part of the team 🌿🥼

Anna Lee Jones@annaleejones.bsky.social · last yr.

Excited to share I have joined the Kromdijk lab (@plantphys-cam.bsky.social) in Cambridge as a postdoc working on the spectral responses of peatland vegetation to thermal stress. Part of an interdisciplinary project with Super Sharp 🛰️

Exciting times @thepallavisinghlab.bsky.social Glad to be awarded the Opportunity Seed Funds by @aria-research.bsky.social for our Mistletoe research on “PlantPlug: Bioengineering Parasitic Plants into Programmable Modules”

Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA)@aria-research.bsky.social · last yr.

From landmine-clearing plants to leveraging stochasticity in synthetic biology, discover the opportunity seeds we’re funding in Programmable Plants 🌱 link.aria.org.uk/PPoppseeds

Join our group (www.luginbuehllab.com) at @camplantsci.bsky.social! Are you excited about mycorrhiza, (single-cell) transcriptomics, carbon physiology, and the model crop rice? We have a 2-year postdoc position available, starting ASAP. Closing date 23rd May 2025! www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/51214/

Great new article on our work on the Cambridge plant sciences website! Have a read! 🌽☀️

Department of Plant Sciences Cambridge@camplantsci.bsky.social · last yr.

A new study from @plantphys-cam.bsky.social has found new genetic factors behind photosynthesis in maize - offering a valuable new approach to improving crop productivity. www.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/news/study-u... @cambridgebiosci.bsky.social @cambridgeuni.bsky.social

Early bird deadline is fast approaching (16/05) Join Johannes at the #SEBconference in Antwerp. Book your place now ⬇️ sebiology.org/events/seb-a... Check out our plant sessions ⬇️ sebiology.org/events/seb-a...

please share - 2 postdoc positions available - molecular physiology of stomata and plant water use of efficiency lab.igb.illinois.edu/leakey/post-... @ripeproject.bsky.social @aspbofficial.bsky.social

If you haven't already - make sure to save the date to the Black in Plant Science Conference taking place on Friday 24 October at the University of Leeds. Registration will soon be opening so make sure to save the date to avoid disappointment.

Wanne has co-authored a paper on the EPS2 conference last year that was held in Padova 🇮🇹🍝 Four of us were able to attend and hear great talks about all things photosynthesis. It was really great to share our data with the photosynthesis world! ☀️🍃 Find the paper here: doi.org/10.1111/ppl....

🌿 Excited to share our latest preprint! We tracked how plasmodesmata numbers evolved across the path from C₃ → C₄ photosynthesis in Flaveria - and found a stepwise increase in cell-to-cell connectivity. Thoughts or feedback are most welcome 😊 #PlantScience

bioRxiv Plant Bio@biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · last yr.

Stepwise increase in plasmodesmata during C4 evolution in Flaveria https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.18.649591v1

Wild relatives of crop species provide untapped genetic potential for ecological resilience. We looked at 320 wild relatives of Barley and combined physiology experiments with GWAS data to determine variation in light capture and photoprotection 🌾🧬📊🌱 check it out here! doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Extensive photophysiological variation in wild barley is linked to environmental origin

### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The whole lab has been busy today tidying and cleaning our lab space 🧪🧼🫧🥼 Luckily this is all made easier with pizza for lunch! Also welcome to Eva, our new PhD student who started today! 🍕

Great opportunity to join the wonderful plant biologists at @lancasterplantbio.bsky.social and work on Rubisco biochemistry and engineering 🥼🧪🌱☀️

Doug Orr@doug-orr.bsky.social · last yr.

This post is now online, for full details on how to apply please see: wp.lancs.ac.uk/lancsphotosy...

And a 3 year tech position is also now live. Synthetic biology project funded by the Advanced Research + Innovation Agency (ARIA). Please apply / RP! www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/51027/ @camplantsci.bsky.social

Have you ever wondered about NPQ in C4 plants? ☀️🪴 Check out the recent pre-print from Lucìa who used to be a PhD student/post-doc in our lab and now works for the @ripeproject.bsky.social in Illinois. She shows that C4 plants have faster NPQ than related C3 plants. doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Faster relaxation of nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) in C4 than in C3 species

Acceleration of photoprotective non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) responses to changes in light intensity has been suggested as a strategy to enhance crop yield. Despite many key crops utilising C4 ph...

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