International Excellence – Sustained Career Award, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers. For Lena Struwe's work to provide global resources for botanical teaching (BotanyDepot, etc.) and work with Organization for Tropical Studies (serving as representative, leading study abroad courses to their field station in Costa Rica for Rutgers students).
Publications
Chang, X., B. Young, N. Vaccaro, R. Strickland, W. Goldstein, L. Struwe, and J. F. White. 2023. Evolutionary development of endophyte symbiosis and impact of plant agriculture. Grass Research 3:18 doi: 10.48130/GR-2023-0018
Oreste D., L., L. Struwe, M. J. Ferreira, J. Schöngart, F. Wittman, M. T. Fernandez P. 2023. New records and range extension of a Brazilian Amazon white sand endemic species: Roraimaea aurantiaca Struwe, S. Nilsson and V. A. Albert (Gentianaceae). Check List 19 (4): 573–580. doi: 10.15560/19.4.573
Schmidt, R.J., M.R. King, M.F.J Aronson, and L. Struwe. 2023. Hidden Cargo: The Impact of Historical Shipping Trade on the Recent-Past and Contemporary Non-Native Flora of Northeastern United States. American Journal of Botany 110: e16224. doi: 10.1002/ajb2.16224
Luo J., E. Walsh, G. Groben, B. Justiniano, N. Zhang. 2023. Larger presence of ectomycorrhizae detected from pygmy pine ecotype in the fire-frequent pine barrens ecosystem. Mycologia 115: 602-613. doi: 10.1080/00275514.2023.2234269
Groben G., B.B. Clarke, L. Kerkhof, S.A. Bonos, W.A. Meyer, Y. Qu, J. Luo, E. Walsh, N. Zhang. 2023. Mycobiome analysis of tall fescue grass under drought stress using the Illumina MiSeq and Oxford nanopore technology MinION. Phytobiomes Journal. doi: 10.1094/PBIOMES-10-22-0071-R
Errickson W., N. Zhang, B. Huang. 2023. Promotive effects of endophytic rhizobacteria on tiller and root growth in creeping bentgrass during drought stress and post-stress recovery involving regulation of hormone and sugar metabolism. Crop Science 63: 2583-2593. doi: 10.1002/csc2.21017
Cai Shi, D., A.T. Hotchkiss Jr., M.A. Lawton and R. Di. Modified citrus pectin confers a preventative effect on cancer-related pathways in CdCl2-treated C. elegans. Food Hydrocolloids for Health p. 100161. 2023. doi:10.1016/j.fhfh.2023.100161
Wolff K., K. Robinson, N. Suh, B. Michniak-Kohn, M. Goedken, M. Polunas, I. Raskin. Isothiocyanate-rich moringa seed extract reduces skin inflammation in mouse ear edema model. Phytomedicine Plus. 2023 Aug 16:100479. doi: 10.1016/j.phyplu.2023.100479
Joseph G., H. Koltai, E.Z. Ron, N. Azzam, H. Hazan, I. Raskin, G. Mengeritsky, M. Mazuz, N. Shalev, D. Biran, A. Poulev. Rhus coriaria L. (sumac) leaves harbour robust antimicrobial activity. Journal of Herbal Medicine. 2023 Sep 1;41:100729. doi: 10.1016/j.hermed.2023.100729
Cho E., C. Gurdon, R. Zhao, H. Peng, A. Poulev, I. Raskin, I. Simko. Phytochemical and Agronomic Characterization of High-Flavonoid Lettuce Lines Grown under Field Conditions. Plants. 2023 Oct 2;12(19):3467. doi: 10.3390/plants12193467
Heckman, J.R. 2023. Crops Science, Soil Science, and Agronomy, CSA News. Letter to editor: Cut the Plastic, Switch to Natural Sisal Twine Bale String. March. p. 2. doi: 10.1002/csan.20975
Acosta, K., S. Sorrels, W. Chrisler, W. Huang, S. Gilbert, T. Brinkman, T.P. Michael, S.L. Lebeis, E. Lam. Optimization of Molecular Methods for Detecting Duckweed-Associated Bacteria. Plants, 2023 12, 872. doi: 10.3390/plants12040872
Cai Shi, D., C. Long, E. Vardeman, E.J. Kennelly, M.A. Lawton and R. Di. 2023. Potential anti-Alzheimer properties of mogrosides in vitamin B12 deficient Caenorhabditis elegans. Molecules 28:1826. doi: 10.3390/molecules28041826
Seidel, D.K., X. Morin, M. Staffen, R.D. Ludescher, J.E Simon and O. Schofield. 2023. Building a Collaborative, University Based Science-in-Action Video Storytelling Model that Translates Science for Public Engagement and Increases Scientists' Relatability. Frontiers in Communication-Science and Environmental Comm. 7:1049648. doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2022.1049648
Hu, S., J.E. Simon, M. Wang, Y. Wu, Y. Huang and Q.L. Wu. 2023. Kinkéliba (Combretum micranthum) leaf extract alleviates skin inflammation: In-vitro and in-vivo study. Molecules 28:1791. doi: 10.3390/molecules28041791
Date, M.B., W.C. Rivero, J. Tan, D. Specca, J.E. Simon, D.A. Salvi, and M.V. Karwe. 2023. Growth of Hydroponic Sweet Basil (O. basilicum L.) Using Plasma-Activated Nutrient Solution (PANS). Agriculture 13(2), 443. doi: 10.3390/agriculture13020443
Gomes, E.N., H. Patel, B. Yuan, W. Lyu, H.R. Juliani, Q.L. Wu and J.E. Simon. 2023. Successive harvests affect the aromatic and polyphenol profiles of novel catnip (Nepeta cataria L.) cultivars in a genotype-dependent manner. Frontiers Plant Science 14:1121582. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1121582
Dettmer, F., R. Schmidt, and L. Struwe. 2023. Patterns in northward movements of southern plant species in New Jersey. Botany 2023 conference, Boise, ID, July 23-26, 2023.
King, M., R. Schmidt, K. Gorman, M. F. J. Aronson, L. Struwe. 2023. Latitude and urbanization, do they matter? Investigating morphological plant trait change in cities of Eastern North America. Boise, ID, July 23-26, 2023.
Schmidt, R., M. R. King, J. Johnston, M. F. J. Aronson, and L. Struwe. 2023. Hidden Cargo: Death, survival, and dispersion of ballast-associated plant species in the Northeastern USA. Botany 2023 conference, Boise, ID, July 23-26, 2023.
Struwe, L. and M. Nucci. 2023. Seeing and questioning plants - a botanical perspective on nature journaling at the college level. Botany 2023 conference, Boise, ID, July 23-26, 2023.
Struwe, L., B. Alvestegui, B, Angell, J. Lubov, H. Adil, and J. M. Molina. 2023. The floral diversity of Symbolanthus (Gentianaceae) – adaptations and variations in neotropical ring-gentians. Botany 2023 conference, Boise, ID, July 23-26, 2023.
Vaccaro, N., Young, B., L. Struwe, and J. White. Novel research into bacterial nitrogen fixation in vegetative cells of mosses and liverworts. Botany 2023 conference, Boise, ID, July 23-26, 2023.
Young, B., Vaccaro, N., L. Struwe, and J. White. 2023. A potential symbiosis of nitrogen-fixing bacterial endophytes and their bryophyte hosts. Botany 2023 conference, Boise, ID, July 23-26, 2023.
Awards and Honors
Ning Zhang is the Program Committee Chair (2023-2024) of the Mycological Society of America (MSA) and is organizing the annual conference of MSA, which will be held in Toronto, Canada in June 2024.
Dr. Jim Simon was recognized by the NJ farm community with the NJ Farm Bureau's Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award at their annual convention banquet in Princeton (Nov. 13, 2023). See the story in the SEBS and NJAES Newsroom
Dr. Ilya Raskin received an administrative supplement to the existing NIH award "International Research Training Center for Botanicals and Chronic Diseases (CBCD) in Tajikistan and Indonesia."
Awarded amount: $116,367.
The goal of this supplement is to extend the ongoing successful international research training program to Ecuador, where we have an established collaborative network in two major universities, Universidad San Francisco de Quito and Universidad Internacional del Ecuador, and provide a sustainable foundation for research and retention of Ecuadorian scientists in the interdisciplinary studies of botanicals for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases.
Three SEBS-RU students mentored by Lena Struwe received national awards at the international Botany 2023 conference in Boise, Idaho on July 26, 2023, organized by the Botanical Society of America.
Blair Young (EENR '22, Plant Biology) received the AJ Sharp award for the best presentation from the American Bryological and Lichenological Society. Blair's talk was on the discovery of endophytic bacteria inside mosses and liverworts. This research was done with Drs. Jim White (Dept. of Plant Biology) and Lena Struwe (DEENR/Plant Biology).
Ryan Schmidt (EENR '22, E&E graduate program) received the Emmanuel Rudolph Award for his presentation on the survival and spread of hundreds of plants that inadvertently have been introduced to New Jersey through ship ballast from historical transatlantic trade. Ryan is working with Dr. Lena Struwe in the Chrysler Herbarium and during recent summers he has also revisited historical New Jersey harbors to check on old records and to find new plants.
Finally, Fitz Dettmer (EENR '23) received the 2023 Botany and Beyond: PLANTS grant to attend this conference, and he presented on the northward movement of southern New Jersey plants due to climate change. He based this on research using Chrysler Herbarium specimens, also under the guidance of Dr. Lena Struwe (DEENR/Plant Biology).
Left: (l–r) Fitz Dettmer, Ryan Schmidt, Blair Young. Right: AJ Sharp award 2023 awarded to Blair Young.
The publication by Fardella et.al. in the Journal of Fungi was chosen as an Editor's Choice article:
Fardella, P.A., Tian, Z., Clarke, B.B., and Belanger, F.C. The Epichloë festucae antifungal protein Efe-AfpA protects creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) from the plant pathogen Clarireedia jacksonii, the causal agent of dollar spot disease. 2022. Journal of Fungi 8: 1097 doi: 10.3390/jof8101097
Principal Investigator Rong Di was awarded a three year grant for $310,000 from the BARD Organisation (US-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund).
Title: "Uncoupling postharvest browning and aroma chemotype in sweet basil using gene editing"
The team of researchers on this project is as follows:
PI in Israel: Dr. Itay Gonda, ARO, Min. Ag.
PI in the U.S.: Dr. Rong Di, Department of Plant Biology
Collaborator in Israel: Dr. Itay Maoz, ARO, Min. Ag.
Collaborator in the U.S.: Dr. James E. Simon, Department of Plant Biology
Collaborator in the U.S.: Dr. Michael A. Lawton, Department of Plant Biology
John McLaughlin was awarded a one-year grant from the USDA-ARS/US Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative (USWBSI) for $72,359 this month entitled: Barley Exosome Cataloging by Proteomics and RNAseq. This represents a continuation of USWBSI funding to Nilgun Tumer's laboratory to identify plant genes which enhance resistance to Fusarium graminearum and to study the interaction between the fungus and plant.
In December 2022, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture awarded Rutgers $300,000 for a one-year grant entitled: New Jersey Hemp for Fiber Production, Processing and Commercialization to the team of Brian Schilling, Stephen Komar, James E. Simon, John E. McLaughlin, William Bamka, Thomas Gianfagna, Nimmi Rajmohan, Qingli Wu, Raul I. Cabrera, and C. Andrew Wyenandt. This involves the Plant Biology Department, Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) Cooperative Extension, and the Rutgers Hemp Program. This will fund research this summer (2023) to evaluate industrial hemp varieties at three locations in New Jersey: the Rutgers University Clifford E. & Melda C. Snyder Research & Extension Farm (Pittstown, NJ); the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center (Bridgeton, NJ), and the Rutgers Specialty Crop Research and Extension Center (Cream Ridge, NJ).
Lena Struwe: 'From Vasculum to iPhones', New England Botanical Society, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 3 Nov 2023.
Ryan Schmidt: Best presentation in Historical Botany, from Botanical Society Historical Section, Botany 2023 conference
Blair Young: A. J. Sharp award from ABLS, Botany 2023 conference [best presentation in bryology and lichenology]
Joseph Heckman has been invited to speak at the NOFA NJ 33rd Annual Winter Conference Jan 28, 2023, the seminar was titled History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Organic Farming
Thierry Besançon received the 2023 Outstanding Educator Award from the Northeastern Weed Science Society (NWSS) and the 2023 Outstanding Weed Science Journal Reviewer Award from the Weed Science Society America (WSSA). In addition, he was elected vice president of the board of NWSS and joined the WSSA Public Relations Committee.
Paul Meers has been invited to present the seminar: Lipid-based Formulation and Delivery of Polynucleotides at Ascendia 2-day workshop on Sept. 13, 2023: Solubilization and Nanotechnologies for Unmet Medical Needs. Hyatt Regency, Princeton, NJ.
Books and Book Chapters
Heckman, J. R., Thompson, I. A., and Huber, D. M. 2023. Manganese and plant disease. Pages 241–264 in: Mineral Nutrition and Plant Disease, Second Edition. L. E. Datnoff, W. H. Elmer, and F. A. Rodrigues, editors. American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN.
Tredway, L. P., M. Tomaso-Peterson, J. P. Kerns, and B. B. Clarke. 2022. Compendium of Turfgrass Diseases. 4th ed. APS Press. 188 pp. St. Paul, MN. ISBN: 978-0-89054-687-1
