News and Highlights

General News Continued

• Rutgers Turfgrass Research Field Days, July 29–30, 2025
• Flying High to Find Drought-Resistant Grass
• Scientists Uncover DNA Secrets to Bolster Corn Crop Traits
• Not Mushroom for Debate – “The Last of Us” Spores Interest in Mycological Research
• Plant Breeders Stage a Dogwood Revolution, Creating Hardy Varieties That Sparkle
• Rutgers Botanist Builds Bridge Between Science and Art in MoMA Exhibit on Hilma af Klint
• NJ State Senate Resolution Recognizes Rutgers SEBS Immersive Learning through Science Storytelling Lab for Increasing Public Trust in Science

Publications

• Schmidt, R., K. Saban, L. Struwe. & C. Davis. 2025. The collector practices that shape spatial, temporal, and taxonomic bias in herbaria. New Phytologist. doi: 10.1111/nph.70297
• Di, R., S. Ravikumar, R. Daddio and S. Bonos. 2025. CRISPR-gene editing of AsDREBL improved abiotic tolerance in creeping bentgrass. International Journal of Plant Biology 16(3):89. doi: 10.3390/ijpb16030089.
• Galli, M., Chen, Z., Ghandour, T. et al. [corresponding author: Andrea Gallavotti]. 2025. Transcription factor binding divergence drives transcriptional and phenotypic variation in maize. Nat. Plants 11, 1205–1219 (2025).  doi: 10.1038/s41477-025-02007-8
• Jiménez, N.P. , S. Fong, J.L. Neyhart, J. Johnson-Cicalese, N. Vorsa, G.M. Sideli. 2025. Leveraging genetic resources and genomic prediction to enhance flavonol content in cranberry fruit. The Plant Genome. Volume18, Issue3. doi: 10.1002/tpg2.70074
• Allen, K.S., G.A. Delulio, R. Pyne, J. Maman, L. Guo, R. Lyon, E.T. Johnson, R.L. Wick, J.E. Simon, A. Gershenson and L.J. Ma. Identification of Novel Basil Downy Mildew Resistance Genes Using de novo Comparative Transcriptomics. 2025. Phytopathology14. doi: 10.1094/PHYTO-11-24-0369-R
• Ben Naim, Y., R. Mattera IIIG, Y. Cohen, C.A. Wyenandt and J.E. Simon. Predicting the resistance of basil entries to downy mildew based on their genetics, pathogen race, growth stage, and environmental conditions. 2025. Planta 29;262(1):10. doi: 10.1007/s00425-025-04703-3
• Brindisi, L. J., R. O'Brien, B.K. Hayes, B. S. Kotwal, Q.L. Wu, J.E. Simon and B. Tepper. Relationship between sensory perceptions and volatile and phenolic compounds of fresh basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) evaluated by multivariate statistics. 2025. Journal of Food Science 90, e70194. doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.70194
• Liu, H., Henderson, M., Pang, Z. et al. Structural determinants for pH-dependent activation of a plant metacaspase. Nat Commun 16, 4973 (2025). doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-60253-y
• Brumfield, R.G., D. L. Greenwood, M. Flahive DiNardo, A.J. Both, J.R. Heckman, N. Polanin, A. Rouff, A. Rowe, R. VanVranken, S. Arumugam, and R. Govindasamy. 2025. Annie’s Project: Farming in New Jersey’s Cities and the Urban Fringe. Journal of Extension. 63(2). Article 5. 
• Rabinovich, A., J. R. Heckman, C. A. Wyenandt and R. Di.  2025.  Foliar nickel nutrient application for improved urea conversion and abiotic stress mitigation in tomato. Agricultural Research. doi: 10.1007/s40003-025-00854-7
• Evan E., B. Abramson, K. Acosta, P.T.N. Hoang, C. Mateo-Elizalde, V. Schubert, B. Pasaribu, P.S. Albert, N. Hartwick, K. Colt, A. Aylward, U. Ramu, J.A. Birchler, I. Schubert, E. Lam, T.P. Michael, R.A. Martienssen. Duckweed genomes and epigenomes underlie triploid hybridization and clonal reproduction. Current Biology. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.013
• Hyun H., J. Sun, M. Irfan, E. Lam, S. P. S. Chundawat, S. Lee. Time-resolved tracking of cellulose biosynthesis and assembly during cell wall regeneration in live Arabidopsis protoplasts, 21 March 2025. Science Advances. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.ads6312
• Campbell, L. G., B. Montgomery, M. King, J. Hall, & L. Struwe. 2025. Students in the wild: Safety instruction practices in distance-taught biological laboratory and field classes. American Biology Teacher 87(1):13-19. doi: 10.1525/abt.2025.87.1.13 [feature article]
• Rothfels, C., et al. [c. 70 authors, incl. L. Struwe]. 2025 (in press). The PteridoPortal: A publicly accessible collection of over three million records of extant and extinct pteridophytes. Applications in Plant Sciences
• Setubal, R. B., L. Struwe, & R. C. Forzza. 2025. Taxonomical revision of American Strychnos sect. Breviflorae subsect. Eriospermae (Loganiaceae). Brittonia. doi: 10.1007/s12228-024-09822-x
• Waters, D., L. Struwe, & J. Lendemer. 2025 (in press). The Lichens and Allied Fungi of Wickecheoke Creek Preserve, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, U.S.A.: A Baseline Pre-Hurricane Ida. The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society.
• Young, B., B. Thiers, J. White, & L. Struwe. 2025. Endophytic bacteria discovered in oil body organelles of the liverworts Marchantia polymorpha and Radula complanata. American Journal of Botany e70017. doi: 10.1002/ajb2.70017
• New Patent: Automated Growth System for Floating Aquatic Plants and Method, Eric Lam, Shawn D. Sorrels
• Heckman, J., M. Westendorf, A. Rabinovich. 2025. Organic Lawn Clipping Silage as a Potential Livestock Feed. Sustainable Agriculture Research. doi: 10.5539/sar.v14n1p29
• Heckman, J., T.E. Besancon, A. Rabinovich. 2025. Equine Manure Composition, Soil Fertility and Forage Response. Communications in Soil Science Plant Analysis. doi: 10.1080/00103624.2025.2453000
• Seidel, D., Staffen, M., Abdallah, L., & Morin, X. (2025). Outcomes of a 4-H STEM Learning Enrichment Program Using Video Storytelling. The Journal of Extension, 63(1), Article 18.

Awards and Honors

• 2025–2027 Rutgers, The Chancellor-Provost Office, FY26 Strategic Initiative Funds, "An innovative undergraduate pathway for future careers in Biodiversity Collections Management", $323,802, PI: Lena Struwe.
• 2025–2028 USDA, NIFA (McIntire-Stennis NJAES Project # NJ17332, accession 7010051), "Potential for Seed Transfer of Pathogenic and Non-Pathogenic Endophytic Bacteria in North American Oaks". $90,995 PI: Lena Struwe, Co-PI: James White (July 2025–Sep 2028). [federal formula grant]
• John McLaughlin was named as a 2025–2026 Provost's Teaching Fellow.  The Provost's Teaching Fellows Program supports pedagogical innovations designed to improve learning outcomes for our students. They are listed in the following link: Announcing the 2025 - 2026 Provost’s Teaching Fellows! | Rutgers Institute for Teaching (TIIP) (Link to LinkedIn)
• Dr. Ilya Raskin received a five-year NIH award titled "International Research Training Center for Botanicals and Chronic Diseases in Indonesia, Ecuador and Tajikistan".  The goal of this grant is to extend the ongoing successful international research training program to these countries, where we have an established collaborative network with numerous major universities, and provide a sustainable foundation for research and retention of Tajik, Indonesian and Ecuadorian scientists in the interdisciplinary studies of botanicals for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. 
  Award number: D43TW009672
  Awarded amount: $1,341,466
  Duration of the award: 7/1/2026 – 5/31/2030

Speaking Invitations

• 'In the Weeds – Dandelions, symbols, and human life', The Museum of Modern Art, New York City, NY, May 21, 2025.
• 'Nature Journaling at the college level', talk and panelist at “Mutualism: Art + Biology: Enhancing Learning in university courses” online symposium, University of Minnesota & Lake Forest College, June 13, 2025.
• 'Species identification from photos using AI, ML, and citizen scientists', Lightning talk at RCEI Convergence Café, Rutgers, 6 Feb 2025.
• 'Plant Identification Workshop' for Master Gardener Program of Fairfax County, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia State University, VA, 26 February 2025.

Books and Book Chapters

• Struwe, L. 2025. The Botanical World of Hilma af Klint. In: The Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind the Flowers (J. Hauptman, ed.), The Museum of Modern Art, New York [art exhibit catalogue]

Patents

• Rong Di, Michael A. Lawton, James E. Simon. “Gene Edited Basil Plants Resistant to Downy Mildew”, Patent # US 12,356,910 B2.
  Date of Patent: July 15, 2025.
• Certificate of Grant. Australian Plant Breeder's Rights 7202 POF Ref: 1130001.Ref: 7213-93849-06. Sweet Basil variety named “Rutgers Obsession DMR" (OCIMUM BASILICUM)  Rutgers University (J.E. Simon, R. Pyne and C.A. Wyenandt, inventors).
  Date of Patent: April 14, 2025.