News and Highlights

2022 News Briefs

Publications
  Awards and
Honors Speaking
Invitations Book
Chapters

 

General News

1. SEBS/NJAES Newsroom story: Graduate Student Success in the Department of Plant Biology
2. Rutgers Scientists Lead $3.2 Million Federal Grant to Develop Disease-Resistant Basil
3. Rutgers NJAES Research Puts Autumn Leaves to Good Use
4. Indoor Gardens: Just for the Health of It
5. James White was a principal investigator of a study which discovered that nitrogen-fixing bacteria hidden within leaf cells could lead to more efficient and sustainable methods of crop cultivation. The study was recently published in the journal Biology. See the story in Rutgers Today: Discovery Paves Way for More Sustainable Crop Cultivation Methods.
6. Ninth Annual Personal Bioblitz Results Break All Records, Again!
7. Bruce Clarke, Extension Specialist in Turfgrass Pathology, Retires from Rutgers After a Long and Distinguished Career
8. Graduate Student Megan King Receives Multiple Grants
9. Jennifer Obrizan is a senior in the Agriculure and Food Systems Program—Teacher Education Track and Plant Biology Horticulture and Turf Industry. Jennifer Obrizan's story is featured in the SEBS and NJAES Newsroom.

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Publications

1. González, J., A. Lockhart, Q.L. Wu, J.E. Simon and A. Toledo. 2022. Repellency of novel catnip (Nepeta cataria) cultivar extracts against Ixodes scapularis and Haemaphysalis longicornis (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae). J. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases. Sept 15, 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2022.102046.
2. Mahoney, O., C.Melo, A. Lockhart, N. Cornejal, S. Alsaidi, Q.L. Wu, J.E. Simon, R. Juliani, T.M. Zydowsky, C. Priano, A. Koroch and J.A. Fernández Romero. 2022. Antiviral activity of Aframomum melegueta against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses type 1 and 2. South African Journal of Botany 146:735-739. doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2021.12.010
3. Merchant, EV., Fatima T, Fatima A, Maiyo N, Mutuku V, Keino S, Simon JE, Hoffman DJ, Downs SM. 2022. The Influence of Food Environments on Food Security Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Examination of Urban and Rural Difference in Kenya. Nutrients Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; 2022;14:2939. doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2021.12.010
4. Merchant, E.V., M. Odendo, C. Ndinya, N. Nyabinda, E. Onyango, N. Maiyo, S. Downs, D.J. Hoffman, and J.E. Simon. 2022. Barriers and facilitators of African Indigenous Vegetable preparation and consumption: a qualitative exploration. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. 6(801527). doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2022.801527"
5. Zivkovic A., E.V. Merchant, T. Nyawir, D.J. Hoffman, J.E. Simon, S. Downs. 2022. Strengthening vegetable production and consumption in a Kenyan informal settlement: a feasibility assessment of a sack garden intervention. Current Developments in Nutrition. doi: 10.1093/cdn/nzac036
6. Arumugam, S., Govindasamy, R., Simon, J.E., E. Van Wyk and B. Ozkan. 2022. Market outlet choices for African indigenous vegetables (AIVs): A socio-economic analysis of farmers in Zambia. J. Agricultural and Food Economics 10:28. doi: 10.1186/s40100-022-00235-6
7. Mahoney, O., C.Melo, A. Lockhart, N. Cornejal, S. Alsaidi, Q.L. Wu, J.E. Simon, R. Juliani, T.M. Zydowsky, C. Priano, A. Koroch and J.A. 2022. Fernández Romero. Antiviral activity of Aframomum melegueta against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses type 1 and 2. South African Journal of Botany 146:735-739. doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2021.12.010
8. Heckman, J. R., U. Krogmann, and C. A. Wyenandt. 2022. Community Shade Tree Leaves: Beneficial Uses for Agriculture. HortTechnology. 32: 479-484. doi: 10.21273/HORTTECH05095-22
   
   This article was featured on the magazine's front cover of the December 2022 print edition.
9. Fardella, P. A., Z. Tian, B. B. Clarke, and F. C. Belanger. 2022. 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. Journal of Fungi 8: 1097. doi: 10.3390/jof8101097
10. Hong, L., Y. Ji, C. Long, E. Kennelly, and R. Di. Amaryllidaceae alkaloids from Lycoris suppress amyloid b-induced neurodegeneration in transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans CL2355. 2022. Ind. Crops and Prod. 189:115798. doi: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2022.115798
11. Maliga, P. 2020. Engineering the plastid and mitochondrial genomes of flowering plants. Nature Plants, 8, 9986-1006, 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41477-022-01227-6
12. Micci, A., Q. Zhang, X. Chang, K. Kingsley, L. Park, P. Chiaranunt, R. Strickland, F. Velazquez, S. Lindert, M. Elmore, P. L. Vines, S. Crane, I. Irizarry, K. P. Kowalski, D. Johnston-Monje, and James F. White. 2022. Histochemical Evidence for Nitrogen-Transfer Endosymbiosis in Non-Photosynthetic Cells of Leaves and Inflorescence Bracts of Angiosperms. Biology 11(6), 876;. doi: 10.3390/biology11060876
13. Low, Y. C., M. A. Lawton, and R. Di. 2022. Ethylene insensitive 2 (EIN2) as a potential target gene to enhance Fusarium head blight disease resistance. Plant Sci. 322:111361. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2022.111361
14. Lv, K., X. Song, P. Zhang, W. Zhao, N. Zhang, F. Yang, H. Huang, C.-T. Ho, R. Di, and H. Zhao. 2022. Effects of Siraitia grosvenorii extracts on high fat diet-induced obese mice: a comparison with artificial sweetener aspartame. Food Sci. Human Wellness 11:865-873. doi: 10.1016/j.fshw.2022.03.009
15. Kulczyk A. W., T. Leustek. 2022. You Cannot Oxidize What You Cannot Reach: Oxidative Susceptibility of Buried Methionine Residues. JBC Volume 298, Issue 5. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.101973
16. Micci, A., Q. Zhang, X. Chang, K. Kingsley, L. Park, P. Chiaranunt, R. Strickland, F. Velazquez, S. Lindert, M. Elmore, P. L. Vines, S. Crane, I. Irizarry, K. P. Kowalski, D. Johnston‐Monje and J. F. White. 2022. Histochemical Evidence for Nitrogen-Transfer Endosymbiosis in Non-Photosynthetic Cells of Leaves and Inflorescence Bracts of Angiosperms. Biology 11(6), 876. doi: 10.3390/biology11060876
17. Spargo, J. T., S. E. Lyons, J. D. Clark, D. L. Osmond, R. Md. Parvej, A. W.Pearce, N. A. Slaton, D. Saffire, S. Alford, T. Allen, B. Arnall, T. Buob, J. J. Camberato, G. Cardon, S. W. Culman, J. R. Davenport, F. G. Fernandez, R. Florence, R. Flynn, D. Franzen, D. Geisseler, J. Grove, D. Hardy, J. Heckman, B. Hopkins, B. Hoskins, N. V. Hue, G. Huluka, C. Jones, K. Jones, D. E. Kaiser, B. Kalmbach, Q. M. Ketterings, C. A. M. Laboski, J. Lessl, E. Lucas, R. Maguire, R. Mahler, A. Mallerino, A. Margenot, J. M. McGrath, R. Miller, A. D. Moore, T. F. Morris, R. Mylavarapu, M. Nathan, N. O. Nelson, J. Norton, E. Pena-Yewtukhiw, D. Pettinelli, T. Provin, A. Radin, D. Ross, O. Saunders, J. Self, A. L. Shober, L. Sonon, D. R. Sotomayor, A. Stammer, K. Steinke, G. Toor, J. Walworth, J. J. Wang, C. Wortmann, H. Zhang. 2022. A survey to evaluate the current status of land grant university and state department of agriculture soil fertility recommendations and analytical methods. Ag Data Commons. doi: 10.15482/USDA.ADC/1526506
18. Mahoney, O., C. Melo, A. Lockhart, N. Cornejal, S. Alsaidi, Q.L. Wu, J.E. Simon, R. Juliani, T.M. Zydowsky, C. Priano, A. Koroch and J.A. Fernández Romero. Antiviral activity of Aframomum melegueta against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses type 1 and 2. 2022. South African Journal of Botany 146:735-739. doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2021.12.010
19. Meers, P.R. Membrane Organization Strategies in Vesicular Antibiotic Delivery. 2022. J Membrane Biol. doi: 10.1007/s00232-021-00210-0
20. Chou M., J. Luo, B.B. Clarke, J. Murphy, N. Zhang, P.L. Vines, P. Koch. 2022. Rapid detection of the recently identified turfgrass pathogen Magnaporthiopsis meyeri-festucae using recombinase polymerase amplification. Plant Disease. doi: 10.1094/PDIS-08-21-1732-RE
21. Gilbert, S., A. Poulev, W. Chrisler, K. Acosta, G. Orr, S. Lebeis, E. Lam. 2022. Auxin-Producing Bacteria from Duckweeds Have Different Colonization Patterns and Effects on Plant Morphology. Plants, 11(6), 721. doi: 10.3390/plants11060721

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Awards and Honors

1. 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).
2. Stephanie Rossi, Cathryn Chapman
   Stephanie Rossi and Cathryn Chapman, Ph.D. students in Dr. Bingru Huang's lab, won Watson Fellowships from the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America (GCSAA). Two awardees are selected nationally each year, and our students got them all! Each awardee will receive a $5,000 cash award and a trip with all expenses covered to attend the international golf industry show in Orlando, FL in February 2023. The fellowship recognizes students in postgraduate degree programs who have been identified as scientists that will go on to be leaders in turfgrass management.
   
   Please join in to congratulate Stephanie and Cathryn!
3. 
   Stephanie Rossi (left) and Cathryn Chapman (right)

Graduate Student Awards at ASA-CSSA-SSSA Meeting in Baltimore, MD - 2022

1. Bill Errickson
   1^st Place Oral Presentation in the Molecular Techniques, Genetics, Microbiome, and Turfgrass Breeding Oral Session
   Title: Promotive Effects of Paraburkholderia Aspalathi Rhizobacteria on Drought Stress Tolerance and Post-Drought Recovery
   Authors: William Errickson and Bingru Huang
   
   1^st Place Poster Presentation in the Turfgrass Physiology, Molecular Biology, Microbiome, and Genetics Poster Session
   Title: Colonization Stability and Efficacy of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria in Creeping Bentgrass
   Authors: William Errickson, Kashif Jaleel, Bingru Huang
   
2. Pingyuan Zhang
   1^st Place in Golf - Poster Presentation
   Title: Bentgrass Cultivar and Autumn-Applied Fungicide Timing Effects on Spring Suppression of Dollar Spot
   Authors: Pingyuan Zhang, Glen Groben, Bruce Clarke, James Murphy
   
   3^rd Place in Turf - Oral Presentation
   Title: Evaluating Action Thresholds of a Logistic Regression Model for Fungicide Control of Dollar Spot on Creeping Bentgrass
   Authors: Pingyuan Zhang, Daniel Ward, Bruce Clarke, James Murphy
   
3. Stephanie Rossi
   2^nd Place Oral Presentation in Crop Physiology and Metabolism (C-2) Oral session
   Title: Alleviation of Heat-Induced Leaf Senescence in Creeping Bentgrass by Application of Protease Inhibitors Associated with Suppression of Protein Degradation
   Authors: Stephanie Rossi and Bingru Huang
   
4. 
   Award winners (l-r): Pingyuan (Bay) Zhang, Stephanie Rossi, William Errickson.
5. 
   Stephanie Rossi (left) and Dr. Michelle DaCosta (right), University of Massachusetts, during the CSSA Meeting in Baltimore, MD, 2022.
6. Dr. Ning Zhang received a grant from the National Science Foundation during 2022–2026, titled "Fungi in the pine barrens ecosystem - biodiversity, systematics and function." Awarded amount: $750,000. Ning Zhang, PI.
   Part of the abstract (full version is available on the NSF award page):
   "The goal of this project is to obtain a complete understanding of fungi associated with plant roots in the acidic, nutrient-poor, dry and fire-prone pine barrens ecosystem by studying their biodiversity, systematics and functions. The project will focus on fungi associated with pine, switchgrass and blueberry, which are the predominant and stress-tolerant plants in the pine barrens ecosystem."
7. Dr. Pal Maliga was awarded a grant from the NSF plant Genome Program, "TRTech-PGR: Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of the plastid genome" (NSF IOS 2224861).
   The grant started September 1, 2022, the total is $1,462,775. Rutgers’ (Pal Maliga) share is $1,348, 644; subcontract to Farmingdale State College (Prof. Kerry A. Lutz) $114,131.
   Part of the abstract (full version is available on the NSF award page):
   "... The goal of the project is to directly transform plastids in the female gametocyte in Arabidopsis flowers by re-engineering Agrobacterium for T-DNA delivery to chloroplasts..."
8. Dr. Xenia Morin Selected as "Dr. Barbara Munson Goff Teacher of the Year" by Alpha Zeta
9. Dr. Ning Zhang received a grant from the National Science Foundation (2022–2023). “An online global monograph of Magnaporthales–evolution, taxonomy, biogeography and biology of the rice blast fungus and allies” supplement fund. Amount: $120,160. Ning Zhang, PI.
10. Dr. Joseph Heckman was awarded by the Northeast USDA-SARE (2022–2025). "Foliar Nickel fertilizer nutrition to enhance cranberry yield and decrease fungicide use." Amount: $199,987. Start date: March 1, 2022. End date: March 31, 2025.
    Joseph Heckman PI, James Polashock, and Alon Robinovich.
11. Dr. Xenia Morin received an award from Rutgers Graduate School of Education (GSE) for her work for the 2021 GSE CAEP Reaccreditation Team. Dr. Morin represented Ag Education on the Teacher Advisory Group.
12. Dr. Nick Vorsa Receives Service to Industry Award from Wisconsin Cranberry Growers

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Speaking Invitations and Conferences

1. Dr. Rong Di was invited to present "CRISPR-gene editing to improve plant disease resistance and stress tolerance". University of Massachusetts-Amherst. October 13, 2022.
2. Dr. Xenia Morin, guest speaker, "Our Changing Menu: Exploring the Future of Food Choices." Women's League of Rutgers University, Annual Luncheon, Eagleton Institute, New Brunswick, NJ. May 17, 2022.
3. Workshop: Janet Adler, Evelyn Erenrich, Xenia Morin, "Effective Mentoring of Undergraduates" for graduate students, post-docs, and faculty. Offered by Rutgers School of Graduate Studies, via Zoom, May 5, 2022. (Slides are available (PDF))

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Books and Book Chapters

• Luo J, Zhang N. 2022. The Rice Blast Fungus and Allied Species: A Monograph of the Fungal Order Magnaporthales. APS Press. 164 pp. ISBN: 978-0-89054-682-6
  Book description on APSnet.org | Book Announcement on EurekAlert

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