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Winter School 2025

Register for the upcoming PSC Winter School 2025: Harnessing Machine Learning for Breakthroughs in Plant and Environmental Sciences (2 ECTS)

Location: ETHZ, HG F26.1(March 10-12th)
Dates: 10-14th March, 2025
Flyer (PDF, 498 KB)
Winter School Workshops Program (PDF, 31 KB)

Symposium 2025

Register for the upcoming Symposium 2025: Harnessing Machine Learning for Breakthroughs in Plant and Environmental Sciences

Speakers: A lineup of national and international experts
Location: ETHZ, HG F30 - Audimax (March 13th) & HG D7.2 (March 14th)
Dates: 13-14th March, 2025
Program (PDF, 45 KB)

PSC Newsletter

The PSC Newsletter offers information on latest research highlights, education, network events, new members, and outreach activities.

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Science Highlights

Defective pollen tube tip growth induces neo-polyploid infertility

Westermann, J., et al., Science, Vol 383, Issue 6686 (2024)

Genome duplication in Arabidopsis arenosa causes low fertility due to pollen tube defects like slow growth and premature bursting. These issues improve in evolved polyploids, with specific genes linked to better performance, highlighting pollen tube growth as a key fertility challenge.

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Escarpment evolution drives diversification of the Madagascar flora

Yi Liu, Y.W., et al., Science, Vol 383, Issue 6686 (2024)

Madagascar's rich endemic biodiversity evolved over millions of years, especially along the eastern escarpment. Precipitation-driven erosion and topographic changes create transient habitats, isolating species and driving allopatric speciation, contributing to its biodiversity.

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Soil health associated with higher primary productivity across Europe

Romero, F., et al., Nature Ecology & Evolution (2024)

This pan-European study of 588 sites shows that soil health, higher in woodlands than in grasslands and croplands, is positively linked to productivity in croplands and grasslands. Soil biodiversity, particularly nitrogen-fixing bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi, is crucial for maintaining productivity.

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A paternal signal induces endosperm proliferation ...

Simonini, S., et al., Science, Vol 383, Issue 6683 (2024)

Fertilization in multicellular organisms resumes the gametes' cell cycle, requiring both to be in the same phase. In Arabidopsis, a sperm signal triggers female central cell proliferation by degrading the RBR1 protein, allowing S phase progression, crucial for endosperm and seed development.

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Multispecies deep learning using citizen science data produces more ..

Brun, P., et al., Nature Communications 15, 4421 (2024)

Using deep neural networks (DNNs) and citizen science data, researchers modeled the spatiotemporal distributions of 2477 plant species inSwitzerland. Multispecies DNNs outperformed traditional methods in predicting distributions and community composition, offering insights into phenology and future changes.

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Weiterführende Informationen

Join us for the Fachtagung Dialog Grün that will be held on June 10, 2025 at ETH Zurich, Audimax (in German).

The Fachtagung aims to bridge knowledge gaps between research, practice, and policy while promoting innovative approaches, collaboration, and sustainable agricultural systems. It will showcase solutions to reduce environmental impacts from plant protection products and farming practices.

📌 Present your research on sustainable plant protection with a poster at the Fachtagung.
Ideas, methods, or approaches that have not yet been field-tested are also welcome.
Submit your poster abstract (max. 300 words) via email to Romy Kohlmann and take the opportunity to showcase your work to a broad audience.