BMB Weekly #22: May 30, 2025

 

Erich Grotewold named MSU Research Foundation Professor   Grotewold's research has profound implications for improving crop yields, plant health and agricultural sustainability, underscoring his belief that plants can be the solution to many of the world's biggest problems. Read the full article here.

 

 

 

 

Sunshine is in the forecast! Come out and enjoy some tea & treats and casual conversation with COGS and your fellow graduate & professional students, on the back patio at Chittenden. Bring a friend! (Weather alternate plan is downstairs in the lounge.) We hope you'll join us! Stay tuned for more dates this summer. Learn more here.

Safeguarding the integrity of research and creative activities is fundamental to the mission of Michigan State University. We owe no less to the public which sustains institutions like ours and to the governmental agencies and private entities that sponsor the research enterprise. All members of MSU share responsibility to assure that misconduct or fraud in research and creative activity is dealt with effectively and that MSU's high standards for scholarly integrity are preserved. This workshop will review types of misconduct (fabrication, falsification or plagiarism) that occur in proposing, performing, or reviewing research and scholarly activities, and best practices to avoid these. The session will also cover proper behavior in mentor-mentee relationships. Learn more here and register using this link.

Are you having a hard time getting things off your to do list? Would you benefit from a dedicated space and being around others to find motivation and productivity? If so, please join us in a structured community space for supporting goal achievement. We will start at 1 p.m. with a brief time of connecting and sharing goals. We will then have two sessions of about 50 minutes where everyone will work on their individual goals with a 10-minute break in between. You can come for one or both sessions or just stop in at any point. Learn more here.

Experience the studios of your favorite public media radio and television stations on Friday, June 6, at 2 p.m. Visitors will tour the TV and radio studios, getting an inside view while learning about the essential programs and resources that WKAR provides to the community. Learn more and register here.

PCA is excited to host the Plant Cell Identity Webinar Series! This series of talks brings together experts around the world to discuss the wonders of plant cell identity. From working out how cells develop their identity to uncovering how cell states change through development and from stress, these webinars will cover how plant cell types and states are defined quantitatively and qualitatively using single-cell and spatial omics approaches. Learn more and register here.

The MSU AGEP Learning Community is an informal environment where students from varying disciplines can gather, share their research in a 10-minute presentation, or discover that their graduate toils are not unusual. Those in attendance are privy to information regarding fellowships, career opportunities, even summer internships, pertaining to the group. Learn more and register here.

The MSU Plant Science Community is pleased to share the details of our community event for MSU attendees of ASPB’s Plant Biology 2025 conference in Milwaukee this summer! Join your fellow Michigan State University plant scientists attending Plant Biology 2025 at our community mixer! Taking place at the end of the poster session on Sunday, the event is just a short walk away from the conference at The Brewery in downtown Milwaukee. Current, former, and future Spartans are all invited to attend this casual networking event, so please help us spread the word!

What to expect:

• Food and drinks provided
• Network across disciplines and career levels
• Socialize with fellow MSU plant scientists
• Unwind after a long day at the conference
• Free to attend, no registration required

This event is organized by the MSU Plant Resilience Institute and sponsored by the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Department of Horticulture, Department of Plant Biology, Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, and the Plant Resilience Institute. For questions regarding the community mixer, please contact PRI.admin@msu.edu. We hope to see you in Milwaukee this July! Learn more here.

 

This summer CIRTL is offering 3 courses and 5 workshops for graduate students and postdocs pursuing teaching careers in higher education. Anyone can register to attend programming, but participants from CIRTL member institutions and alumni will receive priority when registering for programming with limited seats; capped programming typically reaches capacity within a week of registration opening. Learn more and register here.

Dear NatSci Community, we're excited to invite you to join the NatSci Summer Writing Challenge, running from June 1-August 1. This challenge is open to all NatSci graduate students, postdocs, and faculty who want to build sustainable writing habits, boost motivation, and connect with colleagues through a bit of friendly competition. 

Here's how it works: 

• Form a team and register by June 1.
• Every week, you'll log your own individual writing progress, contributing to your team's overall achievement.
• Celebrate progress together and stay motivated with prizes. Prizes will be disbursed for top point earners (top individual, top team, and top department). 

Whether you're working on a manuscript, dissertation, grant, or other writing project, the challenge is a great way to stay on track this summer. Bonus-We will be offering optional write-ins and workshops throughout the summer. Stay tuned for the full calendar.

Register your team here. Check out the flyer and explore the breakdown here.

The CTLI supports educators broadly, promoting professional growth in teaching, learning, and student success. Fellows will work in innovative environments, developing skills in design, facilitation, and collaboration, and contributing to impactful campus outcomes. Learn more and apply here.

The 6th annual 3M RISE Symposium (Raising Influence in Science and Engineering) is accepting applications! The purpose of the symposium is to introduce emerging doctoral students in science and engineering to the wide range of rewarding careers in research and development at 3M. This is a great way for future STEM leaders to get introduced to the corporate world. Ideal applicants are expected to complete their graduate degree appointment within 24 months of the RISE event. We will accept applicants from any STEM field. Learn more and apply here.

 

This four-day virtual event highlights the technologies that enhance teaching and learning and promote student success. In addition to demos from partner vendors, MSU educators and support staff will present and discuss the use of educational technology available at MSU.

Sessions will take place each day in the morning and afternoon. Attend and engage in as many sessions as you wish. Visit the D2L learning community to enroll and visit the course home page to find the complete schedule and register for the sessions you plan to attend. Learn more and enroll here.

You can find the latest department news over on LinkedIn and BlueSky. Give us a follow and be sure to tag us with research updates, publications, and lab updates to help spread the word!

Hot off the press! The second University Health and Wellbeing Annual Report is now available! Explore the latest insights on how health and wellbeing was advanced on campus and delivered positive impact for the Spartan community in 2024.

The MSU Student Food Bank is a resource available to students and scholars who may be experiencing food insecurity. The Food Bank provides free food and other essential items to those in need within our MSU community. Learn more here.

 

 

 

Babineau, N., Dien Nguyen, L. T., Mathieu, D., McCue, C., Schlecht, N., Abrahamson, T., Hamberger, B., & Busta, L. (2025). A molecular representation system with a common reference frame for analyzing triterpenoid structural diversity. Plant communications, 6(5), 101320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xplc.2025.101320

Chen, D., Jiang, J., Hayes, N., Su, Z., & Wei, G. W. (2025). Artificial intelligence approaches for anti-addiction drug discovery. Digital discovery, 10.1039/d5dd00032g. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5dd00032g

Cross, M. C. G., Aboulnaga, E., & TerAvest, M. A. (2025). A small number of point mutations confer formate tolerance in Shewanella oneidensis. Applied and environmental microbiology, 91(5), e0196824. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01968-24

Dang, D., Deogharkar, A., McKolay, J., Smith, K. S., Panwalkar, P., Hoffman, S., Tian, W., Ji, S., Azambuja, A. P., Natarajan, S. K., Lum, J., Bayliss, J., Manzeck, K., Sweha, S. R., Hamanishi, E., Pun, M., Patel, D., Rau, S., Animasahun, O., Achreja, A., … Venneti, S. (2025). Isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 primes group-3 medulloblastomas for cuproptosis. Cancer cell, S1535-6108(25)00172-2. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2025.04.013

Mateusz Wagner, Jieun Kang, Catherine Mercado, Venkatesh P. Thirumlaikumar, Michal Gorka, Hanne Zillmer, Jingzhe Guo, Romina I. Minen, Caroline F. Plecki, Katayoon Dehesh, Frank C. Schroeder, Dirk Walther, Aleksandra Skirycz,
Mapping protein-metabolite interactions in E. coli by integrating chromatographic techniques and co-fractionation mass spectrometry, iScience, Volume 28, Issue 6, 2025, 112611, ISSN 2589-0042, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.112611.

Minen, R. I., Camalle, M. D., Schwertfeger, T. J., Abdulhakim, F., Reish, H., De Souza, L. P., Moreno, J. C., Schilmiller, A., Thirumalaikumar, V. P., Agarwal, P., Plecki, C. F., Fernie, A. R., Hirt, H., Schroeder, F. C., & Skirycz, A. (2025). Characterization of the cyclic dipeptide cyclo(His-Pro) in Arabidopsis. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiaf174

Subramanian, S., McGuffin, H., Passage, R., Dover, J. A., & Parent, K. N. (2025). Complete genome sequence of Shigella phage Moonfish isolated from Mid-Michigan. Microbiology resource announcements, e0125524. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.01255-24

Susanto, F. A., Jones, A. D., Donnelly, S. L., & Lundquist, P. K. (2025). Cyanoglobule lipid droplets are a stress-responsive metabolic compartment of cyanobacteria and the progenitor of plant plastoglobules. The Plant cell, koaf127. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koaf127

Vidossich, P., Manathunga, M., Götz, A. W., Merz, K. M., Jr, & De Vivo, M. (2025). Aliphatic Polyester Recognition and Reactivity at the Active Cleft of a Fungal Cutinase. Journal of chemical information and modeling, 65(9), 4662–4673. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jcim.5c00739

Wozniak, S., Janson, G., & Feig, M. (2025). Accurate Predictions of Molecular Properties of Proteins via Graph Neural Networks and Transfer Learning. Journal of chemical theory and computation, 21(9), 4830–4845. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.4c01682

 

 

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College of Natural Science | BMB Weekly | Vol. 58, No.22