C-SPIRIT News: September 2026

Monday, October 5th, 2026

C-SPIRIT Lab Spotlight: The Graham Lab

This month’s C-SPIRIT Lab Spotlight features Ian Graham, Weston Chair of Biochemical Genetics at the University of York, and his lab’s work on plant genetics and natural products. This blogpost explores how the Graham Lab is uncovering the genetic pathways behind chemical defenses in Euphorbia peplus and investigating how those compounds could contribute to new approaches to crop protection. Their work connects gene and pathway discovery with biological production, agricultural testing, and the potential for impact beyond C-SPIRIT. Here’s a preview:

"'Genetics is really the first love of my life when it comes to addressing some of these big scientific questions in plant biology,' Graham says. 'Not only does it help you to discover genes, but it really gives you an understanding of what those genes are doing.'

When a plant produces an unusual compound or trait - in response to pests, for example - genetics can help researchers identify the genes responsible. Graham’s lab has used this approach across a wide range of plants, including the model species Arabidopsis, opium poppy, Artemisia annua, and E. peplus."

Institutional Feature: University of Manitoba

This month in the C-SPIRIT Institutional Feature Series, we are spotlighting the University of Manitoba, where four C-SPIRIT members, Olivia Wilkins, Chi Dang, Sean Robertson, and Oluwatoyosi (Lisa) Adaramodu, contribute to Aim 1: Metabolite Discovery and Aim 3: Gene and Pathway Discovery.

University of Manitoba researchers contribute to C-SPIRIT’s efforts to understand how plants and microbes respond to environmental stress and identify the biological mechanisms that can support crop resilience. Their work connects the discovery of bioactive compounds under stress conditions with genomic and computational approaches for uncovering the genes and biosynthetic pathways involved in metabolite production.

Through this work, the University of Manitoba team strengthens connections between metabolite discovery and the genetic mechanisms underlying plant resilience, helping C-SPIRIT build a clearer understanding of how stress-responsive traits and compounds are produced and regulated.

BAR Launches New Plant Single-Cell Data Portal

The BAR Single Cell Data Portal is now available in beta, providing a new resource for exploring and visualizing plant single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. Developed with input from C-SPIRIT and the Plant Cell Atlas, the portal brings together datasets and tools designed to make single-cell data more accessible to plant researchers.

The portal includes a curated collection of scRNA-seq datasets, a CellxGene instance featuring 14 datasets from six publications, and the new SUPeR Viewer. SUPeR Viewer combines scRNA-seq UMAPs with eFP pictographs to help researchers visualize gene expression across inferred plant cell types in a pseudospatial context. Together, these resources support the broader use of single-cell data to investigate plant biology and resilience.

Recent C-SPIRIT Publications

A huge congratulations to all of our C-SPIRIT members who have published articles over the past few months! Explore some of the fantastic research our team has been doing:

Kim, M.-S., Kim, B., Han, S.-R., Lee, H., Jung, H. J., Lee, J. H., & Oh, T.-J. (2026). Metabolic potential for benzoate utilization revealed by the complete genome of Sphingobacterium sp. PAMC25397. Microbiology Resource Announcements, e00242-26. https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00242-26

Regmi, K. P., Park, S., Paudel, P., Park, H.-S., Lee, W.-H., Kim, H.-J., Park, H. H., & Oh, T.-J. (2026). Bidirectional and regiospecific C21-modification of steroids by a chloramphenicol O-acetyltransferase. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 381, 154248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2026.154248

Sahu, S., Kim, B., Lee, S., Lee, S. G., Lee, J. H., & Oh, T.-J. (2026). Complete genome of Bacillus zhangzhouensis PAMC22242 isolated from biofilm in Svalbard, Norway. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 15(9), e00243-26. https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00243-26

Shrestha, S. K., Lee, W.-H., Han, S.-R., Park, H.-S., Kim, H.-J., & Oh, T.-J. (2026). Functional Characterization of a Novel Flavonoid O-methyltransferase From Polar Pedobacter sp. PAMC26386 and Bioactivity Assessment of Flavonoids. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 198(9), 7138–7159. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-026-05780-0

Shrestha, S. K., & Oh, T.-J. (2026). Metabolic Engineering for Biotechnological Production of Bioactive Methylated Flavonoids and Stilbenes: Progress and Perspectives. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 198(7), 4835–4862. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-026-05658-1

Todaka, D., Nakaminami, K., Matsui, A., Ikeda, S., Do, Q. T. N., Tanaka, M., Takahashi, S., Torii, C., Ishida, J., Takeda, T., Nagano, A. J., & Seki, M. (2026). Ethanol application enhances freezing stress tolerance in Arabidopsis and sugar beet. Plant Molecular Biology, 116(3), 60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-026-01719-5

CANVAS 2026 — November 1-4, 2026

CANVAS 2026, hosted by the Alliance of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science Societies, will take place November 1-4 in Portland, Oregon. The meeting brings together researchers, students, professionals, and industry partners across crop, agronomic, environmental, and soil sciences. The program includes technical presentations, hands-on workshops, networking events, award ceremonies, field tours, student programming, and an exposition focused on current innovations in agronomy, crops, and soils.

This event may be especially relevant for C-SPIRIT members working on crop validation, field testing, sustainable agriculture, plant resilience, and the movement of research discoveries toward practical agricultural applications.

Details:

• Dates: Sunday, November 1 – Wednesday, November 4, 2026
• Location: Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Oregon, USA
• Early Registration Deadline: September 23rd, 2026
• Standard Registration Deadline: October 7th, 2026

Plant Engineering Biology: Engineering Green Organisms for a Sustainable Future — November 16–18, 2026

The Plant Engineering Biology symposium at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) will bring together researchers from Japan and around the world to explore advances and future directions in engineering plants and other photosynthetic organisms for sustainable biomanufacturing. The program will feature sessions on plant biomanufacturing, molecular tools development, genome engineering, resilience engineering, and future directions in the field.

C-SPIRIT members Nicola Patron (University of Cambridge), Motoaki Seki (RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science), and Sue Rhee (Michigan State University) will be speaking at this event. Be sure to stop by and say hello if you are attending!
 

Details:

• Dates: Monday, November 16 – Wednesday, November 18, 2026

• Location: Sydney Brenner Lecture Theater, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Okinawa, Japan

• Registration Deadline: August 31, 2026

• Registration Fee: 30,000 JPY

Great Lakes EXPO 2026 — December 8–10, 2026

The Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO will take place December 8-10, 2026, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The event brings together growers, researchers, industry professionals, and other members of the agricultural community for educational sessions, networking, and a large trade show focused on fruit, vegetable, greenhouse, and farm market production. C-SPIRIT will be exhibiting at the EXPO, so be sure to stop by and visit us at Booth 410!

The 2026 EXPO will feature more than 70 educational sessions covering topics relevant to fruit, vegetable, greenhouse, and farm market production, as well as a large trade show featuring equipment, technologies, products, and services for agricultural producers. The event also provides opportunities to connect with growers, researchers, and industry professionals and to learn about emerging practices and innovations across the agricultural sector.

Details:

• Dates: Tuesday, December 8 – Thursday, December 10, 2026
• Location: DeVos Place, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
• Early Bird Registration Deadline: November 15, 2026

Let us know about your upcoming talks!

Want to see your presentation/talk listed here? Feel free to email us at C-SPIRIT.Admin@msu.edu if you would like us to advertise your talk!

This work is funded by the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) grant OISE-2434687; the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) grant ALLRP 597259-24; the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) grant 2007-2024-1003; the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), grant RS-2024-00441423; the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) ASPIRE program, grant JPMJAP24A3; and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) grant BB/Z517082/1.