No images? Click here
C-SPIRIT News: October 2025
Friday, October 31st, 2025
It's another exciting month of C-SPIRIT News! Read on to learn more about Aim 5, recent community highlights, upcoming events, and more.
Aim 5 Feature: Blogpost Out Now!
This month’s blogpost, “Where Science Meets Soil: How C-SPIRIT’s Aim 5 Puts Resilience to the Test,” examines how research moves from controlled conditions to the open field, where discovery meets reality. The blogpost highlights how Aim 5: Lab and Field Testing, led by Dr. Addie Thompson at Michigan State University, links molecular breakthroughs from Aims 1-4 to field-scale experiments that measure crop performance and stress resilience under authentic growing conditions. Here’s a preview:
"'We were prioritizing a foliar spray because it seemed like the most practical approach from the farmer’s standpoint,' Thompson explains. 'Not everybody has their fields under irrigation, for example.'
To ensure precision, researchers used large plastic panels to block overspray and followed certified-applicator procedures for any regulated treatments. Ethanol, she notes, was a useful starting point because it is safe, inexpensive, and familiar. 'It’s a very innocuous substance, and so we didn’t have any concern about lingering presence in the soil or impact on anything else in the system.'"
Institutional Feature: Cornell University
This month in the C-SPIRIT Institutional Feature Series, we spotlight Cornell University, where C-SPIRIT research team members Dr. Gaurav Moghe (Assistant Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science) and Alen Zimić (Research Assistant, Moghe Lab) advance our mission through three of our research aims.
Their work in Aim 1: Metabolite Discovery focuses on identifying bioactive compounds produced by plants and microbes under stress, helping to expand a prioritized library of molecules that may enhance crop resilience. Through Aim 2: Metabolite Annotation and Database Development, Gaurav leads the creation of a classification system that connects metabolite structure, function, and source while applying machine learning approaches to accelerate compound annotation and prioritization. In Aim 5: Lab and Field Testing, the Cornell team contributes to evaluating promising natural products across crop systems, integrating laboratory assays with field trials to refine their potential applications in collaboration with agricultural stakeholders.
We are fortunate to have Cornell University as part of C-SPIRIT, advancing discovery, data infrastructure, and real-world applications that strengthen sustainable agriculture and plant resilience!
Publication from SunMoon University C-SPIRIT Members!
Congratulations to C-SPIRIT members So-Ra Han and Tae-Jin Oh from SunMoon University and their colleagues on their new article titled “In-silico and biochemical insights into MHET biodegradation by Arctic Pseudomonas MHET hydrolase”! Published in International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, the study identifies a cold-adapted Pseudomonas strain from Arctic soil that utilizes mono(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate (MHET). The authors cloned and expressed the MHET hydrolase gene, characterized the recombinant enzyme’s activity at low temperatures, and modeled its structure to reveal a Ser-His-Asp catalytic triad typical of α/β-hydrolases. The enzyme showed optimum activity around 25 °C and pH 8.0 and retained significant function at low temperatures, demonstrating adaptation to cold environments and potential for plastic biodegradation under ambient conditions.
Publication from C-SPIRIT Member Tae-Jin Oh at SunMoon University!
Congratulations to C-SPIRIT member Tae-Jin Oh from SunMoon University and his colleagues on their new article titled “Discovery of a novel CYP107E41 from Streptoalloteichus sp. KCCM40925 for advancing steroid hydroxylation catalysis”, published in Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics! The study reports the identification of a previously uncharacterized cytochrome P450 enzyme, CYP107E41, that efficiently catalyzes regioselective 15β-hydroxylation of testosterone and related steroids. Sequence analysis and structural modeling revealed conserved motifs shaping substrate recognition, while biochemical assays confirmed high catalytic activity and stability. By expanding the known diversity of microbial P450 enzymes, this work offers new opportunities for biotechnological applications in green synthesis and pharmaceutical steroid modification, advancing the use of natural biocatalysts for sustainable chemical production.
Publication from C-SPIRIT Member Jun Hyuck Lee at the Korea Polar Research Institute!
Congratulations to C-SPIRIT member Jun Hyuck Lee from the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) and his colleagues on their new article titled “Exogenous abscisic acid enhances freeze-thaw stress tolerance in Antarctic moss Sanionia uncinata through coordinated antioxidant defense and osmoprotectant accumulation.” Published in Cryobiology, the study shows that applying abscisic acid (ABA) significantly increased freeze-thaw tolerance in the Antarctic moss S. uncinata. ABA-treated plants showed reduced membrane injury and oxidative damage while maintaining higher photosynthetic efficiency. The findings reveal that ABA enhances the activities of antioxidant enzymes and promotes the accumulation of osmoprotectants such as proline and soluble sugars, collectively strengthening stress resilience under extreme polar conditions.
The First WALII Symposium: Exploring Life Without Water – November 28th, 2025
The inaugural WALII Symposium on November 18, 2025 is the new annual meeting bringing together researchers and the broader scientific community to explore one of biology’s most remarkable phenomena – anhydrobiosis, the ability of life to persist without water.
Anhydrobiosis is studied across all scales, from molecules to ecosystems, and spanning the tree of life. The WALII Symposium highlights this breadth by asking: How do different organisms endure desiccation and rehydration? And how can we advance our understanding by developing new tools, sharing methods, and working across systems and scales?
Click here to learn more about this event and register!
Details:
- Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2025
- Time: 7:00 am - 2:00 pm PT
- Location: via Zoom
Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS) – November 19-22, 2025
The Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS) is a major annual gathering dedicated to enhancing diversity and inclusion in STEM by supporting students and early-career researchers from historically excluded backgrounds. Over four days, participants present research across the biomedical and behavioral sciences, engage in professional development workshops, and build connections with mentors, peers, and employers.
Hosted by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), ABRCMS empowers emerging scientists from every background to showcase their work, develop their careers, and contribute to a more inclusive scientific enterprise.
Click here to learn more about this event and register!
Details:
- Dates: Wednesday, November 19 - Saturday, November 22, 2025
- Location: San Antonio, Texas, United States
Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Market EXPO (GLEXPO) – December 9-11, 2025
The Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Market EXPO (GLEXPO) is a major gathering of growers, farm-market operators, greenhouse professionals and agribusiness exhibitors from across the region. Over three days, attendees engage in educational sessions, explore a large trade-show floor, and discover innovations in specialty-crop production, farm marketing, and greenhouse operations.
Organized with major input from Michigan State University Extension and the GLEXPO board, this event offers workshops, practical demonstrations, and networking opportunities tailored to advancing farm-business performance and sustainability in the Midwest.
C-SPIRIT will have a booth and poster at this event! C-SPIRIT members Katherine Rivera-Zuluaga, Nicholas Schlecht, and Toon Suzuki will also be presenting posters on their research.
Click here to learn more about this event and register!
Details:
- Dates: Tuesday, December 9th - Thursday, December 11th
- Location: DeVos Place, Grand Rapids, MI
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!
October 2nd, 2025 | via BlueSky 🌍 ASPB Plant Biology 2026 is set for Ottawa, Canada, July 18–22, 2026 📢 Call for proposals & abstracts is open |
October 15th, 2025 | via BlueSky C-SPIRIT’s Robert VanBuren (MSU) is speaking at the XXI SMB Plant Biology Congress in Mérida, Mexico! 🌾 💬 Leveraging evolutionary innovations in grasses to develop climate resilient agriculture 🗓️ Thursday, Oct 23 | 9:45–10:15 am CT |
October 16th, 2025 | via LinkedIn 🌍 October 16, 2025 is World Food Day! |
October 23rd, 2025 | via LinkedIn From August 5th to October 6th, Miyo (Yamane) Fujimaki from the RIKEN CSRS joined MSU as a visiting scholar in Addie Thompson’s lab. Her work explored how ethanol-based global agricultural optimization (EGAO) can improve maize tolerance to drought, heat, and salinity by investigating genetic and physiological responses across diverse maize lines. We are so excited for Miyo to return next year! 🌍🌽 |
State-of-the-Science and the Future of Cumulative Impact Assessment: Report Release Webinar
The National Academies hosted a webinar to discuss its recent report, State of the Science and the Future of Cumulative Impact Assessment.
Committee members were available to answer questions from the public using slido.
Chen Institute and Science Prize for AI Accelerated Research
The Chen Institute and Science launched the "Chen Institute and Science Prize for AI Accelerated Research" in August 2024. This initiative aims to drive advancements in artificial intelligence that can expand scientific research. Young scientists from around the world are invited to submit AI-driven projects that demonstrate
significant potential to improve research and lives.
The competition will award a Grand Prize of $30,000, with the winner's essay published in Science and an accompanying five-year AAAS membership. Additionally, up to two runners-up will receive $10,000 each, with their essays published on Science Online and the same membership benefits, promoting sustained engagement with scientific progress.
Applications due December 13, 2025. Click here to learn more and apply!
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.
