RM: Roots are like human guts, new enzyme discovered, and new lab method established: Three awards for plant scientists
Dr Eliza Loo, Dr Henryk Straube, and Dr Martin Lewinski (clockwise, starting top right) will receive this year’s awards for exceptional early career plant science research. Photos: Linus Börnke, Denise Blume, and Julieta Mateos
The German Society for Plant Sciences (DBG) awards Dr Eliza Loo (Düsseldorf), Dr Henryk Straube (Hannover/Copenhagen) and Dr Martin Lewinski (Bielefeld) for their excellent research. According to Loo’s research, colonization of root microbes can be separated into different parts along the root, which resembles the human gut. Tiny amounts of rare nucleotides can now be measured thanks to Straube’s research, with which he also discovered a nucleotide-degrading enzyme. Lewinski established a lab protocol to analyse RNA-binding proteins in living plants, which now allows the study of their regulation network. The three scientists will present their results at the Botanik-Tagung, International Conference of the German Society for Plant Sciences, in Halle (Saale) in September, where more than 600 plant scientists are expected to participate.
