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Plant Biology

Explore the rich world of plants through molecular, cell, and evolutionary biology, biochemistry, biophysics, genetics and functional genomics, physiology, and root biology

Program Overview

Plants are fundamental to life on earth. Plant biologists use these important organisms to address issues such as global climate change, food insecurity, loss of biodiversity, and disease. The Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Plant Biology offers students the opportunity to conduct research on plants—ranging from the cellular level to the whole-plant level.

Students' program of study includes a comprehensive set of team-taught courses that reflect the breadth of scientific fields, and the linkages between them. All students must also complete a thesis based on their own original research.

Faculty and Research Areas

Seminars

Symposia

News

Simple vineyard growing practice impacts soil microbiome deep below surface

In an effort to produce more and better grapes at a lower cost and with less environmental impact, vineyard growers have increasingly planted grass between rows of vines. These "groundcovers" root shallowly, but can benefit vineyard soils and reduce the need for herbicide applications. Now, a team of plant scientists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has found that implementing this practice impacts far more than previously thought. It not only alters the biology and ecology at the surface, where the grasses are planted, but also alters the system far below the surface, the researchers reported in a new study published in Phytobiomes Journal.

Low-cost sensor system could warn farmers of salt stress in plants

Soil salinity is a critical concern in agriculture when excessive soluble salts restrict a plant’s water uptake, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, hindering crop growth and reducing yields on roughly 30% of U.S. irrigated land. Caused by irrigation, poor drainage or saltwater intrusion, soil salinity impacts soil structure, reduces fertility and causes economic losses. To help growers identify and mitigate salt stress, in a proof-of-concept study, a team led by Penn State researchers built a low-cost sensor system that detects signals released by plants in trouble.

The 'Spirit of Chocolate' celebrates chocolate as both science and story

On Valentine’s Day, the Palmer Museum of Art became a tasting room and a classroom all at once. “The Art of Chocolate: A Guided Tasting Experience,” presented by the Arboretum at Penn State, invited guests to explore chocolate as both science and story, pairing research with sensory discovery and chocolate with cheese. The event was a collaboration among arboretum staff and College of Agricultural Sciences professors Siela Maximova and Mark Guiltinan, co‑leaders of Penn State’s Cacao and Chocolate Research Network.

News

Simple vineyard growing practice impacts soil microbiome deep below surface

In an effort to produce more and better grapes at a lower cost and with less environmental impact, vineyard growers have increasingly planted grass between rows of vines. These "groundcovers" root shallowly, but can benefit vineyard soils and reduce the need for herbicide applications. Now, a team of plant scientists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has found that implementing this practice impacts far more than previously thought. It not only alters the biology and ecology at the surface, where the grasses are planted, but also alters the system far below the surface, the researchers reported in a new study published in Phytobiomes Journal.

Low-cost sensor system could warn farmers of salt stress in plants

Soil salinity is a critical concern in agriculture when excessive soluble salts restrict a plant’s water uptake, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, hindering crop growth and reducing yields on roughly 30% of U.S. irrigated land. Caused by irrigation, poor drainage or saltwater intrusion, soil salinity impacts soil structure, reduces fertility and causes economic losses. To help growers identify and mitigate salt stress, in a proof-of-concept study, a team led by Penn State researchers built a low-cost sensor system that detects signals released by plants in trouble.

The 'Spirit of Chocolate' celebrates chocolate as both science and story

On Valentine’s Day, the Palmer Museum of Art became a tasting room and a classroom all at once. “The Art of Chocolate: A Guided Tasting Experience,” presented by the Arboretum at Penn State, invited guests to explore chocolate as both science and story, pairing research with sensory discovery and chocolate with cheese. The event was a collaboration among arboretum staff and College of Agricultural Sciences professors Siela Maximova and Mark Guiltinan, co‑leaders of Penn State’s Cacao and Chocolate Research Network.

Q&A: How can microbiome science solve problems in agriculture?

Decades of research has shown promise for using microbiome science to solve several problems facing agriculture, but these findings have not yet been translated to practical recommendations for growers, according to a team of scientists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

Events

Monday Apr

13

Elucidating Context-Specific Receptor Kinase Signaling
Plant Biology Seminar Series

Monday Apr

20

Chemobiology, a tool box for studying plant cell wall pectic polysaccharides
Plant Biology Seminar Series

Monday Apr

27

The integrative nature of biodiversity: thinking holistically about plant form and function
Plant Biology Seminar Series

Events

Monday Apr

13


Elucidating Context-Specific Receptor Kinase Signaling
Plant Biology Seminar Series

Monday Apr

20


Chemobiology, a tool box for studying plant cell wall pectic polysaccharides
Plant Biology Seminar Series

Monday Apr

27


The integrative nature of biodiversity: thinking holistically about plant form and function
Plant Biology Seminar Series

Monday May

04


Evolutionary and Functional Genomics of Parasitic Plants
Plant Biology Seminar Series