Jonathan Lynch

Distinguished Professor of Plant Nutrition

Jonathan Lynch

Research Summary

Plant adaptation to nutrient and water stress. Global change. World hunger. Root biology.

Huck Graduate Students

Huck Affiliations

Links

Most Recent Publications

The importance of dominance and genotype-by-environment interactions on grain yield variation in a large-scale public cooperative maize experiment.

J Holland, J Dunne, C Romay, M Bohn, E Buckler, I Ciampitti, J Edwards, D Ertl, S Flint-Garcia, M Gore, C Graham, C Hirsch, E Hood, D Hooker, J Knoll, E Lee, A Lorenz, J Lynch, G3 Genes, Genomes, Genetics

Root anatomy and biomechanical properties: improving predictions through root cortical and stele properties

G. J. Meijer, J. P. Lynch, J. G. Chimungu, K. W. Loades, 2024, Plant and Soil on p. 587-603

Cortical cell size regulates root metabolic cost

Jagdeep Singh Sidhu, Jonathan P. Lynch, 2024, Plant Journal on p. 1343-1357

Location: Root architecture structures rhizosphere microbial associations

Tania Galindo-Castañeda, Martin Hartmann, Jonathan P. Lynch, 2024, Journal of Experimental Botany on p. 594-604

LEADER (Leaf Element Accumulation from DEep Roots): A nondestructive phenotyping platform to estimate rooting depth in the field

Meredith T. Hanlon, Kathleen M. Brown, Jonathan P. Lynch, 2024, Crop Science on p. 333-353

A role for fermentation in aerobic conditions as revealed by computational analysis of maize root metabolism during growth by cell elongation

Hilary Hunt, Stefan Leape, Jagdeep Singh Sidhu, Ishan Ajmera, Jonathan P. Lynch, R. George Ratcliffe, Lee J. Sweetlove, 2023, Plant Journal on p. 1553-1570

Large root cortical cells and reduced cortical cell files improve growth under suboptimal nitrogen in silico

Ivan Lopez-Valdivia, Xiyu Yang, Jonathan P. Lynch, 2023, Plant Physiology on p. 2261-2275

RootSlice—A novel functional-structural model for root anatomical phenotypes

Jagdeep Singh Sidhu, Ishan Ajmera, Sankalp Arya, Jonathan P. Lynch, 2023, Plant, Cell and Environment on p. 1671-1690

Transcription factor bHLH121 regulates root cortical aerenchyma formation in maize

Hannah M. Schneider, Vai S. Lor, Xia Zhang, Patompong Saengwilai, Meredith T. Hanlon, Stephanie P. Klein, Jayne L. Davis, Aditi N. Borkar, Cody L. Depew, Malcolm J. Bennett, Shawn M. Kaeppler, Kathleen M. Brown, Rahul Bhosale, Jonathan P. Lynch, 2023, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Influence of root cortical aerenchyma on the rhizosphere microbiome of field-grown maize

T Galindo-Castaneda, C Rojas, U Karaoz, E Brodie, K Brown, Jonathan Lynch, 2023, BioRxiv

Most-Cited Papers

Root phenotypes for improved nutrient capture: an underexploited opportunity for global agriculture

Jonathan P. Lynch, 2019, New Phytologist on p. 548-564

Opportunities and challenges in the subsoil: Pathways to deeper rooted crops

Jonathan P. Lynch, Tobias Wojciechowski, 2015, Journal of Experimental Botany on p. 2199-2210

Reduced lateral root branching density improves drought tolerance in maize

Ai Zhan, Hannah Schneider, Jonathan P. Lynch, 2015, Plant Physiology on p. 1603-1615

Root phenes that reduce the metabolic costs of soil exploration: Opportunities for 21st century agriculture

Jonathan P. Lynch, 2015, Plant, Cell and Environment on p. 1775-1784

Plant roots sense soil compaction through restricted ethylene diffusion

Bipin K. Pandey, Guoqiang Huang, Rahul Bhosale, Sjon Hartman, Craig J. Sturrock, Lottie Jose, Olivier C. Martin, Michal Karady, Laurentius A.C.J. Voesenek, Karin Ljung, Jonathan P. Lynch, Kathleen M. Brown, William R. Whalley, Sacha J. Mooney, Dabing Zhang, Malcolm J. Bennett, 2021, Science on p. 276-280

Rightsizing root phenotypes for drought resistance

Jonathan P. Lynch, 2018, Journal of Experimental Botany on p. 3279-3292

Manganese phytotoxicity: New light on an old problem

Denise R. Fernando, Jonathan P. Lynch, 2015, Annals of Botany on p. 313-319

Reduced crown root number improves water acquisition under water deficit stress in maize (Zea mays L.)

Yingzhi Gao, Jonathan P. Lynch, 2016, Journal of Experimental Botany on p. 4545-4557

Shaping 3D Root System Architecture

Emily C. Morris, Marcus Griffiths, Agata Golebiowska, Stefan Mairhofer, Jasmine Burr-Hersey, Tatsuaki Goh, Daniel von Wangenheim, Brian Atkinson, Craig J. Sturrock, Jonathan P. Lynch, Kris Vissenberg, Karl Ritz, Darren M. Wells, Sacha J. Mooney, Malcolm J. Bennett, 2017, Current Biology on p. R919-R930

Phene synergism between root hair length and basal root growth angle for phosphorus Acquisition

Magalhaes Amade Miguel, Johannes Auke Postma, Jonathan Paul Lynch, 2015, Plant Physiology on p. 1430-1439

News Articles Featuring Jonathan Lynch

Jan 30, 2025

The worst weeds of tomorrow, bugs vs. bugs, and ‘coughing’ trees: The latest in garden research

Researchers have been hard at work in the past year on projects aimed at helping gardeners understand and grow plants better.

Full Article

Nov 05, 2024

Distinguished professor in plant nutrition retires after long, impactful career

Jonathan Lynch, distinguished professor of plant nutrition, retired this fall after an innovative and impactful 33-year career in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, focused on conducting research to alleviate world hunger and enhance crop production by subsistence farmers in developing countries.

Full Article

Mar 19, 2024

These Researchers Are Digging Into the Understudied Science of Roots

After centuries of neglect, botanists are using new techniques to understand roots

Full Article

Mar 19, 2024

Novel method to measure root depth may lead to more resilient crops

As climate change worsens global drought conditions, hindering crop production, the search for ways to capture and store atmospheric carbon causing the phenomenon has intensified.

Full Article

Nov 21, 2023

College of Ag Sciences recognizes faculty, staff for research achievements

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences lauded outstanding accomplishments in research during the 2023 Research Awards Ceremony, held Nov. 1 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park campus.

Full Article

Sep 29, 2023

Liana Burghardt named new Director of Center for Root and Rhizosphere Biology

Assistant Professor of Plant Science Liana Burghardt is serving as the new Director of the Center for Root and Rhizosphere Biology, replacing outgoing director Jonathan Lynch, distinguished professor of plant nutrition.

Full Article

Jul 19, 2023

Crop physiologist to study phosphorus availability and storage root growth

A researcher in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has received a $650,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lead a multi-university team in a study focused on the anatomical, physiological and genetic factors underlying phosphorus-stress-induced reprogramming of storage root architecture.

Full Article

Mar 16, 2023

Discovery of root anatomy gene may lead to breeding more resilient corn crops

Trait results in roots better able to capture more water and nutrients from soil, need less fertilizer, and withstand drought

Full Article

Jan 12, 2023

Two College of Ag Sciences faculty among highly cited researchers in 2022

Andrew Patterson and Jonathan Lynch in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences were recognized recently as highly cited researchers by the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Group.

Full Article

Dec 07, 2022

Study shows ‘steep, cheap and deep’ roots help corn plants deal with drought

Rarely in nature does less turn out to be more. But that’s the case when it comes to the roots of corn dealing with drought conditions, according to a Penn State-led international team of researchers who discovered evidence of the benefits of a “parsimonious” root phenotype in a new study.

Full Article

Nov 08, 2022

Faculty in College of Ag Sciences recognized for research achievements

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences lauded outstanding accomplishments in research during the college’s inaugural Research Awards Ceremony, held Oct. 25 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park campus.

Full Article

Jul 28, 2021

Researchers identify a gene that regulates the angle of root growth in corn

The discovery of a gene that regulates the angle of root growth in corn is a new tool to enable the breeding of deeper-rooting crops with enhanced ability to take up nitrogen, according to an international team of researchers, led by Penn State.

Full Article

Apr 08, 2021

Plant Biology alumna receives humanitarian award

Plant Biology graduate program alumna Amelia Henry has received the Graduate School Alumni Society Humanitarian Award. This award recognizes an alumnus/alumna holding a graduate degree from Penn State who has made a positive societal impact on the welfare of humankind beyond the responsibilities of one’s profession.

Full Article

Feb 17, 2021

Silencing the alarm

An enzyme in the saliva of certain insects prevents their food plants from warning neighboring plants of an attack.

Full Article

Feb 01, 2021

Newly discovered trait helps plants grow deeper roots in dry, compacted soils

A previously unknown root trait allows some cereal plants to grow deeper roots capable of punching through dry, hard, compacted soils, according to Penn State researchers, who suggest that harnessing the inherited characteristic could lead to crops better able to deal with a changing climate.

Full Article

Nov 26, 2019

Fourteen Penn State faculty recognized with lifetime honor

Fourteen Penn State faculty members in areas ranging from physics and engineering to entomology and plant science have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society. A lifetime honor bestowed upon members by their peers, a total of 443 individuals are being recognized for their extraordinary achievements in advancing science.

Full Article

Nov 20, 2019

Eleven Eberly faculty featured as highly cited researchers in 2019 by Clarivate

Eleven researchers from the Eberly College of Science have been recognized as "highly cited" by the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Group. The 2019 Highly Cited Researchers list features researchers who have demonstrated considerable influence through publication of multiple works that have been cited by a significant number of their peers during the last decade.

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Sep 16, 2019

Novel use of laser technology reveals interactions between roots, soil organisms

A novel use of a custom laser system — developed in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences eight years ago — allows researchers to see how soil organisms affect plant roots.

Full Article