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Nigel Chaffey

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I am a botanist and former Senior Lecturer in Botany at Bath Spa University (Bath, near Bristol, UK). As News Editor for the Annals of Botany I contributed the monthly Plant Cuttings column to that august international botanical organ - and to Botany One - for almost 10 years. I am now a freelance plant science communicator and Visiting Research Fellow at Bath Spa University. I continue to share my Cuttingsesque items - and appraisals of books with a plant focus - with a plant-curious audience. In that guise my main goal is to inform (hopefully, in an educational, and entertaining way) others about plants and plant-people interactions, and thereby improve humankind's botanical literacy. Happy to be contacted to discuss potential writing - or talking - projects and opportunities. [ORCID: 0000-0002-4231-9082]

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Dorian Q Fuller

University College London

Jayjit Majumdar

University of Kalyani

Prof. Nagwa Mohamed A . Aref

Ain Shams University

Prof. Dr. Moustafa Moharam

Sohag University

Dr. Pradeep Kumar

Yeungnam University

Natioanl Institute of Plant Genome Research

Professor Bashir O M O L A R A N Bello

University of Abuja, Nigeria

Banda University of Agriculture and Technology

Mónica Moraes R.

UNIVERSIDAD MAYOR de SAN ANDRES UMSA

Prof.Dr. Hakan Ulukan

Ankara

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Papers by Nigel Chaffey

Annals of Botany, Nov 1, 2012

Unresolved matters in the vascular cambium: where do all the cells come from?

Wood Anatomy News

IAWA Journal, 1992

Annals of Botany, Sep 1, 2013

Want to save E320 billion a year? Alarmingly, that is the estimated upper limit of the cost of ni... more Want to save E320 billion a year? Alarmingly, that is the estimated upper limit of the cost of nitrate pollution in Europe, much of which results from use of nitrogen-based fertilisers to overcome nitrogen insufficiency in the soil for crop growth [1] . A major problem associated with over-use of nitrate fertilisers on the land is water-based eutrophication [2] , specifically human-caused cultural eutrophication, which is bad news for all of us, and something to be avoided if possible. Trying to avoid such environmental damage -and maybe save some money as well -by releasing plants from their dependence upon externally supplied N compounds, a new technology aspires to convert crops that don't normally harbour N-fixing bacteria (such as legumes ) into plants that can use the nitrogen that is freely available in the atmosphere and fix it into compounds that the plant is able to use [4] . The treatment -known as N-Fix and developed by Prof. Edward Cocking (Director of The University of Nottingham's Centre for Crop Nitrogen Fixation) -exploitsthe ability of a specific strain of N-fixing bacteria found in sugar-cane, Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus [5] , that can colonise cells of all major crop plants. The technology has been licensed by The University of Nottingham to Azotic Technologies Ltd [6] and is delivered as a bacterial coating to the seeds. Importantly, it is stressed that the process is neither genetic engineering/ modification (GE/GM) nor 'bio-engineering'. Rather, N-Fix is seen as a natural seed coating that provides a sustainable solution to fertiliser overuse and nitrogen pollution, is environmentally friendly and can be applied to all crops. Does this sound too good to be true? Well, 10 years of a series of extensive research programmes have established proof of principle of the technology in the laboratory, growth rooms and glasshouses. If this can be scaled up to sustainable levels in the field, this application has enormous implications for agriculture as the technology could provide much of the plant's nitrogen needs, reducing costs -both monetary and environmental -of expensive synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. Still, one wonders how widely available -and affordable -these seeds will be to those farmers in the poorest areas of the planet most in need of such an N-Fix. [In addition to the press release's associated video, for more on the science and potential of this fascinating story, try Cocking et al.'s 'Intracellular colonization of roots of Arabidopsis and crop plants by Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus' [7] , Rau ´l Pedraza's 'Recent advances in nitrogen-fixing acetic acid bacteria' [8] , Ted Cocking and Philip Stone's online poster 'Mitigating increases in nitrogen deposition' [9] , and the 'Complete genome sequence of the sugarcane nitrogen-fixing endophyte Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus Pal5' by Marcelo Bertalan et al.

Annals of Botany, Nov 1, 2011

Rice (Oryza sativa) plants lose significant amounts of volatile NH 3 from their leaves, but the p... more Rice (Oryza sativa) plants lose significant amounts of volatile NH 3 from their leaves, but the precise mechanisms involved remain unclear. Kumagai et al. (pp. 1381-1386) study photorespiration and conclude that it is strongly involved in NH 3 emission by rice leaves. They suggest that differences in emissions between the cultivars studied result from differences in glutamine synthetase activities, which will result in different capacities for reassimilation of photorespiratory NH 3. The results also suggest that NH 3 emission in rice leaves is not directly controlled by transpiration and stomatal conductance.

Chemical and Cryo-fixation for Transmission Electron Microscopy of Gymnosperm Cambial Cells

CRC Press eBooks, Jan 10, 2002

Brief 293, 12 april 1712

CRC Press eBooks, Apr 23, 2014

Annals of Botany, Sep 3, 2009

<b>Plant microtechnique and microscopy</b> <i>By Steven E. Ruzin.</i> xi+322 pages. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1999. £32.50 p/b. ISBN 0 19 508956 1

New Phytologist, Oct 1, 2000

Esau's Plant Anatomy, Meristems, Cells, and Tissues of the Plant Body: their Structure, Function, and Development. 3rd edn

Annals of Botany, Nov 30, 2006

Plant Cuttings: news in Botany

Annals of Botany, Feb 16, 2018

Plants & people

Annals of Botany, Dec 12, 2012

Good vibrations

Trends in Plant Science, Oct 1, 2001

News in Botany: Nigel Chaffey presents a round-up of plant-based items from the world's media

Annals of Botany, Mar 1, 2010

One of the constant sources of amazement of marine biology to me is the realisation of how interd... more One of the constant sources of amazement of marine biology to me is the realisation of how interdependent life forms are in ecological terms. Take for example cyanobacteria; only relatively recently has the major role of N(itrogen)-fixing cyanobacteria (which, as 'blue-green algae', are photosynthetic enough to be considered as honorary plants for this column) in the nitrogen economy of the oceans been appreciated. Without probing deeper it is easy to view it as a one-sided relationship: photoautotrophs and their eukaryotic dependents benefit from the selfless N-fixation of these prokaryotes. But it is not always as one-way as you might think. Work by Tripp and co-workers (Nature 464: 90-94, 2010) on the globally distributed, periodically abundant N-fixing marine cyanobacterium, UCYN-A has revealed that is has several biochemical deficiencies. For instance, although photosynthetic it lacks the associated oxygen-producing ability, but retains sufficient electron transport capacity to generate energy and reducing power from light. It lacks the trichloroacetic acid (Krebs') cycle, and the biosynthetic pathways for several amino acids and purines. All of which implies that it depends on other organisms, either in close association or in symbiosis, for critical nutrients, although so far there is no evidence of a symbiotic association with another microorganism. As the authors conclude, 'UCYN-A is a paradox in evolution and adaptation to the marine environment', but it 'is an example of the tight metabolic coupling between microorganisms in oligotrophic oceanic microbial communities'. So, UCYN-A is probably currently more auxotroph than autotroph.

Annals of Botany, Jun 1, 2014

An Introduction to Plant Structure and Development: Plant Anatomy for the Twenty-First Century

Systematic Botany, 2011

An introduction to plant structure and development. Plant anatomy for the Twenty-first Century Be... more

Wood Formation in Trees: Cell and Molecular Biology Techniques

Tree Physiology, 2002

Removing lead from petrol

PubMed, Feb 1, 2000

News in Botany: Nigel Chaffey presents a round-up of plant-based items from the world's media

Annals of Botany, May 1, 2010

A Protocol for Transmission Electron Microscopy of Secondary Vascular Tissues of Hardwood Trees

Microscopy Today, Dec 1, 1997

Annals of Botany, Nov 1, 2012

Unresolved matters in the vascular cambium: where do all the cells come from?

Wood Anatomy News

IAWA Journal, 1992

Annals of Botany, Sep 1, 2013

Want to save E320 billion a year? Alarmingly, that is the estimated upper limit of the cost of ni... more Want to save E320 billion a year? Alarmingly, that is the estimated upper limit of the cost of nitrate pollution in Europe, much of which results from use of nitrogen-based fertilisers to overcome nitrogen insufficiency in the soil for crop growth [1] . A major problem associated with over-use of nitrate fertilisers on the land is water-based eutrophication [2] , specifically human-caused cultural eutrophication, which is bad news for all of us, and something to be avoided if possible. Trying to avoid such environmental damage -and maybe save some money as well -by releasing plants from their dependence upon externally supplied N compounds, a new technology aspires to convert crops that don't normally harbour N-fixing bacteria (such as legumes ) into plants that can use the nitrogen that is freely available in the atmosphere and fix it into compounds that the plant is able to use [4] . The treatment -known as N-Fix and developed by Prof. Edward Cocking (Director of The University of Nottingham's Centre for Crop Nitrogen Fixation) -exploitsthe ability of a specific strain of N-fixing bacteria found in sugar-cane, Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus [5] , that can colonise cells of all major crop plants. The technology has been licensed by The University of Nottingham to Azotic Technologies Ltd [6] and is delivered as a bacterial coating to the seeds. Importantly, it is stressed that the process is neither genetic engineering/ modification (GE/GM) nor 'bio-engineering'. Rather, N-Fix is seen as a natural seed coating that provides a sustainable solution to fertiliser overuse and nitrogen pollution, is environmentally friendly and can be applied to all crops. Does this sound too good to be true? Well, 10 years of a series of extensive research programmes have established proof of principle of the technology in the laboratory, growth rooms and glasshouses. If this can be scaled up to sustainable levels in the field, this application has enormous implications for agriculture as the technology could provide much of the plant's nitrogen needs, reducing costs -both monetary and environmental -of expensive synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. Still, one wonders how widely available -and affordable -these seeds will be to those farmers in the poorest areas of the planet most in need of such an N-Fix. [In addition to the press release's associated video, for more on the science and potential of this fascinating story, try Cocking et al.'s 'Intracellular colonization of roots of Arabidopsis and crop plants by Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus' [7] , Rau ´l Pedraza's 'Recent advances in nitrogen-fixing acetic acid bacteria' [8] , Ted Cocking and Philip Stone's online poster 'Mitigating increases in nitrogen deposition' [9] , and the 'Complete genome sequence of the sugarcane nitrogen-fixing endophyte Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus Pal5' by Marcelo Bertalan et al.

Annals of Botany, Nov 1, 2011

Rice (Oryza sativa) plants lose significant amounts of volatile NH 3 from their leaves, but the p... more Rice (Oryza sativa) plants lose significant amounts of volatile NH 3 from their leaves, but the precise mechanisms involved remain unclear. Kumagai et al. (pp. 1381-1386) study photorespiration and conclude that it is strongly involved in NH 3 emission by rice leaves. They suggest that differences in emissions between the cultivars studied result from differences in glutamine synthetase activities, which will result in different capacities for reassimilation of photorespiratory NH 3. The results also suggest that NH 3 emission in rice leaves is not directly controlled by transpiration and stomatal conductance.

Chemical and Cryo-fixation for Transmission Electron Microscopy of Gymnosperm Cambial Cells

CRC Press eBooks, Jan 10, 2002

Brief 293, 12 april 1712

CRC Press eBooks, Apr 23, 2014

Annals of Botany, Sep 3, 2009

<b>Plant microtechnique and microscopy</b> <i>By Steven E. Ruzin.</i> xi+322 pages. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1999. £32.50 p/b. ISBN 0 19 508956 1

New Phytologist, Oct 1, 2000

Esau's Plant Anatomy, Meristems, Cells, and Tissues of the Plant Body: their Structure, Function, and Development. 3rd edn

Annals of Botany, Nov 30, 2006

Plant Cuttings: news in Botany

Annals of Botany, Feb 16, 2018

Plants & people

Annals of Botany, Dec 12, 2012

Good vibrations

Trends in Plant Science, Oct 1, 2001

News in Botany: Nigel Chaffey presents a round-up of plant-based items from the world's media

Annals of Botany, Mar 1, 2010

One of the constant sources of amazement of marine biology to me is the realisation of how interd... more One of the constant sources of amazement of marine biology to me is the realisation of how interdependent life forms are in ecological terms. Take for example cyanobacteria; only relatively recently has the major role of N(itrogen)-fixing cyanobacteria (which, as 'blue-green algae', are photosynthetic enough to be considered as honorary plants for this column) in the nitrogen economy of the oceans been appreciated. Without probing deeper it is easy to view it as a one-sided relationship: photoautotrophs and their eukaryotic dependents benefit from the selfless N-fixation of these prokaryotes. But it is not always as one-way as you might think. Work by Tripp and co-workers (Nature 464: 90-94, 2010) on the globally distributed, periodically abundant N-fixing marine cyanobacterium, UCYN-A has revealed that is has several biochemical deficiencies. For instance, although photosynthetic it lacks the associated oxygen-producing ability, but retains sufficient electron transport capacity to generate energy and reducing power from light. It lacks the trichloroacetic acid (Krebs') cycle, and the biosynthetic pathways for several amino acids and purines. All of which implies that it depends on other organisms, either in close association or in symbiosis, for critical nutrients, although so far there is no evidence of a symbiotic association with another microorganism. As the authors conclude, 'UCYN-A is a paradox in evolution and adaptation to the marine environment', but it 'is an example of the tight metabolic coupling between microorganisms in oligotrophic oceanic microbial communities'. So, UCYN-A is probably currently more auxotroph than autotroph.

Annals of Botany, Jun 1, 2014

An Introduction to Plant Structure and Development: Plant Anatomy for the Twenty-First Century

Systematic Botany, 2011

An introduction to plant structure and development. Plant anatomy for the Twenty-first Century Be... more

Wood Formation in Trees: Cell and Molecular Biology Techniques

Tree Physiology, 2002

Removing lead from petrol

PubMed, Feb 1, 2000

News in Botany: Nigel Chaffey presents a round-up of plant-based items from the world's media

Annals of Botany, May 1, 2010

A Protocol for Transmission Electron Microscopy of Secondary Vascular Tissues of Hardwood Trees

Microscopy Today, Dec 1, 1997