Department of Plant Biology

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a new study, scientists used nearly every tool in their toolkit — genomics, transcriptomics, greenhouse experiments and advanced statistical methods — to gain new insight into the complex chemical interactions that take place in underground root nodules, where legumes like...

Four incoming graduate students—Sam Pring (Min Lab, Plant Biology), Marcus Brown (Punyasena Lab, Plant Biology), Mary Heather Jingco (Kingston Lab, PEEC), and Kehvyn Cedeño (Martínez Lab, PEEC)—recently completed the university’s competitive, fully funded 8-week Summer Predoctoral Institute (SPI)....

Stephen Long, Ikenberry Endowed Chair Emeritus of Plant Biology and Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has been selected as a...

The School of Integrative Biology proudly congratulates two outstanding faculty members in the Department of Plant Biology. Dr. James O’Dwyer has been recognized with the 2025 Campus Distinguished Promotion Award and...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Laboratory and field experiments have repeatedly shown that modifying the process of photosynthesis or the physical characteristics of plants can make crops more resilient to hotter temperatures. Scientists can now alter the abundance or orientation of leaves, change leaf...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a review in The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, Stephen Long, a professor of crop sciences and of...