Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
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Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
@danforthcenter.bsky.social
Our Mission: To improve the human condition through plant science 🌱

Located in St. Louis, Missouri, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is the largest independent non-profit institute dedicated to plant science in the world.
Principal Investigator Dmitri A. Nusinow, PhD, and his lab study the circadian clock, aiming to learn more about how light and temperature shape plant growth and development. Learn more about his work on our website: loom.ly/ifAg5cI
January 8, 2026 at 3:31 PM
Big shoutout to Nadia Shakoor @nadiashakoor.bsky.social — featured in St. Louis Magazine’s Movers & Shapers! 👏

From plant genetics to leading Agrela Ecosystems & building real-time crop sensing tech — Nadia is advancing sustainable agtech and food security. 🌱 lnkd.in/g_5UHk2W
#StLouis #Innovation
January 7, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Plants that turn purple to warn us about unwanted chemicals: Danforth Center scientists @meter76.bsky.social & @maliagehan.bsky.social led a team that enabled grasses—including corn—to act as living biosensors that change color when they detect specific chemicals. Learn more: loom.ly/D1B_eYY
Researchers Develop New Tools to Turn Grain Crops into Biosensors - Danforth Plant Science Center
A collaborative team of researchers from the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the University of Florida, Gainesville and University of Iowa have developed groundbreaking tools that allow grasses—...
loom.ly
January 6, 2026 at 4:37 PM
To all who donated to the Danforth Center in 2025, thank you. 💚 We deeply appreciate your decision to show your support, invest in the work we do, and be part of our mission. Thank you again, and happy New Year! #Gratitude #STLNonprofit
January 5, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Here’s to discovery, community, and impact—Happy New Year from the Danforth Center! 🌱
January 1, 2026 at 1:19 PM
We don’t know what 2026 will bring, but we all can do our part to make it better. 🌍 Help ensure our mission, science, and impact will continue well into the future by donating to the Danforth Center. Make your gift before midnight: https://loom.ly/SxLiJLs
#SupportScience
December 31, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Meet our CSTM Member of the Month! @allyangermeier.bsky.social is a microscopy expert who focuses on vitrifying cyanobacteria to optimize cryo-EM workflows and uses hybridization chain reaction to study the spatiotemporal localization of phasiRNAs in plants.

December 30, 2025 at 1:17 PM
At the Danforth Center, it's been a year of both incredible progress and new challenges. Regardless, we’re committed to our mission. But we’re counting on our community to help keep the work going. 🌱 Support our science today: https://loom.ly/hv_62_M
#Nonprofit #SupportScience
December 29, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Flexible annual support through our Impact Fund helps our scientists test bold ideas, develop breakthrough technologies, and launch startups like Spearhead Bio.

Turn good ideas into great solutions for people and planet.

🔗 Make your gift: https://loom.ly/hv_62_M
December 26, 2025 at 1:47 PM
We’ve pioneered a sturdier version of teff—a breakthrough that could increase food security for millions of people in Ethiopia. 🌾 Support our science today, and help ensure more people can grow the food they need: https://loom.ly/hv_62_M
#FoodSecurity #GlobalImpact
December 23, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Meet @mthanlon.bsky.social! Her research is focused on roots—how they build & benefit soil, when they are best able to support the plants that they’re the foundation for, and what helps the roots themselves to thrive. Get to know her here:https://loom.ly/vTLWF3I
Molly Hanlon | Senior Research Scientist | Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Molly Hanlon, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. Learn more about Molly's research.
www.danforthcenter.org
December 22, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Cassava is a lifeline for millions in E. Africa—but virus diseases are cutting farmers’ yields.

At Danforth Center, Dr. Nigel Taylor’s team is enhancing cassava to resist these viruses, helping families like Lilian’s secure food + income.

▶️ More: https://loom.ly/wzIZKzs
December 19, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Dr. Doug Allen’s team and other labs at the Danforth Center are working to raise crop yields and cut input costs. Their research aims to boost protein and oil in soybeans and help corn grow with less nitrogen—a win for growers, consumers, and the planet.
https://loom.ly/n8CXydo
Crop research seeks higher yield numbers, new markets
Researchers are at work developing improved corn and soybeans, aiming for higher yields while also addressing disease and weed challenges the crops face.
agupdate.com
December 18, 2025 at 6:19 PM
In 2019, three Danforth Center scientists pitched an idea to make crop improvement better. This year, that idea fully came to life in the form of a new spinout: Spearhead Bio. 🧬Our supporters made this possible. Make a gift today: https://loom.ly/hv_62_M
#AgInnovation #AgTech
December 18, 2025 at 5:33 PM
In our Summer Undergraduate Research Program, you can work alongside world-class plant scientists and learn about the broader impact of scientific discovery. Apply by March 2, 2026. Apply here: https://loom.ly/nnrplzA
December 17, 2025 at 2:05 PM
We’re nurturing bright young minds across St. Louis and helping students discover their love of science. 🧪 By donating to our Impact Fund, you can support the next generation of innovators.
Make your gift today: bit.ly/3WWUKjD
#STEM #STL
December 16, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Nadia Shakoor, PhD, and her team are exploring sorghum’s potential through CONSERVE, a long-term field study testing conservation practices in agricultural crops. Read her Q&A in Iowa Farmer Today to see how this could lead to a greener future: https://loom.ly/H78UEf0
Sorghum research offers wider look at conservation
Nadia Shakoor is an assistant member and principal investigator with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in the St. Louis area. She joined the center in 2014.
agupdate.com
December 15, 2025 at 6:24 PM
A nurse, a hiker, a legacy. 🌿

When Norma Deen first toured the Danforth Center in 2002, she was so impressed she decided to give—and has been giving ever since.

“I felt like I belonged.”

Read her story: https://loom.ly/DWP3_o0
December 15, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
New and improved and open access! With @gehan @susanmeerdink from @danforthcenter.bsky.social Please check out the tools and all plasmids are available on @addgene.bsky.social thank you @darpa.mil for funding! doi.org/10.1111/pbi....
Remote Sensing of Endogenous Pigmentation by Inducible Synthetic Circuits in Grasses
Plant synthetic biology holds great promise for engineering plants to meet future demands. Genetic circuits are being designed, built and tested in plants to demonstrate the proof of concept. However....
doi.org
December 7, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Teff is an “orphan crop” that 80M people in Ethiopia depend on daily.
Dr. Getu Duguma’s team is developing short-stature, lodging-resistant teff to boost yields and support smallholder farmers.

More: campaign.danforthcenter.org/feed-people/
#FutureForwardFriday #FeedPeople #OrphanCrops
December 12, 2025 at 4:51 PM
We’re working to unlock the power of perennial plants to make agriculture better for our planet. 🌱 By making a gift, you can be part of this critical work. Help create a better future today: campaign.danforthcenter.org/give-now/
#RegenerativeAgriculture #Sustainability
December 11, 2025 at 2:32 PM
A resilient crop that could help power a sustainable future: Dr. Andrea Eveland is leading a new multi-institutional project to understand how sorghum, a promising bioenergy crop, responds to environmental challenges. Learn more: https://loom.ly/5Gi0IVw
December 10, 2025 at 4:56 PM
When a science-loving second-grader named Auggie recently made a gift to the Center, wanting to help feed the world, we decided to invite her on a very special tour of our campus. ⭐ Read more, or make your own gift here: bit.ly/3KiE97j
#PlantScience #FutureScientists
December 9, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Big news! Boeing awarded the Danforth Center $125,000 for STEAM + Ag enrichment at the JJK-FAN Center—covering supplies, staffing, & programming as part of Boeing’s Our Future: Tomorrow’s Innovators.

Thank you, Boeing! 🌱🔬

#TeamBoeing #BoeingPartner
December 8, 2025 at 1:46 PM
#WorldSoilDay This summer, Danforth Center researchers traveled to undisturbed prairies to study the soil beneath their feet. They’re taking notes from nature to determine how to improve agriculture for both people & planet. Dig in: https://loom.ly/Dytynyw
A Return to the Wild: Sampling Soil on the Missouri Prairie - Danforth Plant Science Center
Have you ever heard of the prairie chicken? I hadn’t—until a recent conversation with incoming Danforth Center President Giles Oldroyd, PhD, who mentioned their decline. Of course, I thought I knew what a chicken was, but a prairie chicken?
www.danforthcenter.org
December 5, 2025 at 6:36 PM