Meireles to illuminate centuries of biodiversity data with $1M award from NSF

Jose Eduardo Meireles, assistant professor of plant evolution and systematics at the University of Maine, has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award to develop faster, cheaper methods to study biodiversity and plant function. The CAREER, or Faculty Early Career Development, awards are among NSF’s most prestigious and support research and education activities led by early-career faculty for five consecutive years.     

For his project, Meireles’ will develop and disseminate cutting-edge techniques to collect functional data from preserved plant specimens. It will ultimately unlock centuries of untapped data from 390 million specimens held in herbarium collections around the world. 

“By transforming how we study the vast plant biodiversity stored in herbarium collections around the world, this research opens the door to scalable, efficient studies that were previously impossible,” Meireles said. “This will make biodiversity science faster, cheaper and more globally comprehensive.”

Once collaborators start using Meireles’ methods, researchers will likely triple the amount of data they generate about plant function across ecosystems, time and geography in a given year. The project’s open-source software, trait databases and training workshops will further lower the barriers to entry, empowering stakeholders worldwide to apply the technology to their own needs.

“Every herbarium specimen has a story to tell, even specimens that are decades or centuries old,” said Emily Sessa, director of the New York Botanical Garden’s William and Lynda Steere Herbarium, who is hosting a training workshop as a part of the project. “This work will create an exciting new avenue for herbarium collections to inform us about biodiversity and new tools for collecting data on important plant traits at large scales.”

In addition to collaborating with Sessa, the project will engage with curators and researchers from The Field Museum in Chicago, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay and herbaria across the United States, Brazil and Colombia. The comprehensive reach of the project strengthens the United States’ position as a global leader in biodiversity research, plant science and workforce training.

Springing open the potential of plants

Industries ranging from pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to agriculture and forestry rely on plant-based products or ecosystem services. These sectors are poised to benefit from a more comprehensive understanding of plant function and adaptability. 

“It’s fascinating to me that there are over 300,000 species of flowering plants, and we only know how a tiny fraction work,” Meireles said. “There are plants in weird places that experience extreme drought or extreme cold environments. They deal with pathogens and fungi. They hold a huge library of solutions that evolution came up with over a very long time. And so far, we’ve only been able to harness a tiny portion of that.”

The tropics boast the richest diversity on Earth, harboring nearly two-thirds of all known plant species. These plants continually evolve in response to changes in their environments. Understanding how plant species evolve and adapt to environmental shifts, such as moving from rainforests to savannas or deserts, was previously hindered by the slow, costly process of finding rare plants in the field. This project overcomes these limitations by dispensing with the need for live specimens. 

Meireles, along with his team of students and collaborators, will develop new statistical computer models to improve established characterization techniques. This will streamline the analysis of the treasure trove specimens held in herbaria around the globe. Their advanced computing approach will integrate genetic analysis with spectral phenotyping — which uses light to detect the chemical makeup and function of leaves, akin to how airport security scanners reveal the contents and composition of luggage.

These advancements will enable researchers to measure dozens of traits such as nitrogen levels, water content and defensive compounds without harvesting live plants or destroying specimens, making it possible to analyze thousands of specimens across multiple continents with unprecedented speed and scale.

Cultivating tech-savvy plant scientists

The project also aims to broaden participation in plant and biodiversity science. A new research course about biodiversity and the latest tools scientists use, like spectral data, will immerse students in the environment of discovery in their first year when it launches in fall 2027. Meireles will also develop a phylogenomics module for a graduate-level biology course and host workshops in spectral biology across the country and Latin America. These efforts will help techniques and findings from the project flow freely across cohorts and institutions. 

UMaine undergraduate and graduate students will work as lab members on the project, creating a new experience in the university’s signature learner-centered R1 education. 

The project also partners with graduate students and faculty from UMaine’s Intermedia Programs to create an exhibit about biodiversity — bridging the gap between science and the public, and sparking conversations about the value of biodiversity in everyday life.

For the public at large, Meireles encourages people to visit their local herbarium. 

“It’s sometimes hard to see the value in these places because it’s a giant room full of dried plants,” he said. “But the bottom line is we can do a lot of cutting-edge science using those specimens. Herbaria are among the greatest repositories of biological knowledge, and this project uses what we already have in a new way.”

In UMaine’s Herbarium, Meireles hosts monthly meetings during the academic year where students practice curation techniques alongside professional and amateur botanists. The gatherings also have a short science talk. The collection has been carefully curated over decades by both UMaine faculty and community scientists, like Pat Ledlie, who previously donated her collection of 1,590 moss specimens to UMaine’s Herbarium. 

“If people have an interest in plants, I hope they will come talk with and engage with us,” Meireles said.

Contact: Erin Miller, erin.miller@maine.edu