Latest preprint from the lab!

Did you ver wonder whether the symbiotic function of DELLA is something ancestral in land plants ☘️?

@katharinamel1.bsky.social found out for you! 🔽

Making Better Rice: The quest to feed the world by hacking plant evolution YouTube video by University of Oxford

Led by Professor Jane Langdale @biology.ox.ac.uk, the C4 Rice Project builds on decades of interdisciplinary research working to ensure global food security.

Discover the incredible story of the multi-decade battle to make better rice ⬇️

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3RY0vxzFpg

Spring is getting into swing

Plant genome sequencing workflow. Details: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-026-12623-z

Need a genome sequence of your favourite plant? We laid out instructions for a complete workflow based on ONT sequencing:

"Cookbook for plant genome sequences"
doi.org/10.1186/s128...

#Genomics #LongReads #PlantSciences #Bioinformatics
@puckerlab.bsky.social @unibonn.bsky.social

❗📢 The SNSF is adjusting its project funding as of 1 April 2026. Our goal is to stabilise success rates at a level that ensures funding for research of the highest quality. This is how we guarantee a fair chance for all researchers.

➡️ sohub.io/5x59

Structure under stress: conserved RNA structure in plant interaction with the environment Plants have evolved sophisticated molecular mechanisms to sense and respond to their environment. There has been growing realization that RNA structure is a key player in this process, such as acting ...

Happy to share my group's thoughts on RNA structure conservation in plants. Hope it'll inspire and guide future efforts in the field!
@dollymehta.bsky.social @jingminhua.bsky.social @chenxiao654.bsky.social @lazaraasimoes.bsky.social @unibe.ch

www.cell.com/molecular-pl...

Bee-hunting beetles are the first animals known to fake the smell of flowers Study of parasitic blister beetles reveals a new form of chemical deception

Bee-hunting beetles are the first animals known to fake the smell of flowers | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) of Sustainable Plant Nutrition

A great tenure track position (Assistant Professor) of Sustainable Plant Nutrition @ethz.ch @usyseth.bsky.social @johansix.bsky.social ! Deadline to apply: 28/02/2026.

ethz.ch/en/the-eth-z...

Dear Plant ECRs, don't miss this wonderful opportunity!

Congratulations Boas!

May their words reach politicians‘ ears…

Our editors write:

- Salt stress: Developing roots of tolerance rdcu.be/eTR3s

- Plant–microbial symbioses: Strengthening mutualisms rdcu.be/eTR3v

- Artificial light pollution: Turning the lights off rdcu.be/eTR3E

Beautiful morning sky

Symbiotic diversification relies on an ancestral gene network in plants Symbioses have been fundamental to colonization of terrestrial ecosystems by plants and their evolution. Emergence of the ancient arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis was followed by the diversification o...

1/ It is my pleasure to share the latest preprint of the team: "Symbiotic diversification relies on an ancestral gene network in plants"

doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Here, we identified and functionally validated a novel master regulator of intracellular symbioses!

A thread ...
#PlantScience

🛑Exciting update from our work with @pierremarcdelaux.bsky.social team on the ericoid mycorrhizal symbiosis❗❗

🔥New results support a conserved three-gene module and master regulator for nutrient-responsive intracellular accommodation of fungal symbionts🤯

Check the nice thread below👇🏼
#plantscience

What a gem from @dudinlab.bsky.social @gautamdey.bsky.social @centriolelab.bsky.social in Cell! Expansion microscopy atlas of >200 eukaryotes comparing cytoskeletal architectures revealing structures not seen before. Stunning visualisation! Exactly the kind of transformative cell biology we need.

Congratulations Maite!!!

Final step in the biosynthesis of iridoids elucidated Until now, a crucial step in the biosynthesis of iridoids, a class of plant defense substances that are also medically relevant, had remained undiscovered. A team from the Max Planck Institute for Che...

Missing piece of the puzzle for the formation of iridoids found! @maitecolinas.bsky.social from the @oconnorlab.bsky.social et al. have identified the enzyme responsible for iridoid biosynthesis—the key to natural products with medicinal potential. www.ice.mpg.de/512932/PR_Co...

Super story!

A confocal microscopy image shows root-colonizing bacteria clustering around an emerging lateral root, where localized glutamine leakage induces spatially confined reporter activity.

Using precise spatial and temporal analysis, researchers in Science provide insight into how bacteria around the root interact both with the plant and with each other.

Learn more in this week's issue: https://scim.ag/3WgNajk

Thiamine triphosphate puts the brake on the activation state of chloroplast ATP synthase Thiamine triphosphate, derived from the coenzyme thiamine diphosphate and inorganic phosphate, slows the activation of chloroplast ATP synthase.

Thiamine triphosphate puts the brake on the activation state of chloroplast ATP synthase academic.oup.com/plphys/artic... @plantphys.bsky.social

Thiamine triphosphate puts the brake on the activation state of chloroplast ATP synthase Thiamine triphosphate, derived from the coenzyme thiamine diphosphate and inorganic phosphate, slows the activation of chloroplast ATP synthase.

New paper out from us: academic.oup.com/plphys/advan...
Great work from Kai and a fantastic collaboration with Jean Alric.

Next preprint out from my work @oconnorlab.bsky.social @mpi-ce.bsky.social : the discovery or iridoid cyclase in asterids!
Thread below.
#PlantScience
#natprod

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Very excited that our work on directional symplastic transport in differentiated root is now published!A developmental switch controls cell-to-cell transport in roots via pectin-linked plasmodesmata changes: Molecular Plant www.cell.com/molecular-pl...

Bring your #PlantScience publishing questions for our Editors!

Catch Holly on our stand at #2025ISMPMI with @hacquardst.bsky.social, Ralph Panstruga, Ari Sadanandom, @pietrospanu.bsky.social and Ertao Wang!

📅 TODAY
⏰ 13:00–14:00
🗺 New Phytologist Foundation stand, poster hall

Picture of Withania somnifera next to a MinION. Source: https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/news/130-2025

ICYMI: We explored the biosynthesis of withanolides 🧪

Here’s the official press release by @unihannover.bsky.social & @unibonn.bsky.social:
🔗 www.uni-bonn.de/en/news/130-...

📄 Original research: doi.org/10.1038/s414...

#Science #NaturalProducts
@frankelab.bsky.social @puckerlab.bsky.social

Someone asked if they could use this recording in their teaching. #PlantSci
YES! 😁
Please share this with students - the topics raised are so important.
Let's teach students (and colleagues?) to think critically about expectations for basic research, & be realistic about applications! 🌱🌾🌽

Why should early-career scientists publish in society journals | mBio Society journals are deeply rooted in our scientific community and a vital part of it. They serve as a venue for the publication of high-quality articles while promoting the mission-driven activities ...

There are several good workshops taking place at #ICAR2025 including some on writing and publishing. Today, Liliana Costa, Managing Editor of Plant and Cell Physiology, is sharing her advice. Here's an article I hadn't seen before, advocating for society journals
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Picture of a vibrant blue flower of Centaurea cyanus. Reference: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.31.635922

Cornflower vibrant color comes from a unique complex of anthocyanins, flavones, and metal ions (Fe³⁺, Mg²⁺), stabilized by pH. This metal-anthocyanin interaction shifts the color to blue. #FlavonoidFriday: lnk.tu-bs.de/9Zz2uG
(📸 doi.org/10.1101/2025...)

Early bird deadline approaching! If you’ve been meaning to register for the 2025 IS-MPMI Congress, now is the time.

Join leading researchers and industry experts for five days of scientific exchange.

Register now: www.ismpmi.org/Events/2025C...

#2025ISMPMI #PlantMicrobe #ResearchNetworking