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Adam Steinbrenner

@adsteinbrenner.bsky.social

Associate Prof @UWBiology Seattle. How do plants recognize and resist pests 🐛? We study receptor function + evolution in plant innate immunity. steinbrennerlab.org

76 Posts1272 Follower343 Folgt
MaizeGDB@maizegdb.bsky.social · last wk.

We are deeply saddened to share that Michael Freeling passed away on 7/20/2026 after a year-long battle with cancer. Our deepest condolences go to his family, friends, colleagues, and the many students he inspired. We will share additional memorial information soon.

We are very sorry to share the sad news that Michael Freeling passed away on 7/20/2026 after a year long battle with esophageal cancer. Mike was a long-time faculty member in the Plant and Microbiology Department at University of California-Berkeley, a groundbreaking plant geneticist, and an inspiring teacher and mentor to over two dozen Ph.D. students, four dozen postdocs, and countless undergraduates. He was best known for pioneering work on maize anaerobic metabolism and gene regulation, transposon biology, developmental genetics of the maize ligule, and the discovery of biased gene retention following whole-genome duplications in plants. Mike was hired by UC-Berkeley as an assistant professor straight out of graduate school in 1973, and he was promoted to Associate Professor in 1979 and to full professor in 1984. He was selected as a Guggenheim Fellow in 1980, elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1994, and won the McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics and Genome Studies in 2017. Mike taught genetics, comparative genomics and scientific reasoning to our graduate students, and he also taught a popular genetics course for non-majors that had various titles over the years but was affectionately known as “Genetics for Poets.” Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends and many colleagues.
Adam Steinbrenner@adsteinbrenner.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Now out in Science Advances. Inceptin Receptor helps attract predatory wasps in two years of field experiments. Next steps: can we tune both receptor recognition and volatile blend traits in crops + companion plants?

Adam Steinbrenner@adsteinbrenner.bsky.social · last yr.

How do predatory wasps find their caterpillar prey? In our new preprint on Biorxiv we show that the host plant's immune system detects herbivory to sound the alarm. 🌱🐛 See thread from @nataliagupa.bsky.social -- a surprising role for a plant PRR in indirect defense against herbivores.

Adam Steinbrenner@adsteinbrenner.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We are excited to release the BAT!🦇🚨 We've used this phylogenetic analysis pipeline in our lab for years, and grad Ben Sheppard now presents a Github release and preprint. I run BAT analyses almost daily. It makes exploring gene families routine, customizable, and fun🧵

pipeline logo
Adam Steinbrenner@adsteinbrenner.bsky.social · 4mo ago

This cherry blossom season is extra fun for us.🌸 Students sequenced the genome of one of the iconic Yoshino cherry trees on the University of Washington quad, and found nearly identical clonal relatives in Japan! A great project with Alex Harkess and the American Campus Tree Genomes (ACTG) project

The UW quad with cherries in bloom
Noam Ross@noamross.net · 6mo ago

NSF GRFP applicants (and mentors): Was your application Returned Without Review and deemed ineligible despite fitting in the allowed topics? 1) Write NSF 2) Write your Congressperson 3) CC us at grfp@grant-witness.us so we can compile + follow up Details and template at grant-witness.us/grfp-letter

Dan Kliebenstein@spicybotrytis.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Ever wondered if diverse plant species respond similarly when infected by the same exact pathogen? Infect different asterids and rosids with the same Botrytis genotypes and teh short answer, quite differently. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... @annajomu.bsky.social @ccaseys.bsky.social (1/3)

A multi-plant transcriptomic atlas reveals conserved and lineage specific defense architectures in response to Botrytis cinerea

Generalist pathogens pose a challenge to plant immunity by infecting diverse hosts while harboring extensive intraspecific genetic variation. Whether evolutionary distant plant lineages rely on a shar...

biorxiv.org

Alexandra Weisberg@weisbergaj.bsky.social · 7mo ago

This position is still open. The Weisberg lab is recruiting a postdoc or Ph.D. student to study horizontal gene transfer in plant-associated microbial communities. Please see the job ad for more information and feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

Alexandra Weisberg@weisbergaj.bsky.social · 11mo ago

The Weisberg Lab at Oregon State University is recruiting a postdoctoral scholar in molecular microbiology to study mobile genetic element host range and transmission in microbial communities. Please see the full job description here: files-dev.cqls.oregonstate.edu/Weisberg_Lab...

Maddy Seale@maddyseale.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Out First Release in @science.org A pollen ligand, SIPS, binds to the female receptor, SRK. SIPS binds to a conserved region of SRK, for interspecific incompatibility, unlike the self-incompatibility factor, which binds to a different, variable region www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #PlantScience

Pan-family pollen signals control an interspecific stigma barrier across Brassicaceae species

Pre-zygotic interspecific incompatibility prevents hybridization between species limiting interbreeding strategies for crop improvement using wild relatives. The Brassica rapa female self-incompatibil...

science.org

PlantEvolution 🌱🌾@plantevolution.bsky.social · 8mo ago

We (Nordborg & Weigel labs) need input on the next generation of genome browsers & data download modes for the #Arabidopsis #1001GenomesPlus project. We have now a curated collection of over 500 long read genomes. Please help us by filling out this questionnaire: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Next generation of 1001 Genomes Plus browser and data download

Please indicate all features you would like to see in a browser that displays features of completely sequenced Arabidopsis thaliana genomes

docs.google.com

Brendan Nyhan@brendannyhan.bsky.social · 9mo ago

A staggering statistic: "North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year." What are we doing?

Mark A. Hanson@hansonmark.bsky.social · 9mo ago

We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing: a 🧵 1/n Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820 Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/... Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...

A table showing profit margins of major publishers. A snippet of text related to this table is below. 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year.
Roland Hatzenpichler@environmicrobio.bsky.social · 9mo ago

“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”

U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations

Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students

science.org

Julia Saltz@juliasaltz.bsky.social · 9mo ago

My lab at Indiana University is searching for a *postdoc* and *technician* to contribute to our work studying the evolution of social behavior using fruit flies as a model system. Details below, feel free to email me with any questions! More info on our research: saltzlab.com

Chenxin Li, PhD@chenxinli2.bsky.social · 10mo ago

It's grad school application season! My lab (cxli233.github.io/cxLi_lab/ ) will be recruiting a PhD student via the MPS program at MSU (mps.natsci.msu.edu) for Fall 2026. Happy to take inquires via email (which can be found in the lab website) if you are applying this cycle.

Our current carbon economy relies on fossil fuels, from which we isolate small organic molecules to produce medicines, plastics, cosmetic, or other chemicals that we use everyday. However, sustainability requires a more biomass-based carbon economy, where we engineer plants to produce precursor molecules, which can then be assembled to desired chemicals that we use daily. Plants have evolved an amazing diversity of metabolites, but these metabolites are not produced in every cell of the plant. Therefore, it is essential to understand how plants can express different metabolic pathways across different organs, tissues, and even cell types. We are interested in the following questions: How are metabolic pathways (especially specialized metabolism) controlled by cell fate? How can we reprogram plant cell fates for biomanufacturing? How can we toggle between differentiated cell states for metabolic engineering and totipotent cell state for genetic engineering?

cxli233.github.io

The Plant Journal@theplantjournal.bsky.social · 10mo ago

📢Announcement! The call for 𝐓𝐏𝐉 𝐅𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 is now open! 🌟 It is designed to offer support and mentorship to researchers transitioning from post-doctoral scientists to principal investigators Info: 👉http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/1365313x/homepage/TPJ-fellowships & in 🧵

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Daniel Bolnick@danielbolnick.bsky.social · 10mo ago

The GRFP announcement from NSF cuts out an entire cohort of 2nd year students from consideration, without warning. This is so deeply unfair that it warrants a formal protest from the scientific community. If someone wants to work with me to craft an open letter and solicit signatures, LMK.

Dan Garisto@dangaristo.bsky.social · 10mo ago

New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

Adam Steinbrenner@adsteinbrenner.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Very frustrated with NSF GRFP. A 2nd year grad now ineligible after postponing last year. Her pre-grad app was rejected without review for mentioning crop impacts. I'm a previous recipient and served many years as a reviewer. The fellowship needs serious reform, not half-baked solicitation changes

Morgan Carter@morgancarterphd.bsky.social · 10mo ago

I hate this for the second years who had already been working on applications. Also the USDA fellowship RFA has still not been issued for this year. It is harder and harder to find fellowships to support the newest generation of scientists. 🧪 We are shortchanging our future.

Laura Williams@laurawilliams.bsky.social · 10mo ago

NSF GRFP solicitation out. App deadlines now in November. As others noted, eligibility rules for current graduate students now exclude 2nd year grad students. See the solicitation - they’ve emphasized “first year” and “less than one academic year” in grad program. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

Gitta Coaker@gittacoaker.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Happy to share this review on the diversity of resistance in Triticeae. I learned a lot writing it. Heavy lifting by Yinghui Li, Liubov Govta, and @yichangsung.bsky.social with our long-time collaborator Tzion Fahima. www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

The Spectrum of Diverse Disease-Resistance Genes Cloned and Characterized in the Triticeae Tribe | Annual Reviews

The Triticeae tribe comprises species representing some of the world's largest food and forage crops, including common wheat, durum, barley, rye, and oat. Crop yields are continuously threatened ...

annualreviews.org

Dan Sloan@sloanevolab.bsky.social · 11mo ago

The Department of Biology at Colorado State University is hiring an Assistant Professor in the area of plant-microbe interactions! Please spread the word! jobs.colostate.edu/postings/165...

Assistant Professor Plant-Microbe Interactions

We seek a creative, collaborative, and visionary plant biologist to establish an internationally recognized research program at the forefront of plant-microbe interactions aimed at understanding how t...

jobs.colostate.edu