Elena Garcia-Perez
@egarcia-perez.bsky.social
Postdoc at Earlham Institute (Norwich, UK) | Sarah Guiziou’s Lab | Synthetic Biology for plant–microbe interactions 🌱🤝🧫 Former PhD candidate in Plant Biotech at IBMCP | Molecular Farming & Synthetic Biology 🌱🤝🏭
Detectrons convert transient RNA sequences into stable DNA barcodes for high-throughput analysis of RNA-dependent processes - @seth-shipman.bsky.social @gladstoneinst.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Detectrons convert transient RNA sequences into stable DNA barcodes for high-throughput analysis of RNA-dependent processes - Nature Biotechnology
RNA sequences are detected and converted directly into DNA barcodes.
nature.com
Using AI, researchers have designed complete, functional bacteriophage genomes from scratch and tested them against bacteria that had evolved resistance to a natural bacteriophage. Learn more in Science: https://scim.ag/45l86KH
Generative design of bacteriophages with genome language models
Many important biological functions arise not from single genes but from complex interactions encoded by entire genomes. We report the first generative design of complete bacteriophage genomes using g...
scim.ag
Published in @Microbiology Society, scientists at Earlham Institute and @John Innes Centre discuss how advances in #syntheticbiology are moving agri- science beyond identifying beneficial soil microbes, towards engineering these microbial communities for enhanced or new functions.
Engineering rhizobacterial communities for soil and plant health
Rhizobacteria play a central role in supporting plant growth, contributing to nutrient acquisition, stress tolerance and disease suppression. Harnessing and improving rhizosphere microbial communities therefore represents a promising avenue towards more sustainable agriculture. Recent advances in microbiome ecology and synthetic biology have enabled the rational design of microbial consortia.
okt.to
Excited to share our review on engineering microbes for plant health 🌱. A great collaboration with @egarcia-perez.bsky.social, Louis Perrin and @sarah-guiziou.bsky.social at @earlhaminst.bsky.social #microbiology #engineeringbiology #planthealth www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
Engineering rhizobacterial communities for soil and plant health
Rhizobacteria play a central role in supporting plant growth, contributing to nutrient acquisition, stress tolerance and disease suppression. Harnessing and improving rhizosphere microbial communities...
microbiologyresearch.org
Excited to share our new preprint "Genetic code expansion enables plant-directed control of bacterial activity", a fantastic collaboration with @kunjapur.bsky.social lab! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
New preprint out 🌱 We present a new T-DNA vector system for Arabidopsis that supports clean, genomically mapped, single-copy T-DNA insertion with predictable cell-type/conditional gene expression. @mokhalil.bsky.social + Gehring labs biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵1/16
Rational design of T-DNA vectors enables predictable, single-copy integration in Arabidopsis thaliana
Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is the dominant method for plant transgenesis, yet it frequently produces multi-copy, structurally complex T-DNA insertions associated with transgene silencing, u...
biorxiv.org
🌾🧬 Rice blast triggers a MAPK pathway that activates OsWRKY transcription factors. These turn on OsKCS2, which makes heptadecanoic acid. This root secretion recruits beneficial Bacillus bacteria. Field trials show higher Bacillus leads to better disease resistance. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Rice roots recruit Bacillus via the secretion of heptadecanoic acid - Nature Plants
This study reveals that rice roots secrete heptadecanoic acid to recruit beneficial Bacillus for defence against blast fungus, a process regulated by a MAPK pathway.
nature.com
Phages as ecosystem engineers of plant microbiomes Forum highlighting role of phages in plant health via their eco-evolutionary effects on plant-associated bacteria, which can determine balance between mutualistic &antagonistic plant-bacteria interactions www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
Phages as ecosystem engineers of plant microbiomes
Phages modulate plant microbiomes through bacterial lysis and by equipping bacteria with auxiliary genes through lysogeny. In this Forum, we highlight the underappreciated role of phages in plant heal...
cell.com
New OA Article: "In situ architecture of plasmodesmata in Physcomitrium resolved by cryo-electron tomography" rdcu.be/fjjiK Plasmodesmata are gated by cell wall remodelling; helical protein assemblies scaffold internal membranes; implications for molecular filtering.
A new tool for engineering lytic phages of the Gram-positive model bacterium Bacillus subtilis: | ACS Synthetic Biology pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/... #subtiwiki
Advancing Fast-Track Genome Engineering in Bacillus subtilis Phages
Phage genome engineering methods accelerate the study of phage biology, the discovery of new functions, and the development of innovative genetic engineering tools. Here, we present QuickPhage, a rapi...
pubs.acs.org
A single-cell screening platform accelerates functional genetics in plants - @sattelylab.bsky.social go.nature.com/4n8wzLv
A single-cell screening platform accelerates functional genetics in plants - Nature Biotechnology
A pooled, cell-based, genetic screening platform in plants is used for the functional analysis of cytokinin signaling proteins.
go.nature.com
Don’t reach for ChatGPT Images or Nano Banana as your first option when creating scientific images There are multiple free and open-source images, icons, and tools for creating scientific illustrations. #plantscience @stephenturner.us blog.stephenturner.us/p/free-open-...
Free and open-source images, icons, and tools for creating scientific illustrations
Phylopic, NIH Bioart, Bioicons, Scidraw, Open Science Art, Health Icons, Servier Medical Art, Biodiversity Heritage Library, the Noun Project, Segment Anything, Excalidraw, draw.io, Biographics
blog.stephenturner.us
1/2 The regulatory labyrinth for commercialisation of GE bacteria for deliberate env release eg bioremediation, biofertilization or disease control in the EU. Note that each of the 27 member states must emit an opinion & a vote 😱. No wonder the field is altogether stagnant at this side of the pond ☹️
New Article: "Rice roots recruit Bacillus via the secretion of heptadecanoic acid" rdcu.be/ff7vo With Research Briefing: rdcu.be/ff2X0 Rice plants facing fungal infection mobilize a soil-borne defence force via a previously unknown mechanism. MAPK inside.
Really interesting paper from @grey-monroe.bsky.social lab at UC Davis: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... "Genome degradation in plant tissue culture" #PlantScience The data presented have a lot of implications both on basic biology and applications.
Genome degradation in plant tissue culture | PNAS
Many plants, unlike most animals, can reproduce as clones [D. Kester, HortScience 18, 831–837 (1983), 10.21273/hortsci.18.6.831]. Cloning plants is...
pnas.org
RNA splicing generates a functionally specialized Rep protein isoform in geminiviruses — enabling timely control of the viral cycle. Strikingly, similar strategies might have evolved in DNA viruses infecting different kingdoms: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Spearheaded by @delphinem-p.bsky.social!
In our recent review, we explore how the spliceosome is targeted by effectors from diverse plant-interacting organisms—and how these effectors can serve as powerful molecular probes to uncover the mechanisms of splicing regulation in plants. @geminiteamlab.bsky.social #PlantScience #RNA #Splicing
New insights into microbial manipulation of the plant spliceosome
Abstract. Alternative splicing (AS) has emerged as a regulatory layer in plant adaptation to the environment. In particular, biotic stresses trigger a dras
academic.oup.com
Thrilled to see this published! 😄 Our dispatch examines potential additional fungal symbionts in lichen partnerships and the key challenges in unraveling their biology. Thanks for involving me in this @talbotlabtsl.bsky.social @currentbiology.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Fungal symbioses: A multiplicity of fungi in the lichen union
Increasing evidence suggests that lichens are not just a partnership between one fungus and one alga or cyanobacterium but may contain multiple intera…
sciencedirect.com
Single-molecule peptide sequencing through reverse translation of peptides into DNA - @bioe-stanford.bsky.social go.nature.com/4sRPr2K
Single-molecule peptide sequencing through reverse translation of peptides into DNA - Nature Biotechnology
Peptides are sequenced by converting each amino acid into amplifiable DNA barcodes.
go.nature.com
Now online! Bringing the genetically minimal cell to life on a computer in 4D
Bringing the genetically minimal cell to life on a computer in 4D
Simulating the complete cell cycle of the minimal cell provides a platform to understand the progression of complete states over time. The spatial heterogeneity of the intracellular environment can strongly affect biochemical reactions that control phenotypes.
dlvr.it
Assembly, architecture and functional roles of microbial surface layers #microbiology #archaea #bacteria @natrevmicro.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Assembly, architecture and functional roles of microbial surface layers - Nature Reviews Microbiology
Surface layers (S-layers) are ubiquitous protein assemblies that coat prokaryotic cells, with their functional roles increasingly coming into focus. In this Review, Isbilir and colleagues discuss rece...
nature.com
Read the paper 👉 Localized glutamine leakage drives the spatial structure of root microbial colonization | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Localized glutamine leakage drives the spatial structure of root microbial colonization
Plant roots release exudates to encourage microbiome assembly, which influences the function and stress resilience of plants. How specific exudates drive spatial colonization patterns remains largely ...
science.org
Engineered geminivirus replicons enable rapid in planta directed evolution www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Engineered geminivirus replicons enable rapid in planta directed evolution
Directed evolution can rapidly generate genetic variants with new and enhanced properties, yet efficient platforms for performing such evolution directly in plant cells have been lacking. We developed...
science.org
Delighted to have written this review alongside my former PhD supervisors, Diego Orzaez and Marta Vazquez-Vilar, where we discuss how synthetic gene circuits can unlock the full potential of N. benthamiana as a programmable plant biofactory 🌱🎮 🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Engineering Conditional Transgene Expression in Nicotiana benthamiana
Nicotiana benthamiana has emerged as a premier plant biofactory for recombinant protein and metabolite production due to its high metabolic versatility, ease of cultivation and permissiveness to tran...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
If anyone wants some plant pathogens in fun colors let me know 🌈🧫 #Xylella #Pseudomonas #Pantoea Shoutout to @atinygreencell.bsky.social for inspiration and high quality source material www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Chromoprotein-modified plant pathogenic bacteria: tools for experimental tracking and visualization
Microbiology research often requires tracking of specific bacterial strains within a host infection system or in the environment, as well as differentiation of strains in a co-infection or microbe-mic...
biorxiv.org
1/2 What's best: a field-first or lab-first approach? No easy answers but differences between lab and field should not be seen as failure but motivate further inquiry and allow complementary discovery. Read our thoughts on this here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Lab to field: Challenges and opportunities for plant biology
Plant-microbe research offers many choices of model and strain and whether a field-first or lab-first approach is best. However, differences between l…
sciencedirect.com
Led by experts in #synbio, large-scale design and #automation programming, the Earlham Biofoundry provides high-throughput #engineering of biological systems, open to the bioscience community. Discover more here:
Earlham Biofoundry
The Earlham Biofoundry is a resource for the UK biology and biotechnology communities, providing a platform to undertake large-scale projects.
buff.ly
Happy to share the new article from my former lab at IBMCP — the final chapter of my PhD! We optimized geminivirus-based vectors for the controlled expression of recombinant proteins in plants, using autobioluminescence as a real-time reporter 💡🧬🌱 If you’re curious… 👀: pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
Inspiring time at @ismpmi.bsky.social, where I had the honour of sharing my PhD work on repurposing viruses for plant biomanufacturing. It was great to reconnect with old friends (special shoutout to @geminiteamlab.bsky.social 💚) and meet so many researchers pushing plant–microbe science forward 🌱🧬🧫
