Facundo Romani
@fromani.bsky.social
Leverhulme ECF (U of Cambridge)🇬🇧. PhD (UNL)🇦🇷Biotechnologist (UNQ)🇦🇷. Gene regulation and plant EvoDevo.
Elucidating the ancestral role of Class I HD-Zip transcription factors in land plants (Facundo Romani , Santiago Farías , Ariel Cerda Rojas , et al) doi.org/10.1093/plph... #PlantScience @aspbofficial @fromani @camplantsci
Elucidating the ancestral role of Class I HD-Zip transcription factors in land plants
The C1HDZ plant transcription factor family shapes stress and development responses differently across species, revealing how gene functions evolve while i
doi.org
Our latest views on deep ARF evolution are finally out in New Phytologist! nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
AUXIN RESPONSE FACTORs: from transcription factors to auxin effectors
Molecular evolution of AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR (ARF) effector function.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
We are organising @oistedu.bsky.social an Engineering Biology Symposium, 16-18 November 2026. Join us! 🌏 For more information and registration (deadline August 31): www.oist.jp/events/plant...
www.nature.com/articles/s41... It's been a long time coming, but delighted to say that the first major output from my Royal Society Fellowship is now published. 🙂 #PlantScience
The post-fertilization archegonium gene network of seedless plants contributed to the origin of seeds - Nature Communications
The authors identify conserved gene networks across fern and angiosperm reproductive development, including between the sporophyte ovule and the fern gametophyte egg-chamber. Repurposing of this netwo...
nature.com
Happy to share the final version of our study on the evolution of chromatin states across eukaryotes, out today in @natgenet.nature.com Led by @crisnava.bsky.social and @seanamontgomery.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41... Some highlights below
Diversity and evolution of chromatin regulatory states across eukaryotes - Nature Genetics
This study introduces iChIP2, a low-input chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing method that profiles histone post-translational modifications (hPTMs) simultaneously across diverse eukar...
nature.com
Delighted to share our paper on neo-chromosomes! We induced centromere fission using CRISPR in Arabidopsis and increased the chromosome count from n=5 to n=6. The broken chromosomes ends quickly “healed” by adding telomeres de novo and the new karyotype is stable through mitosis and meiosis! 1/3
Ian Henderson@hendersi.bsky.social · 2mo agoCRISPR-mediated centromere fission generates neochromosomes with distorted meiotic inheritance in Arabidopsis biorxiv.org/content/10.6... new preprint from us - includes changing the Arabidopsis karyotype from 5 -> 6 chromosomes using Cas9 & outcomes of 5/6 chromosome hybrid meiosis
Our work on pattern formation in fossil and extant liverworts is out! @dev-journal.bsky.social Check it out if you are interested in fossils, evo-devo, and how mathematical modeling can help us understand the evolution of developmental processes! 🌿🧪 Thread ⬇️
Lateral inhibition governs ancestral cellular patterning in fossil and extant liverworts
Highlighted Article: Comparative and mathematical analyses reveal that oil body cell patterning in fossil and extant liverworts is consistent with a local activation-lateral inhibition mechanism, poin...
journals.biologists.com
Excited to share this story in its final form, now published in ACS Synthetic Biology. #PlantBiology #Synbio pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Engineering Auronidin Production in Marchantia polymorpha Enables a New Class of Plant-Derived Textile Pigments
Plant-derived pigments offer sustainable alternatives to synthetic colorants, yet their practical deployment in textiles is limited by restricted chemical diversity and low abundance. Liverworts represent a source of diverse chemical compounds, and the model liverworts Marchantia polymorpha are emerging as chassis for bioengineering and synthetic biology. Here, we report the biotechnological application of auronidins, a rare class of flavonoid pigments, as textile dyes. Using M. polymorpha, we engineered enhanced auronidin production through controlled expression of the R2R3-MYB transcription factor MpMYB14. We systematically benchmarked constitutive and inducible gene expression systems, including heat-shock, glucocorticoid receptor, and β-estradiol (XVE) circuits, identifying inducible strategies that decouple biomass accumulation from secondary metabolite production while achieving high pigment yields. Extracted auronidins were used to dye cotton yarn directly, demonstrating the feasibility of auronidins for textile dyeing. Our results establish M. polymorpha as a versatile plant chassis for programmable secondary metabolite production and introduce auronidins as a promising natural pigment platform for sustainable textile biotechnology.
pubs.acs.org
Facundo Romani@fromani.bsky.social · 7mo agoMarchantia might seem an unlikely biotech crop, but it’s worth trying. In Aurore’s thesis, we pushed this concept by engineering the auronidins with MpMYB14 and using the pigments to dye cotton. It ended up giving a very unique and beautiful product. #PlantScience www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
New pre-print. Biosynthesis of limonene in Marchantia is carried out by a small biosynthetic gene cluster specific to oil body cells #PlantScience www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Neryl diphosphate-derived monoterpene biosynthesis via a biosynthetic gene cluster in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha
Monoterpenes (C10) are a large group of specialized metabolites important for plant interactions with the environment. Their biosynthesis is well understood in seed plants, where geranyl diphosphate s...
biorxiv.org
Excited to share our new preprint led by Fred and me in collaboration with the archaeal community! We found that the molecular foundation of histone-based chromatin has pre-eukaryotic roots in Asgard archaea. (1/4) #ArchaeaSky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Emergence of histone-based chromatin complexity in Asgard archaea
The emergence of the eukaryotes coincided with the diversification of histone proteins and their post-translational modifications by enzymes that constitute the core of eukaryotic chromatin. Yet the e...
biorxiv.org
Happy to share some of the auxin Marchantia research we've been working on for a while with @fromani.bsky.social and @jimhaseloff.bsky.social. We confirm long standing suspicions that stem cells in Marchantia exist in an auxin concentration/signalling minimum, and potentially a cytokinin maximum.
Marchantia stem cell maintenance and re-establishment are controlled by MpPIN1-mediated auxin transport and ARF signalling
Meristem organization in land plants depends on coordinated auxin distribution, transport and response, yet how these processes are integrated during vegetative growth of the gametophyte of non-seed p...
biorxiv.org
1/ Excited to share our new bioRxiv preprint! "4D spatial transcriptomics reveals nodule identity emerges through stacked parallel developmental programs" 📄 doi.org/10.64898/202... Using Xenium, we generated a 4D (3D space + time) atlas of nodule development in Medicago truncatula.
Glad to see Anna's final PhD paper as a pre-print. Marchantia as a bioproduction chassis not only for markers but also for useful proteins. #PlantScience #SynBio www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Marchantia polymorpha as a simple platform for plant-based production of functional nanobodies
Recombinant proteins have transformative potential in biomedicine, but their production is often costly and carries contamination risks. Plants offer an attractive alternative, with low growth costs a...
biorxiv.org
Glad to see Anna's final PhD paper as a pre-print. Marchantia as a bioproduction chassis not only for markers but also for useful proteins. #PlantScience #SynBio www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Marchantia polymorpha as a simple platform for plant-based production of functional nanobodies
Recombinant proteins have transformative potential in biomedicine, but their production is often costly and carries contamination risks. Plants offer an attractive alternative, with low growth costs a...
biorxiv.org
Happy to announce our study that has just been published from work done during my PhD at the University of Bristol working in Prof. Jill Harrison's lab. It's about WOX genes and sporophyte development in the model moss, Physcomitrium patens. Take a look 🧵👇
For liverwort mavens, I've needed to shift our Marchantia resources to a new website (I've reached retirement from academia in Cambridge) - and the plant synthetic biology stuff has moved to https://www.haseloff-lab.info (Now have more time for DIY builds! Updates to come)
Evolutionary Rewiring of Root Cell-Type Nitrogen Responses https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.05.730053v1
Call for Papers Submit your latest plant and multicellular algae #DevBio research to our upcoming special issue – Plant and Algae Development #DevSIPlantAlgae Editors: @stanfordstomata.bsky.social & Susana Coelho Deadline: 2 November 2026 journals.biologists.com/dev/pages/pl...
Check out our latest pre-print on the evolution of TIR activity/signalling: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Elenor Kennedy@ebkennedy.bsky.social · 4mo ago@khongsamchia.bsky.social Extremely excited to share the first pre-print from my PhD project in the Carella lab, co-first authored with @khongsamchia.bsky.social 🎉 (Thread below ⬇️) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Huge thanks to all co-authors and the #CarellaCapybaras for all the support 😊
Huge congratulations to Beverley Glover & Uta Paszkowski on being elected Fellows of the @royalsociety.org - a wonderful recognition of their significant contributions to plant sciences! 🎉 Read more: tinyurl.com/3vetucr4 @beverleycubg.bsky.social @paszkowskilab.bsky.social 🧪
Another cool liverwort genome by Szövényi group. #PlantScience link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Genome assemblies of the liverwort Blasia pusilla uncover a well-defined pseudoautosomal region on homomorphic UV sex chromosomes - Genome Biology
Background Sex chromosomes evolve from autosomes and are expected to be initially homomorphic, though they may become heteromorphic over time. In diploid systems, one sex chromosome often degenerates,...
link.springer.com
#SynBYSS seminar with Dr. Michelle Muzzio, the Editor-in-Chief of Chem Circularity by Cell Press, and Dr. Facundo Romani at University of Cambridge @fromani.bsky.social @cp-chemcircularity.bsky.social @cellpress.bsky.social The talk video link is below: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VST...
SynBYSS with Dr Michelle Muzzio at Chem Circularity, Cell Press & Dr Facundo Romani at U. Cambridge
YouTube video by TAESEOK Moon
youtube.com
#SynBYSS 10am USA CT 199th, May 14: Dr Michelle Muzzio, chief editor at Chem Circularity @cellpress.bsky.social & Dr Facundo Romani at U Cambridge 200th, May 21: Prof David Nielsen at ASU & Prof Dongheon Lee at FAMU-FSU Break until Jul. 9! Zoom link & schedule: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
SynBYSS_2026
docs.google.com
Excited to have started my group @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social through the @dfg.de Emmy Noether program. In this project we will be looking at the mechanisms of host invasion by fungal pathogens 🍄🌱 Check it out and drop me a line if you are interested! uni-tuebingen.de/en/universit...
New Emmy Noether research group on fungal infections in plants
uni-tuebingen.de
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft@dfg.de · 4mo agoGood News!📢 Die DFG hat vom 1. Januar bis 31. März 2026 insgesamt 43 Wissenschaftler*innen in die Programme der #Einzelförderung aufgenommen. Mehr zu den Projekten, Personen und ihren Einrichtungen: ➡️ www.dfg.de/de/aktuelles...
A comprehensive database for #Marchantia research Tanizawa et al. present the new improved MarpolBase #database - a central resource for M. polymorpha #genomics with near-telomere-to-telomere reference male Tak-1 and female Tak-2 genomes (ver. 7.1) 🆓 doi.org/10.1093/pcp/... #PlantScience
[Important notice] To maintain nomenclature consistent and systematic, we strongly recommend that gene names/symbols should be registered before publications and presentations.
marchantia.info
Although the red pigments made by flowering plants and liverworts are produced by distinct chemical pathways, here we found that they are induced by homologous complexes of transcription factors. @currentbiology.bsky.social
Replicated repurposing of an ancestral transcriptional complex in land plants
Kongsted et al. find that, while the red pigments produced in liverworts and seed plants are distinct, they are regulated by homologous MYB-bHLH transcriptional complexes. They also find that in liver...
cell.com
Nice new story from Yuki's lab @yukihirakawa.bsky.social "Initiation of asexual reproduction by the AP2/ERF gene GEMMIFER in Marchantia polymorpha" doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
Redirecting
doi.org
MpERF14/GEMMIFER paper now published in Current Biology. Congratulations Go and Yuki for leading such a nice piece of research. #PlantSciences www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Initiation of asexual reproduction by the AP2/ERF gene GEMMIFER in Marchantia polymorpha
Plants can propagate their own clones through asexual reproduction. Genetic and hormonal factors regulating asexual reproduction have begun to be eluc…
sciencedirect.com
Bryophytes: natural incubators of new gene evolution #plantscience
Bryophytes: natural incubators of new gene evolution
De novo gene origination from noncoding regions is a major source of genetic innovation. Dong et al. [1] (Nat. Genet. 2025; 57:2562–2569) reveal that bryophytes harbor an exceptionally high abundance of such genes, establishing them as a new and key system for studying the mechanisms and evolutionary consequences of new gene emergence in plants.
dlvr.it
