A PPNT-motif containing effector inactivates BIN2, with interesting phenotypic consequences. Nice study by @effectomics.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
A fungal effector hijacks conserved plant GSK3-like kinases to reprogram host cell identity
Stable developmental programs normally resist reprogramming, yet pathogens can override these constraints to induce profound tissue and cellular remodeling. How microbial pathogens access conserved de...
biorxiv.org
A fungal effector hijacks conserved plant GSK3-like kinases to reprogram host cell identity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.751668v1
Very happy to see our new work out on bioRxiv! The effector Iag1 hijacks conserved plant GSK3 kinases to reprogram host cell identity. A big thank you to all authors, collaborators and everyone involved in this exciting journey - it was a fantastic team effort! Preprint: doi.org/10.64898/202...
doi.org
New W2 Professorship in crop/plant sciences at the University of Bonn 🌱 We especially welcome expertise in genome engineering and pest & disease control …and interdisciplinary research bridging topics with the cluster of excellence #PhenoRob Apply by Sept 30 🔗 www.uni-bonn.de/en/universit...
W2 Professorship within the Cluster of Excellence PhenoRob
W2 Professorship
uni-bonn.de
I am honored that my microscopy image has been selected as the cover of a @newphyt.bsky.social issue for the third time. Thanks to the production team for selecting my image.
New Phytologist@newphyt.bsky.social · 7mo agoOn the cover of our #LatestIssue: Colour-coded confocal z-stack depicting the three-dimensional architecture of a fungal-algal coculture isolated from a local pond. Image courtesy of Mamoona Khan. 📖 See Djamei et al. nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Wei Shi @wshisky.bsky.social & Merle‘s work is online. Wei really pushed this work from scratch and Merle linked it to MLA diversification…3rd (co-)first author paper in her PhD. Very proud PI! And only possible through collaboration with G. Döhlemann, @grandpahiro.bsky.social &, Matt Platre. (1/x)
Targeting of the barley cell-surface receptor SRF3 by the Blumeria hordei effector AVRA13 overlaps with AVRA13 recognition by MLA and the induction of NLR-mediated cell death.
Pathogens secrete effector proteins to promote virulence. Despite their recognition by barley Mla resistance genes, the structurally-related Blumeria hordei ( Bh ) AVRA effectors are maintained in the...
doi.org
Excited to share that Maria's work on the evolution of the LAR gene has been published in BMC Genomics: Evolutionary dynamics of the proanthocyanidin biosynthesis gene LAR doi.org/10.1186/s128... #Evolution #FlavonoidBiosynthesis #PlantSciences @bpucker.bsky.social @maferrecinos.bsky.social
Now online: Effector biology and immunometabolic (re)programming: microbial strategies for compatibility: Molecular Plant www.cell.com/molecular-pl...
Effector biology and immunometabolic (re)programming: microbial strategies for compatibility
Root immunometabolism: balancing defense and accommodationPlant health depends on balanced immune defense and microbial accommodation. As constant contact zones, roots must exclude pathogens while fos...
cell.com
Excited to share that our recent paper @newphyt.bsky.social is highlighted by @plantteaching.bsky.social on @plantaeofficial.bsky.social.
Mary Williams @PlantTeaching@plantteaching.bsky.social · 9mo agoPSRW Jan 16 2026 plantae.org/plant-scienc... (2/2) Plasma membrane proteins transduce heat signal; Cycads use heat to attract pollinators; Visualizing viral replication in living cells; Smut fungus uses plant auxin signaling to build galls. @nbellono.bsky.social @mamoonakhan.bsky.social
Wie der Erreger der gefürchteten Kohlhernie die pflanzliche Abwehr gleich zweimal ausschaltet, haben Forschende um Prof. Jutta Ludwig-Müller @tudresden.bsky.social mit Forschenden um @ifeussner.bsky.social @uni-goettingen.de im @jxbotany.bsky.social geschildert doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
CONGRATS to team @effectomics.bsky.social and @steidele.bsky.social . Transcriptional Response of Magnaporthe oryzae Towards Barley-Microbiome Derived Bacteria | Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions® apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/...
Transcriptional Response of Magnaporthe oryzae Towards Barley-Microbiome Derived Bacteria | Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions®
The composition of the plant microbiome is shaped not only by the host plant and abiotic environmental factors, but also by inter-microbial cooperation and competition. Plant pathogens, therefore must...
apsjournals.apsnet.org
When the fungus Ustilago maydis infects maize plants, tumour-like tissue growths develop. Researchers led by Prof. Armin Djamei have now discovered that the fungus hijacks a programme in the plant that is responsible for forming lateral roots: www.uni-bonn.de/en/news/002-... @effectomics.bsky.social
A University of Bonn study shows how a maize pest hijacks the plant’s root-building function 🌽 www.uni-bonn.de/en/news/002-... @unibonn.bsky.social @effectomics.bsky.social #PlantScience
How a Fungus Leads to Tissue Growths in Maize
When a maize plant is attacked by the fungus Ustilago maydis, tumor-like tissue growths occur at the site of infection. How the pathogen causes this response in its host has long been unknown. But a…
uni-bonn.de
Team around Armin Djamei @effectomics.bsky.social show in @newphyt.bsky.social that the fungus #Ustilago maydis hijacks a programme in the #maize plant that is responsible for the formation of lateral roots www.uni-bonn.de/en/news/002-...
How a Fungus Leads to Tissue Growths in Maize
uni-bonn.de
#2027ISMPMI - Try 2 for Jeju, Korea! Hope to see you there and I’m glad that South Korea gets to host after their turn was missed because of the pandemic. There is a promise of good food 🤤 Though I may need to start saving up now with the state of things… #2025ISMPMI
#2025ISMPMI Songyuan Zhang from the Zipfel lab is learning from nature how to engineer new MAMP receptors. Great results.
#2025ISMPMI Benjamin Menn presents an elegant yeast surface displace screen to identify new carbohydrate binding receptors of plants.
#2025ISMPMI Thi Bich Luu wants to make a difference by transferring Nod factor susceptibility to barley, maize and other cereals. Taking candidate homolgs of NFR5 receptor and by domaine swapping chimaric receptors are build.
#2025ISMPMI Rhizobia and Haber-Bosch good bye? Luis Rubio goes for the challenge on reconstituting nitrogen fixation directly in plants by targeting around 20 needed components in Mitochondria in a step-wise process.
@kenichitsuda.bsky.social is introducing the Concurrent sessions on biotic/abiotic trade-offs in plant-microbe interactions #2025ISMPMI
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Up next at #2025ISMPMI @kseniakrasileva.bsky.social discussing work on protein language model for receptor engineering.
@kseniakrasileva.bsky.social is the first talk at the engineering traits session at #2025ISMPMI Branching into PRRs thanks to @danimstevens.bsky.social. The ?: Can we use language models to predict host and microbe proteins interaction outcomes? The answer: Yes! New “mamp-ml”does pretty well.
#2025ISMPMI - first new to nature chimeric NLR sensors being created, with integrated domains that do not have sequence or structure matches in the recorded life - raises questions on assessing biosafety & food safety aspects for these immune receptors for lab and field studies.
@angusb.bsky.social wants to engineer plant resistance proteins (NLRs) from scratch. Can we create protein domains to integrate into NLRs to catch pathogen effectors? New tech makes this possible now. Chose Magnaporthe and Fusarium effectors as targets - many steps later, it worked! #2025ISMPMI
Dani’s recent paper appears to be the top #2025ISMPMI post which is impressive for someone not here 💓 bsky.app/profile/dani...
Dani Stevens, Ph.D.@danimstevens.bsky.social · last yr.#2025ISMPMI 📣 In silico screening of PRR-epitope interactions is now possible! Here, we developed mamp-ml to predict their immunogenic outcomes without structural context. Let's accelerate engineering plant receptors for robust resistance! 🚀🌱 Small 🧵 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
In the trait engineer session and Aurelia Rakotondrafara makes a quip that her talk has no AI 😅 Under-revision-study from her lab uses a treatment of a mycovirus protein to reduce growth and increase fungicide susceptibility of the pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. #2025ISMPMI
#2025ISMPMI Aurelie Rakotondrafara shows very interesting effects of mycovirus infection of Sclerotinia on virulence on the host plant. Take home to use mycoviruses and plant viruses to limit the spread of fungal pathogens.
#2025ISMPMI Agnus Bucknell of the Talbot lab gives an exciting presentation to engineer fungal effectors recognizing immune sensors based on Pik1. Great and clear talk.
