The new Young LPI Magazine is out! Volume XVI brings together soil science, CAM plants, KU Leuven’s new greenhouse, an LPI alumni story, Young LPI updates and more. Read it here: lpinewsletter.my.canva.site/lpi-magazine... #PlantScience

LPI Magazine Vol XVI

Young LPI Magazine - August 2026 - Issue 16 The official publication of the KU Leuven Plant Institute

lpinewsletter.my.canva.site

Publication alert ! Novel insights into tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus introduction and evolution in Southeastern France using an advanced long-read sequencing workflow | PLOS Pathogens share.google/eJnkMFqHSENf... @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social @inrae-pv.bsky.social @inrae-paca.bsky.social

Novel insights into tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus introduction and evolution in Southeastern France using an advanced long-read sequencing workflow

Author summary Understanding how emerging plant viruses invade new regions and evolve after introduction is a central challenge in pathogen biology. Here, we investigate the emergence and spread of th...

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Last week we hosted our first workshop in the context of the #MeioCOntrol @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social anderen project! 🔬🧠 Researchers from @ILVO, De Storme lab @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social and Pauwels lab @mobi-ugent.bsky.social came together to learn and brainstorm about CRISPR in plants 🌿🧬

【🎉Latest accepted article】 Divergent responses of endemic and non-endemic plant species to climate change in South American Lomas ecosystems #Drought | #EndemicSpecies | #MaxEnt | #SpeciesDistributionModeling @kvanmeerbeek.bsky.social @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/jpe/...

Divergent responses of endemic and non-endemic plant species to climate change in South American Lomas ecosystems

Abstract. The Lomas ecosystem, situated along the arid coast of Peru, is a key refuge for biodiversity, characterized by unique vegetation adapted to dry c

doi.org

First 🌽 maize plants for the #MeioCOntrol @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social project are now in soil at the @fbwugent.bsky.social greenhouses in Merelbeke 🌱 Together with ILVO and @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social , the EDIT group @mobi-ugent.bsky.social will use these to study meiotic recombination in crops

We just released in #GenomeBiology an important collective work. Improved assembly and annotation of a virus resistance locus in #cassava. @universitedeliege.bsky.social @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social @kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social @inrae-cnrgv.bsky.social @yvdp.bsky.social rdcu.be/et1TZ

Our paper is now published in the latest @newphyt.bsky.social issue. Genomic advanced tools available for our gene mining platform using the world banana collection @bioversityciat.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social

🚨 Vacancy PhD student 🚨 Passionate about #CRISPR, plant biotechnology, & breeding? Join our project on meiotic recombination in #maize 🌽 A collaboration of our lab @fbwugent.bsky.social, ILVO & @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social 🔗https://www.ugent.be/en/work/scientific/doctoral-fellow-41

What a lovely time we had in Leuven at the Plant Chronobiology meeting! Thanks to all the organisers and attendees for these past 2 days of exciting science, good food, good company and nice talks. @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social

Soils on Stage at @nerdland.be festival! So honoured to share the stage with @maikadekeyzer.bsky.social at the biggest science festival in the country, talking about the determining role of 💩 and soil fertility in history! #proudnerd @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social @kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social

New podcast! Dr. Senne Van den Broeck talks about transgene-free genome editing in banana 🍌 and his latest paper in @newphyt.bsky.social (DOI: 10.1111/nph.70044). 🎧 Out now: open.spotify.com/episode/536j... #GenomeEditing #PlantScience #PhDLife #BananaResearch #KUleuven #NewPhytologist

Episode 2 - Saving the Banana with Transgene Free Gene Editing - Senne Van den Broeck

In Planta · Episode

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🌱 Biodiversity through the lens of evolution — and a coffee cup. Prof. Steven Janssens (KU Leuven x Meise BG) shares why documenting plant diversity is vital in the face of climate & biodiversity crises. 🔗 Read: lpinewsletter.my.canva.site/lpi-magazine... #PlantScience #LPI

Delighted to announce generous title sponsorship for Plant Chronobiology 2025 from @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social! This will help us support our speakers, especially early career researchers! Reminder: Abstract submissions due on the 1st of May, get your's in now! plantclock.wixsite.com/2025

🎓Will you be our new colleague? Interesting position for a research professor in soil-plant-water interactions in agro- and ecosystems. 🌱🌾💧 @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social @agmip.bsky.social @thesoilassociation.bsky.social @asa-cssa-sssa.bsky.social www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...

Research professor in soil-plant-water interactions in agro- and ecosystems (BOFZAP)

Research professor in soil-plant-water interactions in agro- and ecosystems

kuleuven.be

Our latest paper is out: peerj.com/articles/cs-.... We added functionality to the #HDBSCAN clustering algorithm to also detect branches hdbscan.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ho... #eda #datavis #clustering

New paper in The Lancet Planetary Health where we show that Nitrogen enrichment not only substantially increases the pollen production of grasslands, but also the pollen allergenicity 🤧.

The impact of ecosystem nitrogen enrichment on pollen allergy: a cross-sectional paired comparison study

Nitrogen enrichment substantially increased pollen abundance and allergenicity, indicating a heightened allergy burden in nitrogen-rich environments. These findings underscore the need for policies ad...

thelancet.com

Each month, we shine a spotlight on one or multiple colleagues in our FNL division 🌳 and share their interesting research topics! 🔍 Today, we present the topic of Ieben Broeckhoven: Unpacking the Agroecological Potential of Robusta Coffee Systems in the DR Congo. 🍃☕

📢 7th International Fascination of Plants Day 2024 🍃 - Success stories – Enjoy the best from over 670 interactive events in over 65 countries. Get inspired to organise an interactive event in your country for the FoPD 2026. 💡 Learn more: bit.ly/4lvTAa2 #PlantDay #PlantScience #SDG #HorizonEU

New tech from @kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social enables transgene-free genome editing in sterile bananas via CRISPR base editing. A major step for climate-resilient crops. 🧬 @newphyt.bsky.social: nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #PlantScience #CRISPR #BananaResearch

An Agrobacterium‐mediated base editing approach generates transgene‐free edited banana

Genome editing for the development of improved varieties is supported by the possibility of segregating out the editor T-DNA cassette after genome editing in many crop species. Removal of the T-DNA .....

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Coming soon: Wandering Garden in Leuven 🌿 An open maze of steel & climbing plants by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, with KU Leuven Plant Institute. A living, growing artwork — between structure & wildness. Opens 17 May 2025. www.kuleuven.be/600years/sch...

Wandering Garden is a true eye-catcher of 600 Years of KU Leuven | KU Leuven

kuleuven.be

For a #dataviz course I'm looking for scientific images in #SVG that could be improved by different colour schemes, removing unnecessary elements, better fonts, titles, etc. The students in the course can then use #inkscape to improve those images. If you know of good examples, let me know!

Each month, we shine a spotlight on one of our colleagues in our FNL division 🌳 and share their interesting research topics! 🔍 Today, we present the topic of Margot Verhulst: Forest monitoring with Sentinel-2 time series in Flanders. 🌳🌲

🔥🌱If you want to read more in-depth posts about our plant science, please consider following us on LinkedIn where we can write longer nuanced posts and where we can give our scientists a platform to talk about their work in full: www.linkedin.com/company/ku-l...

KU Leuven Plant Institute | LinkedIn

KU Leuven Plant Institute | 2,190 followers on LinkedIn. Growing Knowledge for the Future | At KU Leuven Plant Institute (LPI), we are dedicated to pioneering plant-based solutions for sustainable agr...

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The Belgian Plant Science Community (BPSC) is here! 🌿 Yesterday, over 100 plant scientists met at Meise Botanic Garden to launch BPSC—a network to unite Belgian plant research, boost visibility, and create a shared voice. Thanks to all involved. Let’s grow this together. 🌱

The Belgian Plant Science Community is kicked off at Meise Botanic Garden today, to spark integrative plant research in the many Belgian institutes. Timely initiative to battle climate change, biodiversity loss and foster food security. @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social @universitedeliege.bsky.social

📢 New research alert! How does reducing competition affect drought stress & growth in European beech and pedunculate oak? 🌳💦 A study led by Sanne Verdonck at @dfornatlan.bsky.social in @forestecosyst.bsky.social explores this in National Park Brabantse Wouden (Belgium). 🏞️ 🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.fe...

New paper out on biodiversity in apple farming led by @robind6.bsky.social. Organic farming had rather limited benefits for local biodiversity as compared to conventional farming, and effects were inconsistent across taxa. Semi-natural habitats were more important for biodiversity conservation.

Ben jij benieuwd naar hoe publiek toegankelijk groen (zoals parken en bossen) jouw sociaal welzijn beïnvloedt? Wij ook! Draag als student in het hoger onderwijs bij aan ons onderzoek door deze enquête (15') in te vullen: survey.kuleuven.cloud/88?lang=nl Deel gerust! @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social

Please share: We're hiring up to FIVE Postdocs or PhD students for a number of #plantsci #proteomics #genomics projects between my lab and that of Hervé Vanderschuren at @kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social and @universitedeliege.bsky.social! Come join us in the land of 🍫 & 🍻 for some exciting science!

Just released a first version of my #graph #anywidget at pypi.org/project/grap... for displaying (and brushing) force-directed node-link diagrams in #marimo. With a little help from @manzt.sh