Thrilled to have the opportunity to investigate the role of membrane protein proteolysis in plant immunity through the ERC Starting Grant FRONTERA! A heartfelt thank you to my mentors, friends, and family whose support, encouragement, and guidance made this possible. #ERCStG @erc.europa.eu

European Research Council (ERC)@erc.europa.eu · 2d ago

📣 Good news! 📣 Results of the ERC 2026 Starting Grant call are out! Funding worth a total of €705 million will go to 421 early-career researchers across Europe. Discover who, what and where 👉 link.europa.eu/9M3MmN 🧪 #ERCStG #FrontierResearch #HorizonEurope 🇪🇺 @scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu

Go and work on an exciting project with Dr. Rachael DeTar assistant professor at UCF in Orlando.

The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR)@tairnews.bsky.social · 2d ago

"PhD Student Opportunity in Plant Physiology and Evolutionary/Molecular Biology at University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA *Application Deadline: 10/15/2026" Read more here: https://arabidopsis.org/news/jobs/view?file=DeTarPhD.pdf #PlantSciJobs

Wissenschaftsfreiheit ist zentral für Deutschlands Zukunft: Freie Forschung schafft Erkenntnis und Innovation und stärkt Wohlstand und technologische Souveränität. Gemeinsam mit Wissenschaftsorganisationen und Wirtschaftsverbänden haben wir ein Positionspapier unterschrieben: sohub.io/qs2u

On behalf of 108 colleagues and friends from 11 countries, thrilled to share the first paper from our 100 #Diatom Genomes Project (100DGP). Just out @plosbiology.org | @norwichmicro.bsky.social | @ueaenv.bsky.social | @jgi.doe.gov doi.org/10.1371/jour...

The 100 Diatom Genomes Project

This Community Page presents the 100 Diatom Genomes Project, which aims to sequence the genomes and transcriptomes of 100 diatom species across major lineages, life forms and ecological strategies. Th...

doi.org

#Spirogyra genome paper now available @theplantcell.bsky.social @jandevries.bsky.social @watertoland.bsky.social

Stefan A. Rensing @rensingstefan.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Very happy and proud to share the #Spirogyra genome: 50 Mbp small, lacking almost all plastid division proteins and many transcription factors. Kudos to all the many people involved in this multi year project! @jandevries.bsky.social @watertoland.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Emmy Noether grant for biologist Sofia Doello www.bio.lmu.de/en/latest-ne...

Emmy Noether grant for biologist Sofia Doello

The researcher will use the prestigious grant to investigate how microorganisms reactivate their metabolism after prolonged dormancy.

bio.lmu.de

New paper published! A couple of years ago, German Sepulvada found that there were Alternaria growing as endophytes in Tillandsia plants in the Atacama! We show that they are very similar to the Alternaria atra isolate we found as a pathogen on wild tomato! link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Alternaria atra from distinct ecological contexts share functional genomic repertoires - Mycological Progress

Fungi, particularly ascomycetes, exhibit diverse ecological lifestyles, including endophytism, pathogenicity, and saprotrophy. Species of the genus Alternaria are taxonomically and ecologically divers...

link.springer.com

How do plants prepare for an attack?🌱 A team led by Hans-Henning Kunz @kunzlab.bsky.social identified ion channels in chloroplasts that play a key role in connecting early stress signaling with the plant’s defense machinery. This can help them to respond faster & more strongly when stress returns.

Important role of plastid ion channels in plant stress response identified

LMU researchers have shown that specific ion channels enable rapid transmission of calcium signals to chloroplasts and strengthen the defense response to recurring stress.

lmu.de

📣 Metabolomics expert position at @ceplas.bsky.social part part of the CEPLAS Academic Expert Career Programme (tenure-track). karriere.hhu.de/index.php?ac...

New preprint online! We sequenced several hundred Zymoseptoria isolates from different fields through a field epidemic to ask what really drives short-term evolution. Fungicide selection or seasonal epidemic progression? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Standing genetic variation buffers field populations of Zymoseptoria tritici against seasonal and fungicide selection

### Competing Interest Statement AT was funded by BASF under a formal scientific collaboration agreement. BASF did not exert control over the data collection, analysis, or interpretation of results. ...

biorxiv.org

I am delighted to announce that The Department of Human Genetics at the University of Utah is continuing a multi-year recruiting initiative for multiple tenure-track faculty positions at the rank of Assistant Professor. Please share and consider applying! utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/208...

Landscape of plastid DNA breaks in Arabidopsis during development and environmental stimulus (Wenjie Wang , Chengxia Zheng , Kuan Li , Qianwen Sun) doi.org/10.1093/plce... #PlantScience @aspbofficial

Landscape of plastid DNA breaks in Arabidopsis during development and environmental stimulus

The integrity of the plastid genome declines with plant development, and low temperature and short photoperiod could alleviate ptDNA breaks.

doi.org

Chloroplast stress caused by maltose hyperaccumulation activates chlorophagy via the core autophagy machinery (Sakuya Nakamura , Mayumi Wakazaki , et al) doi.org/10.1093/plph... #PlantScience @aspbofficial

Validate User

doi.org

🧬 New preprint from our lab! After years of work, we're excited to share our story: the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHc) — best known for feeding the TCA cycle — has a second, non-catalytic role supporting mitochondrial DNA gene expression in yeast.

New PEC story 🌱 led by PhD cand Susi with amazing collabs Grimm, Hause & Robatzek labs! We patch-clamped isolated plastids to show that PECs mediate rapid cation flux across the IE. PECs relay Ca²⁺ signals into plastids & link Ca²⁺ to JA-mediated defense. #plantscience www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Congratulations to Susanne, Henning @kunzlab.bsky.social and the team on this exciting new publication in @pnas.org 🎉🌱 Insightful work connecting plastid ion channels, Ca+ signalling, hormone biology, and plant immunity! 👏 doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

PLASTID ENVELOPE ION CHANNELS (PEC1/2) link Ca2+ and jasmonic acid signaling in plant cells | PNAS

Plants constantly encounter adverse environmental interactions. One organelle is particularly specialized in stress signaling and phytohormone synt...

doi.org

PLASTID ENVELOPE ION CHANNELS (PEC1/2) link Ca2+ and jasmonic acid signaling in plant cells | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... @pnas.org

Huge congrats to Dr Loz Rourke on her latest paper🎉 In ISMEJ we identify BicA2, a molecular gateway for carbon uptake in the globally dominant Prochlorococcus genus. Prochlorococcus contributes ~4% of global carbon assimilation, meaning BicA2 function has global implications for carbon uptake 🌊 🌏

Heterologous expression in E. coli reveals that bicarbonate transporter BicA2 mediates carbon uptake in marine Prochlorococcus spp.

Abstract. The widespread oceanic cyanobacterial Prochlorococcus genus is a major contributor to global carbon fixation, yet mechanisms enabling this lineag

academic.oup.com

After ~30 years of transforming Agro with the freeze-thaw method, I finally directly compared resuspending in CaCl2 versus LB. LB aliquots gave ~3x as many colonies.

About 500 plant scientists from all #PlantSci disciplines will meet at our international #BT2026 conference at @ruhr-uni-bochum.de from 6th to 10th September 2026.

Interested in the molecular basis how the plant cell adapts to changes in cell wall biochemistry? Check out the recent paper in Nat Plants by two former truly gifted Ph.D. students Rodion Boikine, Ajeet Chaudhary (@ajeetchaudhary.bsky.social) and collaborators. Cool stuff if I may say so.

Our new study on plant light harvesting complexes (LHCII) is live 🎉 We found that complexes engaged in energy dissipation show enhanced fluorescence intermittency ("blinking"). This links a native photoprotective state in plants (qH) to the fluorescence dynamics of individual antenna complexes 🌱✨

bioRxiv Plant Bio@biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · last wk.

Sustained photoprotection involves enhanced fluorescence intermittency in a subpopulation of LHCII https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.24.746725v1

Impressive work from @saschalaubinger.bsky.social and colleagues, describing molecular and phenotypic footprints of climate in transcriptomes of native Arabidopsis thaliana. #plantscience www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

😲Wow, big effort by: Liu, Z., Li, Z., Wang, Y. et al. Cell-type specific early perception of nine phytohormones revealed by single-nucleus transcriptomics in Arabidopsis. Nat Commun (2026). doi.org/10.1038/s414...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

The chloroplast CLP chaperone-protease system controls the steady-state abundance of the singlet oxygen sensors EXCUTER 1 and 2

### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. U.S. National Science Foundation, MCB-2322813 NIH Common Fund, T32GM138826

biorxiv.org

A stress response can be a great starting point for discovering new biology! By following genes regulated during the chloroplast unfolded protein response, we’re discovering novel factors involved in chloroplast homeostasis. Here’s the first one we characterized: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

VIA1 is a conserved regulator of thylakoid membrane integrity that acts through VIPP1 | PNAS

Thylakoid membranes are indispensable for oxygenic photosynthesis, yet the mechanisms that protect these membranes from photooxidative damage remai...

pnas.org

Light up your space with glowing houseplants www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Light up your space with glowing houseplants - Nature Biotechnology

Nature Biotechnology - Light up your space with glowing houseplants

nature.com

A research team led by the universities of Münster, @unihannover.bsky.social & @unihalle.bsky.social (funded by @dfg.de) has shown that the mitochondria, the “powerhouses” of cells, are already ready for action in dry plant seeds. Their structure is fully developed and their “machinery” is complete.

Researchers unravel energy boost during seed germination

A research team led by the universities of Münster, Hanover, and Halle has shown that the mitochondria, the “powerhouses” of cells, are already ready for action in dry plant seeds. Their internal stru...

uni-muenster.de

OEF18 is a membrane-anchored organellar Ca2+ sensor linking calcium signaling to jasmonate-mediated defense and stress acclimation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.13.744648v1

Dry seeds are not waiting to build mitochondria—they come pre-packaged with cristae and full respiratory complexes. ⚡️🌱🌱🌱 Check out the updated growth-and-division model in @currentbiology.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...