Florent Waltz
@florentwaltz.bsky.social
SNSF Ambizione Project Leader Looking at tiny frozen mitochondria with big microscopes 🔬 cryoEM/cryoET Green organisms 🌿 & evolution 🦠 Biozentrum, hosted in the Engel Lab, CH 🇫🇷 -> 🇩🇪 -> 🇨🇭 Website: https://www.waltzresearch.com/
One cell, one tomogram! Our montage tomography workflow, MOSAIC, is out in Structure, and MontageMaker is on GitHub! MOSAIC: www.cell.com/structure/fu... MontageMaker: github.com/MPI-Dortmund... Big thanks to @maikaboiero.bsky.social, Adriana Prajica, Gavin Rice, and @raunser-lab.bsky.social!
New OA Article: "Chloroplast-encoded small subunit extensions reshape the Chlamydomonas chlororibosome" rdcu.be/fwoSj In situ cryo-electron tomography reveals a unique ‘arm’ domain on the small subunit of Chlamydomonas chlororibosomes. #PlantScience
🚨 There is only 1 week left 🚨, if you want to submit your #plantsci poster abstract for #BT2026, the International #plantsci Conference of our @plantsciencedbg.bsky.social (DBG) 🗓️ 6 -10 Sept 2026 📍in Bochum, Germany ⏰Deadline is 3rd August 2026 botanik-tagung.de/abstract-sub...
1/7 New preprint: we found that Chlamydomonas carries a giant and unexpectedly elaborate chloroplast RNA polymerase with 12 previously unknown subunits, overturning the idea that the complexity of this organellar enzyme emerged during plant terrestrialization! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
The structure of a 2-MDa chloroplast RNA polymerase reveals unexpected evolutionary complexity
Transcription in chloroplasts depends on the Plastid-Encoded RNA polymerase (PEP), a bacterial-derived enzyme whose catalytic core remains encoded by the highly reduced genome inherited from the cyano...
biorxiv.org
The artist formerly known as #thatmitoriboguy has now become #thatchlororiboguy Check out some cool tomo from @florentwaltz.bsky.social @phaips.vd.st
Florent Waltz@florentwaltz.bsky.social · last wk.This story is now published in @natplants.nature.com ! 🎉🎩 Check out the final article here: nature.com/articles/s41477-026-02361-1 Very similar to the original bioRxiv preprint, with the addition of some cool polysome analysis (in the supplementals)! Thanks and congrats to everyone involved! 🙏
This story is now published in @natplants.nature.com ! 🎉🎩 Check out the final article here: nature.com/articles/s41477-026-02361-1 Very similar to the original bioRxiv preprint, with the addition of some cool polysome analysis (in the supplementals)! Thanks and congrats to everyone involved! 🙏
Chloroplast-encoded small subunit extensions reshape the Chlamydomonas chlororibosome - Nature Plants
Using in situ cryo-electron tomography, researchers found a unique ‘arm’ domain on the small subunit of Chlamydomonas chlororibosomes. This discovery suggests that chlororibosome structure is more evo...
nature.com
Florent Waltz@florentwaltz.bsky.social · 6mo agoLong in the making, but happy to present the Chlamydomonas chlororibosome! Cryo-ET🔬reveals a large new domain on the small subunit, built from multiple extensions in conserved ribosomal proteins. bioRxiv 📖: shorturl.at/q44tG This suggests greater chlororibosome diversity than expected! 1/n 🧵
Some bacteria do not live as individuals. They build multicellular filaments and connect neighboring cells through tiny cell-cell junctions. Cyanobacteria are among the most beautiful examples 😍 In our new paper, we reveal first molecuar insights on the cyanobacterial septal junction architecture 🧵
Big boyyyyyy
Sophia Paul@sophia-pa.bsky.social · 4w agoExcited to share my paper! 🥳 Today in #Nature we reveal an 8 MDa Hdr electron bifurcating super-assembly in class I methanogens that couples the first and last steps of hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. A lineage-specific adaptation to anaerobic niches. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Excited to share my paper! 🥳 Today in #Nature we reveal an 8 MDa Hdr electron bifurcating super-assembly in class I methanogens that couples the first and last steps of hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. A lineage-specific adaptation to anaerobic niches. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Super excited to launch this search for a new endowed professor at the @biozentrum.unibas.ch! Join us to build a research cluster in Climate Biophysics! 🌍🌊🌾🔬🧪 This is a unique opportunity to create a community in Basel🇨🇭working together on this timely topic! ⏳🌡️ Questions? Please reach out! 👩🔬👨🔬
Biozentrum, University of Basel@biozentrum.unibas.ch · last mo.New Assistant (tenure-track) or Associate Professor position in Climate #Biophysics! Join our international research community to explore fundamental molecular mechanisms underlying climate-relevant biological processes. Apply by 7 Sept 2026! www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/de/open-posi...
Oh man ... how are we going to deposit that (230+ chains). And there's a another with more 🥲... #DepositionNightmare #CryoEM #CryoET
If you like cilia, go work with my friend Caitie! 👸🏼🥳🔬 Also, guaranteed unlimited lab snacks 🍬🍫🥨🥯
Caitie McCafferty@computingcaitie.bsky.social · last mo.Happy to finally share that I will be starting my independent group at the @fmiscience.bsky.social in Feb 2027 in a vibrant new environment. We will use integrative in situ structural cell biology methods to investigate ciliary structure and dynamics in several model (and non-model 👀) systems!!
Happy to finally share that I will be starting my independent group at the @fmiscience.bsky.social in Feb 2027 in a vibrant new environment. We will use integrative in situ structural cell biology methods to investigate ciliary structure and dynamics in several model (and non-model 👀) systems!!
We're hiring a PhD candidate! 🔬 Are you fascinated by cytoplasmic genetics and eager to uncover the mechanisms underlying maternal inheritance of plastids and mitochondria? If so, join our group and contribute to our ERC-funded research "CytoInP"!🌟 Application link: www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/p...
PhD position: Manipulating plastid and mitochondrial inheritance in plants
Our group investigates the maternal inheritance of plastid and mitochondrial genomes in plants, with the goal of uncovering the mechanisms that govern this process.
wur.nl
Congratulations to Gautam Dey (EMBL) and Omaya Dudin (University of Geneva) for being awarded the EMBO Gold Medal 2026 in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the #LifeSciences in Europe! 🧪 https://www.embo.org/press-releases/embo-gold-medal-2026-awarded-to-gautam-dey-and-omaya-dudin/
Our work is out now! (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...). We discover a selective autophagy pathway that protects plants from the mess caused by RNA viruses. Intrigued? Follow the spaghetti trail for a summary of our findings🧵-->
Selective autophagy fine-tunes plant immunity to promote cell survival during viral infection
RNA viruses co-opt host endomembranes to form replication complexes, often triggering cellular stress and immune responses. Here, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana activates selective autophagy to res...
science.org
Congratulations to Mariia for her presentation prize! 🥳🥳 Proud! 🥹
Mariia Melnik@mariiamelnik.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe 14th International Conference for Plant Mitochondrial Biology😍🍜🍀 My first trip to Japan and my first presentation award! Many thanks to the organizers, my supervisor, @florentwaltz.bsky.social, and our wonderful collaborators! I was happy to present my work in beautiful Kagoshima🌋
Multinucleate cells challenge deeply-held assumptions about complexity, ecological success and evolution. Postdoc extraordinaire and gifted writer @mrosjac.bsky.social tackles this subject with aplomb - tell us what you think! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @currentbiology.bsky.social
Multinucleation as a recurring evolutionary strategy for scaling and plasticity
Multinucleate cells — single cells containing multiple nuclei in a shared cytoplasm — are found across the eukaryotic tree of life. Having evolved ind…
sciencedirect.com
📣 #BT2026DBG abstract submission deadline May 31. Submit your abstracts soon! #PlantSci @plantsciencedbg.bsky.social
German Society for Plant Sciences (DBG)@plantsciencedbg.bsky.social · 3mo agoAbstract submission deadline is on 31st May 2026, if you want to present your #PlantSci research at this year’s International Conference of our German Society for Plant Sciences, the Botanik-Tagung 📆 6-10 September 2026 📍Bochum, Germany botanik-tagung.de/abstract-sub...
Abstract submission deadline is on 31st May 2026, if you want to present your #PlantSci research at this year’s International Conference of our German Society for Plant Sciences, the Botanik-Tagung 📆 6-10 September 2026 📍Bochum, Germany botanik-tagung.de/abstract-sub...
MissAlignment is out!!! Our new software that improves reference-free tilt series alignment by mimicking human intuition. Check out Dimitry's beautiful thread for a quick summary! And the preprint for more details: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... The program: github.com/warpem/miss-...
biorxiv.org
Dimitry Tegunov@dtegunov.bsky.social · 3mo agoWe're super excited to share MissAlignment: a new ML-based approach to reference-free tilt series alignment, spearheaded by @martenchaillet.bsky.social. We think it's going to make your cryo-ET life a lot better. Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Code: github.com/warpem/miss-... 🧶 Thread:
🎨🔬 Interested in the interface between Art & Science?🎨🔬 Check out my assay "Drawing conclusions" about how doodling and drawing catalyzed my scientific creativity link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Oh no it's that time again .... Rererererereprocess! Can't wait to try it !
Dimitry Tegunov@dtegunov.bsky.social · 3mo agoWe're super excited to share MissAlignment: a new ML-based approach to reference-free tilt series alignment, spearheaded by @martenchaillet.bsky.social. We think it's going to make your cryo-ET life a lot better. Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Code: github.com/warpem/miss-... 🧶 Thread:
1/ Excited to share our preprint! 🥳 Degradation of aromatic compounds, including BTEX pollutants, requires highly endergonic aromatic ring reduction. Using #cryoEM and in situ #cryoET, we show how BCRII couples electron bifurcation modules in one giant redox machine www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Across scales from cells🦠 to atoms⚛️ – We reveal how anaerobic #bacteria break down very stable aromatic compounds found e.g. in oil spills 🛢️ #Bioremediation #TeamTomo 🧪 🧶🧬 🔬 Awesome collab with Lena, Matthias, @schullerjm.bsky.social @rnfr2d2.bsky.social @tomaspascoa.bsky.social @tamb-o.bsky.social
Tomas Pascoa@tomaspascoa.bsky.social · 4mo ago1/ Excited to share our preprint! 🥳 Degradation of aromatic compounds, including BTEX pollutants, requires highly endergonic aromatic ring reduction. Using #cryoEM and in situ #cryoET, we show how BCRII couples electron bifurcation modules in one giant redox machine www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Coming back from the "traditional" yearly trip to Paris 🥖 Great scientific interactions at IBPC @bpm7099.bsky.social and SOLEIL synchrotron, plus the warm and sunny ☀️ weather, perfect combo! Our little sample Dewar even got it's own baby seat 💺 See you next time!
Hello everyone! If you want to make sure your paper is posted here, the bot scrapes for the following keywords in the title and abstract from bioRxiv and PubMed: -cryoem -cryo-em -cryogenic electron microscopy -cryoet -cryo-et -cryogenic electron tomography -structural biology
Check out this cool integrative structural biology story from my colleague @computingcaitie.bsky.social on mammalian cilia 🍟 Beautiful tomos of the ciliary base !
Caitie McCafferty@computingcaitie.bsky.social · 4mo agoI am excited to share our most recent work collaborating with @centriolelab.bsky.social and @stearnslab.bsky.social to look at the ciliary base of mammalian multiciliated cells w/ cryo-ET, XL/MS, and U-ExM www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
