PLEASE SHARE! New job openings in my lab @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social. We have a broad interest into the mechanistic basis of how molecular complexes are rewired during cellular development in plants and during invasion by pathogens. 🌱🍄🔬 See details below 👇 #PlantSciJobs

With a bit of delay, but my latest work on engineering a sensor for plant proteolysis was published online in The Plant Cell (1/5).

TIRs are key regulators of plant immunity, but the role of conserved TIR-only proteins has remained unclear. Here, we compare TIR-only proteins from Arabidopsis and barley and show that they share a conserved role in plant immunity. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Conserved TIR-only proteins drive transcriptional defense and basal immunity in dicot and monocot plants

Toll/interleukin-1/resistance (TIR) domain NADase enzymes signal in plant immunity by producing ribosylated nucleotide second messengers which activate EDS1 dimer-helper NLR pathways to restrict patho...

biorxiv.org

So proud to see this story finally out!🎉 We added new data since our previous preprint—transgenic barley plants with an engineered immune receptor that fights off two fungal pathogens at once. Short 🧵 and link to the original preprint thread on X👇 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Molecular mimicry of a pathogen virulence target by a plant immune receptor

Plants and animals respond to pathogen attack by mounting innate immune responses that require intracellular nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) proteins. These immune receptors detect pathog...

science.org

Molecular mimicry of a pathogen virulence target by a plant immune receptor | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Molecular mimicry of a pathogen virulence target by a plant immune receptor

Plants and animals respond to pathogen attack by mounting innate immune responses that require intracellular nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) proteins. These immune receptors detect pathog...

science.org

Fungi deploy antimicrobial proteins (AMPs) to compete with microbes, including bacteria. But can bacteria fight back? We @teamthomma.bsky.social found that some AMP-sensitive bacteria can repress AMP deployment, suggesting an unrecognized bacterial–fungal arms race. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

So, the ancestral antimicrobial function of 424Y proteins supports diverse fungal lifestyles through microbial antagonism. In plant pathogens, acquisition of an NLS enabled them to also manipulate host immunity. A clear example that immunomodulatory effectors evolved from ancient antimicrobials!

🎉 📰 Very happy to share the journal publication of our manuscript "Plant-associated fungi co-opt ancient antimicrobials for host manipulation"! #ScienceAdvancesResearch @science.org @teamthomma.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Plant-associated fungi co-opt ancient antimicrobials for host manipulation

Fungal effectors may have evolved from ancient antimicrobials, shaping plant microbiota and immunity during infection.

science.org

New pre-print from the lab! We show that the subtilase SBT12a is essential for symbiosome stabilization in Medicago. Using HUNTER proteomics, we even got some of its substrates. Have a look. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

It was a pleasure to host you, @marischuster.bsky.social. Thank you for all the inspiring scientific discussions and sharing your protease fascination with us.

Mariana Schuster@marischuster.bsky.social · 5mo ago

I was honored to be invited by the postdocs at the University of Zürich for a visit and a talk. The full schedule was far too short for so much great science and Zürich in spring is just lovely. Special thanks to @giurassicpark.bsky.social for the impeccable organization!

📣 NEW PREPRINT 📝 We identified evolutionary origins of many fungal effectors! We show that fungi secrete lots of antimicrobial proteins, and that some of them were repurposed by plant pathogens for host immune suppression. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... cc @teamthomma.bsky.social

Plant-associated fungi co-opt ancient antimicrobials for host manipulation

Evolutionary histories of effector proteins secreted by fungal pathogens to mediate plant colonization remain largely elusive. While most functionally characterized effectors modulate plant immunity, ...

biorxiv.org

Coming back from 5 days of great science at #2025ISMPMI, I wanted to share some of my highlights, and particularly to mention my favourite presentations by early career researchers. A thread 🧵 ⬇️

«Nothing in plant-microbe interactions makes sense except in the light of microbe-microbe interactions » @teamthomma.bsky.social #2025ISMPMI

Parker Group alumni, from the early 2000s to 2025, the best folks! Grateful for everyone who helped shape the science over the years #2025ISMPMI Thanks @federicalocci.bsky.social for taking the picture

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Up next at #2025ISMPMI @kseniakrasileva.bsky.social discussing work on protein language model for receptor engineering.

Happy to meet you at poster no. P-405 and to talk about my project at #2025ISMPMI this afternoon! 🌿

Şuayb Üstün@suaybuestuen.bsky.social · last yr.

If you wanna dive into the world of #proteostasis and its role in plant immunity, visit @margotraffeiner.bsky.social poster (P-405) today. She discovered a novel proteotoxicity regulator (a protease with ubiquitin binding capacities) that plays a role in biotic and abiotic stresses! #2025ISMPMI

#2025ISMPMI my poster is up! If you are interested in how a family of plant endogenous peptides can act as both signaling and antimicrobial peptides, pass by my poster P-222 on Thursday afternoon.

My poster is up at #2025ISMPMI. Come by P-372 Thursday afternoon if you are interested in fungal evolution, effectors and microbial competitions! More research by @teamthomma.bsky.social at P-091, P-170, P-299, P-317, P-337 and P-388.

🧪⚔️ When a fungal effector tries to coexist with plant apoplastic bacteria My poster’s not up until Thursday, but you can already check it out on Zenodo 👀 📎 zenodo.org/records/1585... 🧾 Poster P-166, Thur 17th, 1:30 pm #2025ISMPMI

Great talk at #2025ISMPMI by @federicalocci.bsky.social on a TN protein in systemic resistance. So happy to catch up on @parkergroup.bsky.social projects!

I am looking for a (bio)chemist to join the lab and help us making affinity-based probes for proteases! The project is truly interdisciplinary with a strong computational chemistry component, peptide synthesis and plant biochemistry! Text me if interested and please spread the word!

IPB Halle@ipbhalle.bsky.social · last yr.

📣We offer a #PhDposition @dfg.de-funded #RTG2670 BEAM: "Beyond Amphiphilicity - Self-Organization of Soft Matter via Multiple Noncovalent Interactions" with @marischuster.bsky.social. 🔗More: www.ipb-halle.de/en/career/jo... 📅Apply now! #MolecularModelling #Proteases #SciJobs #PhDjobs

We are happy to announce another PhD success at @mpipz.bsky.social! 🎉 Dr. Henriette Läßle has passed her viva in Jane Parkers’s lab. Huge congrats, Dr. Läßle, and best of luck with your next steps! 🚀🌱🎓 #PhDSuccess #PlantScience #PhDone

We're looking for a postdoc to join the lab to work on cell-to-cell communication via the apoplast. Candidate must be brave, as they will have to lead us (me) away from the plasmodesmata-lands we've inhabited for so long! www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/po...

Postdoctoral Researcher (Faulkner Group) | John Innes Centre

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the Faulkner Group at the John Innes Centre, working on cutting-edge science in the field of Cell & Developmental Biology.

jic.ac.uk

Are you interested in receptor kinase signalling and plant immunity? We have several positions open to join our team at @thesainsburylab.bsky.social in Norwich. #plantscience #mpmi #plantimmunity #sceincejobs Please get in touch if you have questions 1/5