New paper from the Hanson lab - KO of all 11 rbcS genes (!!) in tobacco to create a null line for rubisco engineering, plus resurrection of ancestral forms www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

An interesting and provocative preprint by the Johnson group that challenges the decades old hypothesis that PGR5-cyclic electron flow is required to balance ATP/NADPH requirements for carbon fixation @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social worth a read doi.org/10.1101/2025... #photosynthesis

Disequilibrium between chloroplast proton motive force and ATP levels in Arabidopsis

Current dogma holds that CO2 fixation by photosynthesis requires additional ATP production via PGR5-dependent cyclic electron transfer (PGR5-CET) to augment the NADPH and ATP produced by linear electr...

doi.org

Nice paper characterizing rubisco mutants www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

The fitness landscape of a Form II rubisco in a photosynthetic bacterium guides engineering of oxygen tolerance

Rubisco is an important but challenging protein engineering target. Fast and selective rubiscos could enhance photosynthesis in plants and accelerate biobased production processes. To facilitate engin...

biorxiv.org

#plantsynbio peeps, has anyone played around with cell penetrating peptides? some of the papers look fairly convincing for delivery of DNA e.g. 10.1021/acs.biomac.8b00323. but am curious why not used more widely. Viruses and agro are just easier for most applications?

🌱🚨 Funded PhD for UK students 🇬🇧🌿 Take a look at this Plant BioDesign Doctoral Training Program. Come work with me and @michaelwebster.bsky.social to study plant rubiscos. High throughput biochem at Cambridge and Cryo-EM techniques at the John Innes Centre. www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Engineering plant rubisco enzymes through high-throughput enzyme assays and cryo-EM (Plant BioDesign Cambridge project) at University of York on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Engineering plant rubisco enzymes through high-throughput enzyme assays and cryo-EM (Plant BioDesign Cambridge project) at University of York, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

Very excited to finally share my PhD paper, about advancing #chloroplast #synbio through high-throughput plastome engineering of #Chlamydomonas. Huge thanks to the whole team! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A modular high-throughput approach for advancing synthetic biology in the chloroplast of Chlamydomonas - Nature Plants

This study reports a modular-cloning-based platform for high-throughput chloroplast engineering in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii that allows large-scale characterization of genetic parts and prototyping o...

nature.com

Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology@mpimicrobiomarburg.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Turbo platform for plant research 🚀🪴 Extreme weather events due to #climatechange reduce crop yields. @reneinckemann.bsky.social & team led by Tobias Erb @synmikro.bsky.social has now developed a microalgae platform for fast and efficient tests of chloroplast gene variants s.gwdg.de/hznfNe

I have a PhD studentship available to work on PIF proteins in wheat with Stephen Pearce @rothamsted.bsky.social and @colleendrapek.bsky.social at Phytoform labs. Any reposts greatly appreciated.

Very happy to share that this paper is now online on @currentbiology.bsky.social !! 🥳🧪 Check out the final published verion here: www.cell.com/current-biol... #mimuluspropaganda

Spatiotemporal dynamics of CYCLOIDEA expression during early floral development in monkeyflower

Bilateral floral symmetry is a repeated evolutionary innovation governed by the CYCLOIDEA-dependent program, yet how the dorsal-specific CYC expression is initiated and maintained remains elusive. Min...

cell.com

闵娅(Min Ya; Minya) PhD@minyaaa.bsky.social · 12mo ago

I’m proud to present the main work from my postdoc, 3+ years in making from scratch, my ultimate #MimulusPropaganda up till now: The Moment That Symmetry Breaks. #plantscience #development #imaging #microscopy 🧪🌸🔬 w. Captain Yaowu & @biancatash.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

New preprint - it has been my sad duty to help get this out after the passing of Steve Long and Amy Marshall-Colon. Testing combined effects of VPZ phenotype and eCO2 in soy (attempt to mimic improving both light use efficiency and CO2 assimilation). What exactly VPZ is doing remains unclear 1/n

Work started by Don Ort's lab. How is rubisco activase regulated? There are suggestions that phosphorylation acts redundantly with redox to control activity. This paper shows if it does, this is likely limited to Arabidopsis. The role of PTMs (if any) in regulating Rca is still unclear #plantsci

Journal of Experimental Botany@jxbotany.bsky.social · 9mo ago

@jghodge.bsky.social @leakey77.bsky.social @sjb287.bsky.social

Pls help: I've read in several papers about use of kits from "Genmed Scientifics" which is quoted as a US based company, although the city quoted varies. No amount of Google searching can actually find this company, or the kits. Does anyone know what this is? I don't think it's fraud, but its weird

The @uncchapelhill.bsky.social Department of Biology is searching for tenure-track Assistant Professor in Plant Molecular Biology. Chapel Hill is a wonderful place and Biology is an amazing group of people. To apply, see: unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/307...

🚨 Please repost widely!🚨 I am recruiting a PhD student to join my lab next fall to work on forest and climate change ecology projects in southern Appalachia! Come join me in one of the most beautiful, biodiverse, and understudied parts of North America. Details below and happy to answer questions

Interesting read -10.1093/plphys/kiaf465 "Allelic variants of IRKI contribute to photosynthetic efficiency by regulating rubisco activase in Populus" there is a lot we don't know about regulation of photosynthesis here a receptor like kinase interacting protein has a role @plantphys.bsky.social

New #PhD opportunities! NorthWestBio projects now online for 2026! Including a #photosynthesis project w/ @marjorielundgren.bsky.social looking at how photosynthetic diversity may affect future crop nutrient quality. Plant projects and the full set of projects available here: tinyurl.com/529yz4jd

FindAPhD : NorthWestBio Fully Funded Doctoral Training Programme Studentship 2026 at University of Glasgow

Apply for a PhD: NorthWestBio Fully Funded Doctoral Training Programme Studentship 2026 at University of Glasgow

tinyurl.com

We really enjoyed putting together this Darwin Review for JXB. Fun to think about how carboxysomes work and why plants don't have them. @jxbotany.bsky.social Function, Evolution, and Future of Carboxysomes url: academic.oup.com/jxb/article-...

The Function, Evolution, and Future of Carboxysomes

Abstract. Since their discovery as rubisco-containing compartments more than 50 years ago, significant breakthroughs have advanced our understanding of car

academic.oup.com

Just came across this paper "Dual-cycle CO2 fixation enhances growth and lipid synthesis..." www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Dual-cycle CO2 fixation enhances growth and lipid synthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana

Carbon fixation through the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle accounts for the majority of carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake from the atmosphere. The CBB cycle generates C3 carbohydrates but is inefficient ...

science.org

I'm deeply saddened. A tireless champion of plant #synbio and man of integrity. His insistence on focusing on real-world problems, calling out BS and bringing together lab and Ag, industry and academia will be sorely missed

Catalin Voiniciuc@cvoiniciuc.bsky.social · 11mo ago

With deep sadness, we announce the passing of Dr. Andrew Hanson, C.V. Griffin Sr. Eminent Scholar in the Horticultural Sciences Department at the University of Florida. To participate in a video montage honoring Dr. Hanson, please record & share a memory by Sept 9: ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

We are hiring! The #PlantBio department at UIUC is looking to recruit an Assistant Professor in Plant-Fungal interactions. Application deadline is October 31st @dallingjim.bsky.social see the link below for more details: illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

Big news from the Demirer lab: first 4 research papers are preprinted! Check them out, feedback welcomed: eCIS for plant protein delivery: tinyurl.com/mrx4d878 R2 for targeted insertion: tinyurl.com/5n73za6h Transient expression: tinyurl.com/38p2ud6w Chemotaxis assay: tinyurl.com/3nw9haes More ⬇️

👉 my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru... Join us and be part of shaping the future of #plantscience at Oxford as we move to the new Life and Mind Building lifeandmind.web.ox.ac.uk/home (recognised for its potential to change the World edition.cnn.com/2025/01/01/s...) @biology.ox.ac.uk www.biology.ox.ac.uk

A great example of how comparative genomics across the full range of vascular plant lineages can be used as a catalyst for gene discovery! Exciting new single cell datasets for gymnosperms, ferns and lycophytes! The scale of this study is really amazing! www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

A unified cell atlas of vascular plants reveals cell-type foundational genes and accelerates gene discovery

A cross-species single-cell atlas highlights a core subset of cell-type foundational genes associated with major vascular plant cell types, enabling the identification of hidden cell types and the dev...

cell.com

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Assembly-dependent translational feedback regulation of photosynthetic proteins in land plants - Nature Plants

Algae fine-tune protein synthesis to assembly demands of photosynthetic complexes. In land plants, this feedback control is conserved in Rubisco and partly in photosystem II, but varies or is absent i...

nature.com

#PlantScience

a small tree in a pot is dancing with its arms outstretched

Alt: a small tree in a pot is dancing with its arms outstretched

media.tenor.com

Oregon State University Botany and Plant Pathology@osubpp.bsky.social · 12mo ago

The Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University is Hiring! We are searching for a Director of the Oregon State University Herbarium and applications are welcomed at the ranks of assistant, associate, or full professor.

I’m proud to present the main work from my postdoc, 3+ years in making from scratch, my ultimate #MimulusPropaganda up till now: The Moment That Symmetry Breaks. #plantscience #development #imaging #microscopy 🧪🌸🔬 w. Captain Yaowu & @biancatash.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

This preprint from Helen Sakharova is one of the coolest things to come out of my lab: “Protein language models reveal evolutionary constraints on synonymous codon choice.” Codon choice is a big puzzle in how information is encoded in genomes, and we have a new angle. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Protein language models reveal evolutionary constraints on synonymous codon choice

Evolution has shaped the genetic code, with subtle pressures leading to preferences for some synonymous codons over others. Codons are translated at different speeds by the ribosome, imposing constrai...

biorxiv.org

A truly enabling new approach by @taralowensohn.bsky.social Will Cody and @sattelylab.bsky.social to probe plant genetics at scale. Single-gene-per-cell delivery coupled to an effective transcriptional selection system www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Fantastic new paper by @reeserichardson.bsky.social et al. An enormous amount of work showing the extent of coordinated scientific fraud and involvement of some editors. The number of fraudulent publications grows at a rate far outpacing that of legitimate science. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Reese Richardson@reeserichardson.bsky.social · last yr.

Today, our article "The entities enabling scientific fraud at scale are large, resilient, and growing rapidly" is finally published in PNAS. I hope that it proves to be a wake-up-call for the whole scientific community. reeserichardson.blog/2025/08/04/a...

Great to see our collaborative study with Ed Cahoon and colleagues on the front cover of PBJ, describing our successful efforts to engineer the accumulation of astaxanthin in GM camelina seeds. Astaxanthin is a ketocarotenoid that is a powerful antioxidant & used in aquaculture feeds as a pigment.

Lots of talk about teaching yesterday at #PlantBio2025. A few resources that might be useful. 1) From LUCA to Lily: 12 perspectives for teaching about plants blog.aspb.org/from-luca-to...

From LUCA to Lily: 12 perspectives for teaching about plants | Plant Science Today

The other day I was talking to a friend about the need to demystify plants, so that teachers feel as confident in their teaching of plant biology as they do about animal biology. I wonder if sometimes...

blog.aspb.org