Highly recommended EMBO Workshop on Plant Photobiology (ISPP2026) in Les Diablerets, Switzerland! (even if I may be slightly biased...) Registration open. We are very much looking forward to seeing you there! ⬇️
Location and date of the Molecular Biology of Plants Conference in Hennef, Germany, from 16 - 19 March 2026
#PlantSciConfi
Updated programme of the
Molecular Biology of Plants Conference
organized by @kunzlab.bsky.social et al.
is available on the website of our Section @molplantsci.bsky.social
www.pflanzen-molekularbiologie.de/en/conferenc...
⚙️Technical Advance
How are plasmodesmata distributed across tissues? 🌱
Davis et al. developed a 3D quantitative imaging pipeline to map pit fields at cell-type resolution in Arabidopsis roots.
They’re developmentally reallocated and spatially patterned by BR signaling.
👉 doi.org/10.1111/tpj.70726
Ich mag Radio als Medium sehr und so habe ich mich über die Einladung von @quarkswdr.bsky.social auch besonders gefreut.
In den ersten 40 min der gestrigen Sendung bei WDR5 haben wir über Neue Genomische Techniken und ihre geplante Regulierung gesprochen 🌾🧬✂️
www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/urn:...
👉 Positions in one of Germany's top plant science hubs!! #plantsci
Synthetic genomics (SynGen) has emerged as a new game-changing platform for future crop improvement by allowing the design and construction of designer-made plant genomes for sustainable agriculture. This chapter first discussed the conceptual and technological foundations of SynGen for future genome design. We investigated how SynGen is being applied to improve yield, stress tolerance, nutritional profile, metabolic pathway engineering, plant–microbe interactions, and to design minimal or fully synthetic plant genomes. Integration with multi-omics, biofoundries, and gene drives further expands its capability to fast-track future crop design. Nevertheless, widespread application encounters major technical, ethical, and regulatory challenges, along with some bottlenecks and implications of redesigned crops, which demand transparent governance and inclusive public dialogue. To address these issues, we propose that innovations in synthetic biology and public–private collaborations could assist in the design of future climate-smart, high-performance crops. In short, SynGen could serve as a game-changing approach that can help achieve global food security in the face of changing climate.
Happy to share our🆕 book chapter "Advances in #SyntheticGenomics🧬🧪✂️(SynGen) for Crop Improvement and Beyond🌾", published by @springernature.com 🤩🎉
🔗 link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...
✔️SynGen enables custom plant #genomes🧬 for #climate-resilient, sustainable #agriculture🪴🥗
@scinews.bsky.social
Plants use cell-surface and intracellular receptors that collaborate to detect pathogens🦠. We discovered that a key #ubiquitin recognition event recruits both receptor types into an unexpected dual receptor complex that boost the translation of defence proteins and establishes robust #PlantImmunity👇🏾
Know a brilliant early-career plant scientist? 🌱
Nominate them for one of DBG’s three prestigious science awards! #ecr #plantsci
👉Strasburger Prize
👉Pfeffer Prize
👉Wiehe Prize
www.deutsche-botanische-gesellschaft.de/en/actualia/...
Very impressive work identifying novel BIK1 substrates (and immunity players) in Arabidopsis 🔽!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Nikolas and I just published our insights on CLEs in plant–bio interactions. Too short to cover everything, but we hope it gets you also excited about these peptides. Thanks to @newphyt.bsky.social for the opportunity
One protein. One pathway. A whole germline fate.
New paper from my postdoc @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social out in PNAS:
Germline fate determination by a single ARGONAUTE protein in Ectocarpus www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Teaching Tools in Plant Biology Graphics highlighting several scientific images/figures.
📣 Check out the latest unit in the Teaching Tools in Plant Biology series, “Genomic Analysis of Botanical Collections: Opportunities and Challenges,” blog.aspb.org/new-teaching.... 🌱
#PlantScience
Fluorescent proteins (mTurquoise2, mEGFP, mCitrine, mScarlet-I) move between cells via plasmodesmata in the epidermis of Nicotiana benthamiana. (Image credit: Rory Greenhalgh, Jacob O. Brunkard.)
🌱 SPECIAL ISSUE EDITORIAL 🌱
🔬 Plasmodesmata (PD) are membrane-lined channels in cell walls 🔬
In this editorial, Brunkard & Burch-Smith shift focus from "which molecules move through PD?" to "which molecules are *prevented* from moving through PD?" 🔎
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪
Join UNESCO on 11 February 2026 for a global hybrid event celebrating women in science and shaping a future where science and gender equality advance together. Free to attend in person or online!
www.unesco.org/en/articles/...
On the left the synthesis and signaling pathways for brassinosteroid hormones is diagrammed. On the right are drawn several small molecule agonists and antogists of these pathways.
#PlantScience Research Weekly: January 16, 2026. plantae.org/plant-scienc...
Founders review by Asami, 40 years of research;
RUBY reporter review;
PYR1 as a platform for small-molecule sensing;
TaMYB-D7 signals nutrient status (1/2)
@ntnuchanlab.bsky.social
@flavia-darqui.bsky.social
What could be better than discussing single-stranded DNA viruses with an international community of experts and a trans-kingdom perspective — at an affordable prize?
Doing it in Bahia, Brazil! 🌴🌊☀️
Join us for IS3DV, June 15-19!
isdv2026.com
7th International Conference on Plant Molecular Farming. 13–15 May 2026. Valencia, Spain
@ispmf.bsky.social 2026
www.ispmf2026valencia.org
Wei Shi @wshisky.bsky.social & Merle‘s work is online. Wei really pushed this work from scratch and Merle linked it to MLA diversification…3rd (co-)first author paper in her PhD. Very proud PI!
And only possible through collaboration with G. Döhlemann, @grandpahiro.bsky.social &, Matt Platre. (1/x)
Four Images: A scientist in a lab looking at a pipetting robot, a greenhouse with lots of pots containing plants, a scientist with drones and other euipment in a field, and a tractor driver with lots of high-tech equipment in the cockpit. The text is: TalentCampus@KWS May 29, 2026 A look behind the scenes: All KWS research and development departments open their doors
The headline and text says: May 29, 2026 in Einbeck, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Seeding the future – breeding combines sciences and talents The image is a wheel showing all the R&D contributions to plant breeding, incl. Molecular Biology Experimental Fields Cell Biology Breeding Phytopathology Chemical Analytics Greenhouse Phenotyping Digitalization
Highlights of the program Information stands Breeders of our main crops explain their work From sowing to harvesting: all the special machines of a breeding station Digital tools for field trialing Root phenotyping: how roots grow in the soil Phenotyping with drones: multispectral from a bird's eye view Phytopathology: insects, fungi, nematodes and other pathogens Chemical Analytics and process analysis Catch crops - concepts for agriculture, soil health, CO2 balance Biological seed treatment Breeding technologies – data and genomics specialists support breeding Genome Editing: new breeding technologies and their application at KWS Regulatory Affairs: paving the way to approval From lab to market: how KWS protects intellectual property Marker lab: examine the DNA The art of engineering for seed production Career opportunities at KWS Hands-on activities The start of a new generation of varieties: crossing plants by hand Tissue culture: placing plant parts on a special diet in vitro Leaf harvest for the marker lab Live view of root growth: navigate a camera through the soil
If you're interested in #PlantScience R&D work at a plant breeding company: @kwsgroup.bsky.social is hosting its annual R&D TalentCampus here in Einbeck on May 29th.
More info here:
www.kws.com/corp/en/care...
Tracing evolution in Plants’ Transition to Land www.mpipz.mpg.de/5683322/pr-n...
@mpipz.bsky.social
Save the date: Plant Development PhD school (i.e. Retzbach 2.0) in Neustadt, Germany.
Sept 23rd-25th, 2026
~€350 all inclusive
Excellent speakers and a relaxed atmosphere for early-career researchers (PhDs & postdocs). Registration opens soon.
For more info, see
raissiglab.org/plantdevosch...
Great to have Sebastian Wolf from @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social visiting us today @uni-muenster.de ! Plant development at it’s best 🤩 🔬!
Join us in Norwich this July for the TSL Summer Conference in Plant-Microbe Interactions! ☀️🌱🧬
Discuss the latest approaches & discoveries in plant health with international keynote and local speakers.
APPLY by 30 March '26 ⬇️ Click link for more info
www.tsl.ac.uk/tsl-summer-c...
Did you ever wonder how a dividing cambium cell looks like and what determines its striking regular division? Xiomin Liu, PhD student in the lab, found out in a heroic histological approach. Fruitful collaboration with the group of Sabine Müller (@phragmoplast.bsky.social) doi.org/10.64898/202...
How can genome sequencing training foster more equitable global science? 🌍
An interview with doctoral researcher Catarina Lino on a hands-on plant genomics workshop in Zimbabwe - and what it means for North–South collaboration.
👉 tinyurl.com/9knhj92v
#PlantGenomics #ScienceCollaboration #maxplanck
The formation of different types of centromere remained unclear for a long time. An international research team led by the @leibnizipk.bsky.social examined this phenomenon by studying two lily-like plants. All results in @natcomms.nature.com
➡️PR: tinyurl.com/bdkjxvk6
➡️Paper: tinyurl.com/dab39e88
🍀🔬
Recent paper from Keitaro Tanoi sensei's lab at The University of Tokyo
SALT OVERLY SENSITIVE 1 Na+/H+ Exchanger Operates in Mature Root Zone and Is a Major Contributor to Root Na+ Exclusion During Shoot-to-Root Na+ Recirculation
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#PlantSciJobs #PlantSciJob
5 PhD positions: Molecular #PlantSci
In @mpi-mp-potsdam.bsky.social 's Int. MPI School #IMPRS together with @unipotsdam.bsky.social
Start: between June and December 2026
Deadline: 10 January 2026
www.deutsche-botanische-gesellschaft.de/en/job-openi...
Happy to share our latest paper: The symbiosome space needs to be continuously cleared from demethylated pectins to keep rhizobia happy. Former PostDoc Chao Su took this story with him when moving back to China and finished it off.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#PlantScience; @uni-freiburg.de
Infrared radiation is an ancient pollination signal www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
