Chia-Nan Tao

An unconventional Rubisco small subunit underpins the CO2-concentrating organelle in land plants In many algae, photosynthesis is boosted by biophysical CO2-concentrating mechanisms, which pack the CO2-fixing enzyme Rubisco into liquid-like organelles called pyrenoids. Engineering C3 crops with a...

Our work on #hornwort #pyrenoids is finally out in @science.org! 🎉 We uncovered how hornworts pack their Rubisco into pyrenoids and successfully recreated them in Arabidopsis. A key step toward engineering more efficient photosynthesis in crops @btiscience.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Photorespiration is linked to DNA methylation by formate as a one-carbon source - Nature Plants This study reveals that Arabidopsis reassimilates formate produced during photorespiration via the cytosolic folate cycle to fuel DNA methylation, forming a metabolic–epigenetic bridge that links elev...

Delighted to share our paper, out today in @natplants.nature.com

Not all “wasted” carbon is lost: formate released during photorespiration can be reused to support DNA methylation. Our work reveals a metabolic link between CO₂ levels and epigenetic regulation in Arabidopsis.
doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Molecular determinants underlying NPH3 condensation and function in phototropism: an integrative approach A C-terminal bipartite self-interaction motif drives NPH3 trimerization, membrane association, and assembly of phase-separated cytosolic condensates that a

Molecular determinants underlying NPH3 condensation and function in phototropism: an integrative approach (Prabha Manishankar , Atiara Fernandez , Leander Rohr , et al) doi.org/10.1093/plce... #PlantScience @aspbofficial

Gene body methylation buffers noise in gene expression in plants Abstract. Non-genetic variability in gene expression is an inevitable consequence of the stochastic nature of processes driving transcription and translati

Hot off the press, our latest publication on the functional role of gene body methylation (gBM).

academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

Work spearheaded by Jakub Zastapilo with help from @robynemm.bsky.social and Liudmila Mikheeva and co-led by Marco Catoni and @ubechtold.bsky.social 1/3

Epigenetic mechanisms linking mycorrhizal interactions and transgenerational responses.

#TansleyReview: #Mycorrhizas: Epigenetic Regulation & Transgenerational Legacy

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
by Beltrán-Torres et al.

@irissammarco.bsky.social @stephane-maury.bsky.social @vtec.bsky.social

Figure was created in BioRender (BioRender.com/8rq6i2c).

#transgenerational transmission of a core #microbiome that protects against downy mildew from soil to #phyllosphere

Fantastic and important study by @jellespooren.bsky.social @rlberendsen.bsky.social
@cornepieterse.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
#plantscience

A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...

How could a simple self-replicating system emerge at the origins of life? RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but existing ones are so large that their self-replication seems impossible. Could they be smaller?

Excited to share our latest work in @science.org on a new small polymerase.
1/n

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👇🏾

Please share!
PhD position (4 years) available in my group @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social. We look for candidates with solid aptitude in computer science to cross disciplines and use cutting edge imaging to understand host infection by destructive plant pathogens.
uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet...

Aging drives a program of DNA methylation decay in plant organs Plants display a wide range of life spans and aging rates. Although dynamic changes to DNA methylation are a hallmark of aging in mammals, it is unclear whether similar molecular signatures reflect ra...

Absolutely delighted that our paper on epigenetic dynamics during plant aging is out today in Science!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Developmental and abiotic stress assays in Columbia-0 (Col-0) and mutants (abi1-1 and defenseless).

Decoding plant defense signaling using the defenseless mutant

Baral and Brosché

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

orthogene: a Bioconductor package to easily map genes within and across hundreds of species www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #Rstats bioconductor.org/packages/ort...

New Article: "Root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita uses secondary-metabolite-mediated soil microbiome shifts to locate host plants" rdcu.be/eZLV0

A surprising ecological link between plant chemistry, soil microbes and parasite behaviour in the rhizosphere.

Book front cover with illustrations of fern leaves and the title: Ferns, lessons in survival from Earth’s most adaptable plants Written by: Fat-Wei Li and Jacob S. Suissa Illustrated by Laura Silburn

Looking for a new 📕 to read about plants??
I highly recommend the brilliant book ‘Ferns, Lessons in survival from Earth’s most adaptable plants’
Written by @fernway.bsky.social and Jacob Suissa with amazing illustrations by Laura Silburn
🌿 #FernFriday 🌿

Let's keep in touch: How membrane contact sites drive immune responses Inside every cell, a pulsating network of molecular messengers orchestrates life's most critical conversations. While vesicular trafficking facilitates lon

IN BRIEF: Let's keep in touch: How membrane contact sites drive immune responses (Sonhita Chakraborty) doi.org/10.1093/plce... #PlantScience @aspbofficial

Arboviruses manipulate rice’s volatile emissions, protecting insect vectors from natural enemies in the field Rice viruses modify plant volatiles to protect insect vectors from natural enemies.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The molecular basis of the binding and specific activation of rhizobial NodD by flavonoids The specific partnership between legumes and rhizobia relies on a chemical dialogue. Plant flavonoids activate the bacterial transcription factor NodD, which triggers production of Nod factors that ar...

In @science.org this week:
The interaction between flavonoids and rhizobial Nod factors during legume symbiosis

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#plantscience

New OA Article: "Rapid local and systemic jasmonate signalling drives the initiation and establishment of plant systemic immunity" rdcu.be/eYeUZ

Novel reporter captures spatial temporal dynamics of systemic immunity: signal propagation and establishment depend on JAs.

Crop pest responses to global changes in climate and land management - Nature Reviews Earth & Environment Crop yield losses to insect pests pose a risk to food security. This Review assesses global trends of crop pest prevalence associated with global environmental change, identifies the underlying ecolog...

www.nature.com/articles/s43...

The B-class auxin response factor MpARF2 is essential for meristem organization in free-living plant gametophytes Land plants (embryophytes) are multicellular eukaryotes with a remarkable capacity to grow continuously during their life span. They achieve this by m…

Out today... From Bowman lab, MpARF2 is the first essential transcription factor to be described for meristem maintenance in Marchantia. Glad to have contributed to another paper with Eduardo. #plantsciences #evodevo www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Undermining the cry for help: the phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae secretes an antimicrobial effector protein to undermine host recruitment of antagonistic Pseudomonas bacteria During pathogen attack, plants recruit beneficial microbes in a ‘cry for help’ to mitigate disease development. Simultaneously, pathogens secrete effectors to promote host colonisation through vario...

📣 Now announcing the journal publication 📄 of our work in @newphyt.bsky.social on how Verticillium undermines the plant's 🌱 "cry for help": terrific work by @antonkraege.bsky.social & @wolki95.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/nph....

There is a opening faculty position at Department of Horticulture and Landscape
Architecture, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, where I studied my undergraduate degree.

SALICYLIC ACID SENSOR1 reveals the propagation of an SA hormone surge during plant pathogen advance Salicylic acid (SA) is a key phytohormone that orchestrates immune responses against pathogens, including Pseudomonas syringae bacteria. The timing and extent of SA accumulation are tightly controlled...

FRET sensor for SA developed. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Lost and found: Reconstituting PRR immune function through co-receptor transfer Plant immune receptors hold great promise for engineering broad-spectrum disease resistance, but their effectiveness is very limited by restricted taxonomic functionality (RTF). In this issue of Cell ...

Lost & found: Reconstituting PRR immune function through co-receptor transfer

@isabelmonte.bsky.social highlights work revealing cross-species co-receptor transfer can overcome restricted taxonomic functionality in rice, pointing to strategies for crop protection
www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Single-cell multi-omic detection of DNA methylation and histone modifications reconstructs the dynamics of epigenomic maintenance - Nature Methods This work presents scEpi2-seq, a method for simultaneous single-cell profiling of DNA methylation and histone modifications, enabling direct investigation of the interplay between these two epigenomic marks.

Single-cell multi-omic detection of DNA methylation and histone modifications reconstructs the dynamics of epigenomic maintenance www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Neofunctionalized RGF pathways drive haustorial organogenesis in parasitic plants Plant peptide hormones regulate and induce the parasitic plant specialized organ for connecting to and feeding from the host.

Well done, Max! Neofunctionalized RGF pathways drive haustorial organogenesis in parasitic plants | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Pleased to share our new article in Cell Host & Microbe, a collaboration with the group of Zhong Wei at NJAU

Common mycorrhizal networks facilitate plant disease resistance by altering rhizosphere microbiome assembly

Free share link: authors.elsevier.com/c/1lnTD6t8JE...

✨Redefining epigenetic variation in evolution. Our @NaturePlants paper shows gene body DNA methylation as a major force shaping expression, traits, and adaptation in plants. Synergy with Shahzad @ShahzadZaigham & Zilberman Labs—congrats🎉. rdcu.be/eFRJy @MSU_PRI

Systematic discovery and engineering of synthetic immune receptors in plants Plants deploy a diverse array of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), which perceive microbe-associated molecular patterns to activate immune responses. Leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase subgr...

Very happy to share our latest work “Systematic discovery and engineering of synthetic immune receptors in plants” out in @science.org !

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Check out our new pre-print! ✨
We cloned AvrWTK4, the first wheat powdery mildew effector recognised by a tandem kinase protein, and show that an HMA-like integrated domain in WTK4 acts as pathogen decoy. Discover the whole story on bioRxiv ⬇️