Aleksandra Obrępalska-Stęplowska

With Eugene Koonin, we propose a concept of “the selfish ribosome”, under which evolution of life is viewed as a ribosomal takeover, where the ribosome evolved to consume most of the cell’s resources, while other cellular componentry ensures the propagation of the ribosome. arxiv.org/abs/2602.23268

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A tymczasem w Poznaniu na Jeżycach... taki oto mural.
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these novel cornflower partitiviruses appear regardless of resistance status. However, there are some differences in the bacterial microbiome. Several genera (e.g. Rothia) are more abundant in resistant plants
This is the first insight into #microbiome and #virome of herbicide-resistant cornflower

Insights Into Sequences of Viral and Bacterial Origin in the Metatranscriptome of Centaurea cyanus L. Susceptible and Resistant to Acetolactate Synthase (ALS)‐Inhibiting Herbicides Metatranscriptomic analysis of Centaurea cyanus revealed diverse plant-associated viral and bacterial sequences in herbicide-susceptible and -resistant biotypes. While novel partitiviruses occurred i...

Our first paper in 2026
We worked on cornflower (C. cyanus) and mined metatranscriptomes of susceptible vs highly herbicide-resistant plants and discovered seq of previously unknown viruses (tentatively named cornflower partitivirus 1 & 2)
enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Where is coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) produced? After decades of research, the new data show that FVIII comes from liver sinusoidal endothelial cells located in zones 2 and 3 of hepatic lobules in mice and humans, with minimal expression in Zone 1
@rkaczmarekdr.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/ydtaar2a

Can adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapies for hemophilia trigger tumorigenesis? Not really, as @rkaczmarekdr.bsky.social explains...

tinyurl.com/3wpfsw3p
#hemophilia

Holes in the Hologenome: Why Host-Microbe Symbioses Are Not Holobionts | mBio ABSTRACT The advent of relatively inexpensive tools for characterizing microbial communities has led to an explosion of research exploring the diversity, ecology, and evolution of microbe-host systems...

Rereading these two papers:

Holes in the hologenome: why host-microbe symbioses are not holobionts.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

The Hologenome Concept: Helpful or Hollow?
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

And I still find myself in general agreement with most of the points in them

The final version appeared today! Our paper on the expression of antigens belonging to the P1PK human blood group system in birds, and how they make them resistant to Shiga toxins.
tinyurl.com/bdv7zdaa

#glycotime

Wrocław, Odra River and A8 highway bridge.

📷Minolta X-300
🔘28-70 mm
🎞️Ilford FP4+

#BelieveInFilm
#turpism

Insect-Associated Bacteria Boost VOC Emissions, Including Benzenoids, Esters, Hydrocarbons, and Lactone, during Cereal Leaf Beetle Feeding on Wheat - Journal of Chemical Ecology Plant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) constitute part of the signal transmitted between plants, serving as defence molecules that repel plant pests or attract their natural enemies. Insect-associate...

Bacteria associated with beetle increase the plant's emission of VOCs, incl. GLVs and benzenoids.

The blend content & amount of induced VOCs in plants depends on the insect's developmental stage and the type of damage to the plant
#insect #holobiont
#microbiome
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Bacteria associated with the cereal leaf beetle act as the insect’s allies in adapting to protease inhibitors, but impair its development in laboratory condition - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Bacteria associated with the cereal leaf beetle act as the insect’s allies in adapting to protease inhibitors, but impair its development in laboratory condition

"As HOLOBIONTS, insects are associated with diverse microbiota (Bacteria, Archaea, eucaryotic microorganisms, and viruses) that affect their fitness (positively or negatively)." Sidenote: microbes that do not impact fitness are also part of the holobiont www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Ally or adversary?

Insect #symbionts contribute to insect adaptation to protease inhibitors but impair their development and survival in suboptimal laboratory conditions

Results of #NCN Preludium by my former PhD, Beata
#beetle #proteaseinhibitors #insectmicrobes

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

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...

SALICYLIC ACID SENSOR1 reveals the propagation of an SA hormone surge during plant pathogen advance | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia impedes Bacillus biocontrol of tomato wilt disease by degrading its lipopeptide antibiotics Abstract. Harnessing antibiotic-producing microorganisms that antagonize pathogens represents a sustainable approach for plant disease management. However,

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia impedes Bacillus biocontrol of tomato wilt disease by degrading its lipopeptide antibiotics

-in #ISMEJournal

academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...

RNA virus infection and host immune responses The India I EMBO Lecture Course on “RNA virus infection and host immune responses” addresses cutting-edge research in emerging and reemerging RNA viruses, with particular emphasis on fundamental infe…

Interested in attending the EMBO Lecture Course, entitled "RNA virus infection and host immune responses," hosted in Faridabad, India, on 11 – 14 February 2026?

sign up here:
meetings.embo.org/event/26-rna...

RNAcanvas: interactive drawing and exploration of nucleic acid structures Abstract. Two-dimensional drawing of nucleic acid structures, particularly RNA structures, is fundamental to the communication of nucleic acids research. H

🧪 #RNAsky

If you aren’t using RNAcanvas to draw your RNA structures and explore alternative structures, you are missing out! 56 citations in a year, with multiple ones in top journals like Nature, Science & Cell. Easy to use and packed with unique features! Try it!

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

Divergent viral phosphodiesterases for immune signaling evasion Cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs) and other short oligonucleotides play fundamental roles in immune system activation in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. In response, viruses use phosphodiesterase...

Excited to share our new preprint co-led by @jnoms.bsky.social!

Here we reveal an exceptional diversity of viral 2H phosphodiesterases (PDEs) that enable immune evasion by selectively degrading oligonucleotide-based messengers. This 2H PDE fold has evolved striking substrate breath & specificity.

Ancient hybridization underlies tuberization and radiation of the potato lineage Genomic and functional analyses reveal that the potato lineage originated from a homoploid interspecific hybridization event between the Tomato and Etuberosum lineages 8–9 million years ago. The alter...

So actually potato comes from tomato! 🤯🤯
A cross between a Solanum and a tuberosum derived in the actual potatoes! (Another) Incredible work by the lab of Sanwen Huang and colaborators

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Out now in its final peer-reviewed form @asm.org's Journal of Virology!

doi.org/10.1128/jvi....

@dome-vienna.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu @amersocvirology.bsky.social

🚨Microbiologists!

Can you recommend a bacteria collection to deposit a strain type? I’m already working with @westerdijkinst.bsky.social (amazingly efficient), but have contacted others and no luck.

Thank you!

Registration is now open!
You can spread the word
psepb2025.pl

On May 12th, we celebrate International Plant Health Day.
Nothing without them

#PlantHealth #OneHealth

So nice to see more and more work on visualizing interactions to dive into replication cycles… here with acanthamoeba and giant viruses ! Congrats @willemsenanouk.bsky.social !

New "toy" almost ready

We cordially invite you to the Experimental Plant Biology conference #PSEBP2025 which will be held at the University of Warsaw.

I will chair, together with Magda Krzymowska, a session on Plant Biotic Interactions.
Registration opens in a few days.

#plantsci
psepb2025.pl

Registration is now open!
You can spread the word
psepb2025.pl

Planning and describing a microbiome data analysis - Nature Microbiology We provide guidance on the planning, execution and description of statistical analyses in microbiome studies.

A must-read for any microbiome researcher 🦠📐and a new addition to our #bestpractices series

Planning and describing a microbiome data analysis by @amydwillis.bsky.social and @davidandacat.bsky.social

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

We cordially invite you to the Experimental Plant Biology conference #PSEBP2025 which will be held at the University of Warsaw.

I will chair, together with Magda Krzymowska, a session on Plant Biotic Interactions.
Registration opens in a few days.

#plantsci
psepb2025.pl

How nidoviruses evolved the largest known RNA genomes | PNAS How nidoviruses evolved the largest known RNA genomes

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...