Aurelien Carlier @acarlier.bsky.social · 13/06/2026Many thanks to our collaborators in South Africa, especially Marion Meyer, plus @mcrusemann.bsky.social @martig-agromix.bsky.social and all the authors not on this platform. 010
Aurelien Carlier @acarlier.bsky.social · 13/06/2026New preprint from the lab. Gousiekte is a disease of cattle and sheep in southern Africa caused by pavettamine, a toxin found in some plants grazed by the animals. We found that the toxin is actually made by obligate bacterial endophytes! 122
Reposted by Aurelien CarlierNew Phytologist @newphyt.bsky.social · 25/01/2026#TansleyInsight: #Evolution of molecular #communication in the permanent Azolla symbiosis Deren Büyüktaş, Ellen Sigourney Lorberg & Sophie de Vries 👇 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #LatestIssue 1114
Reposted by Aurelien CarlierbioRxiv Genetics @biorxiv-genetic.bsky.social · 13/04/2026A plant single nucleotide polymorphism impacts nectar sugar composition, microbial diversity and pollinator visits www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20… 011
Aurelien Carlier @acarlier.bsky.social · 13/04/2026This study provides a rare, causal link between a single gene and complex multi-trophic interactions. Even "subtle" genetic variation can scale up to shape the biology of an entire field! Read the full preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #PlantScience #Ecology #Sunflowersbiorxiv.org 010
Aurelien Carlier @acarlier.bsky.social · 13/04/2026Here's the twist: while this specific genetic variant is extremely rare in wild sunflowers, it is fixed in 35% of cultivated lines. Invertase-deficient lines may have been selected during domestication, despite the negative effects on pollinator attractivness. 120
Aurelien Carlier @acarlier.bsky.social · 13/04/2026But the effects don't stop at insects. The nectar sugar profile acts as an "ecological filter" for the nectar microbiome. Sucrose-rich nectar from flowers with the loss-of-function variant also hosted greater fungal diversity. 110
Aurelien Carlier @acarlier.bsky.social · 13/04/2026Using innovative time-lapse field monitoring, we saw that plants with the "sucrose-rich" variant saw significantly fewer visits from honeybees. 📉🐝Interestingly, bumblebees didn't seem to care! This shows how specific plant genes can tune pollinator preferences. 110
Aurelien Carlier @acarlier.bsky.social · 13/04/2026We characterized a naturally occurring HaCWINV2 loss-of-function variant using near-isogenic sunflower lines. Plants with the loss-of-function HaCWINV2 allele produce sucrose-rich nectar. 120
Aurelien Carlier @acarlier.bsky.social · 13/04/2026In a new preprint led by PhD student Guillaume Tueux, we show that a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in a cell-wall invertase gene called HaCWINV2 acts as a master switch for nectar chemistry, determining whether the nectar is rich in sucrose or hexoses (glucose/fructose). 110
Aurelien Carlier @acarlier.bsky.social · 13/04/2026Together with the ASTR team of Nicolas Langlade of @lipme-toulouse.bsky.social, we uncovered how a single gene change impacts nectar chemistry, microbial diversity, and pollinator visits in sunflowers. 🌻 #Science #Pollinators 132
Reposted by Aurelien CarlierMichael Wagner @michiwagner4.bsky.social · 19/12/2025🚨 Postdoctoral Opportunity for Female Scientists🚨 The University of Vienna is awarding at least 20 fully funded 4 year postdoctoral positions to outstanding female scientists Interested? Get in touch via direct message careers.univie.ac.at/en/postdoc/e... #MicroSky 🧪 #PostDoc @univie.ac.at 098116
Reposted by Aurelien CarlierVille Friman @frimanscience.bsky.social · 29/12/2025A four-year postdoc focusing on "plant growth-promoting bacteriophages" available in my group. Skills in metaviromics and metagenomics essential. Application deadline: 2.2.2026. For more info, see the link.jobs.helsinki.fiPostdoctoral Researcher in discovering the benefits of plant growth-promoting bacteriophagesPostdoctoral Researcher in discovering the benefits of plant growth-promoting bacteriophages 13035
Reposted by Aurelien CarlierVille Friman @frimanscience.bsky.social · 14/11/2025Interested in doing a PhD in phage biology? See below a super cool project on megaphage ecology and evolution available at the University of Jyväskylä (FIN) in Elina Laanto's lab (Project no. 4). Co-supervision provided by yours truly. 0410
