iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Alex Guyon

Darius Kosmützky @dariuskos.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Ever had issues with contamination in #Marchantia or #liverwort tissue culture? We've developed a protocol that is simple and low-effort (albeit slow) to get rid of fungi and bacteria: dx.doi.org/10.17504/pro.... Work led by Isaac Coven and supported by Chetan Pandey, myself & @dromius.bsky.social.

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Reposted by Alex Guyon

Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) @slcuplants.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi boost plant resilience by remodelling the plant-pathogen membrane interface Check-out the latest paper from @alexguyon.bsky.social & @dromius.bsky.social 📖 doi.org/10.1016/j.ce... in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social News article www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/news/arbuscu...

Mutualist-pathogen co-colonisation modulates phosphoinositide signatures at host intracellular interfaces: Nicotiana benthamiana plants expressing biosensors for PI4P and PI(4,5)P2. PI(4,5)P2 was tip-enriched at mutualist structures but evenly distributed around pathogen structures. PI4P was absent from pathogen extrahaustorial membranes but present at invasive hyphae and mutualist interfaces. Co-colonisation triggered PI4P recruitment at pathogen haustoria, and enhanced resistance to P. palmivora. Graphic by Alex Guyon.

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Alex Guyon @alexguyon.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Thanks very much, only possible thanks to your biosensors!

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Alex Guyon @alexguyon.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

That's a cool parallel, I guess the cell biology of the pollen vegetative cell containing the sperm cells is analogous to a root cortex cell containing an arbuscule. Did you see the PI(4,5)P2 biosensor localising to subdomains of the peri-germ cell membrane, similar to the arbuscule tips?

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Alex Guyon @alexguyon.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

8/ TL;DR: ✅ Phosphoinositide signatures at plant-microbe interfaces are dynamic ✅ Mutualist colonisation reshapes pathogen interface identity ✅ This shift correlates with enhanced resistance, suggesting membrane identity may influence infection outcome.

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Alex Guyon @alexguyon.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

8/ Beyond just documenting these dynamics, our work asks: 🌱 Can we rethink host-pathogen “specialised” membranes as dynamic, context-dependent landscapes? 🔬 Are immune evasion strategies vulnerable in complex microbial environments?

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Alex Guyon @alexguyon.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

7/ So what's going on? We propose that PI4P exclusion from haustoria is a pathogen-driven strategy, likely involving secreted effectors. But during AM symbiosis, trafficking to arbuscules may override this, forcing the pathogen into an interface it didn’t design.

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Alex Guyon @alexguyon.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

6/ Even more: co-colonisation enhances resistance to P. palmivora. Mutualist presence seems to rewire the pathogen interface.

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Alex Guyon @alexguyon.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

5/ But here's the twist, during co-colonisation, haustoria begin recruiting PI4P That’s a fundamental shift in membrane identity. And yes - we observed single plant cells simultaneously harbouring both an arbuscule and a haustorium!

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Alex Guyon @alexguyon.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

4/Watch it in action! Here’s PI(4,5)P₂ (via biosensor P24Y) tracking fungal growth during AM symbiosis. Captured using @jenmcgaley.bsky.social‘s AMSlide.

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Alex Guyon @alexguyon.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

3/ In single infections: • PI(4,5)P₂ is tip-enriched in arbuscules but uniform around haustoria. Each interaction has a distinct membrane fingerprint. • PI4P is present at the periarbuscular membrane of the mutualist but absent from haustoria of the pathogen.

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Alex Guyon @alexguyon.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

2/ Phosphoinositides (PIPs) are key lipids that define membrane identity. We visualised PI(4,5)P₂ and PI4P biosensors from @yvonjaillais.bsky.social in Nicotiana benthamiana during root colonisation by a mutualist AM fungus - F. mosseae and a pathogen - P. palmivora. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Alex Guyon @alexguyon.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

1/🚨 New preprint alert! Can mutualists and pathogens co-colonise the same living plant cell and what does that do to the plant membranes that surround these microbes?

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Reposted by Alex Guyon

Darius Kosmützky @dariuskos.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

Excitingly, we also made it on the cover of the current issue of @theplantjournal.bsky.social with some of my #microscopy images checking for #immunofluorescence signal of FLAG-tagged cytochrome c6A in #chlamydomonas!

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Reposted by Alex Guyon

Sebastian Schornack @dromius.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Intracellular pathogens can form extensive hyphal structures. Here, the pathogen Phytophthora palmivora (magenta) produces invasive hyphae in a living epidermal cell of a Nicotiana root. The plant surrounds the invader by an 'extra-invasive hyphal membrane' (yellow)📸 @alexguyon.bsky.social

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Reposted by Alex Guyon

Sebastian Schornack @dromius.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Preprint! w/ C. Strullu-Derrien,R.Wightman,L.P.McDonnell, G.Evans,F.Fercoq,P.Kenrick & A.Ferrari An ancient plant symbiotic fungus with distinct features identified through advanced fluorescence & Raman imaging @slcuplants.bsky.social @nhm-london.bsky.social Cambridge Graphene Centre @mnhn.fr

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Reposted by Alex Guyon

Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) @slcuplants.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

We are thrilled to have been awarded a silver-gilt medal at our first Chelsea Flower Show! 🪻 An enormous thank you to everyone who contributed to this success - @eng.cam.ac.uk, Darwin Nurseries and Oakington Garden Centre! #RHSChelsea @cambridgeuni.bsky.social

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Alex Guyon @alexguyon.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Great to see this out in the wild now!

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Alex Guyon @alexguyon.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Hi all, finally got around to making a Bluesky account. Looking forward to seeing all the cool work here and sharing some of my own!

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Reposted by Alex Guyon

Andy Plackett @seedrevolutionlab.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Great start to the final day of #ICIPS2025 with a talk by @dromius.bsky.social showcasing the work of @davidjhoey.bsky.social about genetic control of marchantia reproductive strategies

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