Reposted by Leo CastanedoSebastian Schornack @dromius.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Toulouse - Summer 2027 European Nitrogen Fixation Conference (ENFC17) 22 - 25 August 2027 International Molecular Mycorrhizal Meeting (IMMM8) 26-27 August 2027 01810
Reposted by Leo CastanedoFantin Mesny @mesny.bsky.social · 01/10/20265 years ago, @hacquardst.bsky.social and I became very interested in 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎 𝑐𝑢𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑎, an emerging fungal pathogen that colonizes the roots of many plants 🌱 🍅 🌾 🆕📝 Final result of a huge team effort to uncover the bases of its multi-host compatibility👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comCarbohydrate-active enzymes from a core root mycobiota member enable infection of multiple plant hosts - Nature MicrobiologyHost-induced fungal CAZymes act as disease determinants and drive multihost compatibility. 16730
Reposted by Leo CastanedoBen Parker @ben-parker.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Excited that our new paper with @henrylabsymbio.bsky.social and Kerry Oliver is out @pnas.org! We show that mobile genetic elements can spread adaptive host-benefiting traits across heritable insect symbionts on eco-evolutionary timescales.🧵 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...pnas.orgPhenotypic divergence is driven by mobile genetic elements in a heritable insect symbiont | PNASHeritable microbes profoundly influence insect biology, yet the traits they confer often evolve rapidly and differ among closely related symbiont s... 411557
Reposted by Leo CastanedoAndré Marques @amarques.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Out today in Nature: sex without crossovers. Rhynchospora tenuis makes pollen, fertilises and sets seed, yet 0 crossovers in 10,997 pollen nuclei. Chromosome drive and ~87% seed abortion rebuild the mother's genotype, so the offspring are clones. doi.org/10.1038/s415... 916472
Reposted by Leo CastanedoCiaran Kelly @ciarankelly.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Our new preprint is out! 🍄 Decoupled evolution of antimicrobial repertoires in lichen-forming fungi We compared many lichen-forming fungal genomes to ask how different photobiont associations relate to their antimicrobial repertoires. 13719
Reposted by Leo CastanedoPlantEvolution 🌱🌾 @plantevolution.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Please submit comments to the EU Commission’s Call for Evidence on how to implement the new rules for "Plants obtained by new genomic techniques (#NGT)". Submission deadline 28 Sept. Below what I submitted. #plantscience ec.europa.eu/info/law/bet... ec.europa.eu/info/law/bet... 13734
Reposted by Leo CastanedoReese Richardson @reeserichardson.bsky.social · 25/08/2026A massive update: At least ~15 companies~ are selling scientists antibodies using faked validation data. We've documented 18,000+ manipulated images on 17,000+ products sold by leading laboratory suppliers including Thermo Fisher, Abcam, Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Millipore Sigma and Bio-Techne. 1/🧵 18455329
Reposted by Leo CastanedoPlantEvolution 🌱🌾 @plantevolution.bsky.social · 13/08/2026Remember the spectacular claims from three years ago, that science is supposedly becoming less disruptive? Seems this was at least in part due to data artifacts. To be fair, the authors of the original study push back, that the new study is flawed as well. www.nature.com/articles/s41... 0158
Reposted by Leo CastanedoGulnara Tagirdzhanova @metalichen.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Our study on giant transposons Starship 🚀🧬 in the genome of the lichen fungus Xanthoria is now out in @pnas.org! What did we find out about Starships in #lichen fungi? 👇Updated thread below 🖥️ 🧪 🦠 🧫 #SymbioSky 1/6 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... 17145
Reposted by Leo CastanedoCarl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 06/08/2026Here's a new kind of virus that scientists have generated with AI. And here's my story about what it means for us to have gotten to this remarkable moment: nyti.ms/4bBhoWB (Gift link) 🧪 2214673
Reposted by Leo CastanedoChristian Landry @christianlandry.bsky.social · 04/08/2026Our latest contribution on #regulatoryevolution in which we show that the shape of fitness functions and the distribution of mutational effect sizes jointly limit adaptation by regulatory mutations. Led by @simonaube.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comThe shape of fitness functions and the distribution of mutational effect sizes jointly limit adaptation by regulatory mutations - Nature Ecology & EvolutionSaturation mutagenesis of the FCY1 promoter in budding yeast shows that adaptation to 5-fluorocytosine is not accessible through single cis-regulatory mutations, despite large mutational effects on pr... 14822
Reposted by Leo CastanedoZ. Jack Tseng @tsengzj.bsky.social · 30/07/2026Exhilarated to share a 2nd @science.org cover article this month from our lab @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social! A collaboration with US & Mexico colleagues on the role of a Mexican biogeographic holding pen in shaping the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI)(1/11) www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 210954
Reposted by Leo CastanedoJCarlos Villarreal @jcarlosvillarreal.bsky.social · 27/07/20265 (+?) independent plant lineages evolved to text the same bacteria for nitrogen. we just need to learn the language they're using. www.cell.com/trends/plant...cell.comPlant–cyanobacterial symbioses: mutualism with emerging translational possibilitiesEngineering rhizobial–plant nitrogen fixation in crops is a major goal in plant synthetic biology. We propose expanding efforts to plant–cyanobacterial symbioses as an alternative path. Targeting the ... 02917
Reposted by Leo CastanedoNL Institute of Ecology NIOO-KNAW @niooknaw.bsky.social · 31/07/2026New publication: The legacy of #soil chemistry: a hidden manipulator driving plant–soil feedbacks. #belowgroundinteractions #plantperformance #volatilecompounds doi.org/10.1016/j.ti... 185
Reposted by Leo CastanedoJeff Groh @jeffgroh.bsky.social · 28/07/2026Avocados come in 2 varieties - A-types start each day female and switch to male midday. B-types do the reverse. In work just published from the last chapter of my PhD, we show this system evolved 40+million yrs ago and is regulated by alleles of 1 transcription factor www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...pnas.orgBalanced polymorphism in a floral transcription factor underlies the ancient rhythm of daily sex alternation in avocado | PNASIn avocado and certain wild relatives in Lauraceae, a highly synchronized daily rhythm of floral sex timing promotes cross-pollination between two ... 22721274
Reposted by Leo CastanedoTeam Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 28/07/2026📣 New preprint! 🧵 Fantastic work led by @antonkraege.bsky.social Fact: Cerato-platanins are everywhere in fungi. Found across the fungal kingdom, implicated in everything from development to virulence to immune activation. But what do they *actually* do? We finally found the answer 👇 25343
Reposted by Leo CastanedoNew Phytologist @newphyt.bsky.social · 20/07/2026Cretaceous moss–cyanobacteria association reveals trophic interactions in polar forests of Antarctica Walker et al. habitualb.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 02013
Reposted by Leo CastanedoBjörn Usadel @usadellab.bsky.social · 17/07/2026Within the @trr341.bsky.social JJ Szymanski has an interesting postdoc position for leading plant Ecological genetics AI recruiting.fz-juelich.de/jobposting/5...recruiting.fz-juelich.dePostdoctoral Researcher - Machine Learning for Plant Regulatory Genomics 059
Reposted by Leo CastanedoSebastian Schornack @dromius.bsky.social · 13/07/2026Preprint! How do "friendly" rhizobia build a legume nodule? @albinteulet.bsky.social found that some may carry hidden transcription factors - proteins that mimic DNA-binding folds to enter the plant nucleus and rewrite its developmental program. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (1/6) 15632
Reposted by Leo CastanedoTeam_Zuccaro @algazuccaro.bsky.social · 12/07/2026Microbial chitinases perform functions beyond antagonism, including facilitating host colonization by interfering with chitin-triggered immunity. We review evidence that their diversification reflects adaptation to distinct host-associated ecological niches. academic.oup.com/femsre/artic... 086
Reposted by Leo CastanedoSebastian Schornack @dromius.bsky.social · 09/07/2026The 'heart' of the #Mycorrhiza #fungi #symbiosis is the arbuscule where plant and fungus exchange nutrients and carbon. Try the arbuscule growth simulator. Let me know how you adjust parameters to get the most beautiful arbuscules. schornacklabslcu.github.io/Arbuscule-Sim/ 02412
Reposted by Leo CastanedoNick Talbot @talbotlabtsl.bsky.social · 06/07/2026The mycobiont of the lichen Xanthoria parietina produces the siderophore ferrichrome which enables iron acquisition and nutrient exchange with its algal photobiont. Great collaboration with my group & @metalichen.bsky.social led by Hubertus Haas 👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comSiderophore production by the lichen fungus Xanthoria parietina supports its algal symbiont - Nature CommunicationsThe mechanisms underlying the adaptation of lichens to nutrient-poor environments are poorly understood. Here, Happacher et al. show that a globally distributed lichen fungus produces an iron-scavengi... 04520
Reposted by Leo CastanedoRichard Sever @richardsever.bsky.social · 06/07/2026“move from preprint to peer-reviewed publication leaves the central claims of most abstracts intact, indicating preprints are a reliable source…papers that were never posted as preprints were retracted at roughly twice the rate of those that were…” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...biorxiv.orgTracking claim changes from preprint to publication across 72,644 biomedical studies using large language modelsPreprints now disseminate a large share of biomedical research before peer review. Because they have not yet passed peer review, some scientists regard preprint claims as unverified or potentially unr... 611158
Reposted by Leo CastanedoNature @nature.com · 01/07/2026A biology journal trialled paying their reviewers and found it led to faster first editorial decisions – and increased review quality. go.nature.com/446SaLugo.nature.comWhy paying peer reviewers works, according to a journal’s editor-in-chiefA biology journal which paid peer reviewers found that the approach cut the time to a first editorial decision by 85% and maintained high-quality reviews. 26619
Reposted by Leo CastanedoCharlie Underwood @charlieunderwood.bsky.social · 02/07/2026In meiosis homologous chromosomes pair and exchange DNA non-randomly. How does reproductive gender and chromosome sequence shape recombination landscapes? To answer this we generated new wild tomato genomes and many reciprocal crosses with @usadellab.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comWild tomato genome assemblies reveal structural variants and repeat content act as recombination barriers - Nature CommunicationsIntrogression of genes from wild tomato species can enhance the robustness of modern tomatoes. Here van Rengs et al. describe the genomes of wild tomato species and show how reproductive gender and st... 1118
Reposted by Leo CastanedoMin-Yao Jhu @minyaojhu.bsky.social · 24/06/20261/ Excited to share our new bioRxiv preprint! "4D spatial transcriptomics reveals nodule identity emerges through stacked parallel developmental programs" 📄 doi.org/10.64898/202... Using Xenium, we generated a 4D (3D space + time) atlas of nodule development in Medicago truncatula. 15029
Reposted by Leo CastanedoHarmit Singh Malik @harmitmalik.bsky.social · 24/06/2026I know it seems like a heretical idea, but one way to figure out if a preprint is really interesting (to you) is... to read the preprint. Then, in the spirit of sharing, send a note to authors: a simple kudos or a more detailed question. I do this a dozen times a year. It's awesome. Try it. 1229264
Reposted by Leo CastanedoBjörn Usadel @usadellab.bsky.social · 25/06/20261/8 What if the genomic features we associate with fungal pathogens were also used by mutualists? We assembled 41 scale lichen genomes across 11 Peltigera species with 30 chromosome scale and 5 T2T revealing an unexpected genomic toolkit behind lichen symbiosis. doi.org/10.64898/202... #lichendoi.orgA chromosome-scale super-pangenome of the lichen genus Peltigera reveals genome architecture and expanded interaction repertoires shared across pathogenic and mutualistic fungiFungi engage in associations with other organisms across a continuum from pathogenic to mutualistic lifestyles. Hence, they require a compendium of molecular capacities, including partner recognition,... 14630
Reposted by Leo CastanedobioRxiv Genomics @biorxiv-genomic.bsky.social · 21/06/2026A chromosome-scale super-pangenome of the lichen genus Peltigera reveals genome architecture and expanded interaction repertoires shared across pathogenic and mutualistic fungi www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20… 096
Reposted by Leo CastanedoTeam Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 19/06/2026📣 We are hiring! In the collaborative research center 'Plant Ecological Genetics' @teamthomma.bsky.social searches a PhD candidate to study the role of plant-associated microbiota in plant density responses and inter-plant competition. See project A07: sl1nk.com/b7z0doc Deadline July 10!sl1nk.comEncurtador de LinkEncurtador de Link | O melhor encurtador de links e urls gratuito da internet. 12224
Reposted by Leo CastanedoThomas Ott @ottlab.bsky.social · 19/06/2026A new documentary on scientific approaches to replace industrial nitrogen fertilizers is now online @artefr.bsky.social (only in DE/FR). Among them is our and @pierremarcdelaux.bsky.social's work @ensa-research.bsky.social further supported by @cibss.bsky.social. www.arte.tv/de/videos/11...arte.tvDünger der Zukunft: Die Stickstoff-Revolution - Die ganze Doku | ARTEOhne künstlichen Stickstoffdünger wären die hohen Erträge der industriellen Landwirtschaft undenkbar. Doch der intensive Einsatz schädigt das Klima. Weltweit wird nach klimafreundlichen Alternativen g... 13220
Reposted by Leo CastanedoStefan A. Rensing @rensingstefan.bsky.social · 18/06/2026Updated @theplantjournal.bsky.social guidelines: avoid the use of terms such as “basal”, “early diverging lineage”, “primitive”, “ancestral plant”, “lower and higher plants” [..] recommends the use of specific terms such as “bryophytes”, “vascular plants” [..] onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal... 24220
Reposted by Leo CastanedoJens Boch @mikrobenjaeger.bsky.social · 17/06/2026Awesome! 👏 Finally, science has convinced sufficient politicians to approve the new NGT-rules to enable CRISPR-based plant breeding! Time to celebrate!🎉🎊🥂🧬✂️🌱 www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/pres...europarl.europa.euNew genomic techniques for plants to boost innovation in sustainable agriculture | News | European ParliamentParliament has adopted new rules facilitating access to new plants that are climate and pest resistant, give higher yields and require fewer pesticides. 02616
Reposted by Leo CastanedoMegha Satyanarayana @megha.bsky.social · 16/06/2026just before he died, craig venter spoke to @sciam.bsky.social about the state of science in the US. it's a really eye-opening interview and part of our july/aug double issue celebrating #SciAmYoungScientists. check it out. www.scientificamerican.com/article/crai...scientificamerican.comCraig VenterIn his final interview, the “swashbuckling” geneticist pointed the way for science 02411
Reposted by Leo CastanedoJuliette de Meaux @meauxjuliette.bsky.social · 15/06/2026We have openings at the University of Cologne, come and join our consortium in Plant Ecological Genetics TRR341!Applications open soon for 10 PhD position. Description here: trr341.uni-koeln.de/join-us #TRR341 #PlantEcologicalGeneticstrr341.uni-koeln.deJoin us! 12936
Reposted by Leo CastanedoCurrent Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social · 12/06/2026When a protist engulfed a cynaobacterium, Earth changed forever! @jandevries.bsky.social, @caeciliafkunz.bsky.social, @heche.bsky.social & colleagues review the origins and evolution of archaeoplastids, the lineage that arose from this event, including plants & co www.cell.com/current-biol... 03819
Reposted by Leo CastanedoThe Rokas Lab at Vanderbilt University @rokaslab.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Interested in how #fungi came about on this planet? If so, take a look at my new article that just came out in @annualreviews.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1146/annu...doi.orgThe Origin and Early Evolution of Fungi: Challenges, Inferences, and PrinciplesFungi are widespread on our planet and essential for life as we know it, but how did they come about? Their last common ancestor lived hundreds of millions of years ago, but its characteristics, and t... 08835
Reposted by Leo CastanedoWill Shaw @willshaw.bsky.social · 11/06/2026New preprint out 🌱 We present a new T-DNA vector system for Arabidopsis that supports clean, genomically mapped, single-copy T-DNA insertion with predictable cell-type/conditional gene expression. @mokhalil.bsky.social + Gehring labs biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵1/16biorxiv.orgRational design of T-DNA vectors enables predictable, single-copy integration in Arabidopsis thalianaAgrobacterium-mediated transformation is the dominant method for plant transgenesis, yet it frequently produces multi-copy, structurally complex T-DNA insertions associated with transgene silencing, u... 14025
Leo Castanedo @leocastanedo.bsky.social · 11/06/2026A big thank you to @ceplas.bsky.social, @teamthomma.bsky.social, and @trr341.bsky.social for sponsoring our 🌿 team shirts, and to Helen Janssen for organizing and leading the Plantletics crew. 💪🏼 📸 Photo credits: Helen Janssen (not on Bluesky), @eellamas.bsky.social , and @antonkraege.bsky.social 010
Leo Castanedo @leocastanedo.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Yesterday, Plantletics 🌿, the running group representing the Institute for Plant Sciences @unicologne.bsky.social, took part in the #UniLauf, and we had a fantastic time‼️ 140
Reposted by Leo CastanedoToni Gabaldón @tonigabaldon.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Our paper "Gene ancestries reveal diverse microbial associations during eukaryogenesis.” is finally out in Nature. Eukaryogenesis was likely a gradual process shaped by multiple microbial partners and virus-mediated gene transfer, rather than a single binary symbiosis. doi.org/10.1038/s415... 10278135
Reposted by Leo CastanedoChristine Mayr @christinemayr.bsky.social · 08/06/2026Finally out in @Cellcellpress! Proteins with long IDRs are prone to misfolding during protein synthesis. This is prevented by mRNA 3′UTRs that act as mRNA-based IDR chaperones. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...cell.commRNA 3′ UTRs chaperone intrinsically disordered regions to control protein activityHighly conserved mRNA 3′ UTRs act as co-translational chaperones for intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), preventing inter-domain misfolding and enabling biogenesis of fully active proteins. 522597
Reposted by Leo CastanedoRemco Stam @rstam.bsky.social · 09/06/2026Host killing by necrotrophs is really complex. Using a 29-gene knockout series in Botrytis cinerea, we show that removing nearly all known cell death-inducing proteins and major phytotoxins is not sufficient to prevent host necrosis. Check out the paper: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...biorxiv.orgDeletion of 29 cell death-inducing proteins and phytotoxin biosynthetic genes does not completely abolish virulence of Botrytis cinereaBotrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic plant pathogen with an extremely wide host range. During invasion, the fungus induces rapid host cell death and proliferates in the necrotic tissue. The mechanisms o... 25421
Reposted by Leo CastanedoClémence Marchal @clemmar.bsky.social · 08/06/2026Hiring: Junior Group Leader (f) in Protein Science — CRC 1664 SNP2Prot, MLU Halle. Lead your own group + budget, funded PhD, world-class protein-structure facilities. 5 yrs, E14. Apply by 7 July 2026. snp2prot.uni-halle.de #ProteinScience #SNP2Prot #AcademicJobs 043
Reposted by Leo CastanedoJulia Frunzke @frunzkelab.bsky.social · 03/06/2026Please RT: Registration is ongoing for our International Symposium "Microbial Networking - from organelles to cross-kingdom communities" organized as highlight of the first funding period of CRC 1535 @mibinet.bsky.social www.sfb1535.hhu.de/internationa... @dfg.de, @hhu.de, @fz-juelich.de 12016
Reposted by Leo CastanedoMuriel Viaud @muriel-viaud.bsky.social · 03/06/2026Happy to share our work! 🍄🍇 Botrytis cinerea grapevine-specialized strains harbor a specific repertoire of transposons. While retrotransposon-derived small RNAs do not appear to play a significant role in virulence on grapevine, a new giant transposon—a #Starship— confers arsenic resistance. 22715
Reposted by Leo CastanedoTeam_Zuccaro @algazuccaro.bsky.social · 24/05/2026Here we show that low intra-microbiota antagonism underlies stable, protective barley root microbiota. Microbiota function cannot be predicted from beneficial traits of individual strains alone, but depends on compatibility among community members. #Microbiome #Plant www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 12213
Reposted by Leo CastanedoJohana Misas Villamil @jomivi.bsky.social · 03/06/2026📢 new preprint! How do commensal bacteria establish themselves on plant roots despite plant immunity? We identify Cpi1, a conserved membrane-anchored protease inhibitor in Pseudomonas that promotes early root colonization and modulates microbial community assembly. www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/... 44824
Reposted by Leo CastanedoTeam Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 30/05/2026📣Last week another @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social dropped: "A fungal pathogen effector that shapes host plant microbiota kills bacteria through lipoteichoic acid binding and membrane disruption" a joint effort by @nicksnelders.bsky.social & @gabriellapetti.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...biorxiv.org 15331
Reposted by Leo CastanedoReese Richardson @reeserichardson.bsky.social · 28/05/2026TL;DR: We've identified more than 100 cases of apparent manipulation in Thermo Fisher Scientific's antibody verification data. @sholtodavid.bsky.social @johanduchene.bsky.social reeserichardson.blog/2026/05/28/h...reeserichardson.blogHow much of Thermo Fisher’s antibody data has been manipulated?We’ve documented more than 100 instances of apparent data manipulation in Thermo’s catalog 23591312