Maurice König @maukoe.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Very happy to see our Zip1 work highlighted in Plant Physiology 🌽 Sequential proteolysis across compartments can shape where, when and in which form peptide signals act. Thanks to @mamoonakhan.bsky.social for the insightful highlight! academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...academic.oup.comA tale of 2 realms: spatial processing of the maize phytocytokine Zip1Plants rely on sophisticated cell-to-cell communication to perceive environmental changes and coordinate appropriate responses. Among the signalling molecu 1147
Maurice König @maukoe.bsky.social · 11/08/2026🌽 Highlight 2: Ct-PROZIP1 is not merely an intermediate—it is itself bioactive and appears to be the dominant signaling form in the apoplast. Further proteolysis can release still-active Zip1, but also cleaves within Zip1, driving signal attenuation and clearance. 010
Maurice König @maukoe.bsky.social · 11/08/2026🔬 Highlight 1: ZmMC9 acts as a licensing step for PROZIP1 export. Intracellular Arg-dependent cleavage generates Ct-PROZIP1, enabling its translocation to the apoplast via a Golgi-independent route. Activation and extracellular release are therefore directly coupled. 000
Maurice König @maukoe.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Very happy to share our new paper in Plant Physiology! 🌽 We uncover a 2-step mechanism controlling maize phytocytokine Zip1: ZmMC9 processes PROZIP1 intracellularly, enabling export of bioactive Ct-PROZIP1, while apoplastic proteases attenuate the signal. doi.org/10.1093/plph... 31912
Maurice König @maukoe.bsky.social · 20/05/2026Happy to be part of this collaborative work from the Zuccaro lab 🌱 Prion-like fungal PEPSI effectors target plastids and modulate host metabolism during root symbiosis, including the PEPSI6–DXR interaction. PEPSI6 also connects to phytocytokine biology through possible CAP/CAPE-like processing.biorxiv.org 051
Reposted by Maurice KönigBotany One @botany.one · 16/05/2026Science Shared: May 16 www.botany.one/science-shar... This week: hybrids everywhere, plasmodesmata in many places, and more. #Botany #PlantSciencebotany.oneScience Shared: May 16This week: hybrids everywhere, plasmodesmata in many places, and more. 0143
Maurice König @maukoe.bsky.social · 18/05/2026An immune signal can hide inside a precursor protein. 🌱 Phytocytokines are cut free by proteases - from proteins with related, unrelated, or unclear functions. The challenge: predicting which protease acts where, when, and at which site. Read more in our review: doi.org/10.1111/tpj....doi.orgProcessing and release of endogenous immunogenic peptide signalsPlant endogenous peptides, termed phytocytokines, coordinate immune responses and mediate intercellular communication within and across plant tissues. While an expanding repertoire of ligands, recept... 076
Maurice König @maukoe.bsky.social · 15/05/2026One highlight from our review: peptide signals can be copied or rerouted to redirect plant responses. 🌱 Bacteria, fungi and nematodes tap into phytocytokine pathways via mimics or altered release - steering infection, colonization and symbiosis. Read more about it here: doi.org/10.1111/tpj....doi.orgProcessing and release of endogenous immunogenic peptide signalsPlant endogenous peptides, termed phytocytokines, coordinate immune responses and mediate intercellular communication within and across plant tissues. While an expanding repertoire of ligands, recept... 0107
Maurice König @maukoe.bsky.social · 11/05/2026Many thanks to @theplantjournal.bsky.social editorial team and reviewers for their support and feedback. 000
Maurice König @maukoe.bsky.social · 11/05/2026Many thanks to everyone involved - especially @jomivi.bsky.social @Gunther Doehlemann and @Hermanyanto Laia — for the great support, scientific input, and team effort! 020
Maurice König @maukoe.bsky.social · 11/05/2026Plants use immunogenic peptides to coordinate immunity. Pathogens can mimic them to hijack defense. 🌱 We compare phytocytokines with animal cytokines and ask how these signals are made, released, mimicked, and controlled in space and time. doi.org/10.1111/tpj.... 33516
Reposted by Maurice KönigMadFungi @madfungi.bsky.social · 30/04/2026Thank you to @izzysaurlab.bsky.social, @teamthomma.bsky.social, and their teams for hosting our next two MadFungi workshops, "Expression in Barley Protoplasts" and "Expression of Antimicrobial Proteins," at @unicologne.bsky.social. It was a great week with all of our MadFungi PhD candidates! 🍄 095
Reposted by Maurice KönigbioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · 06/04/2026Spatial organization of plant defense at the infection front www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20… 02012
Reposted by Maurice KönigbioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · 06/04/2026Metabolic Engineering Boosts Strigolactone Production in Nicotiana benthamiana and Uncovers a Novel P450 Function www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20… 021
Reposted by Maurice KönigbioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · 08/04/2026Plant-parasitic nematodes produce functional mimics of plant PSK peptides to facilitate parasitism www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20… 0128
Maurice König @maukoe.bsky.social · 18/06/2025Have you ever wondered how phytocytokines are transported to the extracellular space and which factors regulate this process? We elucidated this mechanism for the maize-specific phytocytokine Zip1. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 051
Maurice König @maukoe.bsky.social · 18/06/2025Here, we dissect the processing and release mechanism of the maize phytocytokine Zip1. Our results reveal a two-step mechanism of phytocytokine processing, translocation, activation and clearance. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...biorxiv.org 054
Reposted by Maurice KönigbioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · 17/06/2025Processing and release of the maize phytocytokine Zip1 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202… 053
Reposted by Maurice KönigJohana Misas Villamil @jomivi.bsky.social · 18/06/2025Happy to share our last preprint where we discovered a two step mechanism for the release of the maize signaling peptide Zip1. A “two - factor authentication”. Enjoy the reading! 👇 02111
Reposted by Maurice KönigbioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · 18/02/2025Non-invasive imaging of salicylic and jasmonic acid activities in planta www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202… 0137
Reposted by Maurice KönigTeam Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 20/02/2025Today we celebrate a wide diversity in plant sciences at the Symposium of our institute at @unicologne.bsky.social with support from @ceplas.bsky.social & @trr341.bsky.social #PlantScience 24019
Reposted by Maurice KönigMadFungi @madfungi.bsky.social · 07/02/2025The MadFungi🍄 research unit funded by @dfg.de kicked off this week with our meeting in Cologne @unicologne.bsky.social. We're excited to see what great science we'll achieve over the next four years. 1147
