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Unnati Sonawala

@uprogress.bsky.social
173 followers 178 following 20 posts

Postdoctoral researcher @camplantsci.bsky.social | Co-founder youngnematologists.net | Interested in genetics, plant-microbe interactions, & evolution.

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Reposted by Unnati Sonawala
Claudia Martinho @cssmartinho.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
One protein. One pathway. A whole germline fate. New paper from my postdoc @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social out in PNAS: Germline fate determination by a single ARGONAUTE protein in Ectocarpus www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
Germline fate determination by a single ARGONAUTE protein in Ectocarpus | PNAS
ARGONAUTE (AGO) proteins are a highly conserved family of RNA-binding proteins that play central roles in gene regulation and developmental process...
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Reposted by Unnati Sonawala
Nature Plants @natplants.nature.com · 19/01/2026
New Brief Communication: "A CRISPR-based sequence proximity binding protein labelling system for scanning upstream regulatory proteins" rdcu.be/eZLUP CRISPR-based proximity labelling system to profile DNA-binding proteins such as PIF4 transcription factor .
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Excited to share this commentary on the work by Isaksson et al, now out in @mpmijournal.bsky.social, where they find that structural similarity underlies both multimerization and NLR recognition of a powdery mildew effector family doi.org/10.1094/MPMI... Original paper 👉 doi.org/10.1094/MPMI...
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Young Nematologists Network @youngnemas.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Excited to announce we are organising a YNN themed session at the 36th Symposium of the European Society of Nematologists June 1–5, 2026. This session will explore unexpected or negative results to extract meaningful messages. Submit your abstract until the 30th January -> forms.gle/9wU8tGbwLxaS...
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Hajk-Georg Drost @hajkdrost.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
🧵 Just out in Cell after more than 10 years in the making! 🎓 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... Plants and animals evolve radically different body plans. Do they also operate under fundamentally different molecular evolutionary constraints during organ formation? @cellpress.bsky.social
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Young Nematologists Network @youngnemas.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Absolutely excited for #VNC25 tomorrow! Featuring talks from ECRs, 2 workshops, a murder mystery, and a pub with games. We are excited to have registrations from 55 countries! If you are interested in joining the YNN board, come along to our info session from 16:00-16:25 CET.
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Magda_Tsitsikli @magda-tsitsikli.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
How does a single plant cell tell symbiont from pathogen? We show that the Symbiotic Determinant 1 of NFR1 evolved to facilitate nitrogen-fixing symbiotic signalling. I’m thrilled to share our published data from my PhD back in Aarhus! #symbiosis #juxtamembrane #ensa www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Two residues reprogram immunity receptors for nitrogen-fixing symbiosis - Nature
An investigation of plant receptor-like kinases identifies regions of these proteins that control whether immune or symbiotic signalling pathways are activated, with minimal changes to specific r...
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Young Nematologists Network @youngnemas.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
Register to receive the link for our upcoming webinar! Scan QR code below or follow the link here: forms.gle/Cua1WahRcRbn...
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Young Nematologists Network @youngnemas.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Don't forget to register! Join us for an exciting Trends in Nematology Webinar next month!
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
The environmental component of the disease triangle in spotlight here! Grow maize densely --> they produce more linalool --> reshapes rhizosphere --> plants are more resistant to pathogens but at a cost: reduced biomass.
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David Pires @david1822.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
🆕 paper out in Nitrogen 💡 This review highlights the importance of legumes in tropical farming and covers major diseases affecting productivity and their impact on the economy and the environment, including #nematodes 🔎 Read the full paper at doi.org/10.3390/nitr...
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Registrations are open for our exciting webinar next month!
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
The Marchantia mRNA decapping protein MpEDC4 also functions in P-body turnover via autophagy, a dual role absent in Arabidopsis and human orthologs. Strikingly, when expressed in human cells, MpEDC4 promotes degradation of Parkinson’s-linked α-synuclein. Some truly fascinating evolutionary biology!
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
Interspecific hybridization was key to tuberization. Thank you hybrid speciation for the world's 5th most important food crop 🥔
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Reposted by Unnati Sonawala
Lennart Hilbert @lennarthilbert.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
How do enhancer-gene contacts relate to transcription activation? In mouse embryonic stem cells, a combo of STED, oligoFISH & RNA FISH shows that 3% of Dppa3 alleles transcribe. For these, enhancers and promoters come closer (panel E). Stumberger ... Leonhardt & Harz www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Beuzón & Ruiz-Albert Lab @type3lab.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
Just the tip of the iceberg...more to come on this topic! Congratulations to Laura Mancera-Miranda for her first scientific paper, and best of luck for her upcoming PhD dissertation defence! doi.org/10.1002/mbo3...
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Tatsuya Nobori @tatsuyanobori.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
TODAY. 15:15 @ Room P&Q #2025ISMPMI
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Beuzón & Ruiz-Albert Lab @type3lab.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Please don't miss it! A great session on the spatial and temporal regulation of plant–microbe interactions, hosted by @uprogress.bsky.social and @tatsuyanobori.bsky.social Many attractive talks, including our latest research presented by @crbeuzon.bsky.social #ISMPMI2025 #MicroSky #PlantScience
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Niklaus Grunwald @grunwald.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
In memory of our dear colleague, John McDowell, who left us all too early. RIP. doi.org/10.1094/MPMI...
doi.org
John Matthew McDowell: A Visionary Leader in Molecular Oomycete-Plant Interactions and a Wonderful Mentor and Friend to Many | Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions®
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Reposted by Unnati Sonawala
Shahid Mukhtar @smukhtarlab.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
We lost a Grangle family member, a friend, and a visionary scientist. “A note from Jeff Dangl: John McDowell was a former MPMI Editor and great membr of our community and that it is apt that his memory be recognized at the current #2025ISMPMI nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
John Matthew McDowell: A Visionary Leader in Molecular Oomycete-Plant Interactions and a Wonderful Mentor and Friend to Many | Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions®
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Young Nematologists Network @youngnemas.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
🪱 Calling all Early-Career Nematologists: Registration for #VNC2025 is NOW OPEN! 🎉 If you are MSc student, PhD candidate, or postdoc working in nematology, Register and submit your abstract. Register here👉 lnkd.in/dzTRsK7z ⏰ Registration closes September 10th!!!
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Mark you calendars! We are back this November #VNC2025
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Reposted by Unnati Sonawala
Pingtao Ding (he/him) @dinglab.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Cell-type-specific execution of effector-triggered immunity Our new preprint is online, 1 July⬇️ With @himanshuchhillar.bsky.social @leonardojo.bsky.social Amey Redkar @kaisakajala.bsky.social @jonathandgjones.bsky.social For early readers & community feedback🙏🏼 #openscience @erc.europa.eu
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
My sister is finishing her endocrinology residency (proud sister moment 😎). Instead of wrestling with Word to write equations for her thesis, I offered to help with LaTeX. Writing in LaTeX is one of the most rewarding things I’ve taught myself, but this might be its shiniest use yet! #LaTeX
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Reposted by Unnati Sonawala
Tatsuya Nobori @tatsuyanobori.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
#ISMPMI2025 attendees! Bookmark our concurrent session co-organized with @uprogress.bsky.social featuring exciting talks on the spatial and temporal regulation of plant–microbe interactions. We have 3 invited speakers: Feng Zhou, @lluginbuehl.bsky.social @type3lab.bsky.social and…
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David Pires @david1822.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
🌐 Online symposium of the Society of Nematologists 📌 "#Nematodes on the move: building resilience and sustainability through international collaboration and better policies" 🔎 Program available at drive.google.com/drive/folder... 📥 Register here 👉 iica.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Very glad to have won one of the Postdoc Innovation Awards and excited to see the final outcome. Stay tuned!
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David Pires @david1822.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
🌲 In just 90 seconds, I distill the relevance and impact of my PhD ▶️ Watch the full video 👉 youtu.be/lLtgd9EE1nw?... #PinewoodNematode #PineWiltDisease #Esteya #Biocontrol
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Maddy Seale @maddyseale.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
2 papers in @science.org this week uncover wheat tandem kinase function. Working in parallel, the authors of each paper show that two different tandem kinases converge to activate the same NLR! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #PlantScience
science.org
A wheat tandem kinase activates an NLR to trigger immunity
The role of nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) receptors in plant immunity is well studied, but the function of a class of tandem kinases (TKs) that confer disease resistance in wheat and ba...
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Deadline for abstract submission has been extended to 4th of April! Don't forget to submit your abstracts for the PPN mini-symposium at the Hydra Helminths conference this September 🗒️🌱
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Reposted by Unnati Sonawala
Kenichi Tsuda @kenichitsuda.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Oh yes. This is new. Non-NLR and NLR pair for immune sensor and executor! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
A wheat tandem kinase and NLR pair confers resistance to multiple fungal pathogens
Tandem kinase proteins underlie the innate immune systems of cereal plants, but how they initiate plant immune responses remains unclear. This report identifies wheat protein wheat tandem NBD 1 (WTN1)...
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Enjoying reading this paper with excellent use of single cell seq along with reporter lines and lineage tracing to understand secondary growth cell identity in Arabidopsis roots.
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Fascinating paper on fern immunity and host-microbe interactions! 🦠🌿 They uncover a new class of NLRs (disN-NLRs) with disordered N-terms. Interestingly, many ferns lack NPR1, but conservation of SARD1 and SARD4 hints at alternative SAR mechanisms.
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
This perspective article captures the essence of the dream - all the questions we could ask and find answers to if we could perform single-molecule protein sequencing. And describes how we may be close to realizing it.
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Reposted by Unnati Sonawala
Maya Voichek @mayavoichek.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
1/ Transposable elements are often called "jumping genes" because they mobilize within genomes. 🧬 But did you know they can also jump 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 cells? 🤯 Our new study reveals how retrotransposons invade the germline directly from somatic cells. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... A short thread 🧵👇
Drosophila follicle showing retrotransposons (pink & yellow) expressed in somatic cells infecting the oocyte
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Cool study! Plant defense usually means looking 'not-diseased,' making these genes invisible until lost. But here, the authors found that a 254bp transposon in bHLH35 boosts anthocyanins, visually camouflaging the plant from herbivores. A defense you can see!
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Clement Pellegrin @clempellegrin.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Go SUGR-1 >> The SUbventral-Gland Regulator (SUGR-1) of nematode virulence | Funded by the EU 🇪🇺 | Kudos to all authors 💪
pnas.org
The SUbventral-Gland Regulator (SUGR-1) of nematode virulence | PNAS
Pathogens must precisely tailor their gene expression to cause infection. However, a signaling cascade from host signal to effector production has ...
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Reminder to submit your abstracts before the approaching deadline ⏰
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bioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Assembly and annotation of Solanum dulcamara and Solanum nigrum plant genomes, two nightshades with different susceptibilities to Ralstonia solanacearum www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
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parkergroup.bsky.social @parkergroup.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Check out our new study! We show that Arabidopsis uses the EDS1-SAG101-NRG1 node to trigger rapid yet contained cell death. Key finding: NRG1C variant regulates this process by competing with functional NRG1s. Amazing collaboration between Jijie Chai and Parker Labs. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Registrations are now open for Parasitic Helminths 2025! helminthconference.org and for the very first time will host a special mini-symposium on Plant-Parasitic Nematodes 😍🌱🪱 Hope you will join us!
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Young Nematologists Network @youngnemas.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
We're excited to finally be on BlueSky! Follow us for all things nematodes - whether plant-parasitic or parasitic nematodes, free-living species, and more. Stay tuned for great nema-content!
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Unnati Sonawala @uprogress.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
An exciting first repost. Come join us!
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