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Zarah Sorger

@zarizarah.bsky.social
79 followers 90 following 4 posts

Plant-microbe interactions / PhD student @ Döhlemann lab, book-lover, animal friend

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Reposted by Zarah Sorger
Charlie Angus @charlieangus104.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
We are on the verge of a climatic upheaval greater than any of us can imagine. Global leaders and media aren't paying attention. They are focused on a series of self-inflicted crises that have left us dangerously vulnerable and totally unprepared. My latest. charlieangus.substack.com/p/what-keeps...
charlieangus.substack.com
What Keeps Me Up at Night
Rising temperatures in the Pacific will blow away any previous “Super” El Niño by a “truly mind-blowing margin.” - Zeke Hausfather
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Michael Raissig @michaelraissig.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
🌾 We're hiring a postdoc! Join the Stomatal Biology group in beautiful Bern @unibe.ch How do grass leaves spatially coordinate development of veins & stomatal rows? 2 years (plus possible extension), funded by @snsf.ch @dfg.de within @cerealcell.bsky.social RU5325 jobs.unibe.ch/job-vacancie...
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Markus Stetter @mgstetter.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Still time to apply: Postdoc position in our lab together with @meauxjuliette.bsky.social to combine Ecological models with quantitative genetics. Become part of a great community of Ecological Genetics. jobportal.uni-koeln.de/ausschreibun...
jobportal.uni-koeln.de
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Team 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.com
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parkergroup.bsky.social @parkergroup.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
TIRs are key regulators of plant immunity, but the role of conserved TIR-only proteins has remained unclear. Here, we compare TIR-only proteins from Arabidopsis and barley and show that they share a conserved role in plant immunity. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Conserved TIR-only proteins drive transcriptional defense and basal immunity in dicot and monocot plants
Toll/interleukin-1/resistance (TIR) domain NADase enzymes signal in plant immunity by producing ribosylated nucleotide second messengers which activate EDS1 dimer-helper NLR pathways to restrict patho...
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Johana 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/...
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Team 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
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Team_Zuccaro @algazuccaro.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Here 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...
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Maurice König @maukoe.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Plants 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....
Conceptual comparison of animal cytokine and plant phytocytokine signaling ranges, from cell-autonomous/local action to systemic communication.
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The RhizoLab @therhizolab.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Review paper from our group. @Céline De Pessemier @Michiel Vandecasteele With @danielvandamme.bsky.social @psb-vib.bsky.social @viblifesciences.bsky.social
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Fantin Mesny @mesny.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
See the journal publication for the full story: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Plant-associated fungi co-opt ancient antimicrobials for host manipulation
Fungal effectors may have evolved from ancient antimicrobials, shaping plant microbiota and immunity during infection.
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Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
We are hiring! We’re excited to recruit a postdoc to our lab at UC Davis to work on plant immune engineering and single-cell analyses of plant pathogen interactions. Apply by June 1. Please repost. www.coakerlab.org/postdoctoral...
Postdoctoral Scholar position in the Coaker group
University of California, Davis
We are seeking a Postdoctoral Scholar to join our research program focused on immune receptor engineering and spatial analyses of plant pathogens interactions using computational and imaging approaches. The position will involve integration of molecular, imaging, and computational approaches. Relevant publications from the laboratory include Nature Plants (2025, PMID: 40721669), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024, PMID: 38814867), and Cell Reports (2023, PMID: 37342910). https://www.coakerlab.org/
Qualifications:
•	Ph.D. in plant biology, molecular biology, genetics, computational biology, or a related field
•	Strong background in genomics and/or computational biology 
•	First author publications in peer-reviewed journals
•	Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary environment
•	Experience in plant innate immunity is preferred

Application Instructions:
The position is initially available for two years, with the possibility of extension based on performance and funding. Salary is based on the University of California postdoctoral salary scale (https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2025-26/represented-oct-2025-scales/t23.pdf). The salary range for this position is $69,073-$82,836 US Dollars/year. 
Review of applications will begin June 1, 2026 and will continue until the position is filled.
Please submit a CV, a brief statement of research interests (~1 page), and contact information for three references to glcoaker@ucdavis.edu. The research statement should describe your previous work, how your expertise aligns with ongoing research in the lab, and potential future research directions.
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Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
NASA just dropped this image of Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch looking back at us. The first woman to ever see our planet in its entirety. I’m not crying you’re crying 🥹🔭🧪 📸: NASA
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Team_Zuccaro @algazuccaro.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Really proud of this work led by Ruben Eichfeld! We show how a CBM domain gain/loss can rewire fungal chitinases, turning them from antifungal enzymes into immune-suppressing effectors that support plant symbiosis. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Domain gain or loss in a fungal chitinase enables specialization towards antagonism or immune suppression - Nature Communications
Gain or loss of a particular domain contributes to functional specialization of a conserved chitinase in beneficial root endophyte towards microbial antagonism or host immune suppression.
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Zarah Sorger @zarizarah.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Our new preprint is now out! 🤩
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Janina Werner @janinawern.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Check out our new preprint ☺️⏬️
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bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Bacterial endosymbionts enhance fungal virulence by disrupting the disease-suppressive rhizobiome www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Juan Carlos De la Concepcion @delaconcepcionjc.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Please share! PhD position (4 years) available in my group @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social. We look for candidates with solid aptitude in computer science to cross disciplines and use cutting edge imaging to understand host infection by destructive plant pathogens. uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet...
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Ralph Hückelhoven @huckelhovenr.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Thank you @marioncmueller.bsky.social, @binebrumm.bsky.social, Eric Kemen, Yiheng Hu and Thomas Lahaye for this nice common effort on effector diversity. Diversify and conquer: How effector diversity is shaped by host–microbe co-evolution doi.org/10.1371/jour...
doi.org
Diversify and conquer: How effector diversity is shaped by host–microbe co-evolution
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DOMPS @domps-ufr.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
This week we will hear @federicalocci.bsky.social (from @parkergroup.bsky.social, @mpipz.bsky.social) talk about "How not to die", workings of TIR-networks in damage and systemic resistance. 📅 Jan 16 | 🕥 10:15 |📍KS 00.009 #PlantScience If you want to know more, check out their review below. 👇🏼
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Wei Shi @wshisky.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
Huge thanks to my amazing co-authors, to AG Saur and AG Döhlemann, and to all our collaborators for their fantastic contributions @Merle Bilstein-Schloemer@izzysaurlab.bsky.social @grandpahiro.bsky.social @sara-stolze.bsky.social@Gunther Döhlemann@Matthieu Pierre Platre ! 🙏
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Isabel saur @izzysaurlab.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
Wei Shi @wshisky.bsky.social & Merle‘s work is online. Wei really pushed this work from scratch and Merle linked it to MLA diversification…3rd (co-)first author paper in her PhD. Very proud PI! And only possible through collaboration with G. Döhlemann, @grandpahiro.bsky.social &, Matt Platre. (1/x)
doi.org
Targeting of the barley cell-surface receptor SRF3 by the Blumeria hordei effector AVRA13 overlaps with AVRA13 recognition by MLA and the induction of NLR-mediated cell death.
Pathogens secrete effector proteins to promote virulence. Despite their recognition by barley Mla resistance genes, the structurally-related Blumeria hordei ( Bh ) AVRA effectors are maintained in the...
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Ralph Hückelhoven @huckelhovenr.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
Friends and foes in the obligate plant pathobiome journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
journals.plos.org
Friends and foes in the obligate plant pathobiome
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CEPLAS - Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences @ceplas.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
‼️Please RT: The CEPLAS Graduate School call for 2026 is now open! Detailed info on our website: bit.ly/4q19JWk @hhu.de @unicologne.bsky.social @mpipz.bsky.social @fz-juelich.de @leibnizipk.bsky.social @plantsciencedbg.bsky.social
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Markus Stetter @mgstetter.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
TWO positions open in our group. 1 postdoc and 1 PhD position. Join us for some exciting evolutionary plant biology! #PlantSciJobs #PlantSciJob
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National Academy of Sciences @nasonline.org · 26/11/2025
How do plants fight disease? 🌱 #NASmember Jane Parker studies NLR proteins that help plants sense attackers and launch powerful immune defenses. She shares her latest findings on how these proteins signal plants to resist disease in a new @pnas.org QnAs: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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Nick Dunken @nickdunken.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
My former colleague Patricia Zecua, me and the Zuccaro group published a new story about how autophagy restricts cell death and regulates root colonization by beneficial fungi: academic.oup.com/plphys/advan...
academic.oup.com
Autophagy restricts symbiosis-associated cell death and regulates colonization by Serendipita indica in Arabidopsis
Autophagy acts as a pro-survival mechanism in plant roots during beneficial fungal colonization by restricting fungal proliferation and immunometabolic cel
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Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research @mpipz.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
We’re #hiring! Our #IMPRS @mpipz.bsky.social & @unicologne.bsky.social recruits 4 PhD students. We look for candidates with a keen interest in experimental & computational plant biology to join us in 2026! Find details at www.mpipz.mpg.de/imprs/imprs-... and apply by Jan 5. #PlantSciJobs
A Banner that shows the open call for the international PhD program on interdisciplinary Plant Biology in Cologne Germany between University of Cologne and Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research. A button reads "apply now!".
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Jurriaan Ton @jurriaanton.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
🌿 3 new PhD positions in the Ton lab @PPS_UoS. Part of the ERC project '#PlantMemo', exploring how plants remember & respond to stress. 🧬 PhD 1 (UK only)👉 www.findaphd.com/phds/project... 🦠 PhD 2 (UK & EU)👉 www.findaphd.com/phds/project... 🌱 PhD 3 (UK only)👉 www.findaphd.com/phds/project... #PhD
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Cristina Barragan @cbarragan.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
My new Emmy Noether Group is recruiting! 🔬 Two PhD positions in plant pathogen evolution 🧬 Start: April 2026 (flexible) 📍 Dept. of Phytopathology & Plant Protection @rstam.bsky.social @uni-kiel.de ⏰ Apply by 15 Dec 2025 🔗 More info: www.uni-kiel.de/personal/de/... Do get in touch or share 😊
uni-kiel.de
Aktuelle Ausschreibungen
Aktuelle Ausschreibungen
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Martin Thanbichler @thanbichlerlab.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
📢 Postdoc position: Biochemistry & Bacterial cell biology in our group at Marburg University, Germany, funded by the ERC Advanced Grant "C-SWITCH" 🔗More information at shorturl.at/OlvlL 📅Deadline: Nov 30, 2025 Please repost. #Postdoc
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Zarah Sorger @zarizarah.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
🚨My very first (co-)first author paper got published in @pnas.org 🥳 We describe the tripartite interkingdom interaction between a yeast, the oomycete pathogen Albugo laibachii and a bacterium, mediated by a GH25 lysozyme 🦠 Thanks to everyone involved! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
GH25 lysozyme mediates tripartite interkingdom interactions and microbial competition on the plant leaf surface | PNAS
Microbial communities inhabiting plants have emerged as crucial factors in regulating plant health and defense against disease-causing pathogens. T...
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MadFungi @madfungi.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Our PhD candidates are having a great time at the MadFungi transcriptomics workshop at the University of Kiel @uni-kiel.de. Special thanks to @estukenbrock.bsky.social and her team for the great organization!
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Fantin Mesny @mesny.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
📣 NEW PREPRINT 📝 We identified evolutionary origins of many fungal effectors! We show that fungi secrete lots of antimicrobial proteins, and that some of them were repurposed by plant pathogens for host immune suppression. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... cc @teamthomma.bsky.social
biorxiv.org
Plant-associated fungi co-opt ancient antimicrobials for host manipulation
Evolutionary histories of effector proteins secreted by fungal pathogens to mediate plant colonization remain largely elusive. While most functionally characterized effectors modulate plant immunity, ...
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tbluu.bsky.social @tbluu.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
You have some messages 😊 #2025ISMPMI
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kathywippel.bsky.social @kathywippel.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Our paper on Pseudomonas intra-genus competition in SynComs on Arabidopsis roots is now out @plosbiology.org ! 🎉 If you want to chat about the story, visit poster 374 tomorrow, Thursday #2025ISMPMI journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
journals.plos.org
Pseudomonas intra-genus competition determines the protective function of synthetic bacterial communities in Arabidopsis thaliana
The plant microbiome can protect its host against detrimental bacterial strains. This study shows that competition among Pseudomonas bacteria in synthetic bacterial communities determines how well the...
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New Phytologist @newphyt.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Bring your #PlantScience publishing questions for our Editors! Catch Holly on our stand at #2025ISMPMI with @hacquardst.bsky.social, Ralph Panstruga, Ari Sadanandom, @pietrospanu.bsky.social and Ertao Wang! 📅 TODAY ⏰ 13:00–14:00 🗺 New Phytologist Foundation stand, poster hall
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Zarah Sorger @zarizarah.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
#2025ISMPMI - 🌱🍄 Come by Thursday afternoon to see my poster (P-336) if you are curious how interkingdom microbial antagonism can be mediated by fungal glycoside hydrolases. Happy to discuss!
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Fantin Mesny @mesny.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
My poster is up at #2025ISMPMI. Come by P-372 Thursday afternoon if you are interested in fungal evolution, effectors and microbial competitions! More research by @teamthomma.bsky.social at P-091, P-170, P-299, P-317, P-337 and P-388.
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Maurice König @maukoe.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Here, 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
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Team_Zuccaro @algazuccaro.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Our new review in FEMS Microbiology by Nick Dunken and Tim Thomsen is online. Purine-Based Infochemicals and Immunometabolites: A Comparative Review of Emerging Signaling Pathways in Plants and Animals url: academic.oup.com/femsre/artic...
academic.oup.com
Purine-Based Infochemicals and Immunometabolites: A Comparative Review of Emerging Signaling Pathways in Plants and Animals
Abstract. Purine-based metabolites serve as essential mediators of signaling, immunity, and host-microbe interactions across biological kingdoms. This revi
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KC👨‍🔬🌾🍄🇦🇺 @karchuntan.bsky.social · 13/07/2025
Sophie Sent - Blumeria hordei-Bipolaris sorokiniana coinfection breaks down host barley disease resistance #2025ISMPMI
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CEPLAS - Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences @ceplas.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
On Saturday, we celebrated the 6th edition of Soapbox Science Rheinland in the heart of the city! Huge thank-you to our CEPLAS speakers Jana Peter, Ganiyat Akinade and Zarah Sorger @zarizarah.bsky.social for bringing plant science to the public and showing how exciting research can be!
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Universität zu Köln @unicologne.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
🗣️Forschung trifft Öffentlichkeit – an der Düsseldorfer Rheinpromenade Am Samstag, 28. Juni, werden zwölf Wissenschaftlerinnen aus unterschiedlichen Fachrichtungen @ceplas.bsky.social @cecad.bsky.social #ML4Q in kurzweiligen Vorträgen ihre Forschung vorstellen. ➡️ www.hhu.de/news-einzela... @hhu.de
alle mal herhören
Wissenschaftlerinnen geben einblock in ihre Forschung
Soapbox Science
28 June 2025, 1-4 pm
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bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
GH25 lysozyme mediates tripartite interkingdom interactions and microbial competition on the plant leaf surface www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
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Stephan Anpalagan @stephananpalagan.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
In diesem Land werden eher die „Omas gegen Rechts“ verboten als die AfD.
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