Image: Gravitropic bending of the rbohc/f mutants and their relative apoplastic pH in the elongation zone. (A) Root gravitropic bending of WT, mca1, cngc14-2, and rbohc/f mutants. Right-expression of bending as linear regression slope after 1 h of bending. Letters denote statistical significance (ANCOVA test of equal slopes p<0.002) (B) Representative images of the apoplastic pH halo in WT and rbohc/f mutants during the course of root gravitropic bending. Red dotted circles highlight the top side of the root with visible alkalinization in WT. (C) Apoplastic pH quantification of the rbohc/f and cngc14-2 mutants at the top and bottom elongation zones 90-160 minutes after rotating the sample by 90°. (one-way ANOVA, p<0.0001)(D) Calcium profile of WT plants during the course of gravitropic bending imaged immediately after rotating the sample, monitored using the GCaMP3.0 fluorescent reporter. The blue arrow marks the initial drop in the calcium signal from the top (upper) side of the root associated with statoliths leaving the membrane in the columella, while the orange arrow marks the increase in the calcium signal at the bottom (lower) side after the statoliths touch the new bottom membrane. The red arrow highlights the increase in the calcium signal at the upper side associated with root bending, which appears at the onset of root bending.

How do roots decide where to grow?

New research reveals:

⚡ Calcium signals trigger ROS bursts
⚖️ These balance gravity + mechanical resistance
🌍 Result: roots navigate soil more effectively

By tuning cell wall stiffness, plants “feel” their way through the ground.

hydrosensing.eu/2026/04/calc...

Applying for an ERC grant in the 2027 competitions: what you need to know The ERC plans to launch the grant competitions under its 2027 Work Programme between July 2026 and June 2027, with the calls for proposals introducing several changes to the eligibility rules for appl...

Learn more about what you need to know before applying for an ERC grant in the 2027 competitions:
• Resubmission restrictions
• Application rules
• Eligibility windows for #ERCStG #ERCCoG
🔗 link.europa.eu/BjTmVt

A group of newly admitted members to DKNVS stand in a row indoors against a brick wall, holding their certificates. Dressed in formal attire, including suits and dresses, with one person wearing a ceremonial chain of office. Decorative artwork hangs on the wall behind them.

🌱 Big news!

Thorsten Hamann has been elected to the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (DKNVS), a major recognition of his research on how plants sense water.

Read more: hydrosensing.eu/2026/04/thor...

@hamannlab.bsky.social

“If you see this picture, I don’t have to tell you which direction the wind is blowing.” 🌬️🌳
Thorsten Hamann (NTNU) used this example of plant adaptation to introduce how Brillouin microscopy reveals changes in stiffness and viscosity in Arabidopsis roots under osmotic stress.

📅 Mar 6 #PlantScience

While visiting Regensburg, Ellie had a confidential side project: using a scoring pipeline for flavour, texture, and appearance, she identified top performers with the kind of confidence usually reserved for structure papers. Reviewer 2 has requested a larger sample size and more ice cream controls.

@hydrosensing.bsky.social Integrative sensory profiling and comparative phenotypic scoring revealed substantial functional divergence within the sampled cake population. In a pre-peer-review phase, the findings provide support for a robust structure–function relationship in Regensburg pastry biology

Level 1: the algorithm includes improved scoring functions for the design of efficient sgRNAs. Level 2: design and construction of multiplexed CRISPR libraries. Level 3: trait-oriented CRISPR libraries—nutrient uptake sub-libraries as a proof of concept. Level 4: tissue-specific CRISPR vectors for spatial genetics screens. Level 5: CRISPR-GuideMap: plant barcoded screens of ∼1,000 plants, allowing large-scale reverse genetics multi-knockouts. Outcome: a next-generation tool for plant genetics.

New manuscript out in Cell Reports!

Shani lab has develope a multiplexed, tissue-specific CRISPR toolbox for Arabidopsis that overcomes gene family redundancy & enables large-scale,cell-type-resolved genetic screens

📃 www.cell.com/cell-reports...

@eilonshani.bsky.social
@cellpress.bsky.social

The mechanical properties of Arabidopsis thaliana roots adapt dynamically during development and to stress Brillouin microscopy reveals in vivo dynamics of mechanical properties during plant development and response to stress.

Understanding these processes is key for designing crops that can withstand increasing drought and climate stress.

📖 Read the paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#PlantScience #PlantResilience #WaterStress

The mechanical properties of Arabidopsis thaliana roots adapt dynamically during development and to stress Brillouin microscopy reveals in vivo dynamics of mechanical properties during plant development and response to stress.

How do plants actually sense water?🤔

This "simple" question is central to plant survival & crop resilience

In a new Science Advances paper, our NTNU team uncovers new insights into the mechanisms plants use to detect changes in water availability & translate them into stress signals

@science.org

Happy International Women's Day! 🧪

The EMBO #WomenInScience Lectures address issues related to gender and #diversity in #science.

Find out more and apply here:
www.embo.org/funding/lecture-travel-a...
#LifeSciences #funding

How do we strengthen trust in science?

Public trust keeps science strong. Strong public engagement helps build that trust.

A European community of practice on trust in science is now being initiated. Discover more: link.europa.eu/d6kNXT

#EUResearchArea 🧪

The mechanical properties of Arabidopsis thaliana roots adapt dynamically during development and to stress Brillouin microscopy reveals in vivo dynamics of mechanical properties during plant development and response to stress.

Our work now on its final version. We mapped the mechanical properties of roots at tissue and single cell levels using Brillouin microscopy and molecular rotors. Additional mutants and stress measurements from what we previously showed in the preprint are included.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A limestone cave in Western Australia where the Karri tree roots extend the whole height of the massive cavern in search of nutrients and water.

😲

A limestone cave in Western Australia where the Karri tree 🌳roots extend the whole height of the massive cavern in search of nutrients and water.

Xero branching in action! 📷💪

The function of the Arabidopsis receptor kinase THESEUS1 in plant cell wall integrity maintenance: from evolutionary origin to future perspectives THESEUS1 (THE1) is a receptor kinase for which many mutant phenotypes were described in relation to growth and stress responses in Arabidopsis. However, early signaling events by which these response...

1/7 Happy to share that the first publication from my PhD, in which we review the literature about THESEUS1, is now out in @theplantjournal.bsky.social ☘️: doi.org/10.1111/tpj....

Curiosity, adventure and discovery.

On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Giulia Giordano, Eleonora Macchia and Géraldine Laloux share what inspired them to choose a career in science, from early curiosity to inspiring teachers.

#WomenInScience #GirlsInScience #IDWGS #STEM

Full professor for plant ecology in Regensburg. #plantscience #plantscijobs

jobs.zeit.de/jobs/w3-prof...

Ethylene modulates cell wall mechanics for root responses to compaction - Nature Soil compaction traps ethylene around roots, which causes transcriptional upregulation of Auxin Response Factor1, resulting in decreased root cortical cell wall thickness and thereby promoting root ra...

• Cortex cell walls weaken → cells expand radially
• Result: a thick epidermis–thin cortex architecture that helps roots penetrate dense soil

📖 Ethylene modulates cell wall mechanics for root responses to compaction. Nature www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#Plantscience #RootBiology #Science

Image: Semi-thin sections (2 µm thickness, 1 cm from root tip) of WT, arf1-1, OE-ARF1, cesa6 and arf1cesa6 lines. Scale bar=50 µm. Credit: Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09765-7

🌱 How do roots push through compacted soil?

A new study in @nature.com shows that soil compaction increases ethylene, reshaping cell wall mechanics in roots hydrosensing.eu/2026/02/ethy...

Some key findings📝

• Ethylene activates ARF1 in the root cortex
• ARF1 represses cellulose synthase genes

👇

Why are stress-resistant crops still rare? Bridging the gap between discovery and the field - The Global Plant Council Over the past three decades, plant scientists have identified thousands of genes and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) linked to tolerance against drought, heat, salinity, and other environmental…

Why are stress-resistant crops still rare? Bridging the gap between discovery and the field buff.ly/gnIupta via @universityofessex.bsky.social #Plantscience

Teaching Tools in Plant Biology Graphics highlighting several scientific images/figures.

📣 Check out the latest unit in the Teaching Tools in Plant Biology series, “Genomic Analysis of Botanical Collections: Opportunities and Challenges,” blog.aspb.org/new-teaching.... 🌱

#PlantScience

Developmental pathways in plants: Lessons from Arabidopsis for crop innovation Abstract. The emergence of molecular biology, along with the use of Arabidopsis thaliana as a model organism, has significantly enhanced our understanding

With advances in genome sequencing, these insights are now being translated to crop species, opening exciting opportunities for crop innovation. A look back at foundational discoveries, and forward to what’s next in plant developmental biology.

📝 To the full paper: doi.org/10.1093/plce...

Developmental pathways in plants: Lessons from Arabidopsis for crop innovation Abstract. The emergence of molecular biology, along with the use of Arabidopsis thaliana as a model organism, has significantly enhanced our understanding

From a tiny model plant to global food systems 🌍🌱

Review in The Plant Cell explores how decades of research on Arabidopsis thaliana have transformed our understanding of plant development.

#PlantScience #Arabidopsis #PlantGenomics

👇

Image: Description and validation of pMDS plasmid system for dual analysis of transcription and translation in plants. (A) Organization of pMDS1 vector showing reporters for transcription [mTurquoise (mTurQ)], translation (C-terminal mVenus), and a 2A self-cleaving peptide. (B) Organization of pMDS2 vector showing reporters for transcription (mTurQ), translation (N-terminal mVenus), and a 2A self-cleaving peptide. (C) Confocal image of pMDS1_SHRpro:SHR:mVenus:mTurQ showing gene expression (mTurQ) in the stele region and protein (mVenus) translocating to endodermis in the root meristem. (D) Confocal image of pMDS2_VAM3pro:mVenus:VAM3:mTurQ showing subcellular expression (mTurQ) in the nucleus and protein (mVenus) moving to the vacuole in the root epidermis. Red channel shows mCherry expression. nu, nucleus; vac, vacuole; *, endodermis of root meristem. Scale bar, 10 μM. Credit: Science Advances

🧬🌱 How do cells tune SUMOylation under stress?

New study builds a SUMO Cell Atlas of the Arabidopsis root, revealing striking tissue- and compartment-specific regulation of the entire SUMO pathway, and how different stresses rewire it.

📝 To the full paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

With 5,565 amiRNAs targeting ~82% of the transportome, mTACT enables spatially resolved genetic screens to uncover hidden regulators of signaling molecule transport.

Published in @plantphys.bsky.social

#PlantPhysiology #Arabidopsis #FunctionalGenomics #Transporters #GeneRegulation #PlantScience

🧬🌱 Just added a new paper to the website:

A report about a Multi Targeted AmiRNA Cell type-specific Transportome-scale (mTACT) toolbox, a cell type-specific, transportome-scale amiRNA toolbox that overcomes functional redundancy in Arabidopsis.

📝 Here: hydrosensing.eu/2026/01/mtac...

👇

Schematic illustration of NRT1.1B-SPX4-NLP4 or NLP3 response patterns in six different states. States I–IV correspond to plants exposed to constant low-nitrate (LN) or high-nitrate (HN) conditions, as discussed in Ma et al. (2025). States I and II depict a stress-free condition, while states III and IV depict a stress condition, in which abscisic acid (ABA) molecules (red circles) bind to NRT1.1B exclusively under constant LN (Figure 1 State III). Under constant HN conditions, instead of ABA molecules, nitrate ions bind to NRT1.1B, and nitrate is transported from the outside to the inside of the cell (Figure 1 State IV). Abscisic acid molecules are substituted by nitrate. As a reference, the transient application of nitrate ions (green circles) is also included for states V and VI, as discussed in Hu et al. (2019) (note that NLP3 is used here instead of NLP4).

🌿To #grow or not to grow...🌿

This #OpenAccess #JIPB commentary discusses the mechanism by which #plants decide whether stop or continue growing under fluctuating #environmental conditions.

doi.org/10.1111/jipb...
@wileylifesci.bsky.social
#PlantScience #botany #evolution #ClimateChange

Maize genetic diversity identifies moisture-dependent root-branch signaling pathways Plants grow complex root systems to extract unevenly distributed resources from soils. Spatial differences in soil moisture are perceived by root tips leading to the patterning of new root branches to...

Hi! You can contact Malcolm Bennett or check the version available in biorxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

2026 UK plant biomechanics workshop on 17th April 2026 in Nottingham.

Abstract submissions deadline is 13 Feb, and registration is open.

🌱🧪🌿🔬#PlantSci

Moisture-responsive root-branching pathways identified in diverse maize breeding germplasm Plants grow complex root systems to extract unevenly distributed resources from soils. Spatial differences in soil moisture are perceived by root tips, leading to the patterning of new root branches t...

4. These signaling pathways translate environmental water patterns into root architecture with clear field relevance.

🤔 These insights into moisture-responsive root growth could help improve drought resilience in crops. #Maize #PlantScience

📄 Full paper: www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1...

4/4

Image: Hydropatterning responses revealed in public sector breeding lines of Zea mays (maize). (A and B) Schematic of the (A) hydropatterning response in (B) our custom-built hydropatterning assay. Primary roots of maize seedlings are grown in a vertical position along moist paper while being prevented from growing off the paper by a mesh cover. Lateral root (LR) primordia are preferentially induced towards the water-saturated paper (contact-side) and suppressed on the air-exposed side (air-side). Longitudinal cross-section of maize root (B73 inbred) stained with Calcofluor White (cell walls; gray) and SYBR Green (LRs; green). (C and D) Distribution of (C) contact-(blue) and air-side (white) LR densities from 250 maize inbred lines characterized using the hydropatterning assay and calculated (D) percent air-side LRs (purple). Each inbred line is represented by its median value (n = 1-3 seedlings/inbred) (data S2). Gray lines connect corresponding inbred lines. Population median (white circles). (E) X-ray Computed Tomography showing LR patterning on primary roots of strong (CI64) and weak (OH7B) hydropatterning inbred lines grown through an air-filled macropore in soil.

2. This divergence likely reflects different historical selection pressures during modern breeding.

3. Auxin promotes root branching toward moisture, while ethylene suppresses branching on air-exposed root surfaces.

3/4