I just published Don’t Perish! A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Scientific Paper (2026 edition)
Great science deserves to be read—not buried under unclear writing. This is the updated 2026 edition of your favorite guide to writing scientific papers.
medium.com/p/dont-peris...
[6/8] Using analytical techniques and docking experiments, we demonstrate that PpCUS enzymes catalyze the polymerization of 10,16-dihydroxyhexadecanoic acid (10,16-diOH-C16:0) using a 2-monoacylglycerol (2-MHG) as substrate, producing a reticulated polyester similar to that in flowering plants.
[5/8] Confocal and electron microscopy revealed that PpCUS enzymes localize to the apoplast, where they control cuticle integrity and its diffusion-limiting properties.
[4/8] CRISPR-mediated knockout of CUS genes in the moss Physcomitrium patens (a bryophyte) caused abnormal development of gametophores, the first tissue in the moss life cycle to form a cuticle.
[3/8] Through phylogenetic reconstruction, we found that the CUS family emerged in a common ancestor of bryophytes and tracheophytes, the two sister lineages of land plants, coinciding with the transition to terrestrial environments.
[2/8] The cuticle is a specialized hydrophobic modification of the epidermal cell wall that acts as a diffusion barrier.
CUS enzymes are essential for cuticle formation in flowering plants (tracheophytes), synthesizing the lipid polyester that forms its structural framework.
Ever wondered how the #cuticle, a hallmark of land plants, was established?
In our latest study, we show that the CUTIN SYNTHASE enzyme family was a key driver of this evolutionary innovation. #plantscience
▶️ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
A thread 🧵 [1/8]
A dated phylogeny of 16,585 vascular plant species native to China reveals three major centres of endemism, including a potential new global biodiversity hotspot 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I’m also super excited to read Jacob’s newest book 📕 🌿
Let’s Botanize
Written with Ben Goulet-Scott
Andrew Hudson, Sannie Fu, Jacob Suissa and Sandy Hetherington standing in a row. Sannie is wearing a hat in the style of a mortar board that says congratulations Sannie.
Huge congratulations to the newest Dr from the lab - Dr @sannie-zishanfu.bsky.social
@instmolplantsci.bsky.social!!!
A special thanks to Jacob Suissa for making the trip over from the US! It’s been great spending the last couple of days chatting about all things ferns and lycophytes 🌿
#JobAlert #PhD 🌱
We are offering a PhD project to explore how transcription factors have shaped the evolution of plant protective barriers.
We will support suitable candidates in applying to the @unistra.fr Graduate School competition.
Interested? Please get in touch for more information!
tinyurl.com/Root-map
tinyurl.com/Seedling-map
tinyurl.com/Marpol-map
tinyurl.com/BFA-maps
tinyurl.com/gnom-maps
(8/9)
We are very excited to share a new resource from our team: spatial subcellular proteome maps in plants! We developed an MS-based method that registers localizations of about 8000 proteins in Arabidopsis roots in a single experiment.
(1/9)
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Plant Sciences 🌿 are really well represented on the Euro Evo Devo committee @plantevodevo-ab.bsky.social and @ucdflowerpower.bsky.social and the local organising committee with @drannisr.bsky.social and I so we hope there will be a really good turn out from the Plant Evo Devo community! 🌼🌱
I am particularly excited about:
The keynote from @beverleycubg.bsky.social
Symposia 1- Evo-Devo Principles of Plant Specialized Metabolism
Symposia 18- Evo-Devo of Plant Forms and Patterns
Symposia 22- Forty years of Molecular Paleontology and beyond @phil-donoghue.bsky.social
We are really excited that Euro Evo Devo will take place here in Scotland from the 9th-12th June, at the University of Glasgow!
Deadline for Early Bird Registration and Abstract Submission are rapidly approaching in March so do register soon!
www.evodevoconference26.com/important-da...
Here is the Share Link if you are struggling to get access to the paper:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1mfk53QW8S...
Rhizoid‐mediated phosphate uptake and internal transport in the non‐vascular plant Marchantia polymorpha nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Interested in the most recent developments in plant science? Join the Mendel Early Career Symposium on May 21-22 at the @viennabiocenter.bsky.social to exchange with experts about their science and career trajectories. Register by March 13th for a talk. More here: www.oeaw.ac.at/gmi/news-eve...
What to learn more about the enigmatic organism Prototaxites?? Have a read of our new Quick Guide in @currentbiology.bsky.social
It includes another great palaeo-reconstruction of the Rhynie ecosystem from @matt-humpage.bsky.social
🚨JOB alert🚨
We have three (yes, THREE) 🌟lectureships🌟 advertised in the School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol.
Broad remit, including #AnimalBehaviour & #GlobalChangeBiology
⏱️Deadline: 8th March 2026
🙏Please circulate widely
😊Come join us!
Full #job details: tinyurl.com/y3us95rc
A phylogenetic framework of the lower vertebrates.
"We describe the only known example of a three-dimensionally mineralized heart, thick-walled stomach, and bilobed liver from arthrodire placoderms, stem gnathostomes from the Late Devonian Gogo Formation in Western Australia"
www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....
🧪 ⚒️ #Geology #Paleobio #EvoBio
Life cycle of Cyanidiophyceae.
Fascinating single-cell red algae: models for evolution and adaptation
#TansleyReview by Berger et al.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#plantscience
Saskia Hogenhout standing in a seminar room
A wonderful seminar by @saskiahogenhout.bsky.social today! Thanks for making the trip north to @instmolplantsci.bsky.social
ONLINE COVER Maximum-intensity projection of a confocal image of epidermal cells from the Thale cress roots, where four colors stain different cell parts. Goldy et al. demonstrate that the protein actin allows cells to override standard division rules by stabilizing the orientation of spindles, which segregate chromosomes during mitosis. This uncovers a previously under-appreciated role for actin cytoskeletons, providing new insight into how division orientation is controlled to ensure robust tissue architecture during plant growth. Credit: Camila Goldy
What could be more satisfying than this ?
✨️Congrats to all the authors ✨️
Could not be more proud of you 🥹
Credit: Camila Goldy @camilagoldy.bsky.social
For my pals in the UK: @waterstones.bsky.social is running a fantastic pre-order promotion this month! You can order The Story of Birds and save 25%!
Just be sure to use the code FEB26 when ordering!
Thanks as always to Waterstones and my publisher @picadorbooks.bsky.social #WPreorder
Recruitment of bifunctional regulator thermospermine to methylated ribosomes directs xylem fate | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🚨 Positions available in Plant Science! Please share. We’re hiring:
1. Postdoc
2.PhD (UK applicants only)
Focus: root oxygen dynamics, developmental signalling. Come help us uncover how O2 shapes root development.
More info here-
sites.google.com/view/root-re...
#plantscijobs #plantscience
It was good to catch up on my reading for this dispatch in Current Biology. Sjoerd Woudenberg in the Weijers lab, Wallner et al. In the Dolan lab and Flores Sandoval et al. In the Bowman lab have done a great job! Evolution and development: What makes a merry stem?: www.cell.com/current-biol...