Very proud to share our new paper led by Mathias Brands from my team at @UniCologne! With Markus Pauly team @HHU. Host-adapted enzymatic deconstruction of acetylated xylan limits immune activation and facilitates mutualistic colonization of monocot roots: Molecular Plant www.cell.com/molecular-pl...
Ancestral Genome Reconstruction. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04...
Thrilled to share our paper now out in Nature Plants 🎉
We developed a genome-host association (GHA) approach to study pathogen adaptation directly from field metadata by using the originating host cultivar as phenotype.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Fig. 1 Alternative routes to allopolyploid origin.
✨ Paper spotlight ✨
(🧵 1/6) Somatic genome-doubling is the most parsimonious route to allopolyploidy
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@robinburns.bsky.social @alisondawnscott.bsky.social @pnovik.bsky.social
Reconstructing plant beneficial bacterial consortia by integrating dilution-to-extinction microbiome perturbation with genome-resolved synthetic ecology www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04...
A new study from our group, led by Iris Eisermann, of the septin interactome during appressorium development, revealing many new interactors and significantly widening the biological function of septins in fungal pathogenesis. 👇
@thesainsburylab.bsky.social
This high-quality reference establishes a solid foundation for exploring the molecular mechanisms behind beneficial plant-endophyte interactions.
Kudos to all the authors!
#Genomics #PlantPathology #Mycology #Bioinformatics #ScienceSky
Venn diagram of effector orthogroups between FO12, Fol4287 and Fo47
Finally, looking at the effector repertoire, we predicted 385 candidates. FO12 lacks canonical SIX genes (only a SIX8-homolog was found), supporting its non-pathogenicity.
Ultimately, we identified 72 unique effectors belonging to 65 orthogroups, likely keys to its endophytic lifestyle!
Linear synteny plot of the four Fusarium oxysporum FO12 accessory chromosomes
Looking at the accessory chromosomes, we find the typical low gene density and high TE presence.
When comparing them, they share very similar sequences, in particular Chr06 and Chr07 have ~80% coverage and 89% identity, suggesting a massive duplication event!
Linear synteny plot comparing FO12, Fol4287, and Fo47
Comparative genomics confirms that FO12 shares the conserved core chromosomes of the F. oxysporum species complex, as recently described by van Westerhoven et al. (2025; doi.org/10.1093/narg...). However, FO12 Chr01 is a bit bigger than expected. Our data suggest a core chromosome fusion event.
Like other FOSC members, FO12 has a two-speed genome, we identified 10 core chromosomes and 4 accessory chromosomes
Hi-C contact map and circos plot of FO12 genome
To resolve the genome, we used a hybrid approach combining Nanopore long-read sequencing (~123x coverage) and Hi-C (~595x coverage).
The result is a 57.60 Mb assembly resolved into 14 chromosome-scale scaffolds with a 99.6% BUSCO completeness!
F. oxysporum FO12 was originally isolated from the cork of Quercus suber L. and has been studied as a highly effective biocontrol agent.
It is proven to reduce pathogens like Verticillium dahliae while also acting as a potent plant growth promoter
( doi.org/10.1111/ppl....; doi.org/10.1016/j.sc...)
A new genome in the Foxy family!
📣Excited to share our latest preprint on bioRxiv!
We present the first chromosome-level assembly of Fusarium oxysporum FO12, a highly effective biocontrol agent against soil-borne pathogens like Verticillium dahliae.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵
🥳 Happy that our manuscript, first published on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social has been accepted for publication in "Microbiome" and will be part of a collection on "Harnessing plant microbiomes to improve performance and mechanistic understanding" link.springer.com/article/10.1...
1/11 🔥 New preprint alert 🔥
We wanted to know what plants in the wild really care about. So we asked them 🎤.
Here is what we learned: “Biotic-response networks are an important organizer of the transcriptome in wild Arabidopsis thaliana populations”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🎉 Last week @antonkraege.bsky.social brilliantly defended his PhD thesis @unicologne.bsky.social entitled "Functional and Evolutionary Characterisation of Antimicrobial Effectors Secreted by Verticillium dahliae to Shape Host Microbiota" #proudPI #PhDone
Two scientists in lab coats analyzing plant samples in a greenhouse filled with yellow flowers.
📢New paper alert:
🍄 Friendly #fungi hijack #plant regulator to promote #symbiosis - study uncovers #mechanism that helps fungi to colonize plant #roots
👉 Link: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@an-pocheng.bsky.social @carogutj.bsky.social
Please share widely! We think MycoMobilome can go a long way to support high-quality TE annotations across fungi!
Also, try it on your favorite 🍄 genome and tell us what you think 😉
Evolutionary mechanisms underlying bacterial adaptation to the plant environment
in @femsjournals.bsky.social Microbiology Reviews by @zakisaati.bsky.social et al
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan...
Pls RT‼️ @hanhtkvu.bsky.social lab @embl.org & we @cosheidelberg.bsky.social are looking for a #postdoc to study #regeneration x #autophagy across kingdoms of life.
www.health-life-sciences.de/opportunitie... Pls spread the word & get in touch if you are interested.
This one has been a long time in the making. So many contributions and years of hard work went into bringing this project to the finish line. I’m really happy to finally share our new story. Thanks to everyone involved, and a very special thanks to @teamthomma.bsky.social and @lfaino.bsky.social
🎉 Yesterday we enjoyed the glorious defence of @gabriellapetti.bsky.social of her @unicologne.bsky.social PhD thesis on "Homologous antimicrobial proteins in plants and fungi: conserved mechanisms shaping the plant microbiota" #proudPI #PhDone ..mind the crown modeled after the Ave1 NMR structure!😍
📢 Three new #bioRxiv preprints from our team on holocentric chromosomes.
Together, they connect centromere repeat evolution, karyotype dynamics, and meiotic recombination outcomes, revealing how holocentric genomes evolve and function. 🧬👇
Beyond excited to see this work finally out in @narjournal.bsky.social! We show that epigenetic modifiers on fungal accessory chromosomes can contribute to the overall epigenetic profile. Many thanks to @gomezlucia93.bsky.social and our other amazing collaborators 👏🏻
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
We have a new preprint!
In this study, we use #genomic data to uncover population structure and adaptive potential in the meadow #spittlebug, the main European #vector of #Xylella fastidiosa.
📣 Major milestone achieved! First @teamthomma.bsky.social @unicologne.bsky.social PhD student graduated 🎉! Congratulations to @wolki95.bsky.social for a stellar defence of a thesis on antimicrobial effectors of Verticillium dahliae that drive niche adaptation #proudPI #PhDone
starbase: A Database and Toolkit for Exploration of Extremely Large Mobile Elements in Fungi www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12...
