Host-adapted enzymatic deconstruction of acetylated xylan limits immune activation and facilitates mutualistic colonization of monocot roots This study identifies a monocot-specific enzymatic module in the beneficial root endophyte Serendipita indica, showing how ancestral saprotrophic enzymes have been repurposed into an immune-compatible...

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...

Coevolution of plant–microbe interactions, friend–foe continuum, and microbiome engineering for a sustainable future This review synthesizes 450 million years of plant–microbe coevolution into a three-pillar framework centered on organellogenesis, root evolution, and immune gatekeeping. It organizes the friend–foe c...

Coevolution of plant–microbe interactions, friend–foe continuum, and microbiome engineering for a sustainable future

Molecular Plant (@mplantpcom.bsky.social) review

www.cell.com/molecular-pl...

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.

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...

Norio Takeshita on the right, with a quote from his article on the left.

A surprising observation of hundreds of nuclei in a single cell led researcher Norio Takeshita to investigate the remarkable powers of a fungus renowned across Japan.

Read the latest interview from Inside Discovery: buff.ly/0i4KBTi

@fungalcell.bsky.social

NbCDPK4 and NbCDPK5 interact with NbRBOHB and generate reactive oxygen species production.

CDPKs regulate ROS burst during plant cell death

Hino et al.

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/32FTI7...

Some reflections on #Fungal26 This was a great meeting as always but set against some turbulent times of course, which meant many regular attendees were not present. This thread is mainly for them. However, the proportion of first-time attendees was very high and very international. #Fungal26 1/15

Plant cell surface receptors Plant cell surface receptors have evolved to perceive peptides, proteins, glycans, lipids, and small molecules through diverse ectodomains, integrating these inputs into distinct physiological output...

New review out! This might be the most up-to-date textbook on plant surface receptors and signaling. Great job, @brunongou.bsky.social !
dx.doi.org/10.1111/tpj....

Thank you very much for highlighting our work!

"New preprint: We found that a fungal nutrient-sensing factor coordinates virulence and adaptation under nutrient-limiting conditions!

PCP February Issue cover confocal image showing root colonization by the endophytic fungus Colletotrichum fructicola expressing GFP, with A. thaliana plasma membranes visualized using an mCherry-fused aquaporin (magenta). Photo credit: Shunsuke Miyashima, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Japan.

🔥Hot off the press....!🔥

⭐The February Issue of Plant & Cell Physiology is out now!⭐

🛋️ academic.oup.com/pcp/issue/67/2

@academic.oup.com
@jspp-news.bsky.social

#PlantScience 🌱

📸Photo credit: Shunsuke Miyashima, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Japan
📝Related paper: doi.org/10.1093/pcp/...

Really happy to see this one out: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... Alibek's drive & great coll w/ friends @gekaragoz.bsky.social & E. Hallacli resulted in a cool story that starts with our beloved #Marchantia and ends with iPSC-derived neurons 🤩🤪 A short 🧵

Join us on March 10, 2026 at Kyoto University 🇯🇵 for a day celebrating my long-time friend and collaborator Prof. Ryohei Terauchi.

"Kyoto Mini-Symposium on Plant–Microbe Interactions"

Dihydroxyhexanoic acid biosynthesis controls turgor in pathogenic fungi Many plant pathogenic fungi penetrate host surfaces mechanically, using turgor pressure generated by specialized infection cells called appressoria. These appressoria develop semipermeable cell walls ...

Out in @science.org this week, two fungal enzymes synthesise DHHA, which controls cell wall porosity and turgor in plant pathogenic fungi www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#mycology
#plantscience

📣 Our latest story just dropped on bioRxiv:: A structurally unique effector shared between Verticillium dahliae and Fusarium oxysporum is involved in cotton defoliation and virulence on other hosts www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵

TSL Summer Conference in Plant-Microbe Interactions, 20th – 31st July… Inviting Early Career Researchers to join international experts in discussing the latest approaches and discoveries in Plant-Microbe Interactions …

Join us in Norwich this July for the TSL Summer Conference in Plant-Microbe Interactions! ☀️🌱🧬

Discuss the latest approaches & discoveries in plant health with international keynote and local speakers.

APPLY by 30 March '26 ⬇️ Click link for more info
www.tsl.ac.uk/tsl-summer-c...

Thank you very much for your nice commentary! we will do what you suggest in this.

In our latest study, we took a critical look at #fungal family #Nectriaceae by analyzing 1,530 #genomes! We built a robust #phylogenomic backbone that supports current taxonomy but also reveals gene-tree discordance and unresolved boundaries. More info www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Undermining the cry for help: the phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae secretes an antimicrobial effector protein to undermine host recruitment of antagonistic Pseudomonas bacteria During pathogen attack, plants recruit beneficial microbes in a ‘cry for help’ to mitigate disease development. Simultaneously, pathogens secrete effectors to promote host colonisation through vario...

📣 Now announcing the journal publication 📄 of our work in @newphyt.bsky.social on how Verticillium undermines the plant's 🌱 "cry for help": terrific work by @antonkraege.bsky.social & @wolki95.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/nph....

I’m very happy to see my fist article now officially published 🥳 great work by my partner in crime @wolki95.bsky.social and the rest of @teamthomma.bsky.social! Find it here: doi.org/10.1111/nph.... or have a look at the 🧵⬇️

It’s been 14 years since I uploaded a video on YouTube showing that Striga does not infect other members of the Orobanchaceae family.JSPS Fellow Simon came to Japan and carried out mutant screening to find mechanism and it was 10 years ago that the mutant was finally obtained. A long journey.

📣 New @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social preprint, another joint-venture of @wolki95.bsky.social & @antonkraege.bsky.social, co-directed by @nicksnelders.bsky.social. Here’s a 🧵

Our latest work is out! We set out to see if we could recreate soil-nurturing plant growth in vitro. The plants looked happy and we see microbiome-induced cell-type-specific responses! A modest step but a fun challenge 😁

Vanishing Virulence: Investigating pathogenicity loss in a plant pathogenic fungus (TALBOT_T26DTP) | Doctoral Training Partnership What makes a plant killer lose its edge? This project will investigate why fungal pathogens lose virulence when they are grown in laboratory culture away from their host plant. Use cutting-edge…

New PhD opportunity in my group @thesainsburylab.bsky.social through the BBSRC NRP DTP Programme - see details of host to apply below

biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/projects/van...

Understanding Host Compatibility in the Marchantia-Phytophthora System (CARELLA_J26DTP) | Doctoral Training Partnership The fossil record demonstrates that filamentous microbes invaded ancient plant cells with intracellular hyphal structures over 450 million years ago. To this day, a rich diversity of extant land plant...

New opportunity to undertake a PhD in my group ⁦‪at the John Innes Centre - if you’re interested in plant immunity and evolution check out the link!

Plant Biotechnology, Volume 42, Issue 3 Published by Japanese Society for Plant Biotechnology. OPEN ACCESS

We are pleased to announce the release of our special issue, “Diverse Symbiotic Relationships between Plants and Microbes in the Phyllosphere and Rhizosphere,” now available in Plant Biotechnology (open access)!
www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/plant...

We’re delighted to share that our paper has been just accepted in PCP!

We analyzed fungus–fungus competition that suppresses pathogenic colonization in Arabidopsis roots.Special thanks to Duke, Hiroyuki, Yuki, Nanami, and everyone who contributed!
t.co/obQyD1rzI1

Dynamic shifts in plant-microbe relationships Plant-microbe interactions encompass a continuum from mutualism and commensalism to parasitism. Mutualists confer benefits such as nutrient acquisitio …

I am happy to see this out!

Plant-microbe relationship (mutualistic, commensalistic, parasitic) is not fixed, but rather dynamic, depending on the specific context.
We summarize the current knowledge on this.

Hope you enjoy~

www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/plan...

We proudly present a new preprint by Leon Pierdzig et al: Wall teichoic acids, glycopolymers specific to Gram-positive bacteria, trigger defense and cell death in Arabidopsis. Cysteine-rich RLKs act as key components in their perception. doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Benzoxazinoid-mediated microbiome feedbacks enhance Arabidopsis growth and defense Plants modulate their surrounding microbiome via root exudates and this conditioned soil microbiome feeds back on the performance of the next generation of plants. How plants can perceive this altered...

updated preprint: Intriguingly, Arabidopsis responded with both, improved growth and enhanced defence to a maize-conditioned soil microbiome, and this dual microbiome feedbacks were mediated by priming of the defences. Credits to Katja Stengele et al.!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

WIND1 controls cell fate transition through histone acetylation and deacetylation during somatic embryogenesis www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08....