"The order of fungal infection can influence disease severity and plant resistance"

Our @theccdm.bsky.social paper on fungal co-infection of wheat is out @PlantDiseaseJ. Collab @agtbreeding @DPIRDbroadacre @evan-john.bsky.social. Link below @theGRDC Groundcover.

Transcriptional Response of Magnaporthe oryzae Towards Barley-Microbiome Derived Bacteria | Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions® The composition of the plant microbiome is shaped not only by the host plant and abiotic environmental factors, but also by inter-microbial cooperation and competition. Plant pathogens, therefore must...

CONGRATS to team @effectomics.bsky.social and @steidele.bsky.social . Transcriptional Response of Magnaporthe oryzae Towards Barley-Microbiome Derived Bacteria | Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions® apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/...

Working model for class II Topless (TPL)-interacting protein effectors in maize shoot reprogramming.

Read the paper by Mamoona Khan, et al. 👇
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

A conserved fungal transcription factor domain drives protein-protein interactions and necrotrophic effector-mediated virulence in Parastagonospora nodorum The fungal pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum utilises necrotrophic effectors (NEs) to cause chlorosis and necrosis on wheat. NE expression is mediated by an assortment of transcription factors (TF), t...

Our @theccdm.bsky.social preprint on the domain function and interactors of the effector-regulating transcription factor PnPf2 in Parastagonospora nodorum is live! 😁

Led by Shota Morikawa @callumverdonk.bsky.social

Collabs 👉 @danielcroll.bsky.social @evan-john.bsky.social

CSIRO to cut up to 350 research jobs in major overhaul After 440 positions were slashed last year, the CSIRO has announced more staff cuts across the country in a bid to remain financially viable.

Where to start, with a statement like this?

"Tim Ayres said the cuts were aimed at refocusing … CSIRO towards research priorities, such as critical minerals, iron & steel production in Australia."

From some rando down the bus stop, one would brush it off.

But this is from our Science Minister 🤯

Fair-weather friends: Unequal partnerships between Parastagonospora nodorum and Pyrenophora tritici-repentis define disease dynamics in wheat Parastagonospora nodorum and Pyrenophora tritici-repentis are the causal agents of septoria nodorum blotch and tan spot of wheat, respectively. Though these fungal phytopathogens have been found to fr...

Do we need to reassess how disease resistance ratings on crops are determined? 🤔

Our @theccdm.bsky.social preprint revealed co-infection of wheat by P. nodorum & P. tritici-repentis breaks down resistance BUT there is a CAVEAT

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Model for the maintenance of accessory chromosomes by FuSpoks. Triangles represent the toxin function of the proteins, and circles represent the antidote function. Core chromosomes are depicted in grey, with ACs in red. A) A dividing cell within a hyphal tip, expressing a SPOK protein from an AC. B) A dividing cell within a hyphal tip, expressing a SPOK protein from an AC. The AC is lost during mitotic division, resulting in a cell containing Spok toxin, but with no ability to produce Spok antidote. This cell is expected to die.

Excited to see the final version of our paper on toxin/antidote genes and accessory chromosomes in Fusarium published! Now with new and improved figures! We think that many #fungal ACs might be maintained not because of benefits to virulence, but because of Spok genes. doi.org/10.1093/gene...

PhD thesis submission time! 📗🔬

🥳🍾Big congrats to @theccdm.bsky.social @ShotaMorikawa69 for putting together a fine thesis on fungal effector regulation! 💪🤯

3x Posters from the Djamei lab @effectomics.bsky.social @unibonn.bsky.social
Today:
Me #123 effector-effector PCD suppression?
Tomorrow two top PhD students:
Riaz Tabassum #88 early-expressed Ustilago effectors
Komal Pervaiz #206 Magnaporthe vs microbes!

Nice presentation by Balakumaran Chandrasekar on the glycobiology of plant pathogenic fungal cell walls, an area needing more attention! #ISMPMI2025

@mamoonakhan.bsky.social on the molecular mechanisms of gall formation #MPMI2025

I am thrilled to share the latest preprint from our lab!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Huge thanks to everyone involved!

Historic transposon mobilisation waves create distinct pools of adaptive variants in a major crop pathogen Transposable elements (TEs) can drive the evolution of host-pathogen interactions and gains in antimicrobial resistance. However, how adaptive TEs arise in populations and historical contingencies aff...

Excited to share our latest preprint 🥳
Historic transposon mobilisation waves create distinct pools of adaptive variants in a major crop pathogen
@danielcroll.bsky.social
#TESky
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Lake Neuchatel and the Swiss Alps

Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA)

Excited by fungi, genomes, transposons, sustainable agriculture, microbiomes or other topics?

Looking for a friendly and interactive lab located in one of the most beautiful towns in Switzerland? 🇨🇭⛰️⛵

Get in touch and please share!

pathogen-genomics.org

Inferring fungal cis-regulatory networks from genome sequences Gene expression patterns are determined to a large extent by transcription factor binding to non-coding regulatory regions in the genome. However, gene expression cannot yet be systematically predicte...

Petty excited about this work with Alan Moses on power of predicting cis regulatory gene networks www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Come and check out our @theccdm.bsky.social posters on effector regulation (P2.114) and non-host fungal effectors (P2.113) today #ECFG17

From Lesions to Lessons: Two Decades of Filamentous Plant Pathogen Genomics | Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions® Filamentous plant pathogens pose a severe threat to food security. Current estimates suggest up to 23% yield losses to pre- and post-harvest diseases and these losses are projected to increase due to ...

From lesions to lessons:
2025 marks the 20th anniversary of filamentous plant pathogen genomics. In our new review, we present lessons we learned over the past 2 decades and discuss the future of plant pathogen genomics. Take a first look!

apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/...