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Gitta Coaker

@gittacoaker.bsky.social

2K followers 1.1K following 350 posts

Professor at UC Davis, studying plant immunity and bacterial pathogens. Loves weightlifting, running, and the outdoors.

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Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · Jul 29

Excited this paper is finally published! We focused on the inner concave surface of LRR RKs to expand bacterial flagellin perception in plants. Selection indicates expanded perception is more common than previously thought. Experiments led by @jerrytli.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Unlocking expanded flagellin perception through rational receptor engineering - Nature Plants

Receptor kinase FLS2 detects the flg22 epitope of bacterial flagellin. Here the authors identify key residues on FLS2’s concave surface that enable expanded perception of flg22 variants, allowing the ...

www.nature.com

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Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · 2h

😅 I took it up because I can’t (am not allowed….) to play basketball anymore.

Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · 2h

Haha thanks! I’m not great at surfing, but it is a lot of fun.

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Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · 2h

Everything sounds horrible, but I still think California is one of the most beautiful states. In the winter I can surf, hike and ski or snowboard in one weekend. I’m excited to go surfing tomorrow at Ocean Beach.🏝️

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Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · 2h

Self sabotage. Let’s just break everything is the mantra.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 4h

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

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Reposted by Gitta Coaker

Alex McClelland @alexjmcclelland.bsky.social · 16h

1/13 Thankfully, both you and your plants have a lot of sophisticated ways to fight off invading pathogens.
In our new preprint, we describe a new way in which animals and plants share a common strategy to ward off harmful bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A secreted citrus protease cleaves an outer membrane protein of the Huanglongbing pathogen

Plants secrete a variety of proteases as a defense response during infection by microbial pathogens. However, the relationship between their catalytic activities and antimicrobial functions remains la...

www.biorxiv.org

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Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · 1d

Let’s keep it weird Portland. The lizard frog is killing me.

The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 1d

The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.

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Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · 1d

www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Fungal resistance in rice is restored by interfamily transfer of an evolutionarily lost co-receptor

Zhang et al. identify STOM, a previously unknown fungal MAMP, and its receptor-co-receptor pair, STOMR/STOMRh. The evolutionary loss of functional STOMRh in monocots restricts immune recognition, whil...

www.cell.com

Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · 1d

FRET sensor for SA developed. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

SALICYLIC ACID SENSOR1 reveals the propagation of an SA hormone surge during plant pathogen advance

Salicylic acid (SA) is a key phytohormone that orchestrates immune responses against pathogens, including Pseudomonas syringae bacteria. The timing and extent of SA accumulation are tightly controlled...

www.science.org

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Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · 1d

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Interfamily co-transfer of sensor and helper NLRs extends immune receptor functionality between angiosperms

Co-delivering Solanaceae sensor NLRs with their NRC clade helper NLRs confers cognate effector responsiveness and disease resistance in non-asterid species, including rice, soybean, and Arabidopsis, t...

www.cell.com

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Reposted by Gitta Coaker

Maddy Seale @maddyseale.bsky.social · 3d

Out First Release in @science.org this week:
The development of a directed evolution strategy with proof of concept in plant immune protein engineering.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Engineered geminivirus replicons enable rapid in planta directed evolution

Directed evolution can rapidly generate genetic variants with new and enhanced properties, yet efficient platforms for performing such evolution directly in plant cells have been lacking. We developed...

www.science.org

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Reposted by Gitta Coaker

Edel Pérez-López 🇨🇦 @edelplopez.bsky.social · 3d

Our @elife.bsky.social Version of Record is now out 🎉 : elifesciences.org/articles/105...

Congratulations to @sohambio.bsky.social , @asimjaved.bsky.social , and @jiaxuwu.bsky.social on this beautiful work. We also wrote an easy-to-read eLife Digest for a general audience 👏

image promoting the paper representing a field, the pathogen and computer predicting proteins

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Reposted by Gitta Coaker

Noah Fahlgren @noahfahlgren.bsky.social · 4d

Deadline for our 2nd cohort of the Pivot to Plants program at the Danforth Center is Oct 15th. Excited to identify 5 participants for a 1-year NSF-funded internship. Hands-on research experience in cutting-edge #plantscience, #imaging, #datascience, and more! www.danforthcenter.org/our-work/edu...

Pivot to Plants: Training Program for Plant and Data Science | Danforth Plant Science Center

The Pivot2Plants Fellows Program is a 1-year training program for people interested in pivoting to a career in plant science or data science but have limited research experience.

www.danforthcenter.org

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Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · 4d

UNC Chapel Hill is hiring an Assistant Professor in Plant Molecular Biology. Per Jeff
Dangl MPMI candidates are also highly desired in the search. unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/307...

Assistant Professor

The Department of Biology at UNC Chapel Hill (https://bio.unc.edu/) is searching to hire a tenure track Assistant Professor to study critical questions in Plant Molecular Biology.We seek candidates wh...

unc.peopleadmin.com

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Reposted by Gitta Coaker

Erin Green @erinrgreen.bsky.social · 6d

Job alert ‼️ UChicago Micro is hiring! Open to tenured/tenure track faculty at all levels in any area of microbiology. Come join our amazing and growing department. apply.interfolio.com/174404

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Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · 6d

Consider donating to your local food bank. The cost of groceries has increased a lot and many families are in need. The lines for food distribution are much longer than this time last year. www.sacramentofoodbank.org

Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services

www.sacramentofoodbank.org

Reposted by Gitta Coaker

Nick Talbot @talbotlabtsl.bsky.social · 6d

Great to be in Kansas State for a celebration of Barbara Valent’s career- what an impacts she’s had on rice blast research

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Reposted by Gitta Coaker

nikogeldner.bsky.social @nikogeldner.bsky.social · 7d

A long road to the Cover of Science!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Localized glutamine leakage drives the spatial structure of root microbial colonization

Plant roots release exudates to encourage microbiome assembly, which influences the function and stress resilience of plants. How specific exudates drive spatial colonization patterns remains largely ...

www.science.org

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Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · 9d

Sleepy kitten

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Reposted by Gitta Coaker

Prof. Keiko Torii @keikoutorii.bsky.social · 9d

🌱Tenure-track Assistant Professor Position OPEN🌱
-Plant Interkingdom/Environment Interactions & Plant Immunity- at The Univ. Texas at Austin, Molecular BioSciences.
Deadline Nov 1st. Please spread the words and APPLY! Contact me if you have any questions.
apply.interfolio.com/175001

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Reposted by Gitta Coaker

Ben Morehouse @benmorehouse.bsky.social · 9d

Our story describing the Panoptes bacterial immune defense system is now finally peer-reviewed and published today! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The Panoptes system uses decoy cyclic nucleotides to defend against phage - Nature

The Panoptes antiphage system defends bacteria by detecting phage-encoded counter-defences that sequester cyclic nucleotide signals, triggering membrane disruption and highlighting a broader strategy of sensing immune evasion through second-messenger surveillance.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Gitta Coaker

Gabriel Mendoza-Rojas @gabmrojas.bsky.social · 10d

🧵How does a pathogen know it has entered its host?

New preprint!🎉It’s a pleasure to share my first first-author preprint from my PhD journey!
We uncover a novel co-evolved peptide–GPCR system in the fungus Ustilago maydis that senses host entry and triggers infection (doi.org/10.1101/2025...)
(1/5)

bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 13d

A co-evolved peptide-GPCR system senses host entry to drive fungal infection https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.26.678928v1

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Reposted by Gitta Coaker

American Phytopathological Society (APS) @plantdisease.bsky.social · 9d

#ICYMI Applications are open! The OIP International Research Achievement Award honors APS members advancing plant pathology. The award includes a Certificate of Achievement + a $500 award.

Apply by December 5: https://bit.ly/42mc9p7

#plantdisease #plantpathology #research

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Reposted by Gitta Coaker

Jeffrey Dean @jeffdean-uga.bsky.social · 10d

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

MSL10 is a high-sensitivity mechanosensor in the tactile sense of the Venus flytrap - Nature Communications

The Venus flytrap, a carnivorous plant, catches prey by sensing touch. Here, the authors show that DmMSL10 functions as a high-sensitivity mechanosensor in sensory hairs, initiating long-range calcium and electrical signals required for trap closure.

www.nature.com

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Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · 10d

So embarrassing and incompetent. My husband served for 8 yrs and encountered some truly difficult situations that test your humanity and still impact him today. International and customary laws governing the conduct of warfare and armed conflict are there for a reason.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 10d

Hegseth: "We unleash overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy. We also don't fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt, and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement."

Reposted by Gitta Coaker

Lauren Kuehne @omfishient.bsky.social · 11d

🧪 Were you one of the many thousands of STEM students (and mentors) impacted by the sudden change in #NSF #GRFP eligibility last week?

We created a petition to NSF leadership and Congress to reverse the changes - please sign and share your stories here!!

laurenkuehne.github.io/grfpChanges/

Petition to NSF to Restore Eligibility for the 2026 Graduate Research Fellowship Program Competition

laurenkuehne.github.io

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