Juan Alonso-Serra
@jalonsos.bsky.social
MSCA Postdoctoral Researcher • Interested in plant hydraulics and meristems • University of Helsinki • Finland
Pinned
On growth and flow: hydraulic aspects of aboveground meristems
Water is essential for plant growth under both normal and stress conditions. Aboveground, two key meristems control plant development: the shoot apical meristem and the vascular cambium. Here, stem c...
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Very excited to share my first solo Tansley Insight. An integrated view on the hydraulics of aboveground plant meristems, and the framework of my future work as part of this community #PlantScience
@newphyt.bsky.social
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@newphyt.bsky.social
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
“The ZAT14 family promotes cell death and regulates expansins to affect xylem formation and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis”. Now out in @theplantcell.bsky.social led by Ming Feng and colleagues. A 🌱 thread 👇 1/x
academic.oup.com/plcell/advan...
academic.oup.com/plcell/advan...
November 23, 2025 at 9:13 PM
“The ZAT14 family promotes cell death and regulates expansins to affect xylem formation and salt tolerance in Arabidopsis”. Now out in @theplantcell.bsky.social led by Ming Feng and colleagues. A 🌱 thread 👇 1/x
academic.oup.com/plcell/advan...
academic.oup.com/plcell/advan...
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
It’s finally out! 🎉
Work led by former PhD student @wei-xiao-botany.bsky.social , in collaboration with @bayerlab.bsky.social and @bertderybel.bsky.social
AINTEGUMENTA phospho-switch regulates bilateral stem cell activity during secondary growth.
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#PlantSciences
Work led by former PhD student @wei-xiao-botany.bsky.social , in collaboration with @bayerlab.bsky.social and @bertderybel.bsky.social
AINTEGUMENTA phospho-switch regulates bilateral stem cell activity during secondary growth.
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#PlantSciences
An AINTEGUMENTA phosphoswitch controls bilateral stem cell activity during secondary growth | PNAS
Plant stem cells have the remarkable ability to give rise to distinct tissues and
organs throughout development. Two concentric cylinders of active...
www.pnas.org
November 20, 2025 at 9:07 PM
It’s finally out! 🎉
Work led by former PhD student @wei-xiao-botany.bsky.social , in collaboration with @bayerlab.bsky.social and @bertderybel.bsky.social
AINTEGUMENTA phospho-switch regulates bilateral stem cell activity during secondary growth.
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#PlantSciences
Work led by former PhD student @wei-xiao-botany.bsky.social , in collaboration with @bayerlab.bsky.social and @bertderybel.bsky.social
AINTEGUMENTA phospho-switch regulates bilateral stem cell activity during secondary growth.
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#PlantSciences
Very excited to share my first solo Tansley Insight. An integrated view on the hydraulics of aboveground plant meristems, and the framework of my future work as part of this community #PlantScience
@newphyt.bsky.social
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@newphyt.bsky.social
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
On growth and flow: hydraulic aspects of aboveground meristems
Water is essential for plant growth under both normal and stress conditions. Aboveground, two key meristems control plant development: the shoot apical meristem and the vascular cambium. Here, stem c...
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Very excited to share my first solo Tansley Insight. An integrated view on the hydraulics of aboveground plant meristems, and the framework of my future work as part of this community #PlantScience
@newphyt.bsky.social
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@newphyt.bsky.social
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
By combining molecular genetics with cell-ablation experiments, we found that vascular cambium stem cells and xylem-identity cells form an interchangeable unit, a stem cell niche. Meticulous work by @xixizhang9001.bsky.social, Ondrej Smetana, Jing Zhang & Xiaoyu Wang 1/x www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Auxin transport positions stem cells in the vascular cambium during normal development and regeneration | PNAS
The vascular cambium contains bifacial stem cells producing secondary phloem in one
and secondary xylem to the opposite direction. In Arabidopsis r...
www.pnas.org
November 14, 2025 at 9:30 AM
By combining molecular genetics with cell-ablation experiments, we found that vascular cambium stem cells and xylem-identity cells form an interchangeable unit, a stem cell niche. Meticulous work by @xixizhang9001.bsky.social, Ondrej Smetana, Jing Zhang & Xiaoyu Wang 1/x www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
Our latest review, co-authored with @agustilab.bsky.social (@ibmcp.bsky.social), “Environmental regulation of plant vascular networks,” is now published in @cp-trendsplantsci.bsky.social! Read it here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
November 6, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Our latest review, co-authored with @agustilab.bsky.social (@ibmcp.bsky.social), “Environmental regulation of plant vascular networks,” is now published in @cp-trendsplantsci.bsky.social! Read it here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
We previously proposed that MS ion channels in pollen grains serve as a “osmotic safety valves”, releasing ions to reduce turgor--but it looks like anion efflux through MSL8 regulates cell wall composition and growth dynamics! #PlantScience 🧪
Kudos to Josh Coomey for wrapping this up on his own!
Kudos to Josh Coomey for wrapping this up on his own!
Mechanosensitive ion channel MSL8 is required for oscillatory growth and cell wall dynamics in Arabidopsis pollen tubes
link.springer.com
November 5, 2025 at 6:14 PM
We previously proposed that MS ion channels in pollen grains serve as a “osmotic safety valves”, releasing ions to reduce turgor--but it looks like anion efflux through MSL8 regulates cell wall composition and growth dynamics! #PlantScience 🧪
Kudos to Josh Coomey for wrapping this up on his own!
Kudos to Josh Coomey for wrapping this up on his own!
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
Final, edited version of the paper now available
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
October 25, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Final, edited version of the paper now available
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Really nice work with an adaptive twist on SAM hydraulics. Congrats to @weibingyang.bsky.social and all involved 🌱🌊
#plantscience
www.cell.com/developmenta...
#plantscience
www.cell.com/developmenta...
Epidermal hydrodynamics controls water homeostasis of shoot meristems for plant adaptation to terrestrial environments
Zhu et al. uncover an evolutionarily conserved water transport pathway in the epidermis
of plant shoot meristems that maintains water homeostasis and regulates stem cell
activity. This epidermal hydro...
www.cell.com
October 7, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Really nice work with an adaptive twist on SAM hydraulics. Congrats to @weibingyang.bsky.social and all involved 🌱🌊
#plantscience
www.cell.com/developmenta...
#plantscience
www.cell.com/developmenta...
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
The Cambridge Morphogenesis Seminar Series is back this Michaelmas Term 2025!
Join us for an exciting lineup of talks exploring the many facets of tissue morphogenesis. Check out the flyer for the full list of speakers!
Join us for an exciting lineup of talks exploring the many facets of tissue morphogenesis. Check out the flyer for the full list of speakers!
October 3, 2025 at 8:02 AM
The Cambridge Morphogenesis Seminar Series is back this Michaelmas Term 2025!
Join us for an exciting lineup of talks exploring the many facets of tissue morphogenesis. Check out the flyer for the full list of speakers!
Join us for an exciting lineup of talks exploring the many facets of tissue morphogenesis. Check out the flyer for the full list of speakers!
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
How do #stemcells integrate information to coordinate fate decisions? Delighted to finally see our work showing how growth factors regulate the mechano-osmotic state of the #nucleus and #chromatin to control #pluripotency exit out! www.nature.com/articles/s41... see 🧵 👇
Mechano-osmotic signals control chromatin state and fate transitions in pluripotent stem cells - Nature Cell Biology
McCreery, Stubb et al. show that mechano-osmotic changes in the nucleus induce general transcriptional repression and prime chromatin for cell fate transitions by relieving repression of specific differentiation genes.
www.nature.com
September 29, 2025 at 4:45 PM
How do #stemcells integrate information to coordinate fate decisions? Delighted to finally see our work showing how growth factors regulate the mechano-osmotic state of the #nucleus and #chromatin to control #pluripotency exit out! www.nature.com/articles/s41... see 🧵 👇
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
Coming to you live from #ISPLORE2025JP Fresh preprint from my lab showing that leaves progressively oxygenate and how this is important for their morphogenesis.Thanks to our collaborators from @Fra_LicO2si lab. #plantscience
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 22, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Coming to you live from #ISPLORE2025JP Fresh preprint from my lab showing that leaves progressively oxygenate and how this is important for their morphogenesis.Thanks to our collaborators from @Fra_LicO2si lab. #plantscience
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
It was already known that auxins (surprise!) had a key role controlling the end of flowering, plant menopause. Now we can tell you how and where they act in the inflorescence meristem to control the process.
@irenegonzlez.bsky.social
www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2825%2901002-4
@irenegonzlez.bsky.social
www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2825%2901002-4
Local regulation of auxin-related pathways in the shoot apical meristem plays a major role during proliferative arrest
González-Cuadra et al. show that repression of auxin-related pathways locally in the
SAM is key in the control of proliferative arrest. FRUITFULL regulates these pathways
to promote meristem arrest. B...
www.cell.com
September 11, 2025 at 4:52 PM
It was already known that auxins (surprise!) had a key role controlling the end of flowering, plant menopause. Now we can tell you how and where they act in the inflorescence meristem to control the process.
@irenegonzlez.bsky.social
www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2825%2901002-4
@irenegonzlez.bsky.social
www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2825%2901002-4
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
🌱✂️ How do plant cells decide where to divide?
Our work shows that actin can override the geometric rules—guiding cells to divide in alternative orientations.
#PlantScience #CellBiology #Arabidopsis
@camilagoldy.bsky.social @rdplab.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Our work shows that actin can override the geometric rules—guiding cells to divide in alternative orientations.
#PlantScience #CellBiology #Arabidopsis
@camilagoldy.bsky.social @rdplab.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
August 25, 2025 at 8:34 AM
🌱✂️ How do plant cells decide where to divide?
Our work shows that actin can override the geometric rules—guiding cells to divide in alternative orientations.
#PlantScience #CellBiology #Arabidopsis
@camilagoldy.bsky.social @rdplab.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Our work shows that actin can override the geometric rules—guiding cells to divide in alternative orientations.
#PlantScience #CellBiology #Arabidopsis
@camilagoldy.bsky.social @rdplab.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
Take a look at part of my work with @mc-caillaud.bsky.social at @rdplab.bsky.social about the role of actin cytoskeleton to maintain cytokinesis against cellular geometry 🌱🔬
Actin Counters Geometry to Guide Plant Cell Division https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.18.670899v1
August 24, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Take a look at part of my work with @mc-caillaud.bsky.social at @rdplab.bsky.social about the role of actin cytoskeleton to maintain cytokinesis against cellular geometry 🌱🔬
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
New preprint from the lab. We mapped the dynamics of phospholipids during lateral root formation and show that PI(4,5)P₂ plays a key role: targeted reduction in pericycle promotes LR development.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
August 19, 2025 at 9:37 AM
New preprint from the lab. We mapped the dynamics of phospholipids during lateral root formation and show that PI(4,5)P₂ plays a key role: targeted reduction in pericycle promotes LR development.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
🍀🔬
CSLD5-mediated cell wall remodelling regulates tissue mechanics and shoot meristem growth @natcomms.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Movies: Cell division orientation in wild-type (attached) and csld5 (comment) shoot apical meristem.
CSLD5-mediated cell wall remodelling regulates tissue mechanics and shoot meristem growth @natcomms.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Movies: Cell division orientation in wild-type (attached) and csld5 (comment) shoot apical meristem.
August 9, 2025 at 6:35 PM
🍀🔬
CSLD5-mediated cell wall remodelling regulates tissue mechanics and shoot meristem growth @natcomms.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Movies: Cell division orientation in wild-type (attached) and csld5 (comment) shoot apical meristem.
CSLD5-mediated cell wall remodelling regulates tissue mechanics and shoot meristem growth @natcomms.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Movies: Cell division orientation in wild-type (attached) and csld5 (comment) shoot apical meristem.
Really cool study on a fundamental aspect of plant cell mechanics-hydraulics. Congrats to all involved 🌱
Very proud to share our latest preprint: postdoc/LRSF fellow Yue Rui studies the mechanisms regulating attachment of the cell wall to the plasma membrane. The Cellulose Synthase Complex and REMORINs determine the extent of attachment and root osmotic stress tolerance. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
August 3, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Really cool study on a fundamental aspect of plant cell mechanics-hydraulics. Congrats to all involved 🌱
Super nice work on how tissue water status can influence cell fate decisions. Congrats to all involved!
How do plants decide the fate of a wound and what to regenerate? Water availability! Abdul Kareem and colleagues show that regeneration outcomes after tissue cutting are controlled by water. A 🧵/n 👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Water availability positions auxin response maxima to determine plant regeneration fates - Nature Plants
This study reveals that water availability at the wound determines plant regeneration outcomes. High water availability induces root regeneration whereas low water availability triggers callus formati...
www.nature.com
July 9, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Super nice work on how tissue water status can influence cell fate decisions. Congrats to all involved!
Really amazing and inspiring work. When it comes to sensing changes plants have some truly mind blowing tricks up their sleeves. Congrats to all involved!
How plants sense injury in their barrier tissue, periderm? Painstakingly detailed and amazing work by post doc Hiroyuki Iida shows that wounding is sensed by the diffusion of two gases: ethylene and oxygen. @treebiocoe.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu 1/x 🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Plants monitor the integrity of their barrier by sensing gas diffusion - Nature
A study using Arabidopsis shows that plants can monitor the integrity of their outer barriers by sensing gas diffusion, enabling them to initiate wound repair to prevent water loss and pathogen entry.
www.nature.com
July 3, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Really amazing and inspiring work. When it comes to sensing changes plants have some truly mind blowing tricks up their sleeves. Congrats to all involved!
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
An ABA–ROP toggle switch orchestrates xylem differentiation and cell wall patterning
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#plantscience
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#plantscience
June 29, 2025 at 4:32 PM
An ABA–ROP toggle switch orchestrates xylem differentiation and cell wall patterning
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#plantscience
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#plantscience
Thank you very much for this fantastic opportunity and for the great meeting. Looking forward to the next one!
Congrats to Linh and Juan for winning the poster and presentation awards at the Vascular Development satellite event to #ICAR2025!
June 16, 2025 at 5:29 AM
Thank you very much for this fantastic opportunity and for the great meeting. Looking forward to the next one!
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
Warming up to #ICAR2025 🌱with two days of cool vascular science at our Vascular Development satellite meeting at @psb-vib.bsky.social.
June 14, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Warming up to #ICAR2025 🌱with two days of cool vascular science at our Vascular Development satellite meeting at @psb-vib.bsky.social.
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
The Cell Wall Controls Stem Cell Fate in the Arabidopsis Shoot Apical Meristem https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.19.654883v1
May 20, 2025 at 4:03 AM
The Cell Wall Controls Stem Cell Fate in the Arabidopsis Shoot Apical Meristem https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.19.654883v1
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
🚨Our paper is out!
If you ever wonder how four-way junctions are avoided during plant cell division, some answers here 🧬🍀🔬🧪🤓
👇
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
If you ever wonder how four-way junctions are avoided during plant cell division, some answers here 🧬🍀🔬🧪🤓
👇
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Conserved mechanical hallmark guides four-way junction avoidance during plant cytokinesis
When building an organ, adjacent cells coordinate to form topologically stable junctions by integrating mechanosensitive signaling pathways. Positioni…
www.sciencedirect.com
May 8, 2025 at 5:09 PM
🚨Our paper is out!
If you ever wonder how four-way junctions are avoided during plant cell division, some answers here 🧬🍀🔬🧪🤓
👇
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
If you ever wonder how four-way junctions are avoided during plant cell division, some answers here 🧬🍀🔬🧪🤓
👇
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Juan Alonso-Serra
Our study on the effect of strigolactone signaling on vessel formation and water usage is now peer reviewed: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Great achievement of Jiao Zhao, Dongbo Shi, Kiara Kaeufer, and everybody involved!
Great achievement of Jiao Zhao, Dongbo Shi, Kiara Kaeufer, and everybody involved!
Strigolactones optimise plant water usage by modulating vessel formation - Nature Communications
Vessel elements arise from cambium stem cells and support plant growth by supplying water and nutrients. This study reveals that strigolactone signalling inhibits vessel formation in response to droug...
www.nature.com
April 28, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Our study on the effect of strigolactone signaling on vessel formation and water usage is now peer reviewed: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Great achievement of Jiao Zhao, Dongbo Shi, Kiara Kaeufer, and everybody involved!
Great achievement of Jiao Zhao, Dongbo Shi, Kiara Kaeufer, and everybody involved!