Michael Hothorn
@structplantbio.bsky.social
Structural biologist interested in all things green. Professor at University of Geneva, Switzerland. https://web.structplantbio.org/
Pinned
Our latest on brassinosteroid signaling: Ligand binding spectrum, specificity & selectivity of all BR receptors in Arabidopsis. By @albertocaregnato.bsky.social , @hmchen93.bsky.social and our great chemistry collaborators Mirek Kvasnica, Jana Oklestkova and Mirek Strnad.
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
This year’s @embo.org Workshop is held at the @viennabiocenter.bsky.social. Open to 120 participants, it is over-enrolled with 180 attendees! Thank you to the organizers @isabelmonte.bsky.social, Aino Komatsu, @moodytomato.bsky.social, and Liam Dolan for making this event possible. #EMBOplantEvo
November 25, 2025 at 3:29 PM
This year’s @embo.org Workshop is held at the @viennabiocenter.bsky.social. Open to 120 participants, it is over-enrolled with 180 attendees! Thank you to the organizers @isabelmonte.bsky.social, Aino Komatsu, @moodytomato.bsky.social, and Liam Dolan for making this event possible. #EMBOplantEvo
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Sharing this important article... for no reason whatsoever.
"We must also continue to deepen and refine our understanding of fundamental biological processes because these details frequently hold the keys to major advances in applied research."
elifesciences.org/articles/102...
"We must also continue to deepen and refine our understanding of fundamental biological processes because these details frequently hold the keys to major advances in applied research."
elifesciences.org/articles/102...
November 23, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Sharing this important article... for no reason whatsoever.
"We must also continue to deepen and refine our understanding of fundamental biological processes because these details frequently hold the keys to major advances in applied research."
elifesciences.org/articles/102...
"We must also continue to deepen and refine our understanding of fundamental biological processes because these details frequently hold the keys to major advances in applied research."
elifesciences.org/articles/102...
Very nice application of our constitutive active BIR3-RK chimera from @hohmannulrich.bsky.social (doi.org/10.1105/tpc....) to dissect the contribution of ERECTA to vascular differentiation. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.... Congrats to @lauraragni.bsky.social @bertderybel.bsky.social @bayerlab.bsky.social
November 21, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Very nice application of our constitutive active BIR3-RK chimera from @hohmannulrich.bsky.social (doi.org/10.1105/tpc....) to dissect the contribution of ERECTA to vascular differentiation. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.... Congrats to @lauraragni.bsky.social @bertderybel.bsky.social @bayerlab.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Finally out in @nature.com! We uncovered a mechanistic framework for a general and conserved mRNA nuclear export pathway. www.nature.com/articles/s41.... 1/
November 19, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Finally out in @nature.com! We uncovered a mechanistic framework for a general and conserved mRNA nuclear export pathway. www.nature.com/articles/s41.... 1/
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Our new review is out @theplantjournal.bsky.social! Christian (@unil.bsky.social) and I dive into brassinosteroid perception specificity and the importance of BRs in shaping vascular development. @ibmcp.bsky.social @upv.es @csic.es onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
November 15, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Our new review is out @theplantjournal.bsky.social! Christian (@unil.bsky.social) and I dive into brassinosteroid perception specificity and the importance of BRs in shaping vascular development. @ibmcp.bsky.social @upv.es @csic.es onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
The University of Toulouse has 44 postdoc positions to fill (Horizon Europe MSCA-COFUND). My lab is looking for candidates to apply and work on how plants regulate cell surface levels of receptors or transporters in response to heat. Please DM me if interested!
tiris.univ-toulouse.fr/en/programs/...
tiris.univ-toulouse.fr/en/programs/...
AToUT – TIRIS – Toulouse's Science In and For Society
tiris.univ-toulouse.fr
November 12, 2025 at 3:26 PM
The University of Toulouse has 44 postdoc positions to fill (Horizon Europe MSCA-COFUND). My lab is looking for candidates to apply and work on how plants regulate cell surface levels of receptors or transporters in response to heat. Please DM me if interested!
tiris.univ-toulouse.fr/en/programs/...
tiris.univ-toulouse.fr/en/programs/...
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
957 proposals were submitted in the latest round of ERC Synergy applications. They expect to fund 50 which means around 5% success rate. This is really not sustainable and a lot of people are likely avoiding doing this knowing how poor the chances are.
erc.europa.eu/news-events/...
erc.europa.eu/news-events/...
Applications for ERC Synergy Grants 2026: Facts and figures
The ERC Synergy Grants 2026 call closed for applications on 5 November 2025. These are the preliminary data on the submitted proposals:
erc.europa.eu
November 11, 2025 at 1:22 PM
957 proposals were submitted in the latest round of ERC Synergy applications. They expect to fund 50 which means around 5% success rate. This is really not sustainable and a lot of people are likely avoiding doing this knowing how poor the chances are.
erc.europa.eu/news-events/...
erc.europa.eu/news-events/...
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
🌱 Postdoc position in Plant Genomics/Bioinformatics!
Love genome plasticity, computational methods, and solving big questions in plant biology? Join our newly established Institute for Crop Biology at HHU Düsseldorf.
More info on schneebergerlab.org/career/
Apply by Nov. 30 | 3-year position
Love genome plasticity, computational methods, and solving big questions in plant biology? Join our newly established Institute for Crop Biology at HHU Düsseldorf.
More info on schneebergerlab.org/career/
Apply by Nov. 30 | 3-year position
Career – Schneeberger Lab
schneebergerlab.org
November 11, 2025 at 9:50 AM
🌱 Postdoc position in Plant Genomics/Bioinformatics!
Love genome plasticity, computational methods, and solving big questions in plant biology? Join our newly established Institute for Crop Biology at HHU Düsseldorf.
More info on schneebergerlab.org/career/
Apply by Nov. 30 | 3-year position
Love genome plasticity, computational methods, and solving big questions in plant biology? Join our newly established Institute for Crop Biology at HHU Düsseldorf.
More info on schneebergerlab.org/career/
Apply by Nov. 30 | 3-year position
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
🇨🇭 🇪🇺 Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin and EU Research Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva signed the Swiss-EU Programme Agreement (#EUPA) in Bern. This means that Switzerland is once again definitively associated with #HorizonEurope, the world's largest research programme.
➡️ sohub.io/4tjw
📷 WBF/DEFR
➡️ sohub.io/4tjw
📷 WBF/DEFR
November 10, 2025 at 3:14 PM
🇨🇭 🇪🇺 Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin and EU Research Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva signed the Swiss-EU Programme Agreement (#EUPA) in Bern. This means that Switzerland is once again definitively associated with #HorizonEurope, the world's largest research programme.
➡️ sohub.io/4tjw
📷 WBF/DEFR
➡️ sohub.io/4tjw
📷 WBF/DEFR
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Another great collaboration with @trevormnolan.bsky.social and @nvukas.bsky.social where we give our vision on how brassinosteroid research can pave the way to precision plant engineering www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Unlocking the potential of brassinosteroids: A path to precision plant engineering
Brassinosteroids are essential plant hormones that play a central role in regulating growth, development, and stress responses. Their impact on plant architecture and productivity makes them attractiv...
www.science.org
November 7, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Another great collaboration with @trevormnolan.bsky.social and @nvukas.bsky.social where we give our vision on how brassinosteroid research can pave the way to precision plant engineering www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Researchers use less and less hedges (may, might, perhaps, probably ...) in their papers. Or in other words papers are becoming more like biblical texts.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Promoting research by reducing uncertainty in academic writing: a large-scale diachronic case study on hedging in Science research articles across 25 years - Scientometrics
Hedges are important in academic writing since they indicate uncertainty and tentativeness about academic knowledge. However, few studies explore how hedges have changed in academic writing overtime. ...
link.springer.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Researchers use less and less hedges (may, might, perhaps, probably ...) in their papers. Or in other words papers are becoming more like biblical texts.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
check out Guizhen´s study on 18O scrambling in the gas phase in InsPs! Establishing 18O-Labeled Inositol Phosphates for Quantitative Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry: Fragmentation Pathways and Comparison with 13C-Labeled Analogs | Analytical Chemistry pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Establishing 18O-Labeled Inositol Phosphates for Quantitative Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry: Fragmentation Pathways and Comparison with 13C-Labeled Analogs
Capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry (CE-MS) allows for the rapid and accurate quantitative analysis of inositol phosphates (InsPs) and inositol pyrophosphates (PP-InsPs). The recent discovery ...
pubs.acs.org
November 5, 2025 at 4:41 PM
check out Guizhen´s study on 18O scrambling in the gas phase in InsPs! Establishing 18O-Labeled Inositol Phosphates for Quantitative Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry: Fragmentation Pathways and Comparison with 13C-Labeled Analogs | Analytical Chemistry pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
🚨 New in Developmental Cell @Dev_Cell
Our team uncovered how plants sense phosphorus deficiency and delay flowering — a molecular “switch” that links nutrient stress to development. A step toward breeding nutrient-smart crops! authors.elsevier.com/a/1m2id5Sx5g...
@MSU_PRI @MSUAgBio @MSU_PSM
Our team uncovered how plants sense phosphorus deficiency and delay flowering — a molecular “switch” that links nutrient stress to development. A step toward breeding nutrient-smart crops! authors.elsevier.com/a/1m2id5Sx5g...
@MSU_PRI @MSUAgBio @MSU_PSM
November 4, 2025 at 5:44 PM
🚨 New in Developmental Cell @Dev_Cell
Our team uncovered how plants sense phosphorus deficiency and delay flowering — a molecular “switch” that links nutrient stress to development. A step toward breeding nutrient-smart crops! authors.elsevier.com/a/1m2id5Sx5g...
@MSU_PRI @MSUAgBio @MSU_PSM
Our team uncovered how plants sense phosphorus deficiency and delay flowering — a molecular “switch” that links nutrient stress to development. A step toward breeding nutrient-smart crops! authors.elsevier.com/a/1m2id5Sx5g...
@MSU_PRI @MSUAgBio @MSU_PSM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Faculty are the primary stewards and enactors of the mission of research and teaching; knowledge creation and dissemination. The administration exists only in its capacity to forward that mission.
November 2, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Faculty are the primary stewards and enactors of the mission of research and teaching; knowledge creation and dissemination. The administration exists only in its capacity to forward that mission.
Like in a library or book store, the really old and valuable items are behind locked glass doors.
Hey @aaas.org this is a great question. How is this justifiable?
Does anyone have an unlocked copy of Bateson (1907) “Facts limiting the theory of heredity” in Science? Apparently our subscription does not cover fresh papers from 118 years ago. Surely this is public domain by now?
October 27, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Like in a library or book store, the really old and valuable items are behind locked glass doors.
By the @cellsensing.bsky.social and Zipfel labs: The plant receptor kinase HSL3 senses a cyclic, disulfide-bond stabilized peptide phytocytokine. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 25, 2025 at 7:19 AM
By the @cellsensing.bsky.social and Zipfel labs: The plant receptor kinase HSL3 senses a cyclic, disulfide-bond stabilized peptide phytocytokine. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
We have an open Post Doc position in plant-volatile interactions, starting April 2026. Ideal if you love to use molecular tools to understand the natural world and improve agriculture. Interested? Send your CV, grades, motivation letter and refs (single pdf!) to [email protected]. Please share.
October 21, 2025 at 2:17 PM
We have an open Post Doc position in plant-volatile interactions, starting April 2026. Ideal if you love to use molecular tools to understand the natural world and improve agriculture. Interested? Send your CV, grades, motivation letter and refs (single pdf!) to [email protected]. Please share.
A lot of pressure on the different grant schemes, and pretty much independent of career stage.
October 17, 2025 at 10:20 AM
A lot of pressure on the different grant schemes, and pretty much independent of career stage.
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Success rates for Europe’s leading research grants are declining as a surge in applications far outweighs the funds available
go.nature.com/479Sni6
go.nature.com/479Sni6
Is academic research becoming too competitive? Nature examines the data
Applications for European research grants increased in 2025. Scientists say they’re feeling the competition.
go.nature.com
October 17, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Success rates for Europe’s leading research grants are declining as a surge in applications far outweighs the funds available
go.nature.com/479Sni6
go.nature.com/479Sni6
Even more remarkable is the fact that Ulrich can also generate hundreds of transgenic Arabidopsis lines, perform physiological assays, and identify every flower in a Swiss meadow by its Latin name. What a catch for @imbmainz.bsky.social, and what a loss for plant science!
Off he is ...
Ulrich is one of the most remarkable scientists I had the pleasure to work with. I learned so much from him about biochemistry, proteins, structural biology, and so much more.
Great people make great things happen.
The really great people are rare.
Ulrich is one of them ...
Ulrich is one of the most remarkable scientists I had the pleasure to work with. I learned so much from him about biochemistry, proteins, structural biology, and so much more.
Great people make great things happen.
The really great people are rare.
Ulrich is one of them ...
Thrilled to share that I’ll be joining @imbmainz.bsky.social in February 2026 to start my own group!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!
October 13, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Even more remarkable is the fact that Ulrich can also generate hundreds of transgenic Arabidopsis lines, perform physiological assays, and identify every flower in a Swiss meadow by its Latin name. What a catch for @imbmainz.bsky.social, and what a loss for plant science!
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Big congrats to all, to @imbmainz.bsky.social on this amazing 'double-catch', and of course to @hohmannulrich.bsky.social & @lorenzoorts.bsky.social for starting their own labs!
To prospective PhD students interested in mechanistic question in gene regulation, check out Laura's & Ulrich's labs!
To prospective PhD students interested in mechanistic question in gene regulation, check out Laura's & Ulrich's labs!
Thrilled to share that I’ll be joining @imbmainz.bsky.social in February 2026 to start my own group!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!
October 12, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Big congrats to all, to @imbmainz.bsky.social on this amazing 'double-catch', and of course to @hohmannulrich.bsky.social & @lorenzoorts.bsky.social for starting their own labs!
To prospective PhD students interested in mechanistic question in gene regulation, check out Laura's & Ulrich's labs!
To prospective PhD students interested in mechanistic question in gene regulation, check out Laura's & Ulrich's labs!
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Thrilled to share that I’ll be joining @imbmainz.bsky.social in February 2026 to start my own group!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!
October 12, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Thrilled to share that I’ll be joining @imbmainz.bsky.social in February 2026 to start my own group!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
We're hiring! 🚀
**PhD positions:**
Computational focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
Experimental focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
**Postdoc positions:**
Computational focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
Experimental focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
**PhD positions:**
Computational focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
Experimental focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
**Postdoc positions:**
Computational focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
Experimental focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
Doctoral student in Natural Science Specialising in Biology
Doctoral position in Natural Science Specialising in Biology focusing on Bioinformatics
The Department of Chemistry and Molecular
web103.reachmee.com
October 10, 2025 at 11:38 AM
We're hiring! 🚀
**PhD positions:**
Computational focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
Experimental focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
**Postdoc positions:**
Computational focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
Experimental focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
**PhD positions:**
Computational focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
Experimental focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
**Postdoc positions:**
Computational focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
Experimental focus:
web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Phosphorylation on tyrosines control key pathways in immunity, cancer, and metabolism. For the first time, we can now design proteins that specifically recognize individual phosphotyrosines, even in disordered regions. (1/8)
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 30, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Phosphorylation on tyrosines control key pathways in immunity, cancer, and metabolism. For the first time, we can now design proteins that specifically recognize individual phosphotyrosines, even in disordered regions. (1/8)
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Discovery of a chromatin-associated complex (CACG) of ~16 proteins that negatively regulates the expression of nutrient-starvation-induced gene. CACG is of course controlled by TOR! #PlantScience www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Nutrient-driven TOR signalling controls a chromatin-associated complex for orchestrating plant growth and stress tolerance - Nature Plants
A chromatin-associated complex, which is dynamically regulated by TOR kinase at the translational level, functions to suppress the transcription of stress-responsive genes marked by histone acetylation, thereby coordinating plant growth and stress tolerance.
www.nature.com
September 30, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Discovery of a chromatin-associated complex (CACG) of ~16 proteins that negatively regulates the expression of nutrient-starvation-induced gene. CACG is of course controlled by TOR! #PlantScience www.nature.com/articles/s41...