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Delfi Dorussen

@delfidorussen.bsky.social

180 followers 260 following 16 posts

PhD student studying wheat genetics/genomics at the John Innes Centre | University of Cambridge and WUR graduate | I love plants 🌿👩‍🔬🌾🌺 | she/her

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Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Apr 8

I’m very happy to share the published version of our paper on the role of MET1 in wheat 🌾 🧬

It’s been really exciting to discover more about DNA methylation in wheat and it’s huge polyploid genome

doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

Partial redundancy buffers deleterious effects of mutating DNA methyltransferase 1-1 (MET1-1) in polyploid wheat

Varying gene dosage through mutating DNA methyltransferase 1-1 (MET1-1 ) in polyploid wheat generates quantitative changes to CG methylation without the le

doi.org

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Reposted by Delfi Dorussen

John Innes Centre @johninnescentre.bsky.social · Sep 3

BLOG - Women in wheat event provides training to address gender bias in wheat research

This July saw the latest #WomenInWheat event, where 25 early career women researchers attended a JIC training event focused on addressing gender bias in the UK and internationally

www.jic.ac.uk/blog/women-i...

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Reposted by Delfi Dorussen

Botany One @botany.one · Jul 21

Women, Plants, and the Power of a Name

Researchers uncover the real women behind botanical names, turning obscure eponyms into powerful stories of recognition and representation.

botany.one/2025/07/wome...

#Botany #PlantScience 🧪

Mary Agnes Chase looking over some plant specimens at the photographer with an expression of forbearance.

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Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Jul 2

We'd love to hear any comments/questions/feedback on this work!
Many thanks to BBSRC @ukri.org, @nrpdtp.bsky.social, @dsw-isp.bsky.social & @bric-isp.bsky.social for funding
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Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Jul 2

Instead, passive compensation could explain the high levels of functional redundancy - in this case, half (in tetraploid) or two-thirds (in hexaploid) of the WT levels of functional transcript are sufficient to maintain the WT phenotype
7/8

Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Jul 2

However, the PHS1 homoeolog group also showed no transcriptional compensation - PHS1-B1 transcripts were not increased in the phs1-a1 mutant and vice versa
This suggests that transcriptional compensation between homoeologs is not required for functional redundancy in wheat
6/8

Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Jul 2

Lastly, we checked whether transcriptional compensation could explain redundancy between previously characterised homoeologs
For this, we selected the PHS1 homoeolog group, shown to be redundant by Kamble et al. - doi.org/10.1093/plce...
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Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Jul 2

We repeated this analysis in tetraploid wheat, where a loss-of-function mutation in one homoeolog will result in a 50% decrease in functional transcript (compared to a 33% decrease in hexaploid wheat)
Similarly, the vast majority of homoeolog groups didn't show transcriptional compensation
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Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Jul 2

Overall, we identified only very low levels of potential transcriptional compensation between homoeologs - generally, the non-mutated homoeologs did not change in expression relative to the WT
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Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Jul 2

To answer this question, we performed RNA-seq on hexaploid EMS-mutagenised lines and identified homoeolog groups in which one homoeolog is affected by a premature termination codon (PTC) mutation
For these groups, we compared the homoeolog expression levels between the mutagenised line and WT
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Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Jul 2

We asked whether mutations in single genes are compensated by transcriptional up-regulation of their homoeologs, given that mutations in multiple homoeologs are often required to produce a mutant phenotype in wheat (i.e. the homoeologs are redundant)
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Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Jul 2

I'm excited to share our work investigating transcriptional compensation in polyploid wheat 🌾
It was fun to work on this project led by @philippaborrill.bsky.social and myself, with key contributions from @emilieknight.bsky.social and @simmojsimmo.bsky.social
The key take-aways, a 🧵

bioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · Jul 2

Homoeolog expression in polyploid wheat mutants shows limited transcriptional compensation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.01.662569v1

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Reposted by Delfi Dorussen

Marek Glombik @glombikm.bsky.social · May 29

Happy to share that our study of inheritance of homoeolog expression bias in wheat biparental populations is out in @biomedcentral.bsky.social Genome Biology! 🧬

Many thanks to all co-authors and @philippaborrill.bsky.social for great leadership on the project!
#PlantScience #Botany

rdcu.be/eokf2

Rapid reprogramming and stabilization of homoeolog expression bias in hexaploid wheat biparental populations

rdcu.be

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Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · May 23

Very cool protocol development from Emilie in the Borrill Lab 🧪 👇

Emilie Knight @emilieknight.bsky.social · May 23

Pleased to have finally got this method to work in wheat! Find out how you can identify direct targets of transcription factors in wheat using protoplasts and the TARGET method:
dx.doi.org/10.17504/pro...
A very useful method for our group to use! borrilllab.com

Reposted by Delfi Dorussen

Ele Willoughby @minouette.bsky.social · Apr 27

For #WorldTapirDay my #linocut Malayan tapirs, adult and baby. 🐡🧪 There are 4 types of tapir; this linocut is of both an adult & baby Malayan tapir. Tapirs always look very dapper, if improbable, in their black and white coat. The adults with their white saddles look like an aardvark crossed with 🧵

This linocut is of both an adult and baby Malayan tapir. The adult is facing right and is on the top of the print. It’s a heavy quadruped with a trunk. It’s black with white saddle pattern. Below is the juvenile tapir facing left. It is smaller with rounder ears and shorter trunk. It is black with a pattern of spots in stripes like a faun.

This lino block print is printed on Japanese kozo, or mulberry paper 23.5 cm by 31.7 cm (9.25 inches by 12.5 inches).

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Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Apr 10

Thank you!

Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Apr 8

@johninnescentre.bsky.social @bric-isp.bsky.social @dsw-isp.bsky.social

Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Apr 8

It was great to work on this project together with Sam Burrows and @philippaborrill.bsky.social, as well as having vital contributions from Joe Crudgington, Giorgia di Santolo, James Simmonds and Marco Catoni

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Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Apr 8

Partial redundancy buffers deleterious effects of mutating DNA methyltransferase 1-1 (MET1-1) in polyploid wheat

Varying gene dosage through mutating DNA methyltransferase 1-1 (MET1-1 ) in polyploid wheat generates quantitative changes to CG methylation without the le

doi.org

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Reposted by Delfi Dorussen

Donna Ferguson @donnalferguson.bsky.social · Feb 8

My latest article for The Observer 😍🙏

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Feb 8

Groundbreaking botanical discoveries on Captain Cook voyage were thanks to Indigenous people

New book reveals that Pacific islands inhabitants helped European scientists identify hundreds of plant species In 1769, nearly nine months after setting sail with Capt James Cook on his first voyage to the Pacific, Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander…

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Delfi Dorussen

a grassland chase 🌾🌾🌾🌾 @chasesolidago.bsky.social · Jan 23

The world has been through anti-science cycles before, to disastrous results

On a detour on my lit review, a mosey through the history of our familiar friend, the standard onion (Allium cepa) brought me right to one of botany's greatest cautionary tales of what happens when ideology overrides data

a illustration of our standard kitchen onion, Allium cepa, from 1586. Handcolored engraving

a black and white photograph of a white man in a suit, holding stalks of some plant, possibly corn or some sort of grain. Photo depicts Nikolai Vavilov (1887 - 1943)

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Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Jan 11

It was great fun to present some of my research into functional redundancy in wheat at the IWGSC workshop at #PAG32 😄🌾🧬

International Wheat genome Sequencing Consortium @wheatgenome.bsky.social · Jan 11

#IWGSC-Feuillet Early Career Awardee Delfi Dorussen @johninnescentre.bsky.social starts the #IWGSC workshop #PAG32 presenting her work on whether transcriptional compensation facilitates functional redundancy in wheat.

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Delfi Dorussen @delfidorussen.bsky.social · Jan 7

Some cool research I was very happy to be a part of 🌱👇

The Global Plant Council @globalplantgpc.bsky.social · Jan 7

Researchers have streamlined methods to study chloroplast & mitochondrial impacts on photosynthesis. Plants currently capture only ~1% of solar energy; optimized genetics could increase this sixfold.

https://buff.ly/3PoNSaT... #PlantScience

Hidden DNA in plants reveals secrets of photosynthesis - The Global Plant Council

Researchers have streamlined methods to study chloroplast and mitochondrial impacts on photosynthesis, opening new pathways for enhancing energy efficiency in crops. Plants currently capture only ~1% ...

buff.ly

Reposted by Delfi Dorussen

Cristobal Uauy @cristobaluauy.bsky.social · Jan 7

1/10 We are thrilled to share our preprint on spatial transcriptomics in wheat spikes led by the amazing @katielong.bsky.social and Ashleigh Lister. We resolved expression of 200 genes to cellular resolution. Pre-print👉 tinyurl.com/c7t3kncf., @johninnescentre.bsky.social @earlhaminst.bsky.social

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Reposted by Delfi Dorussen

Rebecca Dart @rebdart.bsky.social · Dec 3

Paleoart is better with plants 💚🌱

An extinct elephant-sized brown ground sloth Eremotherium trying to eat the pale round fruit growing on the trunk of the Cannonball tree. There are also small red flowers. The fruit and seeds may have been distributed by extinct megafauna.

A small white flower with thin green leaves in front of a dark stone wall with a representation of a cave painting of a woolly rhino. The flower Silence stenophylla or Narrow-leafed Campion was reconstructed from a seed found in a ground squirrel burrow that was 32,000 years old.

A grey bird sits on a branch of an extinct plant Florissantia that has green leaves and flower-like papery husks. This plant is in the Malvaceae family and lived during the Eocene 50 million years ago. The bird is a Zygodactylus and it is eating an ancient wasp Palaeovespa.

A small brown pterosaur, Sibopterus,with a yellow and orange crest eating the orange seeds of an epiphydic cycad growing on the side of a tree.

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Reposted by Delfi Dorussen

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · Dec 18

📢A new blog published! Using drawing as a tool for learning ✏️🌱🌵
Read more here⏩ 1url.cz/W1IU7
As a person who draws almost every day, I was surprised to discover just how effective drawing can be as a tool for learning about anything, really
#GoBelowground #CloPla #rhizome #drawing #bud #clonality

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