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Reposted by Josh Bennett

bioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · 1d

A secreted citrus protease cleaves an outer membrane protein of the Huanglongbing pathogen https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.06.680679v1

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Yori Dola @gene-boy.bsky.social · 8d

Have folks had the chance to try out the free-to-use OpenCRISPR yet?

It seems to offer a great alternative for cash-strapped startups.

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

Design of highly functional genome editors by modelling CRISPR–Cas sequences - Nature

Gene editors designed using artificial intelligence can undertake precision editing of the human genome.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Sorek Lab @soreklab.bsky.social · Sep 2

Preprint: De-novo design of proteins that inhibit bacterial defenses

Our approach allows silencing defense systems of choice. We show how this approach enables programming of “untransformable” bacteria, and how it can enhance phage therapy applications

Congrats Jeremy Garb!
tinyurl.com/Syttt
🧵

Synthetically designed anti-defense proteins overcome barriers to bacterial transformation and phage infection

Bacterial defense systems present considerable barriers to both phage infection and plasmid transformation. These systems target mobile genetic elements, limiting the efficacy of bacteriophage-based t...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Boris Stojilković @borisstojilkovic.bsky.social · Sep 1

Thrilled to share our new bioRxiv preprint!✨ Huge credit to first author Yujin Chen and thanks to all co-authors. Extra special: my first paper as co-corresponding author (with Lieve Gheysen).
Check how nematodes uncouple FLS2–BSK signalling in 🌱👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Zoe Bernasconi @zoebernasconi.bsky.social · Sep 1

Check out our new pre-print! ✨
We cloned AvrWTK4, the first wheat powdery mildew effector recognised by a tandem kinase protein, and show that an HMA-like integrated domain in WTK4 acts as pathogen decoy. Discover the whole story on bioRxiv ⬇️

bioRxivpreprint @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · Aug 29

An HMA-like integrated domain in the wheat tandem kinase WTK4 recognises an RNase-like pathogen effector https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.26.672365v1

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Thorsten Langner @thorstenlangner.bsky.social · Aug 13

We’re excited to share our latest work on plant pathogen effector protein evolution @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social. With @kamounlab.bsky.social and Abbas Maqbool.

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

Rewinding the tape: historical contingency and functional constraints have shaped the evolution of APikL virulence effectors in the blast fungus

Protein evolution is influenced by historical contingencies and functional constraints, but their combined impact on rapidly diversifying pathogen virulence effectors remains poorly understood. Here, ...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

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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Reposted by Josh Bennett

bioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · Jul 21

A conserved small RNA-generating gene cluster undergoes sequence diversification and contributes to plant immunity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.20.665670v1

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Camilla Molinari @camilla-moli.bsky.social · Jul 17

#2025ISMPMI Want to know about transcriptional regulation driving pathogenicity in the blast fungus? Come to my poster (P-156) session today!
From 13:30 to 15:15 🌾

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Daniel Yu @danielsyu.bsky.social · Jul 17

Super excited to be giving a talk at #2025ISMPMI today in the Synthetic biology concurrent session from 15:15 - 15:35! Come along if you’re interested in engineering Tandem Kinase Proteins

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Yu Sugihara @yusugihara.bsky.social · Jul 16

🎉 Exciting news during #2025ISMPMI
Our AlphaFold sensor vs helper NLR paper is now published in @newphyt.bsky.social‬!

Big thanks to the reviewers for their constructive feedback 🙏

📖 Check out the peer-reviewed version here 👇
🔗 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

bsky.app/profile/yusu...

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Jack Rhodes @jackrhodes.bsky.social · May 20

Join us for the 🪴 🌵 Plant Peptide Receptor Meeting 2025 ☘️ 🪴 in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Edinburgh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 8th-10th September

#plantsignaling #PlantScience #plantsci

pprm2025.events.kdmeventsportal.co.uk
@pprm2025.bsky.social

A thread 🧵
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Plant Peptide Receptor Meeting 2025

pprm2025.events.kdmeventsportal.co.uk

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Josie Maidment @jmaidment.bsky.social · Jul 15

Very happy to share our preprint on heavy metal associated (HMA) domain-containing rice proteins bound by the rice blast MAX effector AVR-Pia! 🌾

bioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · Jul 14

The Magnaporthe oryzae MAX effector AVR-Pia binds a novel group of rice HMA domain-containing proteins https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.11.664054v1

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Angus Bucknell @angusb.bsky.social · Jul 14

Big thanks to everyone who stopped by my poster today at #2025ISMPMI!

For those that missed it, you can check it out on Zenodo!

zenodo.org/records/1588...

Engineering new-to-nature immune sensors for novel recognition of Magnaporthe oryzae

Phytopathogenic fungi significantly impact global food security, causing up to 40% of annual crop yield losses worldwide. Alone, the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae has a global economic impact of $66...

zenodo.org

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Josh Bennett @joshwbennett.bsky.social · Jul 14

Excited to attend my 1st ISMPMI conference, and present our work on a paired wheat CNL/MLKL receptor mechanism! 🌾

Come chat to me at my poster on Tuesday, P-050! 📜

If you miss my poster session, I will be talking in: Crop resistance genetics and genomics on Wednesday - 16:25-16:35!

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

bioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · Jul 14

The Magnaporthe oryzae MAX effector AVR-Pia binds a novel group of rice HMA domain-containing proteins https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.11.664054v1

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

bioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · Jul 14

A plant pathogen effector blocks stepwise assembly of a helper NLR resistosome https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.14.664264v1

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

AmirAli Toghani @amiralito.bsky.social · Jul 14

Up and ready! Find me at P-267 today for some molecular evolution and NLR biology! 🥬💻

You can also find the poster and preprint below 👇🏻

#2025ISMPMI

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Sorek Lab @soreklab.bsky.social · Jul 14

Preprint: “Structural modeling reveals viral proteins that manipulate host immune signaling”

Using AI-guided structural modeling, we find new families of viral proteins that sequester or cleave host immune signaling molecules

Congrats Nitzan Tal!

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

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Clémence Marchal @clemmar.bsky.social · Jul 14

Viral genomes might encode more proteins than we initially thought!

Intrigued? Come see my poster on the identification of potentially new ORFs in the potato virus X genome.

Tuesday 9:55-11:30, P-266
@geminiteamlab.bsky.social
#2025ISMPMI

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Hee-Kyung Ahn @hee-kyung-ahn.bsky.social · Jul 11

Ahn Lab is going to MPMI! #2025ISMPMI
Hayden Burdett and myself will be attending the MPMI conference in Cologne ⛪
Check out poster P-073 for paired NLR biology, and let's chat about paired NLRs and more!🌱
See you in Cologne 😀
@instmolplantsci.bsky.social

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Andy Posbe @adnroide.bsky.social · Jul 9

Pikobodies vs. Potato Blight 🥊🥔
NLR–Nanobody Fusions Take on P. infestans 💥

🎤 Talk: Thurs July 17th, 16:35
🧾 Poster P-64: Tues 15th, Session 2

Poster’s up on Zenodo if you’re into spoilers 👀📎
zenodo.org/records/1584...

#2025ISMPMI #OpenMPMI🌿

Pikobodies: NLR immune receptor-nanobody fusions can confer resistance to the potato blight pathogen Phythophthora infestans

Plant pathogens continuously evolve to evade immunity, driving the need for innovative resistance strategies to safeguard global food security. In proof-of-concept work, we engineered the rice nucleot...

zenodo.org

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Javier Sánchez-Martín @javicheztin.bsky.social · Jul 9

Check out our work on virulence on Pm4 controlled not by one, but two effectors! Avirulence vs. Suppression, a beautiful case of the arms race between wheat and mildew. Work led by @zoebernasconi.bsky.social , Aline Herger, Pilar Caro, and @lukas-kunz.bsky.social 😍🌱🦠!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Virulence on Pm4 kinase-based resistance is determined by two divergent wheat powdery mildew effectors

The wheat resistance gene Pm4 encodes a kinase fusion protein and has gained particular attention as it confers race-specific resistance against two major wheat pathogens: powdery mildew and blast. He...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Simon Snoeck @simonsnoeck.bsky.social · Jul 9

Shedding light on the structure-function mechanisms of LRR-RPs. Our research merges #AlphaFold3, years of literature and functional validation to reveal diverse ligand-binding mechanisms and a conserved co-receptor association mechanism. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Josh Bennett

Mauricio Contreras @mpcontreras.bsky.social · Jul 9

Thrilled to share our latest preprint! This work started during my PhD and was finished together with @jmadhuprakash.bsky.social. We found a Phytophthora infestans L-shaped effector that bridges a host TOL protein to activated NLRs to suppress immunity!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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