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Michael Prigge

@mjprigge.bsky.social

2K followers 1.4K following 230 posts

Plant biologist at UCSD (how auxin regulates transcription across land plants, from receptors to pol II and the steps in between). Mostly, moss⬌Arabidopsis. Grew up in Minnesota, attended/worked at UMinn, UO, UM, and IU.

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Michael Prigge @mjprigge.bsky.social · Apr 11

I am very happy to see this story published! This was a wonderful collaboration between the @mestelle.bsky.social lab (@ucsandiego.bsky.social) on the moss side, Annis Richardson’s lab on the maize side, and @luciastrader.bsky.social lab’s help throughout.
#plantscience #auxin

Nature Plants @natplants.nature.com · Apr 11

Some auxin-related reading for the week-end: ARFs are degraded, too.

- "Comparative mutant analyses reveal a novel mechanism of ARF regulation in land plants" rdcu.be/ehnOT

- "ARF degradation defines a deeply conserved step in auxin response" rdcu.be/ehnPa

#PlantScience

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Reposted by Michael Prigge

Margot Smit @likeyoda1.bsky.social · 7d

Check out our new review in JXB:
tinyurl.com/yta6fd5b

@pablidopsis.bsky.social and I write about the cell's decision between division and differentiation. 🌱 What factors promote one or the other in different cell types? 🤔 Are they really mutually exclusive?

Validate User

tinyurl.com

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Michael Prigge @mjprigge.bsky.social · 7d

Nice write-up about RUBY in our university newsletter:
today.ucsd.edu/story/seeing...

Seeing Red: A UC San Diego Invention is Transforming the Way Scientists Track Genes

UC San Diego biologists have created a transformative new way to monitor genes. The game-changing tool known as RUBY is an inexpensive, easy-to-use technology that allows researchers to visualize gene...

today.ucsd.edu

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Reposted by Michael Prigge

Journal of Experimental Botany @jxbotany.bsky.social · 9d

🌱📖 RESEARCH 🌱📖

Bascom et al. used CRIPSR/Cas9 to produce a septuple AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR mutant in the model bryophyte Physcomitrium patens , revealing the developmental consequences of the complete loss of auxin-mediated gene activation 🌱📖

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

#PlantScience 🧪

Fig. 4.Model of auxin de-repression. When the auxin concentration in the nucleus is low (A), the effect of ARFas, as well as other non-ARF transcription factors, is limited by Aux/IAA-mediated recruitment of the TPL co-repressor, closing the locus. As auxin levels rise (B), AFBs ubiquitinate Aux/IAAs, thereby allowing all transcription factors to act on the locus. As a result, there is a significant difference in gene expression between baseline and auxin induction. In afb1,2,3,4 mutants (C), Aux/IAAs are not degraded, and therefore the promoter remains closed. In the iaa2mDII degron mutant (D), one of three Aux/IAAs is stabilized, thereby resulting in only partial promoter closure. In arfasept lines, Aux/IAAs are not recruited to the promoter. While gene expression remains diminished without activating ARFs, other non-ARF transcription factors are allowed to provide baseline gene expression. However, there is no auxin-mediated induction.

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Michael Prigge @mjprigge.bsky.social · 12d

I’ll streak it out tomorrow. If it looks good, I’ll ask for an address

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Michael Prigge @mjprigge.bsky.social · 12d

Do you want a recA- strain? I primarily used AGL1 (C58[pTiBo542ΔT] recA::bla/CarbR+RifR) until I started doing tobacco leaf infiltrations with mixed strains. (Old plasmids were already in GV3101.)

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Michael Prigge @mjprigge.bsky.social · 14d

Last time I flew, the MSP airport had dozens of monitors over the TSA lines playing Noem spewing some hateful nonsense on a loop

Reposted by Michael Prigge

Journal of Experimental Botany @jxbotany.bsky.social · 16d

🌱🧬 INSIGHT 🧬🌱

Complete loss of A-ARF activity in bryophytes reveals a role for auxin-adjacent regulatory networks – Flores-Sandoval & Bowman comment on an original research article by Bascom et al.

📝 Insight: doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

🔬 Research: doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

#PlantScience 🧪

Fig. 1 (shortened, full legend in paper): Auxin responses and auxin-adjacent transcription factors (TFs) control developmental transitions in bryophyte gametophytes. (A) Wild-type (WT) auxin responses (left) cycling between low and high auxin. Under low auxin, A-ARFs are kept in a repressive complex by AUX/IAAs via recruitment of the TOPLESS co-repressor and associated histone deacetylases (HDACs). Under high auxin, auxin mediates the interaction between TIR1/AFB and AUX/IAAs, leading to AUX/IAA ubiquitination and proteolysis. A-ARFs are then free to interact with SWI/SNF ATPases and histone acetylases (HACs), leading to open chromatin states. Positive (TIR1/AFB, A-ARF, SWI/SNF, HAC), negative (AUX/IAA, TPL, HDAC) and auxin-adjacent (TFs) factors are shown. Auxin is represented by an A.

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Michael Prigge @mjprigge.bsky.social · 18d

A friend of mine has a preprint out with an ingenious method to directly generate collections of NILs surrounding a locus or a collection of loci. They used the yeast KO collection, but it’d be cool to adapt for mapping traits in plants.

bioRxiv Genetics @biorxiv-genetic.bsky.social · 19d

High-resolution, genotype-free mapping of genetic variation with CRI-SPA-Map https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.16.676640v1

Michael Prigge @mjprigge.bsky.social · 19d

I just returned from vacation to find my smoke alarm chirping (sorry neighbors!). Unfortunately, it is 16 feet up & I didn't have a ladder, so I had to try to sleep that night with "beep-beep-beep" every 60 seconds.

Michael Prigge @mjprigge.bsky.social · 19d

I was about to watch one of the recent Alien movies a few weeks ago, but I realized that I hadn’t watched any of them since grad school.

Reposted by Michael Prigge

Mike Luckovich @mluckovich.bsky.social · 20d

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Reposted by Michael Prigge

wabniklab.bsky.social @wabniklab.bsky.social · 20d

Did you know that there is a cell cycle duration gradient in plant root meristem? New story by joining forces between Plant dynamics lab and Crisanto Gutiérrez & Bénédicte Desvoyes lab @cbgpmadrid.bsky.social @cbm-csic-uam.bsky.social #Plants #roots #cellcycle www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Stem cell regulators drive a G1 duration gradient during plant root development - Nature Plants

A positional and developmentally regulated cell cycle duration gradient exists in the root meristem whereby the G1 phase is very long close to the stem cell niche. This relies on the interplay of PLET...

www.nature.com

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Michael Prigge @mjprigge.bsky.social · 20d

I had just finally cut cable and switched to Hulu/Disney+Live TV. Now I need to decide whether I want to switch again.

Michael Prigge @mjprigge.bsky.social · 21d

Oh well. I like this close-up picture with a black fly taking a break from biting humans to pollinate an A. lyrata flower.

Inflorescence of an Arabidopsis lyrata plant with a black fly visiting an open flower

Michael Prigge @mjprigge.bsky.social · 21d

Just A. thaliana? I have lyrata pictures from the dunes in Michigan

Reposted by Michael Prigge

Bas Bargmann @bas-bargmann.bsky.social · 23d

Please repost and spread the word! 🙂

Bas Bargmann @bas-bargmann.bsky.social · 24d

This should be fun! 🤓 Join us May 10-13 in Barcelona!!

www.ptcge2026.com

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Michael Prigge @mjprigge.bsky.social · Sep 7

Took some time off to visit family and to see Courtney Barnett for the first time this weekend. Amazing show! (Picture from @tbobrowsky.bsky.social blows all my phone-snaps out of the water.)

photo of Cortney Barnett and her band on stage at Grand Rapids Riverfest.

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Reposted by Michael Prigge

bioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · Sep 5

Diversification of functional requirements for proteolysis of Auxin Response Factors https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.03.673984v1

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Reposted by Michael Prigge

PJ Reusse @pjthereuss.bsky.social · Aug 30

www.startribune.com/reusse-padre...

Reusse: Padres have come a long way from their early years of fan apathy

Baseball reigns in San Diego, and the Padres are no longer second-class citizens in their own city.

www.startribune.com

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Reposted by Michael Prigge

Zoe Nemec Venza @zoenv.bsky.social · Aug 27

Here it is! Epidermal cells in the root can figure out if they are covered by the root cap or not using mechanical signals! Thanks to @ckirchhelle.bsky.social, @moritznowack.bsky.social, @nathan-german.bsky.social Annamaria Kiss and all the others!

bioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · Aug 27

Plant cells at the organ surface use mechanical cues to activate a specific growth control programme https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.25.672229v1

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Reposted by Michael Prigge

PJ Reusse @pjthereuss.bsky.social · Aug 22

Did America really need this product?

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Reposted by Michael Prigge

Flagellated pants @flagellatedpants.bsky.social · Aug 19

Ok, hear me out, here's the plan:

Meme with a quasi bryologist disaproving of early land plants agenda, but quite liking early mars plants idea, since mosses are amongst organisms that should be able to colonize mars.

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Michael Prigge @mjprigge.bsky.social · Aug 17

I wasn’t too interested before, but now I really want to see it

Reposted by Michael Prigge

Makayla Drew @makaylathebotanist.bsky.social · Jul 19

I love being a cell biologist, look at these beautiful cells! P. patens glam shot!

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Michael Prigge @mjprigge.bsky.social · Aug 14

I don't want to link to it, but there is a shockingly bad AI-generated 'news' story already posted about the News & Views article. (If you really want to see it, search "ARF degradation")

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