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Sadaf Shadan

@sshadan.bsky.social

270 followers 140 following 27 posts

Senior Editor @Nature handling manuscripts in general cell biology and plant biology. Views expressed here are my own.

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Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Aug 21

The >1000 lipid species found in eukaryotic cells have vital functions. Using a combination of microscopy, spectroscopy and modelling, authors report @nature the first quantitative map of retrograde flux of individual lipids in cells.

André Nadler @nadlerlab.bsky.social · Aug 21

Out today in @nature.com: Together with the Honigmann, Shevchenko, Drobot and Hof labs, we present a general workflow for imaging the localization and transport of individual lipids in cells and mapping their metabolism.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Jul 24

An @nature paper presents a single-cell multi-omics atlas of eight rice organs. Insights emerging from this resource include new cell states during rice development and correlations between cell type and agronomic traits.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A single-cell multi-omics atlas of rice - Nature

A single-cell multi-omics atlas of rice is revealed, providing insight into cell-type functions and molecular programs.

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Jul 24

In today’s issue of @nature, read a Review article on the latest and upcoming technologies that could aid research and development in crop science, contributing to sustainable global food security. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Integrated biotechnological and AI innovations for crop improvement - Nature

The integration of omics technologies, genome editing and protein design with artificial intelligence (AI) promises rapid advances in the field of crop improvement that will improve global food securi...

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Jul 24

Plant NLR receptors mediate pathogen resistance, and so their engineering could lead to crops with broader pathogen specificity and so broader disease resistance. @nature, authors report one such attempt achieving resistance to several potyviruses. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

& shorturl.at/932j7

Remodelling autoactive NLRs for broad-spectrum immunity in plants - Nature

Cleavage by pathogen-derived proteases of an engineered chimeric protein activates its plant immune receptor component, enabling broad-spectrum resistance to pathogens in plants.

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Jul 24

How the plant defence hormone salicylic acid (SA) is formed in some bacteria and in Arabidopsis is well-established. Three @nature papers now describe a different pathway of SA biosynthesis in non-Brassicaceae plants.

rb.gy/9tgn8g
shorturl.at/fYAYo
shorturl.at/UCvo0
& NV
tinyurl.com/bdz2p6dx

Three-step biosynthesis of salicylic acid from benzoyl-CoA in plants - Nature

The salicylic acid (SA) biosynthesis pathway—involving ligation of benzoyl coenzyme A and benzyl alcohol to give benzyl benzoate; hydroxylation of benzyl benzoate to give benzyl salicylate; and cleava...

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Jul 13

Very much looking forward to hearing and seeing exciting research and to interacting with reseachers at #2025ISMPMI. Happy also to answer any questions about publishing in Nature and sister journals.

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Jul 2

How do plants notice loss of structural barriers (e.g. the periderm, which prevents water loss and pathogen infection) to regenerate them? Work @nature shows that plants sense damage to barrier integrity from diffusion of gases such as ethylene and oxygen. shorturl.at/FIhJ8
& N&V
shorturl.at/u7PYs

Injured plants use gaseous cues to initiate repair of their outer layers

The periderm layers of plants form an outer protective barrier. If the periderm is broken, movement of the gases ethylene and oxygen triggers a healing process.

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Jun 16

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Transparent peer review to be extended to all of Nature’s research papers

From today, all new submissions to Nature that are published will be accompanied by referees’ reports and author responses — to illuminate the process of producing rigorous science.

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Jun 5

A bottleneck for studying the biological function of biomolecular condensates is unavailability of tools to selectively probe them within living cells. @nature, researchers report one such tool, showcasing its use in various contexts including disease. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Probing condensate microenvironments with a micropeptide killswitch - Nature

Targeting a non-natural micropeptide ‘killswitch’ to several biomolecular condensates altered condensate compositions and revealed condensate functions in human cells

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · May 28

The diverse cellular roles of early endosomes involve coordinated activity of several hundred integral membrane proteins and transiently associated regulatory complexes. A study @nature presents a systematic structural interactome of human endosomes . www.nature.com/articles/s41...

EndoMAP.v1 charts the structural landscape of human early endosome complexes - Nature

A study presents EndoMAP.v1, a resource that combines information on protein interactions and crosslink-supported structural predictions to map the interaction landscape of early endosomes.

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · May 28

Want a taster of working as an editor? Nature has a locum position open for someone with interest in stem cell biology, developmental biology, and/or specific aspects of general cell biology. springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/SpringerNatu...

Locum Associate or Senior Editor, Nature (Biological, Clinical, and Social Sciences)

Job title: Locum Associate or Senior Editor, Nature (Biological, Clinical, and Social Sciences) Location: New York or Berlin (Hybrid working pattern) Deadline: June 11th , 2025 About Springer Nature G...

springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · May 15

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Nature project to encourage early-career researchers in peer review is working

Science stands to benefit from a project in which experienced academics and early-career researchers co-review studies.

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · May 6

Legume can form symbiotic relationship with some bacteria, while recognising others as pathogens. Work @nature identifies a plant kinase that mediates this nuanced balance of tolerance towards symbionts without compromised plant immunity. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A kinase mediator of rhizobial symbiosis and immunity in Medicago - Nature

Nature - A kinase mediator of rhizobial symbiosis and immunity in Medicago

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · May 6

The E3 ubiquitin ligase complex SIFI has a role in terminating stress response signalling, to restore cellular homeostasis. Researchers @nature present the cryo-EM structure of this ~1.3 MDa complex providing insights into its mechanism of action. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Molecular basis of SIFI activity in the integrated stress response - Nature

Nature - Molecular basis of SIFI activity in the integrated stress response

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Apr 30

Plant roots adapt to their environment including to soil conditions. Using single-cell transcriptomics, @nature authors report on the rice root responses and adaptations to soil-related stresses at individual cell level. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Single-cell transcriptomics reveal how root tissues adapt to soil stress - Nature

Single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomic approaches reveal major expression changes in outer root cell types when grown in soil versus gel conditions, and also uncover how root tissu...

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Apr 23

At membrane contact sites, bridge-like transport proteins, e.g. LPD-3, mediate bulk lipid transfer between cellular organelles. @nature see cryo-EM structure of native LDP-3, and gain insights into its functioning and interaction with other proteins and lipids.
shorturl.at/lycuz & shorturl.at/ARpUK

Structural basis of lipid transfer by a bridge-like lipid-transfer protein - Nature

The LPD-3 complex structure reveals protein–lipid interactions that suggest a model for how the native LPD-3 complex mediates bulk lipid transport and provides a foundation for mechanistic studies of ...

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Apr 8

The technique of haploid induction creates homozygous plants, enabling faster breeding cycles. A paper @nature discovers a way of generating haploid sunflower, and optimises the approach for efficiency compatible with breeding programs for this important oilseed crop. rb.gy/vrqana & N&V rb.gy/e7uyep

Haploid facultative parthenogenesis in sunflower sexual reproduction - Nature

Spontaneous parthenogenesis in sunflower has been used to develop a scalable doubled haploid breeding system.

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Mar 19

Proteins and nucleic acids move in and out of the nucleus through nuclear pore complexes (NPCs). Using 3D MINFLUX, @nature authors study single import and export events, gaining detailed insights into transport across NPCs within cells and at nanometer and millisecond scales.
shorturl.at/2ClQp

Overlapping nuclear import and export paths unveiled by two-colour MINFLUX - Nature

High spatiotemporal precision tracking using 3D MINFLUX shows that nuclear import and export occur in overlapping regions of the central pore, providing insight into transport across the nuclear pore ...

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Mar 12

Vector-borne viral pathogens are threats to crops, and so trigger plant immune responses. Studying rice, authors @nature provide molecular-level insights into the first steps of plant antiviral response.

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

Perception of viral infections and initiation of antiviral defence in rice - Nature

Viral coat proteins are perceived by the RING1–IBR–RING2-type ubiquitin ligase, initiating the first step of the natural antiviral response in rice.

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Mar 5

While work @nature recently showed that the TIR1/AFB receptors of the plant hormone auxin have adenylate cyclase activity, further work now shows the broad physiological significance of this activity during plant development, via transcriptional reprogramming.

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

TIR1-produced cAMP as a second messenger in transcriptional auxin signalling - Nature

cAMP produced by the TIR1/AFB receptors of the main endogenous developmental plant hormone auxin acts as a true second messenger, revising the established paradigm of transcriptional auxin signalling.

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Feb 25

@nature, an extensive study, involving 18 KO and mutant mouse models, reveals why Parkin KO mice grow normally. It finds that the Parkin-mediated mitochondrial quality control works alongside another such pathway, involving Oma1.

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

Dual regulation of mitochondrial fusion by Parkin–PINK1 and OMA1 - Nature

We find that, in mice, although the individual loss of Parkin or OMA1 does not affect mitochondrial integrity, their combined loss results in small body size, low locomotor activity, premature death, ...

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Feb 12

In plant immunity, activated sensor NLRs generate second messengers, which in turn activate helper NLRs such as NRG1. Two studies @nature use cryo-EM to provide mechanistic insights into NRG1 activation and inhibition.

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

Balanced plant helper NLR activation by a modified host protein complex - Nature

In Arabidopsis, mechanisms for NRG1A activation by recognition of a modified host EDS1–SAG101 complex, and NRG1A inhibition by NRG1C through sequestration of activated EDS1–SAG101, show activation and...

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Jan 30

Initiation of symbiosis between legumes and nitrogen-fixing microorganisms involves Ca2+ oscillations in root cells. Work @nature provides insights into molecular fine-tuning of the Ca2+ oscillations, and show the transfer of this beneficial trait to wheat.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Autoactive CNGC15 enhances root endosymbiosis in legume and wheat - Nature

Nuclear calcium oscillations initiate plant–arbuscular mycorrhiza and nitrogen-fixing bacteria symbioses for nutrient acquisition, with a newly discovered autoactive CNGC15 mutant enhancing ...

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Jan 29

How do cells recognise disease- and stress-affected proteins for clearance by ubiquitination? Work @nature shows that such proteins are marked with C-terminal amides, allowing their targeting by SCF/FBXO31 ubiquitin ligase for degradation. shorturl.at/B3rmR
& NV
shorturl.at/fImjA

C-terminal amides mark proteins for degradation via SCF–FBXO31 - Nature

SCF–FBXO31 scans proteins for C-terminal amidation and marks them for subsequent proteasomal degradation.

Sadaf Shadan @sshadan.bsky.social · Jan 29

Crops face a variety of challenging conditions, including alkaline soil and global warming. @nature, scientists gain molecular insights and apply them to not only make rice both alkali- and temperature-tolerant, but also to further increase its yield. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Fine-tuning gibberellin improves rice alkali–thermal tolerance and yield - Nature

Precise regulation of the phytohormone gibberellin to optimal levels may not only confer alkali–thermal tolerance to Green Revolution rice varieties but may also further enhance their yield, and ...