Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · 2d

🌽 Maize vs. Fusarium 🌽

Overexpressing a maize lipoxygenase (ZmLOX4) boosts resistance to Fusarium infection.

Glad that our maize Gene editing & transformation platform, at @rdplab.bsky.social, contributed to this research, led by the Lanubile's Lab.

▶️ doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...

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Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · 2d

The cenH3 assembly factor ZmKNL2 boosts haploid induction in maize 🌽

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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Reposted by Thomas WIDIEZ

RDP lab @rdplab.bsky.social · 25d

🌱 3 plant biology institutes, 2 great days! 🌿

PhDs & postdocs from DBMV @unil.bsky.social, @psb-vib.bsky.social & @rdplab.bsky.social rocked the 2nd Trilateral Plant Bio Symposium in Lausanne!

👏 Big congrats to all ECRs, especially to @nathan-german.bsky.social for winning Best Presentation! 🏆💥

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Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · 29d

🚨Breakthrough in haploid induction through microspore 🌾 🌱

@cp-cell.bsky.social

▶️ Reprogramming of microspore fate via BBM-BAR1 for highly efficient in vivo haploid induction

📖 www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...

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Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · Aug 12

Here are free-access links to our article on cell death at the maize embryo/endosperm interface:

📖 academic.oup.com/plcell/artic...

or

🔓 ens-lyon.hal.science/hal-05136683v1

KIL transcription factors facilitate embryo growth in maize by promoting endosperm elimination via lytic cell death

Abstract The endosperm is a transient nutritive tissue in plant seeds. During maize (Zea mays) grain development, two distinct endosperm cell death processes occur: in one process, the endosperm adjac...

ens-lyon.hal.science

Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · Aug 12

➡️NRT1.1B acts as an ABA receptor in integrating compound environmental cues for plants

@cellcellpress.bsky.social

📖https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.07.027

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Reposted by Thomas WIDIEZ

Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra @jrossibarra.bsky.social · Aug 11

Our paper showing that variation in transcription factor binding sites underlies the majority of additive genetic variance for phenotypic variation in maize is finally out!

Sadly they didn't use our suggested cover image below (made by the inimitable Andi Kur).

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

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Reposted by Thomas WIDIEZ

Plantae.org @plantaeofficial.bsky.social · Jul 22

Plant Science Research Weekly -- Unusual cell death pathway in maize endosperm (Plant Cell) @moritznowack.bsky.social @thomaswidiez.bsky.social @laurenspauwels.bsky.social @bertderybel.bsky.social (Summary by Mary Williams @PlantTeaching.bsky.social) buff.ly/A3RVH6Q

#PlantaePSRW

Unusual cell death pathway in maize endosperm | Plantae

An interesting new study by Doll et al. addresses one of the most complex and important plant developmental processes, that of seed formation, with a focus on maize. Like other seeds…

buff.ly

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Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · Jul 18

Thank you @plantteaching.bsky.social for summarizing and featuring our recent work published in @theplantcell.bsky.social on maize kernel 🌽development.

📖 doi.org/10.1093/plce...

KIL transcription factors facilitate embryo growth in maize by promoting endosperm elimination via lytic cell death

The transcription factors KIL1 and KIL2 promote lytic cell death, thereby facilitating embryo growth and determining the embryo-endosperm size ratio in mai

doi.org

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Reposted by Thomas WIDIEZ

Centre INRAE Lyon-Grenoble Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes @inrae-lyon-gre.bsky.social · Jul 18

🌽 Le suicide utile de l’albumen : des cellules se détruisent pour laisser grandir l’embryon

Publié dans The Plant Cell, découverte signée N. Doll & @thomaswidiez.bsky.social (UMR RDP), un mécanisme clé pour la croissance et la nutrition des graines ⤵️
urlr.me/QvBTSV

Des pistes pour l’#agriculture 🚜

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Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · Jul 10

A haplotype-resolved pangenome of the barley wild relative Hordeum bulbosum 🌾

@nature.com

📖 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A haplotype-resolved pangenome of the barley wild relative Hordeum bulbosum - Nature

A study describes the assembly and analysis of a haplotype-resolved pangenome of bulbous barley with the potential to improve domesticated barley and illustrates its use in evolutionary research and t...

www.nature.com

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Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · Jul 2

Amazing discovery 🤯 on barrier integrity control in 🌱 👇🏼👇🏼

@nature.com

Congratulations to all👏🏼

Ari Pekka Mähönen @apmahonen.bsky.social · Jul 2

How plants sense injury in their barrier tissue, periderm? Painstakingly detailed and amazing work by post doc Hiroyuki Iida shows that wounding is sensed by the diffusion of two gases: ethylene and oxygen. @treebiocoe.bsky.social‬ @erc.europa.eu‬ 1/x 🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Plants monitor the integrity of their barrier by sensing gas diffusion - Nature

A study using Arabidopsis shows that plants can monitor the integrity of their outer barriers by sensing gas diffusion, enabling them to initiate wound repair to prevent water loss and pathogen entry.

www.nature.com

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Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · Jun 30

Yes indeed PI(4,5)P2 biosensor is enriched at the peri-germ cell membrane 😃 (another parallel!), See the picture below.
It was published here: doi.org/10.1083/jcb.... but confusingly, the peri-germ cell membrane was called here pollen "endo-PM"...

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Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · Jun 25

Super nice images 😍

Fascinating question about membrane identity on these "specialized" membranes.

In a very different context, the peri-arbuscular and peri-germ cell membrane (in pollen) show some interesting parallels. 🤔 Lots to think about!...

doi.org/10.1038/s414...

doi.org/10.1083/jcb....

The peri-germ cell membrane: poorly characterized but key interface for plant reproduction - Nature Plants

Nature Plants - The peri-germ cell membrane: poorly characterized but key interface for plant reproduction

www.nature.com

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Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · Jun 22

🌽 A dream maize seed phenotype—finally real❗

Two KIL TFs trigger lytic cell death in endosperm (EAS) ➡️ boosting embryo growth!

@theplantcell.bsky.social‬

Huge credit to @moritznowack.bsky.social & N. Doll for leading this work 🙌 Fantastic collaboration 🤝

📖 academic.oup.com/plcell/advan...

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Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · Jun 19

🌱 Latest research from A. Lanubile Lab
▶️ editing the ZmWKRY125 transcription factor enhances maize resistance against Fusarium verticillioides🌽

Glad that our team from @rdplab.bsky.social contributed to this work! 🤝

🔓open access: hal.science/hal-05119616

📖 publisher's link doi.org/10.1007/s002...

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Reposted by Thomas WIDIEZ

André Marques @amarques.bsky.social · Jun 18

1/7
I am very excited to announce our🌹NEW PAPER OUT IN 𝑁𝐴𝑇𝑈𝑅𝐸!🌹
𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐄: Bimodal centromeres in pentaploid dogroses shed light on their unique meiosis
With the Ritz and Kovařík labs we show a potential role for centromeres on 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘢 bizarre reproduction!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Bimodal centromeres in pentaploid dogroses shed light on their unique meiosis - Nature

Insights into the dogrose genome and centromeres explain their ability to achieve stable sexual reproduction.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Thomas WIDIEZ

RDP lab @rdplab.bsky.social · Jun 16

🎉 Congratulations to our director Gwyneth Ingram, awarded the 2025 CNRS Silver Medal!

A well-deserved recognition of her outstanding research in plant developmental biology. 🌱

👉 More info: www.cnrs.fr/fr/actualite...

👉 Her profile: www.insb.cnrs.fr/fr/personne/...

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Reposted by Thomas WIDIEZ

RDP lab @rdplab.bsky.social · May 19

Our lab took part in the Pop’Sciences Festival this year!

We were excited to contribute to making science more accessible and engaging for everyone.

📍 popsciences.universite-lyon.fr/le_festival/

Thanks to @yvonjaillais.bsky.social, C. Igisch, G. Brunoud, J. Abitbol-Spangaro, C. Godin and more...

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Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · May 12

🌱 What a fantastic seminar from @michaelraissig.bsky.social for our @rdplab.bsky.social external seminar.

Full of energy, with some seriously cool cell biology 🔬💚

Exciting research on stomata and Brachypodium!

#PlantScience #CellBiology #Stomata #Brachypodium

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Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · Apr 14

▶️ A two-step self-pollination mechanism maximizes fertility in Brassicaceae

@cellcellpress.bsky.social

📖 doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...

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Reposted by Thomas WIDIEZ

Thomas Dresselhaus @t-dresselhaus.bsky.social · Apr 14

A pick for your next journal club? We discovered a gene regulatory network involving RALF12 and ROS leading to PCD of a single cell (synergid) within the ovule. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The image shows the three cells of a maize egg apparatus (synergids on top and egg cell below).

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Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · Apr 10

▶️Maternal haploid induction in maize via mutation of Gamete Expression protein 1 (ZmGEX1) 🌱

-->Plant Biotechnology Journal

📖 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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Thomas WIDIEZ @thomaswidiez.bsky.social · Apr 4

Having babies without DNA from Daddy?! 😵

🌻Yep, possible in sunflowers 🌻

Tim Kelliher's team describes a sunflower parthenogenic doubled haploid (DH) process

@nature.com

▶️Haploid facultative parthenogenesis in sunflower sexual reproduction

📖 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Reposted by Thomas WIDIEZ

Jean-Michel Ané @jeanmichelane.bsky.social · Mar 4

Our latest article on biological nitrogen fixation on the aerial roots of sorghum has been published in @plosbiology.org. We thank the @energygov.bsky.social for supporting this exciting project.

journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Sorghum aerial roots producing mucilage and hosting bacteria that fix nitrogen from the air

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