Pingtao Ding (he/him)

Climate change effects on plant immune activation The forecasted global climate changes will expose plants to challenging environmental conditions that further increase outbreak risks and threaten ecosystems and food security. The sole host defense mechanism plants possess is innate immunity. This system relies on extra- and intracellular receptors mediating pattern- and damage-triggered immunity (PTI/DTI) and effector-triggered immunity. Here, we discuss how environmental changes can alter the expression dynamics of extracellular receptors activating PTI/DTI, the so-called pattern-recognition receptors, and cell wall integrity sensors. We examine possible crosstalk between selected abiotic stress and immune signaling and briefly argue how two major abiotic stress-related transcription factor families, such as the heat stress factors and dehydration-responsive element-binding/C-repeat-binding factors, cooperate with immune signaling during acclimation responses.

Climate change effects on plant immune activation #plantscience

Biosynthesis and bioactivity of anti-inflammatory triterpenoids in Calendula officinalis - Nature Communications Calendula, a plant used in traditional medicine for centuries, helps reduce inflammation. Here the authors identify natural compounds that are key to its anti-inflammatory activity, revealing how they...

Our story on the biosynthesis of anti-inflammatory triterpenes from pot marigold is published ☺️ We had a lot of fun working on this beautiful & interesting species. Well done team marigold! 🌼 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our latest on brassinosteroid signaling: Ligand binding spectrum, specificity & selectivity of all BR receptors in Arabidopsis. By @albertocaregnato.bsky.social , @hmchen93.bsky.social and our great chemistry collaborators Mirek Kvasnica, Jana Oklestkova and Mirek Strnad.

Oatk: a de novo assembly tool for complex plant organelle genomes - Genome Biology Plant organelle genomes, particularly large mitochondrial genomes with complex repeats, present significant challenges for assembly. The advent of long-read sequencing enables the assembly of complete...

Oatk: a de novo assembly tool for complex plant organelle genomes link.springer.com/article/10.1...

I’m proud to present the main work from my postdoc, 3+ years in making from scratch, my ultimate #MimulusPropaganda up till now:

The Moment
That
Symmetry
Breaks.

#plantscience #development #imaging #microscopy 🧪🌸🔬
w. Captain Yaowu & @biancatash.bsky.social

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

1/3 New preprint led by Shanshan Wang, in collaboration with the Timmermans lab.

Several groups have presented sc/snRNA-seq analyses of Arabidopsis leaves after bacterial infection before. Is there anything left to discover? Turns out: Yes.

#plantscience
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Caroline Dean sitting on a bench in front of some greenery.

The new issue of @newphyt.bsky.social features a profile of Caroline Dean:

👉 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#PlantScience #PlantEpigenetics #PlantLuminaries

A plant immune receptor mediates tritrophic interactions by linking caterpillar detection to predator recruitment https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.29.667524v1

Review: Harnessing the power of gene regulatory networks for crop improvement | Plantae The number of large molecular plant datasets seems to be growing exponentially. With this growth comes an urgent need for researchers to understand how these datasets should be analyzed and…

Plant Science Research Weekly -- Review: Harnessing the power of gene regulatory networks for crop improvement (Nature Biotechnol.) @dinglab.bsky.social (Summary by Mary Williams @PlantTeaching.bsky.social)
buff.ly/8GaSdPJ

#PlantaePSRW

Finally a method to identify plant RNA-binding proteins! 🧬 This enables so much new biology to discover from immunity to development! 🤯 🪴 Established by the incredible Victor Sanchez with @havandenburg.bsky.social @uva.nl Congratulations!!

Steering plant-soil feedback for sustainable agriculture The challenge of producing food at low monetary cost comes with high environmental impacts as yield maximization by excessive fertilization and chemical pest control drive farmers away from using the ...

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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 ...

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...

Expanding flg22 recognition in plants - Nature Plants Bacterial perception by plants is imperative to trigger plant defences and mount immunity against bacterial diseases. Cell surface receptor kinase FLS2 detects the flg22 epitope of bacterial flagella ...

Also check out this news and views as well as companion paper by the Zipfel lab who came to some similar conclusions using a different approach. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Advancing ecological and evolutionary research in Arabidopsis: Extending insights into model and nonmodel plants (María Verónica Arana , F Xavier Picó) doi.org/10.1093/plce... #PlantScience

Sorry, but these principles are not compatible with Open Science. (Gedankenexperiment: How would you feel about being able to access NCBI only after having registered with the US government?)

Banana seed enterprise in Rwanda. Photo credit: Dr Aman Bonaventure Omondi.

New climate resilience & sustainability project co-led by @drrenataretkute.bsky.social with @bioversityciat.bsky.social aims to protect banana production in Africa from crop disease.

Read more: tinyurl.com/2dutb4h2

#PlantSci 🧪
@cam.ac.uk
@cambridgebiosci.bsky.social
@camplantepidem.bsky.social

The Plant Cell is accepting applications for Assistant Features Editors | Plant Science Today Are you an early career researcher passionate about plants and science communication? The Plant Cell is accepting applications for new Assistant Features Editors (AFEs) to begin in 2026 and 2027.

#PlantBio2025. Be sure to stop by the ASPB booth in the exhibition hall to learn about the AFE program. We have more than 20 AFEs at the conference!
👉 The Plant Cell is accepting applications for Assistant Features Editors share.google/wqUgOmxQYW4u...
Apply by September 15 #PlantBio

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

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 🧪

How getting tenure changes researchers’ publication habits — and citations Paper output varies between disciplines, as does the trend after tenure is achieved.

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

Bulgaria joins EMBC  – Press releases – EMBO The country becomes the 32nd member state following approval of the accession agreement

Bulgaria has joined EMBC, the intergovernmental funding body of EMBO, as the 32nd member state. Welcome!

Life scientists in #Bulgaria can now benefit from all EMBO Programmes and activities.

Read more:
www.embo.org/press-releas...
#LifeSciences #networking #opportunities #funding 🧪

Starship giant transposons dominate plastic genomic regions in a fungal plant pathogen and drive virulence evolution Nature Communications - Giant transposons, known as ‘Starships’, mediate horizontal gene transfer between fungal genomes. Here, Sato et al. show that Starships occupy genome regions...

📣 Happy to see the journal publication 📄 of our work on Starships 🚀 in Verticillium fungi: terrific work led by @yukiyosato.bsky.social
rdcu.be/exBSp

1/2 Roger Freedman from Gatsby asked me many years ago what I thought would the grandest goal plant scientists should have. My answer: An immune system with professional, circulating immune cells for individually adaptive immunity.

Joanne Chory (1955–2024): Plant geneticist extraordinaire | PNAS Joanne Chory (1955–2024) was a pioneering biologist whose research transformed our understanding of plant growth and development. Her groundbreakin...

Jennifer Nemhauser’s and my tribute to our amazing friend and mentor, the extraordinary Joanne Chory.

Read about our personal and professional reminiscences. Thanks to all who provided background for this.

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Stories of Salicylic Acid: A Plant Defense Hormone Salicylic acid (SA) is a key plant hormone required for establishing resistance to many pathogens. SA biosynthesis involves two main metabolic pathways with multiple steps: the isochorismate and the p...

For those who are not familiar with SA research history, we humbly introduce a review we wrote years ago: www.cell.com/trends/plant... @cp-trendsplantsci.bsky.social

Emergence of isochorismate-based salicylic acid biosynthesis within Brassicales | PNAS Salicylic acid (SA) is a major defense phytohormone. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the isochorismate (IC) pathway is the primary route for pathogen-indu...

However, I think this work should be highlighted too: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Complete biosynthesis of salicylic acid from phenylalanine in plants - Nature Characterization of four SALICYLIC ACID-DEFICIENT GENEs in rice identifies an ancestral pathway for biosynthesis of salicylic acid from phenylalanine and provides genetic targets for engineering disea...

Three back-to-back Salicylic Acid biosynthesis papers 3/3 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Deciphering phenylalanine-derived salicylic acid biosynthesis in plants - Nature Diverse plant species synthesize salicylic acid from phenylalanine through a pathway that includes a conserved triple-enzyme module that converts benzoyl-CoA to salicylic acid.

Three back-to-back Salicylic Acid biosynthesis papers 2/3 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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...

Three back-to-back Salicylic Acid biosynthesis papers 1/3 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Complete biosynthesis of salicylic acid from phenylalanine in plants - Nature Characterization of four SALICYLIC ACID-DEFICIENT GENEs in rice identifies an ancestral pathway for biosynthesis of salicylic acid from phenylalanine and provides genetic targets for engineering disea...

Complete biosynthesis of salicylic acid from phenylalanine in plants

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

Plant microRNA maturation and function - Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology This Review discusses new mechanistic insights into plant microRNA maturation, intercellular and tissue mobility and the intriguing interplay between microRNAs and the translation process.

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