Takehiro A. Ozawa

Targeted genetic manipulation and yeast-like evolutionary genomics in the green alga Auxenochlorella Auxenochlorella, green algae shaped by evolutionary forces acting on vegetative diploids, are amenable to discovery research and bioengineering via efficie

Excited to introduce Auxenochlorella as a new algal reference organism for fundamental plant science and bioengineering. A paper in two parts: a genetic toolkit for site-specific genomic manipulation, paired with the most unusual genome I’ve ever worked on

academic.oup.com/plcell/artic...

Targeted genetic manipulation and yeast-like evolutionary genomics in the green alga Auxenochlorella Auxenochlorella, green algae shaped by evolutionary forces acting on vegetative diploids, are amenable to discovery research and bioengineering via efficie

The Merchant lab's paper describing the Auxenochlorella genome and genetic toolkit is now published in The Plant Cell!

I’m honored to have contributed to this project led by @rorycraig.bsky.social, Jeff Moseley, and @merchant-lab.bsky.social.

Check it out below!
academic.oup.com/plcell/advan...

🌱plantiSMASH 2.0💥 is now live!

I’m very excited to share that the 2.0 version of plantiSMASH is now available online and as a preprint on bioRxiv 📄https://lnkd.in/dN4F56pf

🌱 What’s new in plantiSMASH 2.0? ⬇️

My very first Arabidopsis experiments are now out!

Check out this nice article with my friend Norma Fabregas we did at @mpi-mp-potsdam.bsky.social

We identified the interactors of LEA5, a disorder protein that fold under stress conditions, and how these protects Arabidopsis under salt stress.

Fig. 8: Summary of the roles of BIN2-PCK1 regulatory module in Arabidopsis and sorghum/maize. a) Brassinolide activates PCK1, by inhibiting BIN2 phosphorylation, to promote the conversion of lipids into sugar for Arabidopsis seedling establishment. b) BR and light regulate PCK1 in bundle sheath cells (BSC) for photosynthesis in sorghum and maize. CO2 is fixed by PEP carboxylase (PEPC) to make OAA in mesophyll cells (MC). OAA is then converted to Asp and transported to BSC, where OAA is decarboxylated by PCK1, thus releasing CO2 for photosynthesis. PEP returns to the MC for the next round of C4 cycle.

Great preprint by Zhang, Aizezi et al. (2025) on how #brassinosteroids promote phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCK) activity for sugar synthesis in C3 and C4 plants, by inhibiting BIN2-mediated PCK phosphorylation at two conserved residues (Ser-62 and Thr-66). 🌱🌽

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

A new tool for engineering Phaeodactylum tricornutum: the METE promoter drives both high expression and B12‐tuneable regulation of transgenes The promoter of the METE gene in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum is repressed by nanomolar concentrations of vitamin B12. It can be used to tune the expression of genes for reporter proteins or ...

If you want to read about a strong tuneable promoter in a diatom, see our publication: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

It was a team effort! So thank you, Patrick Hickland, Alison Smith, and the rest of the Plant Met lab at the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge.

We adapted an affinity purification protocol from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to isolate intact membranes.

#Proteomic analysis of the #pyrenoid‐traversing membranes of #Chlamydomonas #reinhardtii reveals novel components

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
by Franklin et al.

@mjonikas.bsky.social @ericfranklin.bsky.social @WileyPlantSci

Nitrate to spark parched plants Nature Plants - Plants often experience multiple stresses to which they adapt by mounting specific responses. Nitrogen supply allows plants to better recover from drought, and this is linked to...

Happy to share our News and Views published with Justine Broutin in @NaturePlants on the role of nitrate and of the NLP7 transcription factor in wheat drought recovery !
Nitrate to spark parched plants
rdcu.be/eLiT1

We wrote this short review paper highlighting our current understanding of some biogenic retrograde signals focusing on those derived from cis-carotenoids. Deciphering #plastid #retrogradesignals and their roles in plant development
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Newest preprint from K-lab: Direct Genome Transfer from Acholeplasma laidlawii to Yeast. Congrats to Daniel Nucifora Tanveer Saini @schulichmeddent.bsky.social Thank you for sponsoring this research @NSERC_CRSNG #synbio #GenomeTransfer #SynCell
doi.org/10.1101/2025...

New Article: "RLCKs phosphorylate RopGEFs to control auxin-dependent Arabidopsis development" rdcu.be/eLtVM

...filling of a critical gap in the signalling pathway connecting cell surface auxin and RHO GTPases (ROPs) in Arabidopsis.

Fig. 8 Hypothetical model showing the reciprocal regulation of target of rapamycin (TOR) and abscisic acid (ABA) signaling during the transition from the cell division to the cell expansion phase of legume seed development. The activators of TOR observed in this paper are shown, but further molecular and hormonal influences on the developmental transition are omitted for simplicity. The bottom panel extends a basic model by Weber et al. (2005) to show the approximate timing of relative changes in three established signaling metabolites: Glc, glucose; Suc, sucrose; and Gln, glutamine. Sucrose levels are known to be correlated with the signaling metabolite T6P.

Fig. 5. Glutamine (Gln) activates target of rapamycin (TOR) in developing pea cotyledons. (a) The in vivo RPS6-Ser240 phosphorylation status in pea embryos throughout development. Replicate immunoblots are shown in Supporting Information Fig. S5. (b) The relative RPS6-Ser240 phosphorylation signal is plotted, and the fresh weight of the embryos is plotted against days after pollination (DAP). Error bars represent the standard error of the mean. (c–e) RPS6-Ser240 phosphorylation was assessed in 90–130 mg pea embryos incubated for 2 or 4 h with or without Gln (62.5 mM) and sucrose (142 mM) (c), Gln (62.5 mM) and glucose (100 mM) (d) or individual amino acids (62.5 mM) and NH4NO3 (20 mM) (e). Two biological replicates are shown. Replicate immunoblots are shown in Fig. S6.

Great work by O’Leary et al. (2025) on how Gln-driven #PlantTOR signaling occurs during the early development of pea embryos (i.e. cell division phase), but is unexpectedly inactive during #legume seed storage protein biosynthesis. #Pisum #glutamine

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

We are happy to share our latest work in @nature.com . We study the genomic and cellular basis of facultative symbiosis in Oculina patagonica - a Mediterranean coral remarkable for its ability to survive long periods without algal symbionts. Led by Shani Levy and @xgrau.bsky.social
rdcu.be/eLbaZ

🦖 Something HUGE just hatched.

Plasmidsaurus now offers RNA sequencing for gene expression analysis:
• As fast as 3 day turnaround
• $50/sample for academia, $80 for industry
• Up to ~10M unique transcript 3’ end reads per sample
• Interactive results

Explore Plasmidsaurus RNA-Seq today.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT📣: I haven’t been this excited to be part of something new in 15 years… Thrilled to reveal the passion project I’ve been working on for the past year and a half!🙀🥳 (thread 👇)

Structural mechanisms underlying the free fatty acid-mediated regulation of DIACYLGLYCEROL O-ACYLTRANSFERASE 1 in Arabidopsis Studies of Arabidopsis diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 1 reveal striking details on the catalytic mechanism, regulation and structural dynamics of the enz

Structural mechanisms underlying the free fatty acid-mediated regulation of DIACYLGLYCEROL O-ACYLTRANSFERASE 1 in Arabidopsis (Xiuying Liu, Junjie Li, Danfeng Song, Zhenfeng Liu) doi.org/10.1093/plce... #PlantScience

Our Genome Biology paper on wheat spike development integrating single cell and spatial transcriptomics is now published! Check out the paper here: doi.org/10.1186/s130... and enjoy the beautiful pictures (including our 44 supplementary figures)! Be sure to check out some of our tools below!

So, we all know that VIPP1 (the Very Important Protein in Plants) is the "photosynthetic ESCRT-III", required for the biogenesis and maintenance of light-harvesting thylakoids. But what about ESCRT-II, you say? ...Meet VIA1! Congrats @mayankdu.bsky.social on your lab's first paper! #PlantScience 🧪 🌾

Daniel Gibbs Lab Welcome to the lab website of Professor Daniel Gibbs @ University of Birmingham

We are advertising a PhD project investigating a cellular mechanism that ensures protein quality control during mRNA translation in plants. Please get in touch on here or via email if you are interested and I can provide further details!

Lab website: sites.google.com/site/danielg...

Algal pyrenoids—condensates that mediate ~1/3 of Earth’s CO2 fixation—change size and number as cells divide. Our data suggest a simple control mechanism: a kinase that continuously ejects material from the condensate! ☀️🌍🔬💧 #Biophysics #Photosynthesis
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Synchronous spatio-temporal control of autophagy and organelle trafficking is necessary for appressorium-mediated plant infection by Magnaporthe oryzae The blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae infects plants using a specialised infection structure called an appressorium that generates physical force to break the rice leaf cuticle. Appressorium development...

I’m excited to share our new preprint from @talbotlabtsl.bsky.social lab!
🌱 Our latest study reveals how Magnaporthe oryzae synchronizes organelle trafficking and autophagy to infect plants. (1/13)
📄 Read more: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Poster with QR code linking to the position

I'm very excited to announce that UNC Biology has 6 faculty positions open this year! The first is for an Asst Professor who studies organismal resilience using an integrative approach 1/n
unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/307...

Very happy and proud to share the #Spirogyra genome: 50 Mbp small, lacking almost all plastid division proteins and many transcription factors. Kudos to all the many people involved in this multi year project!
@jandevries.bsky.social
@watertoland.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Postdoc in Algae biochemistry

🌿 Postdoc in Algae Biochemistry – University of Copenhagen

Join the Algae Biochemistry Group to explore molecular biology, synthetic biology & metabolomics in eukaryotic microalgae.

📅 Apply by 1 Nov 2025

🔗 employment.ku.dk/faculty/?show=164971

#Postdoc #Algae #Biochemistry #SyntheticBiology

I am incredibly happy to share with you the definitive version of our latest paper published in @plantphys.bsky.social #Apocarotenoid signaling regulates meristem activity and shapes shoot and root lateral organ formation in Arabidopsis url: academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...

SALICYLIC ACID SENSOR1 reveals the propagation of an SA hormone surge during plant pathogen advance Salicylic acid (SA) is a key phytohormone that orchestrates immune responses against pathogens, including Pseudomonas syringae bacteria. The timing and extent of SA accumulation are tightly controlled...

Out in @science.org this week:

A new FRET sensor for salicylic acid gives insight into spatial dynamics of pathogen infection www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

(1/2)

#PlantScience

Salicylic acid biosensor, SalicS1, tracks the plant immune hormone salicylic acid in real time - revealing propagation of hormone surge during plant pathogen advance

Latest biosensor from @xanderjones.bsky.social team
In Science doi.org/10.1126/scie...
Summary www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/news/new-bio...

🛑 Some 🌱 have the remarkable ability to tolerate and accumulate ☣️ metals.

Below 👇🏼 we present evidence that this trait depends on co-option of the circadian 🕰️ machinery❗

We found that co-option of 🕰️ proteins governs both enhanced and time-dependent expression of metal-accumulation genes❗

ABP1/ABL3-TMK1 cell-surface auxin signaling targets PIN2-mediated auxin fluxes for root gravitropism In gravistimulated roots, gravity perception in the columella redirects the flow of the plant hormone auxin toward the lower root side, where it inhibits cell elongation for downward root bending. Thi...

It is out! A tandem of two papers showing TMK regulation of PIN-dependent auxin transport www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... (PIN2, Friml lab) and www.cell.com/developmenta... (PIN1, Xu lab)

🌱 Join us for our upcoming workshop Quantifying Plant Morphogenesis: 4D Insights with MorphoGraphX!
Learn how to quantitatively analyze plant confocal imaging data using MorphoGraphX.