Tom Heaven

Aphid effectors suppress plant immunity via recruiting defense proteins to processing bodies Aphids hijack plant immunity via p-bodies, but plants fight back with a heat shock protein in an unexpected twist on defense.

Our paper is now online in Science Advances! Congrats @saskiahogenhout.bsky.social @johninnescentre.bsky.social and all coauthors!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Very exciting to see this out in the world! @tcheaven.bsky.social did some excellent work and I'm happy to have played a (small) supporting role on this project

We are excited to share our latest preprint from the Hogenhout lab (@matteogravino.bsky.social @saskiahogenhout.bsky.social
, @johninnescentre.bsky.social
) on plant-aphid interactions, showing that the aphid effector Mp10 balances suppression of DAMP responses and activation of ETI via EDS1.

➡️ Overall, the UK HE sector is not delivering graduates with the skill set outlined in numerous reports as required to enable food production in a changing climate. Our research highlights the need for curriculum reviews and greater focus on plant science.

📊 We found a surprising lack of consistency in plant science teaching. The only common curricula we identified was limited to the 18 courses we grouped as Plant Science, which are delivered by just 9 institutions.

🔍 We found a wide diversity in the information made available by university websites on course structures and module content. As a result a prospective student/employer interested in plant science will find it virtually impossible to determine which degree will deliver the skills they need.

⚠️ Skills shortages in crucial areas like soil science and plant pathology are well-documented. Yet, our data shows these topics are often overlooked in general biology courses. #FoodSecurity #PlantBlindness #SkillsGap

Analysis of plant science higher education reveals mixed provision which falls short of delivering national priorities Background Many reports from the UK government and other organisations highlight a need for a plant aware workforce, and some enumerate specific areas of plant science where there is a skills shorta...

🌱 Is UK higher education keeping pace with the critical need for plant scientists? Our new study reveals a concerning gap between national priorities and university curricula.

doi.org/10.1002/jsf2...

#PlantSciEd #plantscience #plantsci #horticulture #botany #HigherEducation

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@tom-mathers.bsky.social @samtmugford.bsky.social @fionabugsnbees.bsky.social @caterpillar-coevo.bsky.social

...recognised as the primary vector of 'carrot yellows' by carrot growers in Northern Europe. This research provides valuable insights into the evolution of psyllids and their interactions with phytopathogenic bacteria. Ultimately, this will lead to more effective pest management strategies. 🌱

...psyllids. We identified gene families linked to insecticide resistance, which could explain their ability to survive control measures. 🧬

With the help of collaborators in Scotland, Finland, Norway, and Austria we also discovered genetic subpopulations within Dyspersa apicalis, which is...

This work from the
@saskiahogenhout.bsky.social lab was part of the CALIBER project, evaluating the risk of Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum in UK carrots, potatoes and tomatoes (hubs.ly/Q02wxL-30). Our high-quality genome assemblies revealed insights into the genetic makeup of these...

Our preprint is now live! We have sequenced the genomes of three psyllid species. These insects pests transmit devastating plant diseases like 'zebra chip' in potatoes and 'carrot yellows' in carrots. 🥕

#MolecularEntomology #MPMI #PlantPathology #psyllids #liberibacter

YouTube video by TULIP Samuel Mugford-Molecular mechanisms of plant immune suppression by virulence factors in aphid saliva

If you'd like a condensed version of this story, and also another recent preprint from the @saskiahogenhout.bsky.social lab here's a talk I recently gave at the Tulip graduate school in Toulouse
youtu.be/9EoC6Zd6f_k?...

We're happy to present a pre-print from the Hogenhout lab (@saskiahogenhout.bsky.social), describing how a family of proteases in aphid oral secretions suppress plant immunity.

We’re delighted to share our latest preprint from the Hogenhout lab (@saskiahogenhout.bsky.social) on the molecular mechanisms on plant-aphid interactions. Here we show how the aphid Mp10 effector protein acts as a local anaesthetic to suppress the plant perception of aphid attack

Genome dynamics across the evolutionary transition to endosymbiosis Many insects carry heritable bacterial symbionts, but the evolution of vertical (parent-to-offspring) transmission is poorly understood. Using the genus Arsenophonus, Siozios et al. show that microbes...

Genome dynamics across the evolutionary transition to endosymbiosis. #GenomeDynamics #Endosymbiosis #CurrentBiology #Genomics #Genomics #BioSky #SciSky 🧪🧬
www.cell.com/current-biol...

🙌

This is terrifying.