Ren Ujimatsu

TSL Summer Conference in Plant-Microbe Interactions, 20th – 31st July… Inviting Early Career Researchers to join international experts in discussing the latest approaches and discoveries in Plant-Microbe Interactions …

Just a reminder that our TSL Summer Conference in Plant-Microbe Interactions is taking place this summer in Norwich!

⏰ APPLY by 30 March 2026

More info on our website: www.tsl.ac.uk/tsl-summer-c...

PCP February Issue cover confocal image showing root colonization by the endophytic fungus Colletotrichum fructicola expressing GFP, with A. thaliana plasma membranes visualized using an mCherry-fused aquaporin (magenta). Photo credit: Shunsuke Miyashima, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Japan.

🔥Hot off the press....!🔥

⭐The February Issue of Plant & Cell Physiology is out now!⭐

🛋️ academic.oup.com/pcp/issue/67/2

@academic.oup.com
@jspp-news.bsky.social

#PlantScience 🌱

📸Photo credit: Shunsuke Miyashima, Ishikawa Prefectural University, Japan
📝Related paper: doi.org/10.1093/pcp/...

Join us on March 10, 2026 at Kyoto University 🇯🇵 for a day celebrating my long-time friend and collaborator Prof. Ryohei Terauchi.

"Kyoto Mini-Symposium on Plant–Microbe Interactions"

Dihydroxyhexanoic acid biosynthesis controls turgor in pathogenic fungi Many plant pathogenic fungi penetrate host surfaces mechanically, using turgor pressure generated by specialized infection cells called appressoria. These appressoria develop semipermeable cell walls ...

Out in @science.org this week, two fungal enzymes synthesise DHHA, which controls cell wall porosity and turgor in plant pathogenic fungi www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#mycology
#plantscience

Preprint: Here we report a glass bead-based system suitable for the *simultaneous monitoring* of Arabidopsis root exudate and root microbiome dynamics. Teaser: some link between glucosinolates ~ SynCom composition. Happy reading. Credits to Charlotte Joller et al.! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Great opportunity!! It was very very valuable experience. Don’t miss it!

TSL Summer Conference in Plant-Microbe Interactions, 20th – 31st July… Inviting Early Career Researchers to join international experts in discussing the latest approaches and discoveries in Plant-Microbe Interactions …

Join us in Norwich this July for the TSL Summer Conference in Plant-Microbe Interactions! ☀️🌱🧬

Discuss the latest approaches & discoveries in plant health with international keynote and local speakers.

APPLY by 30 March '26 ⬇️ Click link for more info
www.tsl.ac.uk/tsl-summer-c...

Living with the Enemy: Plants Outsource Their Defense to Fungal Gatekeepers Zhe Wang; Living with the Enemy: Plants Outsource Their Defense to Fungal Gatekeepers, Plant and Cell Physiology, , pcag004, https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pc

Finally!! 🎉 After a long journey and multiple rounds of revisions, my Commentary is officially out in @plantcellphysiol.bsky.social !

We discuss the fascinating "Gatekeeper" role of endophytes in plant immunity based on the great work by @keihiruma.bsky.social et al.

📄 Read here:

Genetic factors driving multi-host infection in a core member of the root mycobiota https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.12.01.690973v1

Finally published!
Our new study in Curr Biol @currentbiology.bsky.social analyzes how CYP707A1 promoter variation drives an evolutionary trade-off between stomatal defense and gas exchange across Brassicaceae species.
Free-access link:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m7H93QW8S...

Evolutionary trade-off between stomatal defense and gas exchange in Brassicaceae Kang et al. show that coronatine hijacks the ABA hydroxylase CYP707A1 in A. thaliana to override stomatal defense. While CYP707A1 also enables rapid light-induced stomatal opening, C. rubella and E. s...

Our ten years of work is finally out in Current Biology! We reveal a new mode of action of the bacterial phytotoxin coronatine produced by Pseudomonas syringae. www.cell.com/current-biol...

EPS Summer School | Universiteit Utrecht We would like to invite you to join the PhD Summer School that has an attractive program with many expert speakers in the field of environmental signaling in plants. In addition to the invited speaker...

Great opportunity for Early Career Researchers - Utrecht PhD Summer School 2026!

eps.sites.uu.nl

STT3A Is Required for Recognition of Pathogen-Derived Sphingolipids in Arabidopsis | Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions® Plants recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) via pattern recognition receptors, leading to the activation of pattern-triggered immunity in response to pathogen attack. Phytophthora infestans ceramide D (Pi-Cer D) is a sphingolipid fro...

Get a First Look 🔍: "STT3A Is Required for Recognition of Pathogen-Derived Sphingolipids in Arabidopsis," by Seowon Choi et al. https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-05-25-0061-R

Novel system to explore plant-fungi interaction and fungus-fungus competition. Colletotrichum rocks!

We’ve built this virtual plant scientist PlantScience.ai to grow alongside human researchers🌿. It thinks like an expert, cites like a scholar, and never stops learning. Come and have a chat with it! @yiliangding.bsky.social @johninnescentre.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Spread the word! 🗣️🎙️
Together with @azulsilva.bsky.social and Bluesky-less Magdalena Miranda, supported by @elife.bsky.social, we’re organizing a webinar bringing together people working in science communication and outreach.

Please, feel free to share the flyer with anyone who might be interested!

We’re delighted to share that our paper has been just accepted in PCP!

We analyzed fungus–fungus competition that suppresses pathogenic colonization in Arabidopsis roots.Special thanks to Duke, Hiroyuki, Yuki, Nanami, and everyone who contributed!
t.co/obQyD1rzI1

The koji-fungus, Aspergillus oryzae, traditionally used in Japanese brewing, is now widely used to make enzymes.

It seems its capacity for enzyme production is thanks to its unique ability to proportionally increase cell volume and nuclear number.
buff.ly/bPSNRL6

Localized glutamine leakage drives the spatial structure of root microbial colonization Plant roots release exudates to encourage microbiome assembly, which influences the function and stress resilience of plants. How specific exudates drive spatial colonization patterns remains largely ...

A long road to the Cover of Science!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Benzoxazinoid-mediated microbiome feedbacks enhance Arabidopsis growth and defense Plants modulate their surrounding microbiome via root exudates and this conditioned soil microbiome feeds back on the performance of the next generation of plants. How plants can perceive this altered...

updated preprint: Intriguingly, Arabidopsis responded with both, improved growth and enhanced defence to a maize-conditioned soil microbiome, and this dual microbiome feedbacks were mediated by priming of the defences. Credits to Katja Stengele et al.!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Exactly😣 It was big conference that I rarely got to see you. Next time, let’s have lunch or dinner — I want to talk about our science! I hope your new journey in Switzerland goes well🤞

Congrats Fantin🎊 Beautiful work!!

We have posted our latest preprint. We explore how an endophytic fungus promotes plant growth and fitness under fluctuating nitrogen-limited conditions in both field and laboratory settings, in additively with bacteria attracted to its hyphae. We hope you enjoy it!

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

Epipactis helleborine, also know as broad leaf helleborine. An orchid with many small green-purple flowers starting to open .

Epipactis helleborine, also known as broad leaf helleborine. An orchid with many small green-purple flowers starting to open.
Finding wild orchids brings me joy.

Cell wall remodeling in a fungal pathogen is required for hyphal growth into microspaces. #mBio This study highlights the critical role of hyphal plasticity and cell wall remodeling in the pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporum by genetics and micro-channel devices. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

A TNL receptor mediates microbiome feedbacks in Arabidopsis Plant performance depends on the soil microbiome. While microbiome feedbacks are well documented, the mechanisms by which plants perceive and mediate these feedbacks remain unclear. We established a f...

Updated preprint: MMF1 is "a microbiota receptor” through which Arabidopsis plants perceive their soil microbiome. Perception optimises root microbiome composition, immune status and ultimately leads to better growth. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A single domestication origin of adzuki bean in Japan and the evolution of domestication genes Adzuki is a central legume in East Asian culinary culture, yet its domestication origin remains debated. Using ~700 accessions across Asia, we show that the initial domestication happened three to fiv...

A single domestication origin of adzuki bean in Japan and the evolution of domestication genes |
Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Do you love もち (mochi)? If so (or even if you don't), this is an interesting article on the origin of adzuki beans (あずき), source of "red bean paste".

Next Monday!

Webinar Alert🌱
Want to learn cutting-edge studies in plant-microbe interaction? Join our webinar "Advances in Plant-Microbe Interactions: Insights from Asia to the World" with
@elifecommunity.bsky.social !
📅 May 19, 2025 | 🕝 JST 14:30–17:20 (UTC+9)
📌Register: u-tokyo-ac-jp.zoom.us/webinar/regi...