Earlham Institute

Year in industry student Poppy Leslie is presenting her great work on the evolution of wheat-infecting root fungi, check it out at poster 47! 🌾🍄 #CMINorwich26
@earlhaminst.bsky.social @norwichmicro.bsky.social @dsw-isp.bsky.social @mcmullan0.bsky.social

Sally Warring presents a new initiative to carry out single cell genome sequencing of uncultured protists from the environment ⁦‪@earlhaminst.bsky.social ‬⁩ #CMINorwich26

How single-cell genomics is unmasking the hidden diversity of protists From giant kelp forests to the microscopic parasites in a single drop of water, protists represent the vast bulk of eukaryotic phylogenetic diversity.

Speaking today at #CMINorwich26 with @norwichmicro.bsky.social Dr Sally Warring will be sharing the weird and wonderful world of #protists!

Sally's current research focuses on developing high-throughput #singlecell methods for sequencing protists directly from environmental samples.

Mark Webber opens the Centre for Microbial Interactions Annual Conference at Norwich Research Park @thesainsburylab.bsky.social @johninnescentre.bsky.social @earlhaminst.bsky.social @quadraminstitute.bsky.social @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social #CMINorwich26

Microscopy image of wheat root harbouring soil fungi, captured by Year in Industry student Poppy.

Microscopy image of Euglena, taken by Protistologist Sally Warring

A wheat root damaged by the take-all fungus Gaeumannomyces tritici.

#Microbial research at Earlham Institute is applying data-driven biology to reveal the hidden diversity of microbial life—from #protists, soil, and #fungi, to communities in our gut—we're working to deepen our understanding of how these complex dynamics shape our health, food, and environment.

An aerial photo of the Norwich Research Park, with the Quadram Institute, Earlham Institute, John Innes Centre and Sainsbury Laboratory in the foreground, and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, and University of East Anglia in the background.

The two-day showcase demonstrates and connects the diverse expertise and research community of microbial science taking place across the park, including at Earlham Institute, @quadraminstitute.bsky.social, @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social, @johninnescentre.bsky.social, and @thesainsburylab.bsky.social.

🦠 Today and tomorrow microbial researchers from across the Norwich Research Park and beyond gather for the Centre for Microbial Interactions conference.

@norwichmicro.bsky.social #CMINorwich26

Engineering Synthetic Plant Chromosomes (synPACs) Advances in synthetic genomics have opened new pathways for engineering biology, enabling the rapid design and construction of biological systems at scale for innovative applications and to address fu...

The project initially focuses on potatoes, a globally important crop, with the goal of developing technology pipelines to fast-track #plantengineering.

Find out more here - www.earlham.ac.uk/research-pro...

@cgrandel.bsky.social @conradn.bsky.social

John Innes Foundation Intern Chinemerem Adaugo Akamihe talking to Angie Burnett in the Earlham Biofoundry

Carolina Grandellis, Head of the Earlham Biofoundry explaining the new OpenTronsFlex liquid handling platform.

Conrad Nieduszynski, Group Leader at EI, with David Seung, Group Leader at John Innes Centre.

During the visit, Programme Director Angie Burnett and Technical Specialist Fabrizio Ticchiarelli-Marjot explored the #automation and #engineering capabilities in the Earlham #Biofoundry, and plant natural products and metabolomics platform expertise at John Innes Centre.

Programme director Angie Burnett with Earlham Biofoundry Manager Carolina Grandellis

ARIA Technical Specialist Fabrizio Ticchiarelli-Marjot with Lucy Heap from the Cai Lab at Manchester Institute for Biotechnology.

Dr Grandellis demonstrates automation platforms in the Earlham Biofoundry

Last week we were delighted to welcome the @aria-research.bsky.social #Synthetic #Plants team to the Earlham Institute and @johninnescentre.bsky.social to discuss the latest on our ARIA-funded project with @uommib.bsky.social, engineering synthetic plant chromosomes (synPACs).

Join @parker-aim.bsky.social and other experts across the Norwich Research Park in this great course on Histology for Spatial Transcriptomics ⤵️

Training course advert: Histology for Spatial Transcriptomics: A Troubleshooting Toolkit. 17 June 2026, cost is to be confirmed.

Sharing our own experience with #spatial platforms, this course will help you:

🔬 Understand theory of fixation, dehydration, embedding and sectioning
🥼 Gain hands-on experience in handling samples for spatial
🤔 Know how to troubleshoot challenging samples

📅 17 June 2026
➡️ buff.ly/oJ2mluE

In this new workshop, we're bringing together #spatial and #histology expertise to troubleshoot sample preparation methods that span different species and tissue types, with researchers from Earlham Institute, Norwich Research Park, and @quadraminstitute.bsky.social.

Postdoc researcher Sonia Fonseca in the single-cell labs at EI demonstrating our Vizgen MERSCOPE spatial platform

#Spatialtranscriptomics is a powerful tool to analyse gene expression at a cellular level, with increasing studies in multiple systems.

But traditional histology techniques can focus on the morphology of a sample, often without consideration of maintaining high-quality RNA for secondary analysis.

Dr Simon Griffiths, Group Leader and Delivering Sustainable Wheat Programme Lead, wrapping up the DSW annual meeting for 2026

Thanks to everyone who joined us at the @dsw-isp.bsky.social annual meeting today! From tackling wheat diseases to investigating the building blocks of plant growth, the event has been full of engaging discussion. To find out more about Delivering Sustainable Wheat, visit jic.link/DSW

Threshing out the grains of FAIR data with Grassroots In an era of cheaper and faster sequencing, genomics can mean having to find a needle-sized piece of vital information in a haystack-sized wealth of data. Our Grassroots tool helps you sort the wheat…

As part of this, research software engineers at the Earlham Institute developed Grassroots - an #opensource platform for plant biologists to upload and browse field trial data, search nucleotide queries, and explore pathogenomics. 📲

Discover more here buff.ly/4HYUAsj

@dsw-isp.bsky.social

Sustainable Data Frameworks for Wheat Work Package 4 (WP4) aims to improve data standards and coordination to achieve a cohesive and inclusive data strategy for sustainable wheat.

Led by Prof Diane Saunders at JIC and Dr Richard Leggett at the Earlham Institute, the research focus aims to develop robust and sustainable data frameworks, tools, and standards for #wheat #genomics.

buff.ly/DiRj3td

Close up of a conference poster describing the aims of the DSW research programme. Image focuses in on the logo of DSW and the Earlham Institute and John Innes Centre.

This afternoon at the #DeliveringSustainableWheat conference at @johninnescentre.bsky.social we're discussing a strand of the programme that focuses on developing sustainable data frameworks for the wheat community.

@dsw-isp.bsky.social

Attendees mingling at the DSW annual meeting

Eleri, DSW programme manager, starting the DSW annual meeting 2026

DSW mission statement poster

We are excited to be hosting the Delivering Sustainable Wheat annual meeting at the John Innes Conference Centre today! We’ll be posting about how our scientists are addressing challenges facing global wheat crops, and working with national partners to deliver the @dsw-isp.bsky.social programme 🌾

Innovations in spatial imaging could unlock higher wheat yields Scientists at the Earlham Institute and the John Innes Centre are pioneering powerful single-cell visualisation techniques that could unlock higher yields of global wheat.

And earlier this year, scientists from Earlham Institute and @johninnescentre.bsky.social published a study using #spatialtranscriptomics to map the expression of 200 genes across four stages of wheat development, revealing new insights as to how the wheat spike forms.

#spatial #genomics

New wheat diversity discovery could provide an urgently-needed solution to global food security Newly-discovered diversity in the wheat genome could offer vital new opportunities to improve and ‘climate-proof’ one of the world’s most important staple crops.

A recent study from scientists at EI generated the first wheat pan-transcriptome - a comprehensive map of gene activity that provides a valuable new resource for researchers and #plantbreeders to accelerate yield improvements and develop more resilient wheat varieties.🌾🧬🚜

#PlantScience

Addressing critical challenges in wheat Delivering Sustainable Wheat (DSW) programme is a co-ordinated and collaborative drive to address critical challenges in wheat health, yield and production, and sustain the future of this vital crop.

As part of this, scientists at the Earlham Institute are contributing their expertise in #FAIRdata sharing, plant #pathogens, #genomic analysis, and pangenomes to enable plant breeders to accelerate yield improvements and develop more resilient wheat varieties.

Close up of wheat ears lit up in the background against low sun. Image licensed through Shutterstock.

Across four research themes the @dsw-isp.bsky.social programme is a collaborative initiative to address critical challenges in wheat health and yield, and develop sustainable solutions to increase production.

#wheatgenomics

Delivering Sustainable Wheat The Delivering Sustainable Wheat Institute Strategic Programme aims to develop wheat germplasm containing the next generation of key traits.

Today we're excited to join the Delivering Sustainable Wheat Conference - a @ukri.org cross-institute programme bringing together expertise of 11 organisations and universities - including Earlham Institute, @johninnescentre.bsky.social, @quadraminstitute.bsky.social and @rothamsted.bsky.social.

Detection of DNA base modification using nanopore sequencing 2026 In this comprehensive two-day course, participants will learn how to use nanopore sequencing to detect DNA base modifications.

✅️ Registration is open for our Detection of DNA base modification using #nanopore #sequencing. We'll be covering experimental design, considerations for ultra-#longreads, visualisation of data, and comparison of approaches. 🧬💻

📍 Online (via Zoom)
📅 Register by: 10 April

Black in Plant Science Summer Studentship 2026 For the second time we will be offering Black undergraduate students from universities across the UK the opportunity to undertake a research experience placement at a UK university or research…

📣 Applications are currently open for a @blackinplantsci.bsky.social Summer Studentship working with @cgrandel.bsky.social and the Earlham #Biofoundry team. 🌱

This is a great opportunity for Black undergraduate students to gain experience in #automation and #syntheticbiology in plants. 🧬

🔊 Don’t miss this great opportunity to learn all about annotating eukaryotic genomes in this online course offered by @earlhaminst.bsky.social!
📅 Registration deadline: March 22
More information below 👇
#genome #annotation #workshop #training @ebpgenome.bsky.social

Genome Annotation Workshop 2026 The Genome Annotation Workshop is designed to provide scientists with a comprehensive overview of eukaryotic genome annotation approaches.

Join our online Genome Annotation Workshop, designed to provide you with a comprehensive overview of eukaryotic genome annotation approaches, including tools used in large-scale genome projects such as @ergabiodiv.bsky.social. 🧬💻

📅 Register by: 22 March 2026
👉 buff.ly/gQ4Q8JA

#genomics #annotation

How single-cell genomics is unmasking the hidden diversity of protists From giant kelp forests to the microscopic parasites in a single drop of water, protists represent the vast bulk of eukaryotic phylogenetic diversity.

Discover how scientists at Earlham Institute are adapting #singlecell methods to decode the complex and fascinating diversity of protists directly from from environmental samples.

🧬🦠🔬

#microbialgenomics #protists

Professor Ben Garrod and Dr Jess French in orange and pink lab coats. They are standing in a white laboratory tent, with scientific equipment in the background, and are explaining a dissection to an audience.

Event | What can animals’ bodies tell us about our own? 🥼

Join Prof @bengarrod.bsky.social from @biouea.bsky.social and veterinary surgeon Dr Jess French for a dissection that uncovers the inner workings of an animal’s body.

Sat 11 April | 1pm-5pm
📍The Royal Institution, London