Gwendolyn K. Kirschner

Thank you @sonaliroy.bsky.social for inviting me to give a talk in the Department of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering at Tennessee State University

Even though it was 9pm for me, I enjoyed my time, the interesting questions and the fact that I was up on so many screens at once 😊🌾

Fig. 1 (shortened, full legend in paper): Impact of Medicago truncatula GOLVEN10 peptide on root tortuosity and angular parameters relative to the primary root and gravity vector. (A) Change in root waving or tortuosity in Jemalong A17 plants upon GOLVEN10 application compared with untreated plants 10 d post-transfer to plates. (B) Change in lateral root angle of emergence relative to the primary root upon GLV10 peptide application in untreated M. truncatula R108 plants 10 d post-transfer to plates. (C) Change in lateral root angle of emergence relative to the gravity vector upon GLV10 peptide application in untreated M. truncatula Jemalong A17 plants 10 d post-transfer to plates. Scale bar=1 cm.

🌱📊 RESEARCH 📊🌱

GOLVEN10 increases Medicago lateral root branch angle and reduces the gravity setpoint angle. A GWAS identified causal SNPs and that GOLVEN10 signaling interacts with ethylene to control root waving – Parmar et al.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/...
#PlantScience 🧪

Black in Plant Science Summer Studentship opportunity!

Are you…
in the middle of your first degree & self-identifying as Black or Black heritage?

Apply for an internship on barley root angle regulation in my group @hutton.ac.uk @intbarleyhub.bsky.social

blackinplantscience.org/2026/02/02/b...

🚨Job Alert – Please RT!
We’re looking for bright minds to join our community!
We are looking for 12 postdocs and 7 PhD students!
Details on all projects and application: www.ceplas.eu/en/training-...
@leibnizipk.bsky.social @mpipz.bsky.social @hhu.de @fz-juelich.de @unicologne.bsky.social

Only a week to go until Barley Away Days 2026! A 2- day workshop centred around the barley research at JHI / IBH to a combined internal and invited external audience.
@hutton.ac.uk
@scotchwhiskyswa.bsky.social
@novogene-europe.bsky.social
@thermofishersci.bsky.social
LGC Biosearch
Diageo
SSCR

Excited to be looking at roots of wild barleys

@plantecohutton.bsky.social

YouTube video by ISRR-International Society of Root Research 'Between the Roots' ISRR Mini Symposium 2026

We hosted the ISRR Mini Symposium last week with 14 talks on roots from a whole range of research fields. If you want to catch up on this the link to the recording is here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQqD...

@rootscientists.bsky.social

www.rootresearch.org/working-groups the #ISRR organized a minisymposium to introduce all 7 working groups that address different aspects of #rootsscience #roots #plantscience International Society of Root Research @rootscientists.bsky.social

January 2026 TPJ Editor choice: Transposon toggle: Flipping the switch on CRK8 expression for pathogen defense Discover the Plant Journal editor's choice by Gwendolyn Kirschner

Transposons as genetic switches for plant defense 🌿

The January 2026 @theplantjournal.bsky.social Editor’s Choice by @gwenkirschner.bsky.social shows how CRK8 expression enhances pathogen resistance in Arabidopsis; with trade-offs.

Read now:
www.sebiology.org/resource/jan...

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ✍️ @gwenkirschner.bsky.social
Transposon toggle: flipping the switch on CRK8 expression for pathogen defense
doi.org/10.1111/tpj.70681

Highlights Macquet et al. 👉 doi.org/10.1111/tpj.70590

Four Images: A scientist in a lab looking at a pipetting robot, a greenhouse with lots of pots containing plants, a scientist with drones and other euipment in a field, and a tractor driver with lots of high-tech equipment in the cockpit. The text is: TalentCampus@KWS May 29, 2026 A look behind the scenes: All KWS research and development departments open their doors

The headline and text says: May 29, 2026 in Einbeck, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Seeding the future – breeding combines sciences and talents The image is a wheel showing all the R&D contributions to plant breeding, incl. Molecular Biology Experimental Fields Cell Biology Breeding Phytopathology Chemical Analytics Greenhouse Phenotyping Digitalization

Highlights of the program Information stands Breeders of our main crops explain their work From sowing to harvesting: all the special machines of a breeding station Digital tools for field trialing Root phenotyping: how roots grow in the soil Phenotyping with drones: multispectral from a bird's eye view Phytopathology: insects, fungi, nematodes and other pathogens Chemical Analytics and process analysis Catch crops - concepts for agriculture, soil health, CO2 balance Biological seed treatment Breeding technologies – data and genomics specialists support breeding Genome Editing: new breeding technologies and their application at KWS Regulatory Affairs: paving the way to approval From lab to market: how KWS protects intellectual property Marker lab: examine the DNA The art of engineering for seed production Career opportunities at KWS Hands-on activities The start of a new generation of varieties: crossing plants by hand Tissue culture: placing plant parts on a special diet in vitro Leaf harvest for the marker lab Live view of root growth: navigate a camera through the soil

If you're interested in #PlantScience R&D work at a plant breeding company: @kwsgroup.bsky.social is hosting its annual R&D TalentCampus here in Einbeck on May 29th.

More info here:
www.kws.com/corp/en/care...

Imputation integrates single-cell and spatial gene expression data to resolve transcriptional networks in barley shoot meristem development - Nature Plants Spatially resolved gene expression during barley development was done by integrating an scRNA-seq dataset from cells with unknown position with spatial transcriptomics. This dataset is publicly availa...

paper is out now in Nature Plants, here is a link: Imputation integrates single-cell and spatial gene expression data to resolve transcriptional networks in barley shoot meristem development. Nat. Plants (2026). doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Genome editing in brown algae! 🧬🪸🌿 Now out in Cell Reports Methods!

Excited to share this highly efficient, transgene-free CRISPR–Cas genome editing protocol for brown algae, requiring no cloning and no specialized equipment.

doi.org/10.1016/j.cr...

#CRISPR #BrownAlgae
@mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social

Tim was elected President of EPSO (European Plant Science Organisation). Join us to help the plant science voice be heard in Europe. 🌾🌿
epsoweb.org
@epsoeurope.bsky.social @hutton.ac.uk @intbarleyhub.bsky.social

The Rhizocab enables high definition imaging of the root systems. Exciting research possibilities!

Coding the carpel: evolutionary roots of NGATHA genes in seed plants Click on the article title to read more.

🌸 Coding the carpel: evolutionary roots of NGATHA genes in seed plants 🌸
by @gwenkirschner.bsky.social
👉 doi.org/10.1111/tpj....

Research Highlight about Cota et al. NGATHA carpel development genes evolved in the common ancestor of seed plants 👉 doi.org/10.1111/tpj....

16:05-16:30: Kevin Daniel (Uni of Freiburg) “From Root Death to Repatterning: Arabidopsis Root Shape Plasticity Under Waterlogging Stress”

Root Systems Biology

15:40-16:05: Marc Libault (Uni of Missouri) “Defining Cell Type and Cell State: What did we learn from the Soybean Single-Cell Transcriptome Atlas?"

15:15-15:40: Vincent Opoku Agyemang (CRI) " Root traits for abiotic stress resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa: A case study in vegetables, cereals and legumes".

Roots in Sub-Saharan Africa

14:50-15:15: Dainel Nyadanu (CRIG) “Phenotypic plasticity and genetic parameters of root system architectural traits in breeding for tolerance to pre-establishment stress in kola”

Root Modelling

14:00-14:25: Johannes Postma (FZJülich) “Understanding root traits using mathematical models: A new release of OpenSimRoot”

14:25-14:50: Mona Giraud (FZ Jülich) “In silico analysis of carbon and water dynamics in the rhizosphere under drought conditions.”

Coffee Break 13:40-14:00 UTC
Meet and Greet Working Group Leaders

Phenotyping Method Development

12:50-13:15: Larry York (Oak Ridge National Lab) “Beyond RhizoVision: Hyperspectral phenotyping of the hidden half”

13:15-13:40: Alexandre Grondin (IRD) “Root xylem area influences drought tolerance and transpiration in pearl millet in a soil dependent manner”

Rhizosphere and Signalling

12:00-12:25: Joseph Edwards (Texas A&M Uni) “Investigating the role of host genetic variation on root microbiome assembly in switchgrass”

12:25-12:50: Kathrin Wippel (Uni of Amsterdam) “Root-associated microbiota: host-specific toolboxes for functional plasticity”

Coffee Break 11:50-12:00 UTC
Meet and Greet Working Group Leaders
www.rootresearch.org/working-groups

Roots and Ecosystem Function

11:00-11:25: Vincent Poirier (Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue), “The root of the matter: Linking root traits and soil organic matter stabilization processes”

11:25-11:50 Diego Abalos (Aarhus University), “Root traits to minimize nitrogen losses”

Root Anatomy and Architecture

10:10-10:35: Masashi Yamada (Biotechnology Center in Southern Taiwan) “The role of Root Meristem Growth Factor (RGF) peptide in root meristem development.”

10:35-11:00: Juergen Kleine-Vehn (University of Freiburg), “Auxin dynamics shape root plasticity across scales”

Bean root system, text: "Dig into the latest in root and rhizosphere science: Mini Symposium of the ISRR, January 28th 2026"

Rooting for roots?
#PlantScience

Join us online for the Mini Symposium of the International Society of Root Research @rootscientists.bsky.social

Register here for free:

tinyurl.com/yzeddrjx

Programme👇

‼️Please RT: The CEPLAS Graduate School call for 2026 is now open! Detailed info on our website: bit.ly/4q19JWk
@hhu.de @unicologne.bsky.social @mpipz.bsky.social @fz-juelich.de @leibnizipk.bsky.social @plantsciencedbg.bsky.social

BEST-CROP Talks: How Regulations Shape the Future of Gene-Edited Crops Regulations are key to NGT innovation: the 2nd BEST-CROP talk explore how evolving EU policies will shape gene-edited crops and the future.

Learn a bit more about the work we are doing under the EU/BBSRC funded BEST-CROP project at our regular webinars. Next even on the 16th December more info here www.eventbrite.it/e/1975055672...