Team_Zuccaro

Targeting of the barley cell-surface receptor SRF3 by the Blumeria hordei effector AVRA13 overlaps with AVRA13 recognition by MLA and the induction of NLR-mediated cell death. Pathogens secrete effector proteins to promote virulence. Despite their recognition by barley Mla resistance genes, the structurally-related Blumeria hordei ( Bh ) AVRA effectors are maintained in the...

Wei Shi @wshisky.bsky.social & Merle‘s work is online. Wei really pushed this work from scratch and Merle linked it to MLA diversification…3rd (co-)first author paper in her PhD. Very proud PI!
And only possible through collaboration with G. Döhlemann, @grandpahiro.bsky.social &, Matt Platre. (1/x)

New Article: "Imputation integrates single-cell and spatial gene expression data to resolve transcriptional networks in barley shoot meristem development" rdcu.be/eYiMF

With Research Briefing rdcu.be/eYiM7

This position is still open. The Weisberg lab is recruiting a postdoc or Ph.D. student to study horizontal gene transfer in plant-associated microbial communities. Please see the job ad for more information and feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

Effector biology and immunometabolic (re)programming: microbial strategies for compatibility Root immunometabolism: balancing defense and accommodationPlant health depends on balanced immune defense and microbial accommodation. As constant contact zones, roots must exclude pathogens while fos...

Now online: Effector biology and immunometabolic (re)programming: microbial strategies for compatibility: Molecular Plant www.cell.com/molecular-pl...

Latest preprint from the lab!

A beautiful and comprehensive schematic representation of fungal cell wall structures and biosynthetic proteins:
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Happy to share our latest paper: The symbiosome space needs to be continuously cleared from demethylated pectins to keep rhizobia happy. Former PostDoc Chao Su took this story with him when moving back to China and finished it off.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#PlantScience; @uni-freiburg.de

Tenure Track Professorship (W1 with Tenure Track to W3) in “Molecular Biology" (f/m/d) - Heidelberg job with Universität Heidelberg | 12850668 The Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH) and the Faculty of Biosciences invite applications for a   Tenure Track Professors...

Please RT‼️ #TenureTrack position @zmbh.uni-heidelberg.de one of the best #proteostasis research centres in the world. www.nature.com/naturecareer...

‼️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

Network Inference Reveals Distinct Transcriptional Regulation in Barley against Drought and Fusarium Head Blight We analyzed transcriptional networks in barley under single and combined Fusarium head blight (FHB) and drought stress. We applied complementary Weighted Gene Correlation Network Analysis (WGCNA) to identify stress-associated gene co-expression modules and GENIE3 to infer gene regulatory networks (GRNs). Integration of these frameworks revealed strong overlaps between co-expression modules and GRN clusters, highlighting robust regulatory patterns. Key transcription factors (TFs) were identified based on their weighted node degrees, reflecting their connectivity within the network. Independent analysis of paired transcription factor binding sites in promoter regions further supported predicted regulatory interactions. Notably, WRKY TFs emerged as central regulators of FHB response, consistent with their known roles in defense and secondary metabolite biosynthesis, but did not appear in drought-associated contexts. For bHLH or NAC TFs, individual family members steered FHB or drought responses but not both. Our findings demonstrate the power of combining network inference and motif enrichment to identify candidate TFs controlling stress responses, providing a solid foundation for targeted functional validation. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

Congratulations to @steidele.bsky.social who unscrambled complex transcriptional networks in barley double stress responses. Thanks to @itisalist.bsky.social and @daisybio.de for the support: doi: doi.org/10.64898/202...

A Banner that shows the open call for the international PhD program on interdisciplinary Plant Biology in Cologne Germany between University of Cologne and Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research. A button reads "apply now!".

We are #hiring!
This IMPRS PhD project @algazuccaro.bsky.social group @unicologne.bsky.social explores plant–microbiome interactions.
🗓️ Deadline: Jan 5, 2025
✏️ Apply via: gradschool.mpipz.mpg.de
ℹ️ IMPRS: mpipz.mpg.de/imprs
🔗 Group: ag-zuccaro.botanik.uni-koeln.de

A fungal root endophyte functionally complements host immunity and mitigates natural immune variation in Arabidopsis Beneficial root-associated microbes can enhance plant resilience by complementing aspects of host immunity. The fungal root endophyte Serendipita indica (Si) is known to promote plant growth and confe...

A fungal root endophyte functionally complements host immunity and mitigates natural immune variation in Arabidopsis

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Autophagy restricts symbiosis-associated cell death and regulates colonization by Serendipita indica in Arabidopsis Autophagy acts as a pro-survival mechanism in plant roots during beneficial fungal colonization by restricting fungal proliferation and immunometabolic cel

My former colleague Patricia Zecua, me and the Zuccaro group published a new story about how autophagy restricts cell death and regulates root colonization by beneficial fungi:

academic.oup.com/plphys/advan...

We are looking for a Head of Cell Biology here at @kwsgroup.bsky.social Vegetables.

This is a permanent, full-time position located in Wageningen, Netherlands.

jobs.kws.com/job/Wagening...

#PlantScience #PlantSciJobs #PlantScienceJobs #PlantCellBiology #PlantBreeding #PlantSciJob #PlantScienceJob

TWO positions open in our group. 1 postdoc and 1 PhD position. Join us for some exciting evolutionary plant biology! #PlantSciJobs #PlantSciJob

Huge thanks to Balakumaran Chandrasekar and Amey Redkar for hosting a fantastic Indo-German Plant-Microbe Interactions meeting at BITS Pilani, Rajasthan. Exceptionally well organized!

Call for a tenure-track position at our Department of Plant Molecular Biology in Lausanne! We are searching for promising early-career researchers in the broad field of plant-organismal interactions. Deadline: November 30, 2025 - Please re-post!

career5.successfactors.eu/career?caree...

Lisa Mahdi on stage at #iMMM2025 on how the core microbiota cooperate with beneficial fungi to inhibit pathogens and how dysbiotic communities instead have high competition within their members.

Everyone is excited to see how many new clues about symbiotic genes are emerging from the sequencing of individual cells/cell nuclei... Now on stage: Hector Montero from Uta Paszkowski's lab, RIKEN, Yokohama.

Pierre-Marc Delaux talking about universal signaling pathways for plant intracellular endosymbiosis at the #iMMM2025

Enjoying the excellent talks and posters at the #iMMM2025

Nice to walk around Cologne with Antonio di Pietro and Gregor Langen!

Coming out in @NaturePlants today (rdcu.be/eBScJ): The mechanism for essential amino acid transport across the chloroplast envelope. We identified RETICULATA1 (RE1) as a new type of transport protein. #PlantScience #AminoAcidTransport #Chloroplasts. @franzikuhnert.bsky.social @weberlab.bsky.social

The post shows a picture of Nick after successfully passing his viva on a green background with words congratulating him on acquiring the PhD title.

🎓👏 Congratulations to Dr. @nickdunken.bsky.social Nick Dunken on the successful PhD defense in the lab of @algazuccaro.bsky.social at the University of Cologne and @mpipz.bsky.social! Welcome to the circle of doctors!
#phdone #plantscience #sciencecareer

Happy to share our latest @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social led by @manuelgonzalezfuen.bsky.social “Effector-triggered processing body formation attenuates host translation via ER stress responses and autophagy upon bacterial infection” #proteostasis #plantimmunity 🧵(1/16)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Thank you for keeping us all informed throughout the conference...great job!

Great to catch up on plant cell death ...

Arabidopsis thaliana CELLOX1 limits fungal colonization in roots. Nice talk by Giulia Peruzzi at #2025ISMPMI, @ceplas.bsky.social

Nice talk by Thomas Ott on molecular mechanisms that steer INFECTION THREADS progression along a defined cellular trajectory at #2025ISMPMI.

Excellent stories and beautiful microscopy today from Sebastian Schornack and Uta Paszkowski #2025MPMI. On the topic of strategies of microbial colonization, chaired by Armin Djamei and Amey Redkar.