Michael Prigge

1/ ✨ New preprint alert ✨

It is my pleasure to share:
"Stepwise evolution of the developmental and symbiotic functions of DELLA in land plants"

Here we investigated the role of the single GRAS transcription factor DELLA in #MyMarchantia

doi.org/10.64898/202...

#PlantScience
A thread...

This is over a week old

One of THE BEST rhododendron songs, in my opinion, and this live version is - chefs kiss 😘 - outta sight!

The lyrics speak to the big mysteries of rhododendron and give a sense as to why the plants have been so special to humans for millennia

Im delighted they chose it for their live album!

How should I keep spores of Marchantia polymorpha subsp. ruderalis? Although I have kept them at -30˚C for 1-2 months, they don't germinate so far.

No, I haven’t checked

One of its columns seems to bind the pigmented poly-something of moss fairly irreversibly. Last time, I got nervous and added an extra 1/5-volume wash before eluting. With that, I got all 48 samples’ 260/280 ratios 2.17 ±0.02 and 260/230 ratios 2.38±0.03. (That’s the full range, not SE.)

I have a hunch it would work. The only time I tried was when I purified RNA from a combined sample with half gametophores and half protonemata. (I needed to RT-PCR/clone some 6-7.5 kb cDNAs and wanted a mix of cell types.)

I like Zymo’s plant RNA kit because it’s set up for bead beaters. All 48 preps’ abs ratios were within 2% last time, if I remember correctly. (We generally use treated/untreated protonemata, not gametophores though)

Would it really be a superior deal if it triggers a mass exodus of HBO subscribers? The only show I'd really miss would be John Oliver's, and I can't see it being allowed to continue as is with those owners.

After some introspection, perhaps my negative feelings arose after I was fooled by it right as I started thinking that maybe I could consider myself a botanist.

Thanks for this. I always thought of them negatively, as Zamia cosplayers.
Our lab has one that was handed from person to person for ~15 years. Now, I'm the only person left in the lab, and I don't want it. I remember to water it every month or so and it refuses to wilt. (Anyone want it?)

Functional characterisation of Target of Rapamycin (TOR) signalling in Physcomitrella - Plant Cell Reports Key message The evolutionary conserved TOR kinase positively controls growth and development of the moss Physcomitrella, development and function of its chloroplasts, its protein synthesis, and cell-c...

Please check out:
Functional characterisation of Target of Rapamycin (TOR) signalling in #Physcomitrella
We found a remarkable evolutionary conservation of this central #signalling hub, but also specific differences, esp. in RAPTOR.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

tRNA-based polycistronic CRISPR/Cas9 system boosts efficiency of multi-gene deletion in the moss Physcomitrella - Plant Methods CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing in the model bryophyte Physcomitrium patens (commonly known as Physcomitrella) is widely used for gene knockout via small insertions or deletions (indels). In this stu...

Great method development!
tRNA-based polycistronic CRISPR/Cas9 system boosts efficiency of multi-gene deletion in the #moss #Physcomitrella
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Delighted to share our new preprint: "Evolution of moss leaf-like organs through variations in deeply conserved developmental principles."
Led by Ph.D. student Wenye Lin from my lab @irbv.bsky.social ,
in collab. with Yoan Coudert (ENS Lyon) and Richard Smith (JIC).
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Evolution and development: What makes a merry stem? From tiny mosses to giant redwoods, around 450,000 species of land plants show a huge variety of forms, yet all land plants develop from stem cells in proliferative meristems. What makes a meristem? T...

Insightful new papers on #auxin, brilliantly compiled by @jillharrison.bsky.social.
Evolution and development: What makes a merry stem?
www.cell.com/current-biol...

My great-great-great grandpa met a woman in Chicago when his German ship was being repaired in NY (after running ammo to Union troops during the Civil War). He visited her 3 years later ... and met his daughter. The FIL with his shotgun is not visible in their wedding photo.

Figure 1

Cytokinin signaling mediated by KMD2 promotes Arabidopsis hypocotyl grafting success #micropublication #biology #data #caltechlibrary #Arabidopsis #Methods #UndergraduateResearchExperience #NewFinding https://micropublication.org/journals/biology/micropub-biology-001768

I’d seen it several times from different angles before I realized she went after him

Unfortunately, I believe the baseball Minnesota Twins were the most glaring absence from the statement condemning the violence after the latest killing.

Not sure how I missed your question. Retrogen offered it, but today announced that they have shut down operations. After a decade, we need to find a new company for Sanger sequencing.

Probably this bsky.app/profile/bbko...

Characterization of Physcomitium patens Ppb-gata mutant phenotypes.

B‐GATA factors are required for nitrogen‐responsive growth in Physcomitrium patens and Arabidopsis thaliana

Zappone et al.

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Hmmm, in the same week one company posted their fastest turnaround on my whole-plasmid sequencing (4h 33m), a local company started offering it for one-third their price ($4.99/plasmid ≤10kb).

An in planta single-cell screen to accelerate functional genetics Genetic screens in whole plants are a powerful tool for functional genetics. However, elucidating gene function in highly redundant genetic programs such as signaling pathways remains challenging in b...

An in planta single-cell screen to accelerate functional genetics--very cool application of the TMV vector pTRBO by Elizabeth Sattely’s Lab 😎
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Great project and super nice working environment 👇

View of US Bank Stadium from the Minnesota Viking’s end zone at the end of the third quarter

Made it to my second NFL game

The interplay between autophagy and the carbon/nitrogen ratio as key modulator of the auxin-dependent chloronema-caulonema developmental transition in Physcomitrium patens. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.28.696759v1

Spatiotemporal dynamics of CYCLOIDEA expression during early floral development in monkeyflower The establishment of bilateral symmetry in flowers depends on the precise regulation of CYCLOIDEA (CYC) gene expression along the dorsal-ventral axis.…

What makes some Mimulus petals so special ? Work by @minyaaa.bsky.social Nice work to present in June at the flower meeting in France

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Pretty sure the same pack took one of my neighbor’s pets in broad daylight last Saturday afternoon. (Westwood apartments, a few blocks away from this attack).