Ka Wai Ma

Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology University of California, Davis is hiring. Apply now!

My department at UC Davis is hiring a mycologist, broadly interpreted. Please repost, share, and consider applying. recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07339

A bacterial signal coordinates plant-microbe fitness trade-off to enhance sulfur deficiency tolerance in plants Mukherjee et al. report fitness trade-off between plants and the rhizosphere microbiome under sulfur deficiency, mediated by the tri-peptide signal glutathione. Competition among rhizosphere bacteria ...

A bacterial signal coordinates plant-microbe fitness trade-off to enhance sulfur deficiency tolerance in plants: Cell Host & Microbe www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Nutrient-driven TOR signalling controls a chromatin-associated complex for orchestrating plant growth and stress tolerance - Nature Plants A chromatin-associated complex, which is dynamically regulated by TOR kinase at the translational level, functions to suppress the transcription of stress-responsive genes marked by histone acetylation, thereby coordinating plant growth and stress tolerance.

Discovery of a chromatin-associated complex (CACG) of ~16 proteins that negatively regulates the expression of nutrient-starvation-induced gene. CACG is of course controlled by TOR! #PlantScience www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Super cool Pseudomonas-Bacillus interaction paper in @natmicrobiol.nature.com from Yun Chen
with @gabrieleberg.bsky.social

Phenazines shape Gram+ abundance & influence Bacillus cell biology

Phenazines contribute to microbiome dynamics by targeting topoisomerase IV
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Many thanks Sebastian, let's hope it can stand the test of time!

A defined microbial community reproduces attributes of fine flavour chocolate fermentation - Nature Microbiology An in-depth microbiological and metagenomic analysis of Colombian farm and fermentation facilities resulted in the design of a defined microbial community that can reproduce the flavour of fine chocol...

P.S. I would love to include the following article in the review if it is out earlier. "A defined microbial community reproduces attributes of fine flavour chocolate fermentation" [5/n]
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I hope you enjoy reading it and big congrats to all the coauthors especially Charles @hotvegetables.bsky.social and Paul [4/n]

We then discuss current challenges and factors to be considered for the practical application including and end with a discussion on the recent development of machine learning algorithms for data-driven classification and prediction of plant-microbiome interaction outcomes [3/n]

We provide an update on the beneficial roles of plant microbiome for improving plant growth, nutrition, stress tolerance and taste of fermented product [2/n]

Potential and challenges for application of microbiomes in agriculture Abstract. The plant microbiome can promote plant health and productivity through a multitude of mechanisms. Our understanding of plant–microbiome interacti

Our review article on the "Potential and challenges for application of microbiomes in agriculture" is published
@theplantcell.bsky.social [1/n]
doi.org/10.1093/plce...

To my friends of the MPMI community, is there a way to minimize microbial aggregation e.g. Streptomyces during the culturing step?

Adaptive pangenomic remodeling in the Azolla cyanobiont amid a transient microbiome Abstract. Plants fix nitrogen in concert with diverse microbial symbionts, often recruiting them from the surrounding environment each generation. Vertical

Adaptive pangenomic remodeling in the Azolla cyanobiont amid a transient microbiome | The ISME Journal | Oxford Academic https://academic.oup.com/ismej/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ismejo/wraf154/8216778?login=true

A defined microbial community reproduces attributes of fine flavour chocolate fermentation - Nature Microbiology An in-depth microbiological and metagenomic analysis of Colombian farm and fermentation facilities resulted in the design of a defined microbial community that can reproduce the flavour of fine chocol...

A defined microbial community reproduces attributes of fine flavour chocolate fermentation
nature.com/articles/s41...
rdcu.be/eBN14

New paper in @nature.com! With @kiseokmicro.bsky.social , Siqi Liu, Kyle Crocker, Jojo Wang, Mikhail Tikhonov & Madhav Mani — a massive dataset and simple model reveal a few conserved regimes that capture how soil microbiome metabolism responds to perturbations. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Great work and congrats Gitta!!! Maybe one day we can modulate immune signaling by de novo design of proteins and receptors to recognize pathogens as you need!

Unlocking expanded flagellin perception through rational receptor engineering - Nature Plants Receptor kinase FLS2 detects the flg22 epitope of bacterial flagellin. Here the authors identify key residues on FLS2’s concave surface that enable expanded perception of flg22 variants, allowing the ...

Excited this paper is finally published! We focused on the inner concave surface of LRR RKs to expand bacterial flagellin perception in plants. Selection indicates expanded perception is more common than previously thought. Experiments led by @jerrytli.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Unlocking gene regulatory networks for crop resilience and sustainable agriculture - Nature Biotechnology Gene regulatory networks are crucial for understanding complex gene regulation in plants and could advance crop improvement for more sustainable and climate-resilient agricultural practices.

📜 Unlocking gene regulatory networks for crop resilience and sustainable agriculture

🧑‍🔬 Richalynn Leong, Xin He, Bob Sebastiaan Beijen, @dinglab.bsky.social, et al.

📔 @natbiotech.nature.com

🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#️⃣ #PlantScience #PlantImmunity #Agronomy #PlantStress #PlantGenomics

Do you know bacteria also have 'fight and flight' responses. I wrote an article summarizing the beautiful work of Carmen Beuzon.
rdcu.be/eu8be

If you find more interest after reading this short summary, the original article is here
rdcu.be/eu8ng

Wenbo Ma Wenbo MaThe Sainsbury Laboratory, United KingdomView Statement​​IS-MPMI has been a cornerstone of my journey as a scientist and leader, from attending my first Congress in 2005 (Mérida, Mexico), to se...

Friends from the MPMI committee. Your vote matters. The race is really tight, but I will testify based on personal experience that Wenbo is actively contributing to the MPMI committee, an advocate for diversity and a supporter for early career scientists including me. www.ismpmi.org/members/Page...

Thank you Paloma!!!

Thanks Tatsuya. Looks like your team is expanding too!!!

Pseudomonas syringae subpopulations cooperate by coordinating flagellar and type III secretion spatiotemporal dynamics to facilitate plant infection - Nature Microbiology Single-cell gene expression analysis reveals phenotypic heterogeneity to enable bacterial specialization over the course of plant colonization.

Pseudomonas syringae subpopulations cooperate by coordinating flagellar and type III secretion spatiotemporal dynamics to facilitate plant infection
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thanks Pepe, hope to see you in Cologne this summer!!!

A broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptide identified from Burkholderia bacterium | Plantae Microbial pesticides are widely applied to improve crop production, but the active molecules are largely unexplored. In a recent study, Mohamed et al., identified an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) from…

Plant Science Research Weekly -- A broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptide identified from Burkholderia bacterium (Plant Biotechnology Journal) (Summary by Yee-Shan Ku) plantae.org/a-broad-spec...

#PlantaePSRW

Microbial imbalance and the upregulation of the JA pathway is associated with altered plant responses to pathogen and an abiotic stressor. Together, we show that proper regulation of the JA pathway is key for homeostatic interaction between plant host and the microbiota.
4/n

Transcriptomic analysis suggested that the JA pathway is upregulated in this mutant. Exogenous application of JA can reproduce mutant phenotype on wild type plants. We propose that a JA-feedback loop acts to shape plant microbiota interaction.
3/n

We identified an Arabidopsis mutant with microbial imbalance phenotypes or dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is associated with microbial overproliferation and stunted plant growth.
2/n

Misregulation of the jasmonate signaling pathway leads to altered plant microbiota interaction and plant stress responses The model plant Arabidopsis thaliana hosts diverse microbial communities collectively known as the microbiota. The plant microbiota is generally taxonomically structured. Some of the members can promo...

‼️we are pleased to share the first work coming from my lab on biorxiv.

Misregulation of the jasmonate signaling pathway leads to altered plant microbiota interaction and plant stress responses biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

1/n

Crop root bacterial and viral genomes reveal unexplored species and microbiome patterns Comprehensive bacterial and viral genome collections from crop roots uncover a large number of unexplored species and highlight conserved patterns within root microbiomes. Genomes and isolates are accessible at www.cropmicrobiome.com.

Now online! Crop root bacterial and viral genomes reveal unexplored species and microbiome patterns

Navigating nitrogen sustainability with microbiome-associated phenotypes | Plant-Microbe Symbiosis Crop microbiomes promote plant health through various mechanisms, including nutrient provisioning. However, agriculture neglected the importance of these microbiome-associated phenotypes (MAPs) in con...

Great review from @angelakent.bsky.social and @sierrathescientist.bsky.social on the nitrogen problem in agriculture and microbial solutions

sco.lt/5Xwiu0