Mauricio Contreras

RNA splicing generates a functionally specialized Rep protein isoform in geminiviruses — enabling timely control of the viral cycle. Strikingly, similar strategies might have evolved in DNA viruses infecting different kingdoms: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Spearheaded by @delphinem-p.bsky.social!

AI Research Scientist | Protein-Protein Interactions Resurrect Bio

Following the successful completion of the Series A funding round, our plant disease resistance start-up Resurrect Bio @resurrectbio.bsky.social is hiring for its London lab:

(1/2) AI Research Scientist | Protein-Protein Interactions

jobs.recruit.charliehr.com/resurrect/ai...

Structural biology is in an era of dynamics & assemblies but turning raw experimental data into atomic models at scale remains challenging. @minhuanli.bsky.social and I present ROCKET🚀: an AlphaFold augmentation that integrates crystallographic and cryoEM/ET data with room for more! 1/14.

We’re hiring!

Postdoctoral Researcher / Research Assistant @KamounLab

“Biology and Applications of Plant Immune Receptors” www.tsl.ac.uk/working-at-t...

A really cool #PlantImmunity paper showing that the ubiquitin-binding protein RH3 recruits PTI & ETI receptors into one large complex via ubiquitin chains, linking these pathways.

Also goes well with this paper showing a link between BIK1 & NLRs via phosphorylation: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Ubiquitin recognition integrates plant immune signaling by cell-surface and intracellular receptors https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.06.703835v1

Scientific coordinator at the GreenRobust location Heidelberg (f/m/d) - Universität Heidelberg Universität Heidelberg looks for Scientific coordinator at the GreenRobust location Heidelberg (f/m/d) in Heidelberg - apply now!

Our cluster of Excellence GreenRobust is looking for a scientific coordinator located at Heidelberg University. Please spread the word!
www.academics.com/jobs/scienti...

Postdoctoral position in biology (m/f/d) (2/2026) Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (Halle) offers a Postdoctoral position in Biology

Please share! We are looking for a postdoctoral scientist (2 years, extension possible) starting from 01/05/2026 at
@ipbhalle.bsky.social! The project focuses on plant immune receptor biochemistry and structural biology.
Deadline 09/03/2026.

Apply at: ipb-halle.mhm.jobs/11-postdocto...

Please share!
PhD position (4 years) available in my group @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social. We look for candidates with solid aptitude in computer science to cross disciplines and use cutting edge imaging to understand host infection by destructive plant pathogens.
uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet...

Please share!
My group at @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social is offering a post-doctoral position (4 years). We look for a structural biologist with experience in Cryo-EM/Cryo-ET to investigate the mechanisms of host invasion by pathogenic fungi. Deadline February 28th!
uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet...

📢 Job alert! @delaconcepcionjc.bsky.social, junior group leader at #ZMBP, has 2 open positions (PhD and postdoc) to investigate appressoria formation in plant pathogenic #fungi using #cryoEM and #cryoET
#EmmyNoether #MPMI #plantscijob
More info 👇

Exciting PhD positions on plant immunity and engineering plant disease resistance with an excellent supervisor @jiorgoskourelis.bsky.social. Strongly recommend.👇

📢 2 PhD Positions Available in Plant Immune Receptor Bioengineering at Imperial College London
🌱 Start: Oct 2026
📅 Deadline: 10 Feb 2026
🇬🇧 UK/settled status only
💰 Fully funded (48 months)
ℹ️ Info: shorturl.at/po61I
#PlantImmunity #PlantPathology #SyntheticBiology
🙏 Share with interested candidates!

Activities - GreenTE Activities Webinars ”MechanoBioTalks – Mechanics, Materials and Living Matter” is a webinar series supported by the GreenTE consortium and organized […]

A new webinar series is born - ''MechanoBioTalks - Mechanics, Materials and Living Matter", to bring together and inspire researchers interested in biomechanics, biophysics and biology across different kingdoms of life. Join us!

For info and registration visit green-te.nl/activities/

AI-assisted protein design to rapidly convert antibody sequences to intrabodies targeting diverse peptides and histone modifications AI-powered pipeline converts antibodies into functional intrabodies, enabling live-cell imaging of peptides and histone marks.

Happy New Year all. I know it's been a draining and difficult year for science in general, but wanted to share some good news: our intrabody paper has now been published in Science Advances with lots of additional data.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Structome-AlignViewer: On Confidence Assessment in Structure-Aware Alignments Abstract. Protein structure-based comparison provides a framework for uncovering deep evolutionary relationships that can escape conventional sequence-base

An interesting way to look at encoded structural characters to build alignments and trees downstream. This takes structural phylogenetics one step further in the post-AlphaFold era.

#Evolution #Science #StrPhy

On Confidence Assessment in Structure-Aware Alignments

doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

A multi-plant transcriptomic atlas reveals conserved and lineage specific defense architectures in response to Botrytis cinerea Generalist pathogens pose a challenge to plant immunity by infecting diverse hosts while harboring extensive intraspecific genetic variation. Whether evolutionary distant plant lineages rely on a shar...

Ever wondered if diverse plant species respond similarly when infected by the same exact pathogen? Infect different asterids and rosids with the same Botrytis genotypes and teh short answer, quite differently.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

@annajomu.bsky.social @ccaseys.bsky.social

(1/3)

ECRs in plant–microbe interactions:

Join us in Norwich for an intensive, interactive 1.5-week Summer Conference at TSL (20–31 July). Lots of opportunities for networking and deep discussions.

(We also plan to offer hands-on practical sessions using our technologies 🔬🧬)

@ismpmi.bsky.social members please check your emails for ballots to vote on bylaw changes. didnt get a ballot? contact Jean Greenberg

Excited to share this commentary on the work by Isaksson et al, now out in @mpmijournal.bsky.social, where they find that structural similarity underlies both multimerization and NLR recognition of a powdery mildew effector family
doi.org/10.1094/MPMI...

Original paper 👉 doi.org/10.1094/MPMI...

Towards a quantitative view of NLR evolution in genome space -- check out where we think the field of #NLR #evolution research is heading in this review led by Luzie Wingen and Aurélien Tellier.
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
#plantscience

Postdoctoral Researcher (Faulkner Group) | John Innes Centre An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the Faulkner Group at the John Innes Centre, working on cutting-edge science in the field of Cell & Developmental Biology.

We're looking for a postdoc to join us in trying to map the routes by which different signals travel through plants and identify what information they carry. Link👇or get in touch! @johninnescentre.bsky.social

#PlantSciJobs

www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/po...

🚨We’re hiring! Please help spread the word!
Our lab at @TheSainsburyLab is recruiting a pre-doctoral intern to work on plant immunity research. Ideal for those who are planning to pursue a PhD and seeking research experience. tatsuyanobori.com

This year had a few extra levels of difficulty for scientists in Argentina, doing our job with no funds and under high pressure to demonstrate productivity has taken a mental and physical toll on all of us. The general context in the country didn't help either...

bioRxiv: An ancient alkalinization factor informs Arabidopsis root development (2025) The power of hydrogen (pH) regulates virtually all cellular activities. In both plants and animals, cell-to-cell variations in pH correlate with key developmental transitions1–5, yet the underlying regulators and associated functions remain elusive. Here, we report that members of the REMORIN (REM) protein family function as inhibitors of the H+-ATPases thereby promoting extracellular pH (pHe) alkalinization. This, in turn, regulates various cell surface processes, including steroid hormone signaling, and coordinates developmental transitions in the Arabidopsis thaliana root. Inhibition of H+-ATPases by REMs represents an evolutionary innovation that predates the origin of the root system itself. This study thus uncovers an ancient alkalinization mechanism co-opted by the root developmental program and infers that pHe patterning may have shaped morphogenesis evolution.

New Preprint: An ancient alkalinization factor informs Arabidopsis root development (2025)
https://www.tsl.ac.uk/publications/161540

bioRxiv: Structural basis for heat tolerance in plant NLR immune receptors (2025) Nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) immune receptors sense pathogen molecules and oligomerize, initiating defense signaling. Some NLRs function poorly at elevated temperatures for unknown reasons. We show that temperature-sensitive NLRs retain ligand binding at elevated temperatures but are impaired in oligomerization. We identify key residues involved in temperature resilience. Structural modeling reveals stabilizing intramolecular interactions of the NB-ARC domain with surface residues of the adjacent leucine-rich repeat (LRR) that preserve receptor integrity and functionality under heat stress. These insights enable in silico classification of NLRs as temperature-sensitive or -tolerant and underpin design of temperature tolerant variants of temperature sensitive NLRs. These findings provide a mechanistic basis for temperature sensitivity in plant immune receptors and enable engineering of temperature-tolerant disease resistance in crops.

New Preprint: Structural basis for heat tolerance in plant NLR immune receptors (2025)
https://www.tsl.ac.uk/publications/161552

Vacancy graphic showing a microbial microscopy image on a computer. The text reads "Bursting Bugs Summer Internship. To generate microscopy videos of bacteria bursting in response to administering antibiotics. Salary: £3,270 total. Contract length: 5 weeks. Apply by 5 January 2026."

⏰ Closing soon! We’re looking for a Summer Intern to generate microscopy videos of bacteria bursting in response to administering antibiotics as part of a public education video on the uses of antibiotics and risks of misuse 🔬

🗓️ Apply by 5 January
➡️ buff.ly/YlUQUho

I mean, the entire Manhattan project was underpinned by immigrant researchers, and the reason why America got the nukes and Germany didn't is because the Nazis adopted the exact vile, boneheaded blood-and-soil bullshit that Miller is spouting and drove out all their smartest guys.

Important theoretical framework for NLR evolution.
doi.org/10.32942/X2R...

Structural basis for heat tolerance in plant NLR immune receptors. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.17.694812v1