Alex Costa

Explore plant #CalciumSignaling in the eponymous EMBO Workshop "Plant calcium signaling" in #Primosten, Croatia, 20–24 September 2026.

Abstract submission deadline: 1 May
Registration deadline: 31 May

https://meetings.embo.org/event/26-calcium-signaling
#EMBOCalciumSignaling #EMBOevents 🧪

@ScienceAdvances @science.org

Using MAPPI for real-time whole-plant imaging, we reveal the earliest flooding response — a Ca²⁺ signal, expected, yet now directly visualised and strongest in young leaves...🔬📷

science.org/doi/10.1126/...

We thank Jon K. Pittman for his thoughtful and inspiring commentary

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

published in @newphyt.bsky.social

on our recent work (Grenzi et al. 2025)

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

Thanks!

🔥 Spodoptera littoralis feeding doesn’t just spike cytosolic Ca²⁺ — it also unleashes a surge of apoplastic glutamate in Nicotiana benthamiana

@ScienceAdvances

science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Registration is now OPEN for the EMBO Workshop on Plant Calcium Signaling 2026!

Dive into cutting-edge research on Ca²⁺ signaling in plants 🌿

📍 Primosten, Croatia | 🗓️ 20–24 September 2026

meetings.embo.org/event/26-cal...

The MAPPI setup we @AndreaBassi78 @labcosta.bsky.social
published in @ScienceAdvances shows its versatility, enabling us to design amazing experiments that we never thought could be possible...

science.org/doi/10.1126/...

So, now guess what this video is showing❔❔

Hi Jim...we think that we are a community and we need to share our results...this is what I consider Advances...a technology that many people can use...

Yes, we have built it in my lab...if you read the paper you can have an idea about the many possibilities it offers...

Many thanks Stephan...

@labcosta.bsky.social Out now in ScienceAdvances
our new work with @AndreaBassi78

MAcro Plant Projection Imaging (MAPPI): An open, scalable platform for whole-plant fluorescence real-time imaging | Science Advances science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🚀 New Review out by @elenist.bsky.social @labcosta.bsky.social
Bioelectronics for basic plant science and precision agriculture 🌱⚡️
A deep dive into how bioelectronic tools are transforming plant research & farming...
Published in Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering: doi.org/10.1038/s442...

Hydrogen sulfide modulates flagellin-induced stomatal immunity Hydrogen sulfide and L-CYSTEINE DESULFHYDRASE1 actively participate in flagellin-induced stomatal closure, modulating apoplastic and cytosolic reactive oxy

Plant Physiology @plantphys.bsky.social by Denise Scuffi @charliemdq.bsky.social is the Article of the Week

doi.org/10.1093/plph...

Huge thanks to @Nikon for an unforgettable Christmas present 🎁 Feeling truly privileged to receive such a unique microscope 🔬

Small molecule, big impact: H2S contributes to pathogen-induced stomatal closure Plants are sessile organisms and must integrate information from a range of external stimuli to respond appropriately to their environment. Stomata form a

Small molecule, big impact: H2S contributes to pathogen-induced stomatal closure url: academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...

Really nice News & Views on the new paper from @charliemdq.bsky.social’s lab 👏

academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...

Hydrogen sulfide modulates flagellin-induced stomatal immunity Hydrogen sulfide and L-CYSTEINE DESULFHYDRASE1 actively participate in flagellin-induced stomatal closure, modulating apoplastic and cytosolic reactive oxy

Just for Xmas! Nice collaboration with @schwarzlanderlab.bsky.social and @labcosta.bsky.social labs.

Hydrogen sulfide modulates flagellin-induced stomatal immunity url: academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...

Hydrogen sulfide modulates flagellin-induced stomatal immunity Hydrogen sulfide and L-CYSTEINE DESULFHYDRASE1 actively participate in flagellin-induced stomatal closure, modulating apoplastic and cytosolic reactive oxy

Great collaboration with @Charlie Garcia-Mata lab!

🧪 New Plant Physiology paper: Hydrogen sulfide modulates flagellin-induced stomatal immunity, revealing a key role for H₂S in guard cell immune responses 🌱

academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...

Subfamily I ethylene receptors are functionally conserved in calcium permeability across the green lineage #research #MolecularPlant cell.com/molecular-pl...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from @labcosta.bsky.social! 🎄✨ Thanks to all our collaborators, colleagues, and friends for a great year together.

Pharmacological strategy to study the blue light-induced endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ depletion and its coupling to cytosolic Ca2+ dynamics in Arabidopsis guard cell.

Investigating the origin of spontaneous cytosolic calcium oscillations in stomatal guard cells: a dialogue between apoplastic and endoplasmic reticulum stores

Grenzi et al. @labcosta.bsky.social

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/KRMCPP...

...we can infer that, in the presence of CPA, the ER behaves like anengine without fuel, incapable of sustaining the mechanism required to maintain the [Ca²⁺]cyt oscillations... doi.org/10.1111/nph....

Blue light decreases ER Ca²⁺ in stomatal guard cells, with refilling in the dark. Our new @newphyt.bsky.social study shows how ER Ca²⁺ shapes cytosolic Ca²⁺ dynamics
doi.org/10.1111/nph....

Two acceptances back-to-back on plant Ca²⁺ signaling!
🌱 The ER role in guard cell Ca²⁺ signaling
@newphyt.bsky.social

🔬 A new way to perform Ca²⁺ imaging in adult plants grown under physiological conditions
Science Advances @science.org

Stay tuned — details coming soon!

SALICYLIC ACID SENSOR1 reveals the propagation of an SA hormone surge during plant pathogen advance Salicylic acid (SA) is a key phytohormone that orchestrates immune responses against pathogens, including Pseudomonas syringae bacteria. The timing and extent of SA accumulation are tightly controlled...

SALICYLIC ACID SENSOR1 reveals the propagation of an SA hormone surge during plant pathogen advance | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Farewell party for Matteo! After 8 successful years in my lab, he is now ready to begin a new adventure in Sierla’s lab at
@helsinki.fi. Wishing him the best of luck!

🍕 Pizza day for @lab_costa with our new guests from Spain — Jorge Morello (Miguel Botella lab, Malaga) and Pavel Brito-Gutiérrez (Maite Sanmartín lab, Valencia). Great way to kick things off!

Differential regulation of calcium-activated plant kinases in Arabidopsis thaliana 🌱

A fascinating insight into how plants decode Ca²⁺ signals through CPKs — revealing specificity in calcium signaling.

🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

JOICO 100th Anniversary July 1, 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of Nikon’s microscope business.

www.microscope.healthcare.nikon.com/it_EU/joico-...

It includes a short profile of mine...

Why would anyone want to be a scientist?

"Doing good science requires the utmost exertion of body, mind and spirit, yet is consistently filled with failure and rejection."

journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

Thrilled to share that Stefano Buratti has been awarded the Fratelli Confalonieri Postdoctoral Fellowship! He'll be joining my lab @LaStatale to develop innovative tools for exploring plant–environment interactions. Congratulations, Stefano!