Please take the time to review and sign this petition in support of the U.S. National Fungus Collections, which are being threatened in the face of the USDA reorganization efforts.
c.org/KQWY7fNhGw 🍄
RNA from herbarium samples is more stable than previously thought and can be extracted for different uses genome.cshlp.org/content/earl.... Study led by @atyszka.org and in collaboration with @philcarella.bsky.social @khongsamchia.bsky.social @phylonatworks.bsky.social @sciencedrew.bsky.social
Preserve and support the U.S. National Fungus Collections
c.org
genome.cshlp.org
Although DNA has built the framework for molecular insights from museum collections, the utility of archival RNA remains largely unexplored. Likely a consequence of the known instability of RNA relative to DNA, this has effectively precluded the use of herbaria for transcriptomics. Here, we challenge the assumption that herbaria cannot be used for transcriptomics by assembling transcriptomes from RNA extracted from herbarium specimens. Through systematic comparison of transcriptomes from fresh-collected, silica-dried, and archival specimens, we demonstrate the suitability of herbarium-derived RNA for transcriptomics. We show the practical applicability of archival mRNA by functionally validating a plant immune receptor synthesized from a specimen collected in 1956. These results contradict the community consensus regarding archival RNA and open the door to subsequent transcriptomic explorations of rare and extinct plant species. Our findings highlight the importance of preserving and utilizing the diversity embedded within herbarium collections.
#TEsky Transposons drove the evolution of a male sex-determining gene from a female gene with deep introgression across cichlids doi.org/10.1126/scia...
World map of antimicrobial resistance @DTUtweet www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
There are large geographical differences in both how frequently resistant genes occur and in which types of bacteria the genes are found. This is shown by analyses of sewage from throughout the globe,...
Making Connections...🖇️
Koh Aoki & Ayako Tsushima offer a compelling insight into interspecific secondary #plasmodesmata and their importance in establishing symplastic connections between #ParasiticPlants and their hosts
#OpenAccess: doi.org/10.1093/pcp/...
#PlantScience
Abstract. Obligate parasitic plants often establish symplastic connections with their hosts. This symplastic continuity is mediated by plasma membrane-line
Japan reforested with Japanese cedar (sugi) and cypress (hinoki) in the 1950s to rebuild post-war forests. Now the pollen gives 40%+ of its population hay fever. Climate change extends pollen seasons further. Today’s decisions shape tomorrow’s reality. Short-term fixes can become long-term crises.
A decision made 70 years ago to reforest vast swathes of Japan with just two kinds of tree has come back to haunt the country.
www.bbc.co.uk
David Ho
Plant & Cell Physiology
Dr. Tyler A. Elliott
Sophien Kamoun
We just published our new paper about an active Helitron transposon in wheat 🌾🧬
We found that it can be mobilised by heat stress when DNA methylation is reduced.
We document its full lifecycle: RNA -> circular DNA -> integration
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#TEsky
Huge congratulations to Beverley Glover & Uta Paszkowski on being elected Fellows of the @royalsociety.org - a wonderful recognition of their significant contributions to plant sciences! 🎉
Read more: tinyurl.com/3vetucr4
@beverleycubg.bsky.social @paszkowskilab.bsky.social 🧪
'We find that the Ty3-like giant transposon Burro1 is an ancient element that retains its mobility. Burro1 has incorporated a host-derived anti-apoptotic protein that upregulates upon stress and improves stem cell resilience, resulting in enhanced regenerative abilities in its host.'
Helitrons are a recently identified category of transposons. This study reveals that heat stress combined with reduced DNA methylation can mobilize a Helitron family in wheat. Its mobilization is gene...
Nature Reviews Genetics, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41576-026-00976-wRed Queen dynamics describe a mode of evolution in which interacting biological entities continually adapt and counteradapt. This Comment discusses the pervasiveness of these dynamics within genomes, which can involve selfish genetic elements, and highlights building evidence that they can even drive compensatory coevolution among subunits of essential protein complexes.
dlvr.it
Etienne Bucher 🌾🧬🇪🇺
Department of Plant Sciences Cambridge
A gene from the female pathway was repurposed to determine male sex in tilapia, revealing an unusual evolutionary mechanism.
Lee et al. find that the planarian transposon Burro1 bolsters stem cell resilience
by producing a functional host-derived caspase inhibitor during physiological stress.
By suppressing apoptosis, activ...
