Charlie Underwood
@charlieunderwood.bsky.social
Interested in meiosis, embryogenesis, reproduction, evolution and agriculture. Professor of Plant Genome Engineering at Radboud University, The Netherlands. More information: https://www.ru.nl/personen/underwood-c; https://www.mpipz.mpg.de/underwood
We are looking for a new colleague to work as a postdoctoral researcher on crop genomics and machine learning! The position is within our GenomeDesigner project (www.ru.nl/en/research/...). Feel free to be in touch or directly apply here: www.ru.nl/en/working-a... Please share!!!
October 3, 2025 at 4:10 PM
We are looking for a new colleague to work as a postdoctoral researcher on crop genomics and machine learning! The position is within our GenomeDesigner project (www.ru.nl/en/research/...). Feel free to be in touch or directly apply here: www.ru.nl/en/working-a... Please share!!!
Looking forward to discuss latest results on Apomixis at the 5th international Apomixis conference in Montpellier this week: www.alphavisa.com/apomixis/2025/
September 16, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Looking forward to discuss latest results on Apomixis at the 5th international Apomixis conference in Montpellier this week: www.alphavisa.com/apomixis/2025/
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
Preprint Alert! 🚨🧬
Not one, but two preprints!
Meiotic orientation of kinetochore at meiosis is inforced by...[see below]
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
and
Unlocking meiotic crossovers next to plant centromere
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#meiosis4ever
#everythingisconnected
a thread👇
Not one, but two preprints!
Meiotic orientation of kinetochore at meiosis is inforced by...[see below]
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
and
Unlocking meiotic crossovers next to plant centromere
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#meiosis4ever
#everythingisconnected
a thread👇
Monopolar orientation of kinetochores at meiosis is enforced by COHESINS and their regulators, CENP-C, and the deSUMOylase SPF2
The first division of meiosis is unique in its capacity to halve the ploidy of the future gametes. To this end, one key innovation compared to mitosis is the monopolar orientation of the pairs of sist...
www.biorxiv.org
August 25, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Preprint Alert! 🚨🧬
Not one, but two preprints!
Meiotic orientation of kinetochore at meiosis is inforced by...[see below]
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
and
Unlocking meiotic crossovers next to plant centromere
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#meiosis4ever
#everythingisconnected
a thread👇
Not one, but two preprints!
Meiotic orientation of kinetochore at meiosis is inforced by...[see below]
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
and
Unlocking meiotic crossovers next to plant centromere
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#meiosis4ever
#everythingisconnected
a thread👇
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
The July issue is now fully online:
www.nature.com/nplants/volu...
On the cover: in hops, sex is determined by an X–A balance system in which plants with a high ratio of X sex chromosomes to autosomes become female and those with a lower ratio default to becoming male.
Paper: rdcu.be/expBd
www.nature.com/nplants/volu...
On the cover: in hops, sex is determined by an X–A balance system in which plants with a high ratio of X sex chromosomes to autosomes become female and those with a lower ratio default to becoming male.
Paper: rdcu.be/expBd
July 23, 2025 at 12:14 AM
The July issue is now fully online:
www.nature.com/nplants/volu...
On the cover: in hops, sex is determined by an X–A balance system in which plants with a high ratio of X sex chromosomes to autosomes become female and those with a lower ratio default to becoming male.
Paper: rdcu.be/expBd
www.nature.com/nplants/volu...
On the cover: in hops, sex is determined by an X–A balance system in which plants with a high ratio of X sex chromosomes to autosomes become female and those with a lower ratio default to becoming male.
Paper: rdcu.be/expBd
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
‼️Can we tune crossover hotspot activity by targeting chromatin modifiers? Absolutely!💥
Our screen shows dCas9-JMJ14 represses crossovers at targeted sites, while VP64 boosts them!
🧬 Check our new preprint:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#meiosis4ever #CRISPR #Arabidopsis
Our screen shows dCas9-JMJ14 represses crossovers at targeted sites, while VP64 boosts them!
🧬 Check our new preprint:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#meiosis4ever #CRISPR #Arabidopsis
https://biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
June 28, 2025 at 5:27 PM
‼️Can we tune crossover hotspot activity by targeting chromatin modifiers? Absolutely!💥
Our screen shows dCas9-JMJ14 represses crossovers at targeted sites, while VP64 boosts them!
🧬 Check our new preprint:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#meiosis4ever #CRISPR #Arabidopsis
Our screen shows dCas9-JMJ14 represses crossovers at targeted sites, while VP64 boosts them!
🧬 Check our new preprint:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#meiosis4ever #CRISPR #Arabidopsis
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
This is the result of several years of hard work by Wojtek Dziegielewski and @szymanskalejman.bsky.social, with important support from Anna Wilhelm and Karolina Hus.
June 28, 2025 at 5:27 PM
This is the result of several years of hard work by Wojtek Dziegielewski and @szymanskalejman.bsky.social, with important support from Anna Wilhelm and Karolina Hus.
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
📣📣We are #hiring! 📣Please RT! @mpipz.bsky.social has a group leader position available in the broad area of Plant Development and Diversity 🌿. Apply now!🌿 👉http://bit.ly/4nkUvLa #plantsci
June 27, 2025 at 7:14 AM
📣📣We are #hiring! 📣Please RT! @mpipz.bsky.social has a group leader position available in the broad area of Plant Development and Diversity 🌿. Apply now!🌿 👉http://bit.ly/4nkUvLa #plantsci
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
1/7
I am very excited to announce our🌹NEW PAPER OUT IN 𝑁𝐴𝑇𝑈𝑅𝐸!🌹
𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐄: Bimodal centromeres in pentaploid dogroses shed light on their unique meiosis
With the Ritz and Kovařík labs we show a potential role for centromeres on 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘢 bizarre reproduction!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I am very excited to announce our🌹NEW PAPER OUT IN 𝑁𝐴𝑇𝑈𝑅𝐸!🌹
𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐄: Bimodal centromeres in pentaploid dogroses shed light on their unique meiosis
With the Ritz and Kovařík labs we show a potential role for centromeres on 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘢 bizarre reproduction!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Bimodal centromeres in pentaploid dogroses shed light on their unique meiosis - Nature
Insights into the dogrose genome and centromeres explain their ability to achieve stable sexual reproduction.
www.nature.com
June 18, 2025 at 3:34 PM
1/7
I am very excited to announce our🌹NEW PAPER OUT IN 𝑁𝐴𝑇𝑈𝑅𝐸!🌹
𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐄: Bimodal centromeres in pentaploid dogroses shed light on their unique meiosis
With the Ritz and Kovařík labs we show a potential role for centromeres on 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘢 bizarre reproduction!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I am very excited to announce our🌹NEW PAPER OUT IN 𝑁𝐴𝑇𝑈𝑅𝐸!🌹
𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐄: Bimodal centromeres in pentaploid dogroses shed light on their unique meiosis
With the Ritz and Kovařík labs we show a potential role for centromeres on 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘢 bizarre reproduction!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
New apomixis development! The hawkweed PARTHENOGENESIS gene can trigger embryogenesis and clonal reproduction in hybrid rice plants! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Extending Mendel's legacy: the application of hawkweed PpPAR for inducing synthetic apomixis in hybrid rice
www.sciencedirect.com
June 5, 2025 at 2:57 PM
New apomixis development! The hawkweed PARTHENOGENESIS gene can trigger embryogenesis and clonal reproduction in hybrid rice plants! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Together with my new colleague Roven Rommel Fuentes @ribesresearch.bsky.social we are currently looking to hire a PhD student or postdoc in the area of computational genetics and machine learning.
June 5, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Together with my new colleague Roven Rommel Fuentes @ribesresearch.bsky.social we are currently looking to hire a PhD student or postdoc in the area of computational genetics and machine learning.
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
📢 Excited to share our work out now in @nature.com! 📢
We present the phased pan-genome of tetraploid European potato, based on 10 historical cultivars representing 85% of European potato diversity.
Learn more below!
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1/7
We present the phased pan-genome of tetraploid European potato, based on 10 historical cultivars representing 85% of European potato diversity.
Learn more below!
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1/7
The phased pan-genome of tetraploid European potato - Nature
A haplotype-resolved pan-genome of autotetraploid European potato founder lines shows high nucleotide diversity at remarkably low haplotype diversity, which is probably the result of hybridization eve...
www.nature.com
April 16, 2025 at 3:14 PM
📢 Excited to share our work out now in @nature.com! 📢
We present the phased pan-genome of tetraploid European potato, based on 10 historical cultivars representing 85% of European potato diversity.
Learn more below!
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1/7
We present the phased pan-genome of tetraploid European potato, based on 10 historical cultivars representing 85% of European potato diversity.
Learn more below!
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1/7
Certain sunflower genotypes can undergo parthenogenesis when they are without pollen. This a surprising result and was discovered serendipitously during a plant breeding programme. A lesson to pay attention to your controls!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Haploid facultative parthenogenesis in sunflower sexual reproduction - Nature
Spontaneous parthenogenesis in sunflower has been used to develop a scalable doubled haploid breeding system.
www.nature.com
April 4, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Certain sunflower genotypes can undergo parthenogenesis when they are without pollen. This a surprising result and was discovered serendipitously during a plant breeding programme. A lesson to pay attention to your controls!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
🚀 Our collaborative work with @monica-pradillo.bsky.social, "Genetic dissection of MutL complexes in Arabidopsis meiosis," is now published in NAR! 🌱 doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
🔬 We show that MutLγ is crucial for ZMM-dependent crossovers, with MUS81 unable to fully compensate for its loss.
🔬 We show that MutLγ is crucial for ZMM-dependent crossovers, with MUS81 unable to fully compensate for its loss.
Genetic dissection of MutL complexes in Arabidopsis meiosis
Abstract. During meiosis, homologous chromosomes exchange genetic material through crossing over. The main crossover pathway relies on ZMM proteins, includ
doi.org
March 19, 2025 at 2:18 PM
🚀 Our collaborative work with @monica-pradillo.bsky.social, "Genetic dissection of MutL complexes in Arabidopsis meiosis," is now published in NAR! 🌱 doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
🔬 We show that MutLγ is crucial for ZMM-dependent crossovers, with MUS81 unable to fully compensate for its loss.
🔬 We show that MutLγ is crucial for ZMM-dependent crossovers, with MUS81 unable to fully compensate for its loss.
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
#TansleyReview: Natural #neopolyploids: a stimulus for novel research
Edger et al. 👇
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#LatestIssue #PlantScience
Edger et al. 👇
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#LatestIssue #PlantScience
March 8, 2025 at 4:30 PM
#TansleyReview: Natural #neopolyploids: a stimulus for novel research
Edger et al. 👇
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#LatestIssue #PlantScience
Edger et al. 👇
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#LatestIssue #PlantScience
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
#PlantScienceClassics #2: Radiation-induced mutagenesis. 100 years ago, in 1921, Emmy Stein developed radiation-induced mutagenesis of #Antirrhinum majus plants, a process she called ‘Radiomorphosis’. But today, her invaluable contribution is being completely ignored… Read on doi.org/10.1007/BF01...
October 26, 2023 at 11:07 AM
#PlantScienceClassics #2: Radiation-induced mutagenesis. 100 years ago, in 1921, Emmy Stein developed radiation-induced mutagenesis of #Antirrhinum majus plants, a process she called ‘Radiomorphosis’. But today, her invaluable contribution is being completely ignored… Read on doi.org/10.1007/BF01...
A really nice seminar today from Venkatesan Sundaresan @mpipz.bsky.social
March 5, 2025 at 7:16 PM
A really nice seminar today from Venkatesan Sundaresan @mpipz.bsky.social
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
Our review on using grafting to engineer plants is out! Have a look in Plant Journal 👇
𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰📚
Modern and historical uses of plant grafting to engineer development, stress tolerance, chimeras, and hybrids
👉 doi.org/10.1111/tpj.70057
by Frauke Augstein & @charlesmelnyk.bsky.social
@SLU
Grafting advances+techniques+applications+ phenotypic improvements
Modern and historical uses of plant grafting to engineer development, stress tolerance, chimeras, and hybrids
👉 doi.org/10.1111/tpj.70057
by Frauke Augstein & @charlesmelnyk.bsky.social
@SLU
Grafting advances+techniques+applications+ phenotypic improvements
Modern and historical uses of plant grafting to engineer development, stress tolerance, chimeras, and hybrids
Plant grafting has been practiced for millennia and recent developments have resulted in new species, new techniques and new applications appearing. Here, we review these advances focusing on develop...
doi.org
February 25, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Our review on using grafting to engineer plants is out! Have a look in Plant Journal 👇
Our new review article “To infinity and beyond: recent progress, bottlenecks, and potential of clonal seeds by apomixis” is now published open access in @theplantjournal.bsky.social
dx.doi.org/10.1111/tpj.... @ribesresearch.bsky.social
dx.doi.org/10.1111/tpj.... @ribesresearch.bsky.social
February 21, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Our new review article “To infinity and beyond: recent progress, bottlenecks, and potential of clonal seeds by apomixis” is now published open access in @theplantjournal.bsky.social
dx.doi.org/10.1111/tpj.... @ribesresearch.bsky.social
dx.doi.org/10.1111/tpj.... @ribesresearch.bsky.social
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
Do you love meiosis? Have a cool story to share? Join us for the XVth British Meiosis Meeting 26-27 of March in Liverpool! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... You only have till Sunday to submit an abstract for a talk! ECRs are prioritised for speaking slots so the odds are in your favour 😁 #meiosis4eva
February 19, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Do you love meiosis? Have a cool story to share? Join us for the XVth British Meiosis Meeting 26-27 of March in Liverpool! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... You only have till Sunday to submit an abstract for a talk! ECRs are prioritised for speaking slots so the odds are in your favour 😁 #meiosis4eva
Moving tribute to Prof. Gynheung An. Pioneer of plant binary vectors in 1980s and generated more than 100,000 rice tDNA mutants for functional genomics research
February 14, 2025 at 5:12 AM
Moving tribute to Prof. Gynheung An. Pioneer of plant binary vectors in 1980s and generated more than 100,000 rice tDNA mutants for functional genomics research
Looking forward to an exciting conference at POSTECH - Korean Society of Plant Biologists. Thank you to @kyuhachoi.bsky.social for the invitation.
February 14, 2025 at 5:08 AM
Looking forward to an exciting conference at POSTECH - Korean Society of Plant Biologists. Thank you to @kyuhachoi.bsky.social for the invitation.
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
New round of the Lise Meitner Excellence Program for tenure track group leaders in @maxplanck.de institutes opened today -- please consider applying! The program aims to recruit and promote exceptionally qualified female scientists.
Because diversity increases excellence!
www.mpg.de/lise-meitner...
Because diversity increases excellence!
www.mpg.de/lise-meitner...
February 12, 2025 at 11:34 AM
New round of the Lise Meitner Excellence Program for tenure track group leaders in @maxplanck.de institutes opened today -- please consider applying! The program aims to recruit and promote exceptionally qualified female scientists.
Because diversity increases excellence!
www.mpg.de/lise-meitner...
Because diversity increases excellence!
www.mpg.de/lise-meitner...
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
🚨Job alert: We are looking for a #phd student to join us @unil.bsky.social to study evolution & function of gene regulatory sequences in the context of crop domestication using genome editing and imaging 🌱🍅🧬. #plantscience #scijobs #plantscijobs. Apply here: tinyurl.com/mrdpm5yf
January 31, 2025 at 11:53 AM
🚨Job alert: We are looking for a #phd student to join us @unil.bsky.social to study evolution & function of gene regulatory sequences in the context of crop domestication using genome editing and imaging 🌱🍅🧬. #plantscience #scijobs #plantscijobs. Apply here: tinyurl.com/mrdpm5yf
Reposted by Charlie Underwood
Today, Director @raphmercier.bsky.social officially announced the new name of the main lecture hall at the MPIPZ Cologne:
"Jeff Schell Lecture Hall"
If you're wondering how Jeff earned the honor, have a look at my Short History of Plant Transformation:
peerj.com/preprints/27...
#PlantScience
"Jeff Schell Lecture Hall"
If you're wondering how Jeff earned the honor, have a look at my Short History of Plant Transformation:
peerj.com/preprints/27...
#PlantScience
January 29, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Today, Director @raphmercier.bsky.social officially announced the new name of the main lecture hall at the MPIPZ Cologne:
"Jeff Schell Lecture Hall"
If you're wondering how Jeff earned the honor, have a look at my Short History of Plant Transformation:
peerj.com/preprints/27...
#PlantScience
"Jeff Schell Lecture Hall"
If you're wondering how Jeff earned the honor, have a look at my Short History of Plant Transformation:
peerj.com/preprints/27...
#PlantScience