Lee Sweetlove
@leesweetlove.bsky.social
Professor of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
My commentary published in Current Biology! “Plant regeneration: Breaking the silence of totipotency by reprogramming a stomatal precursor cell” Full text available →
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lzT-3QW8S...
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lzT-3QW8S...
October 26, 2025 at 5:40 PM
My commentary published in Current Biology! “Plant regeneration: Breaking the silence of totipotency by reprogramming a stomatal precursor cell” Full text available →
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lzT-3QW8S...
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lzT-3QW8S...
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
It's time to apply for the New Phytologist #TansleyMedal for excellence in #PlantScience.
Open to early career researchers with 3 to 5 years experience post-PhD.
Applications close on 1 November. Don't miss out!
www.newphytologist.org/grants-award...
#ecrchat #phdchat
Open to early career researchers with 3 to 5 years experience post-PhD.
Applications close on 1 November. Don't miss out!
www.newphytologist.org/grants-award...
#ecrchat #phdchat
October 27, 2025 at 10:27 AM
It's time to apply for the New Phytologist #TansleyMedal for excellence in #PlantScience.
Open to early career researchers with 3 to 5 years experience post-PhD.
Applications close on 1 November. Don't miss out!
www.newphytologist.org/grants-award...
#ecrchat #phdchat
Open to early career researchers with 3 to 5 years experience post-PhD.
Applications close on 1 November. Don't miss out!
www.newphytologist.org/grants-award...
#ecrchat #phdchat
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
Great opportunity! Applications are open for @theplantjournal.bsky.social Fellowship scheme - provides support and mentorship for early-year PIs establishing themselves as independent group leaders.
Also great chance to learn about the editorial side of #JournalPublishing #PlantScience #PeerReview
Also great chance to learn about the editorial side of #JournalPublishing #PlantScience #PeerReview
October 7, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Great opportunity! Applications are open for @theplantjournal.bsky.social Fellowship scheme - provides support and mentorship for early-year PIs establishing themselves as independent group leaders.
Also great chance to learn about the editorial side of #JournalPublishing #PlantScience #PeerReview
Also great chance to learn about the editorial side of #JournalPublishing #PlantScience #PeerReview
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
Game changer for cell-based plant genetics: the labs of Caixia Gao & Jin-Long Qiu have developed very efficient self-replicating vectors and they just published a very nice proof-of-concept paper.
#plantscience
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#plantscience
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
October 7, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Game changer for cell-based plant genetics: the labs of Caixia Gao & Jin-Long Qiu have developed very efficient self-replicating vectors and they just published a very nice proof-of-concept paper.
#plantscience
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#plantscience
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
It's hard to find the words. There won't be many people in the plant sciences community who won't feel the loss of such a generous soul and penetrating scientific mind.
We are deeply saddened by the news that Andrew D. Hanson (@adhansonlab.bsky.social) is no longer with us. He was an exceptional scientist, mentor, and leader in multiple fields. He constantly reminded us that over-promising would backfire. Rest in peace, Andrew.
September 5, 2025 at 9:04 AM
It's hard to find the words. There won't be many people in the plant sciences community who won't feel the loss of such a generous soul and penetrating scientific mind.
makes sense....
NRT1.1B acts as an abscisic acid receptor in integrating compound environmental cues for plants
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
#plantscience
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
#plantscience
August 22, 2025 at 8:32 AM
makes sense....
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
I have a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position starting in January to study the evolution of seed gene networks using the fern Ceratopteris! Interested? More info here:
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNU179/r...
Closing date 31st July. 🙂
#PlantScience
#PlantSciencejobs
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNU179/r...
Closing date 31st July. 🙂
#PlantScience
#PlantSciencejobs
Research Fellow (Postdoctoral) at University of Birmingham
An opportunity for an academic position as a Research Fellow (Postdoctoral) is available, as advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now and explore other academic job openings.
www.jobs.ac.uk
July 10, 2025 at 5:08 PM
I have a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position starting in January to study the evolution of seed gene networks using the fern Ceratopteris! Interested? More info here:
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNU179/r...
Closing date 31st July. 🙂
#PlantScience
#PlantSciencejobs
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNU179/r...
Closing date 31st July. 🙂
#PlantScience
#PlantSciencejobs
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
Sharing this in case anyone else missed this in @theplantcell.bsky.social. Arabidopsis research remains essential. The phenomenal resources mean complex pathways are so much easier to understand at the genetic level, and it's a great model organism! #plantsci #plantscience 🧪🌿
I’m happy that our commentary is out! (It would be wonderful if this made a difference!)
In defense of funding foundational plant science academic.oup.com/plcell/artic...
In defense of funding foundational plant science academic.oup.com/plcell/artic...
In defense of funding foundational plant science
academic.oup.com
July 4, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Sharing this in case anyone else missed this in @theplantcell.bsky.social. Arabidopsis research remains essential. The phenomenal resources mean complex pathways are so much easier to understand at the genetic level, and it's a great model organism! #plantsci #plantscience 🧪🌿
Great write up of work by @anyalb.bsky.social while in my lab on the use of biomolecular condensates for metabolic engineering. Thanks @ciara-obrien.bsky.social Some incredible papers highlighted in the roundup - well worth a read
Plant Science Research Weekly June 27 2025 plantae.org/plant-scienc... Special issues: Plants and Heat, Crops Under Stress; Review: Differences in sodium and potassium transport in Arabidopsis and crops; Suppression of lateral root formation in air gaps by IAA3 multimerization (1/3)
June 27, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Great write up of work by @anyalb.bsky.social while in my lab on the use of biomolecular condensates for metabolic engineering. Thanks @ciara-obrien.bsky.social Some incredible papers highlighted in the roundup - well worth a read
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
Interested in trying out life as a scientific #editor? Based in the UK? Background in #PlantScience? The @plosbiology.org crew is expanding (again!), so a place in our lovely team might be for you...
I am recruiting - if you have a background in plant mol cell bio, a keen interest in sustainability and planetary health and are looking to move away from the bench, this may be for you!
Have a 👀 and please reach out if Qs
1yr FTC, remote in the UK
job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io/plos/jobs/46...
Have a 👀 and please reach out if Qs
1yr FTC, remote in the UK
job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io/plos/jobs/46...
PLOS Biology Associate Editor- FTC
UK-Remote
job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io
June 27, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Interested in trying out life as a scientific #editor? Based in the UK? Background in #PlantScience? The @plosbiology.org crew is expanding (again!), so a place in our lovely team might be for you...
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
Out First Release in @science.org today, nice work finding that redox regulates multimerisation of Aux/IAA proteins during root xerobranching:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Redox-regulated Aux/IAA multimerization modulates auxin responses
Reactive oxygen species function as key signals in plant adaptation to environmental stresses like drought. Roots respond to transient water unavailability by temporarily ceasing branching through the...
www.science.org
June 13, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Out First Release in @science.org today, nice work finding that redox regulates multimerisation of Aux/IAA proteins during root xerobranching:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Itaconate, the poster-child for metabolic reprogramming in animal immunity, now comes out to play in plants!
www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
June 13, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Itaconate, the poster-child for metabolic reprogramming in animal immunity, now comes out to play in plants!
www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
My pick for In Other Journals this week:
Sugar signaling boosts wheat yields - field trials of a trehalose-6-phosphate spray that boosts yield, probably via upregulation of starch synthesis and CO2 fixation.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Paper here:
rdcu.be/enUzK
#PlantScience
Sugar signaling boosts wheat yields - field trials of a trehalose-6-phosphate spray that boosts yield, probably via upregulation of starch synthesis and CO2 fixation.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Paper here:
rdcu.be/enUzK
#PlantScience
In Other Journals
Editors’ selections from the current scientific literature
www.science.org
May 27, 2025 at 8:48 AM
My pick for In Other Journals this week:
Sugar signaling boosts wheat yields - field trials of a trehalose-6-phosphate spray that boosts yield, probably via upregulation of starch synthesis and CO2 fixation.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Paper here:
rdcu.be/enUzK
#PlantScience
Sugar signaling boosts wheat yields - field trials of a trehalose-6-phosphate spray that boosts yield, probably via upregulation of starch synthesis and CO2 fixation.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Paper here:
rdcu.be/enUzK
#PlantScience
Is there anything this enzyme doesn't do?!
MtPEPC2 Encodes a Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase Essential for Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Medicago truncatula onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
MtPEPC2 Encodes a Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase Essential for Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Medicago truncatula
We identified MtPEPC2 playing an essential role in symbiotic nitrogen fixation as evidenced by defects in nodule nitrogenase activities, symbiosome maintenance and expression of numerous genes in Med...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
May 27, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Is there anything this enzyme doesn't do?!
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞!
🌱Plant engineering: advances, bottlenecks, and promise
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1...
Focused Reviews & Technical Advances
🌿Plant transformation tech
🧬Gene editing & synthetic biology
🔧Emerging engineering strategies
breakthroughs & challenges
🧵⬇️
🌱Plant engineering: advances, bottlenecks, and promise
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1...
Focused Reviews & Technical Advances
🌿Plant transformation tech
🧬Gene editing & synthetic biology
🔧Emerging engineering strategies
breakthroughs & challenges
🧵⬇️
Special Issue: Plant Engineering — Advances, Bottlenecks, and Promise: The Plant Journal
Click on the title to browse this issue
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
April 25, 2025 at 10:55 AM
𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞!
🌱Plant engineering: advances, bottlenecks, and promise
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1...
Focused Reviews & Technical Advances
🌿Plant transformation tech
🧬Gene editing & synthetic biology
🔧Emerging engineering strategies
breakthroughs & challenges
🧵⬇️
🌱Plant engineering: advances, bottlenecks, and promise
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1...
Focused Reviews & Technical Advances
🌿Plant transformation tech
🧬Gene editing & synthetic biology
🔧Emerging engineering strategies
breakthroughs & challenges
🧵⬇️
Outstanding work by @anyalb.bsky.social in my lab - she targeted enzymes to synthetic biomolecular condensates in plants and showed increases in metabolic pathway activity, likely due to protection of the introduced enzymes from proteolysis
#PlantScience
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#PlantScience
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
April 25, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Outstanding work by @anyalb.bsky.social in my lab - she targeted enzymes to synthetic biomolecular condensates in plants and showed increases in metabolic pathway activity, likely due to protection of the introduced enzymes from proteolysis
#PlantScience
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#PlantScience
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
The metabolic signal that regulates TOR is the Calvin-Benson cycle-derived metabolite DHAP. Activation of TOR by DHAP is also true in animals....
Glad to share our latest paper published in Science Advances! In this work, we show that #light and #CO₂ regulate #TOR through cytoplasmic #dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP), revealing a key metabolic link in TOR signaling.@ibvf-sevilla.bsky.social @science.org science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu1240
Dihydroxyacetone phosphate generated in the chloroplast mediates the activation of TOR by CO2 and light
Light and CO2 activate the eukaryotic TOR kinase through the central metabolite dihydroxyacetone phosphate.
science.org
April 22, 2025 at 5:48 PM
The metabolic signal that regulates TOR is the Calvin-Benson cycle-derived metabolite DHAP. Activation of TOR by DHAP is also true in animals....
The ever fascinating phenomenon of plant thermogenesis...
Multiscale Imaging Locates Thermogenic Tissues and Reveals the Role of Ca2+ in Floral Thermogenesis (Miao Yu, Siqin Wang, Lingdie Kong, Mengsha Huang, Jin Zhang, Jing Li, Ruohan Wang) doi.org/10.1093/plph... #PlantScience
doi.org
April 15, 2025 at 6:06 PM
The ever fascinating phenomenon of plant thermogenesis...
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
Great Review on TOR signalling: A Master Regulator in Plant Growth, Development, and Stress Responses #PPStasis #proteostasis #autophagy #Stressbio #Plantsci
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Target of Rapamycin (TOR): A Master Regulator in Plant Growth, Development, and Stress Responses | Annual Reviews
The target of rapamycin (TOR) is a central regulator of growth, development, and stress adaptation in plants. This review delves into the molecular intricacies of TOR signaling, highlighting its conse...
www.annualreviews.org
April 10, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Great Review on TOR signalling: A Master Regulator in Plant Growth, Development, and Stress Responses #PPStasis #proteostasis #autophagy #Stressbio #Plantsci
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
Hornworts reveal a spatial model for pyrenoid-based CO2-concentrating mechanisms in land plants www.nature.com/articles/s41... @natureplants.bsky.social
Hornworts reveal a spatial model for pyrenoid-based CO2-concentrating mechanisms in land plants - Nature Plants
Hornworts are the only land plants with a pyrenoid-based CO2-concentrating mechanism. This study presents evidence that some of the key components in algal pyrenoid-based CO2-concentrating mechanisms ...
www.nature.com
January 4, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Hornworts reveal a spatial model for pyrenoid-based CO2-concentrating mechanisms in land plants www.nature.com/articles/s41... @natureplants.bsky.social
Lots of excellent advice in this piece. The core message - only through writing do you really think and order your thoughts into logical sense. Makes a case for not using AI for 1st draft because you bypass the thinking step
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@naturebiotech.bsky.social
#PlantScience
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@naturebiotech.bsky.social
#PlantScience
An open letter to graduate students and other procrastinators: it’s time to write - Nature Biotechnology
Nature Biotechnology - An open letter to graduate students and other procrastinators: it’s time to write
www.nature.com
April 5, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Lots of excellent advice in this piece. The core message - only through writing do you really think and order your thoughts into logical sense. Makes a case for not using AI for 1st draft because you bypass the thinking step
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@naturebiotech.bsky.social
#PlantScience
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@naturebiotech.bsky.social
#PlantScience
If you want to find out why metabolism may look different to what you were taught, and why this matters, dip into to our review 'Non-canonical plant metabolism' www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@natureplants.bsky.social
#PlantScience
@natureplants.bsky.social
#PlantScience
April 4, 2025 at 6:13 PM
If you want to find out why metabolism may look different to what you were taught, and why this matters, dip into to our review 'Non-canonical plant metabolism' www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@natureplants.bsky.social
#PlantScience
@natureplants.bsky.social
#PlantScience
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
As well as CO2 Rubisco reacts with O2: plants evolved photorespiration to deal with the consequences. It works, but synthetic biology can do better! 🔄 We used metabolic modeling to compare alternative pathways to boost crop yields 🌱 🧵 #ScienceAdvancesResearch
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Alternatives to photorespiration: A system-level analysis reveals mechanisms of enhanced plant productivity
Computational modeling reveals how engineering plants with alternative pathways to photorespiration could boost crop yields.
www.science.org
April 2, 2025 at 12:41 PM
As well as CO2 Rubisco reacts with O2: plants evolved photorespiration to deal with the consequences. It works, but synthetic biology can do better! 🔄 We used metabolic modeling to compare alternative pathways to boost crop yields 🌱 🧵 #ScienceAdvancesResearch
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
Yes, that's a proteasome! Guess where it is....in the apoplast! Nice to see Richard Vierstra's work out! #PPStasis #proteostasis #proteasomes #PlantSci
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
February 18, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Yes, that's a proteasome! Guess where it is....in the apoplast! Nice to see Richard Vierstra's work out! #PPStasis #proteostasis #proteasomes #PlantSci
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Lee Sweetlove
Very informative talk by @katherinedenby.bsky.social, EiC of @theplantjournal.bsky.social, on scientific publishing in the #PlantSciences. #MBP2025
Her points on how to choose a journal to publish in are below.
Happy to see that my favorite journals fit the bill. 👌
Her points on how to choose a journal to publish in are below.
Happy to see that my favorite journals fit the bill. 👌
February 11, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Very informative talk by @katherinedenby.bsky.social, EiC of @theplantjournal.bsky.social, on scientific publishing in the #PlantSciences. #MBP2025
Her points on how to choose a journal to publish in are below.
Happy to see that my favorite journals fit the bill. 👌
Her points on how to choose a journal to publish in are below.
Happy to see that my favorite journals fit the bill. 👌