Leo Castanedo
@leocastanedo.bsky.social
Plant biologist | Proud and happy dad | Passionate about stress-resilient plants🌱, microbes🦠, and symbiotic nutrient interactions | From 🇲🇽 living in 🇪🇺
X: @leo_castanedo
X: @leo_castanedo
Pinned
1/ It is my pleasure to share the latest preprint of the team: "Symbiotic diversification relies on an ancestral gene network in plants"
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Here, we identified and functionally validated a novel master regulator of intracellular symbioses!
A thread ...
#PlantScience
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Here, we identified and functionally validated a novel master regulator of intracellular symbioses!
A thread ...
#PlantScience
Symbiotic diversification relies on an ancestral gene network in plants
Symbioses have been fundamental to colonization of terrestrial ecosystems by plants and their evolution. Emergence of the ancient arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis was followed by the diversification o...
doi.org
🛑Exciting update from our work with @pierremarcdelaux.bsky.social team on the ericoid mycorrhizal symbiosis❗❗
🔥New results support a conserved three-gene module and master regulator for nutrient-responsive intracellular accommodation of fungal symbionts🤯
Check the nice thread below👇🏼
#plantscience
🔥New results support a conserved three-gene module and master regulator for nutrient-responsive intracellular accommodation of fungal symbionts🤯
Check the nice thread below👇🏼
#plantscience
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
2 postdoc openings in my lab:
anelab.wisc.edu/join-us.html
One for a maize geneticist and one for a bacterial geneticist
Picture featuring @manishbiotechie.bsky.social, @balptekin.bsky.social and @sairamnagalla.bsky.social. The first two left my lab over the last few months to start their own labs!
anelab.wisc.edu/join-us.html
One for a maize geneticist and one for a bacterial geneticist
Picture featuring @manishbiotechie.bsky.social, @balptekin.bsky.social and @sairamnagalla.bsky.social. The first two left my lab over the last few months to start their own labs!
Ané Lab
Jean-Michel Ané
anelab.wisc.edu
January 18, 2026 at 11:50 PM
2 postdoc openings in my lab:
anelab.wisc.edu/join-us.html
One for a maize geneticist and one for a bacterial geneticist
Picture featuring @manishbiotechie.bsky.social, @balptekin.bsky.social and @sairamnagalla.bsky.social. The first two left my lab over the last few months to start their own labs!
anelab.wisc.edu/join-us.html
One for a maize geneticist and one for a bacterial geneticist
Picture featuring @manishbiotechie.bsky.social, @balptekin.bsky.social and @sairamnagalla.bsky.social. The first two left my lab over the last few months to start their own labs!
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
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)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
@annajomu.bsky.social @ccaseys.bsky.social
(1/3)
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...
www.biorxiv.org
January 15, 2026 at 10:52 PM
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)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
@annajomu.bsky.social @ccaseys.bsky.social
(1/3)
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
We have an open POSTDOC position to explore Marchantia immune receptor biology that is closing on the 18th of Jan. Apply using the link below, and/or email me for more details. www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/po...
Postdoctoral Researcher (Carella Group) | John Innes Centre
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the Carella Group at the John Innes Centre, working on cutting-edge science in the field of Evo-MPMI (Evolutionary Molecular…
www.jic.ac.uk
January 13, 2026 at 11:31 AM
We have an open POSTDOC position to explore Marchantia immune receptor biology that is closing on the 18th of Jan. Apply using the link below, and/or email me for more details. www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/po...
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
⚡️Fully funded #PhD position in my lab at Stockholm University / SciLifeLab! If you’re interested in #lichens, #symbiosis, fungal biology, or meta-omics, please apply. Deadline Feb 1. Read more here: su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
January 12, 2026 at 2:15 PM
⚡️Fully funded #PhD position in my lab at Stockholm University / SciLifeLab! If you’re interested in #lichens, #symbiosis, fungal biology, or meta-omics, please apply. Deadline Feb 1. Read more here: su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
WE GOT FERNS, folks.
I hope you like ferns. If you don’t, just listen and you will like ferns. 🌿🌿🌿
Dr. Li is hilarious and charming and you will love him. And ferns.
In conclusion: ferns.
www.alieward.com/ologies/pter...
I hope you like ferns. If you don’t, just listen and you will like ferns. 🌿🌿🌿
Dr. Li is hilarious and charming and you will love him. And ferns.
In conclusion: ferns.
www.alieward.com/ologies/pter...
Pteridology (FERNS) with Dr. Fay-Wei Li — alie ward
Fronds. Forest dwellers. Spores. Houseplants. Queer icons. We’ve got ferns. The charming and hilarious professor and author of “Ferns: Lessons in Survival from Earth’s Most Adaptable Plants,” Dr. Fay-...
www.alieward.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:55 PM
WE GOT FERNS, folks.
I hope you like ferns. If you don’t, just listen and you will like ferns. 🌿🌿🌿
Dr. Li is hilarious and charming and you will love him. And ferns.
In conclusion: ferns.
www.alieward.com/ologies/pter...
I hope you like ferns. If you don’t, just listen and you will like ferns. 🌿🌿🌿
Dr. Li is hilarious and charming and you will love him. And ferns.
In conclusion: ferns.
www.alieward.com/ologies/pter...
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
New Letter: "New alleles of Arabidopsis BIK1 reinforce its predominant role in PTI and caution interpretations of other reported functions" rdcu.be/eYiO9
Summary: be careful with legacy T-DNA mutants.
[On the importance of BIKs in science, including
@elisabethbik.bsky.social]
Summary: be careful with legacy T-DNA mutants.
[On the importance of BIKs in science, including
@elisabethbik.bsky.social]
January 9, 2026 at 11:00 AM
New Letter: "New alleles of Arabidopsis BIK1 reinforce its predominant role in PTI and caution interpretations of other reported functions" rdcu.be/eYiO9
Summary: be careful with legacy T-DNA mutants.
[On the importance of BIKs in science, including
@elisabethbik.bsky.social]
Summary: be careful with legacy T-DNA mutants.
[On the importance of BIKs in science, including
@elisabethbik.bsky.social]
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
Preprint: We identified soil iron levels as critical factor explaining the variation in soil microbiome feedbacks on plant growth. The soil microbiomes tend to provide more beneficial feedbacks at low levels of soil iron. Happy reading.
Credits to Jan Waelchli et al.!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Credits to Jan Waelchli et al.!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Soil iron drives beneficial maize microbiome feedbacks in rotations with wheat
Background: Plants change their surrounding soil microbiome by root exudates and such conditioned microbiomes impact the performance of the present as well as the next plant generation as for example ...
www.biorxiv.org
January 9, 2026 at 7:08 AM
Preprint: We identified soil iron levels as critical factor explaining the variation in soil microbiome feedbacks on plant growth. The soil microbiomes tend to provide more beneficial feedbacks at low levels of soil iron. Happy reading.
Credits to Jan Waelchli et al.!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Credits to Jan Waelchli et al.!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
our hornwort paper got the cover of the @newphyt.bsky.social
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
January 8, 2026 at 3:00 PM
our hornwort paper got the cover of the @newphyt.bsky.social
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
🧵 Just out in Cell after more than 10 years in the making!
🎓 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Plants and animals evolve radically different body plans.
Do they also operate under fundamentally different molecular evolutionary constraints during organ formation?
@cellpress.bsky.social
🎓 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Plants and animals evolve radically different body plans.
Do they also operate under fundamentally different molecular evolutionary constraints during organ formation?
@cellpress.bsky.social
January 7, 2026 at 11:50 AM
🧵 Just out in Cell after more than 10 years in the making!
🎓 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Plants and animals evolve radically different body plans.
Do they also operate under fundamentally different molecular evolutionary constraints during organ formation?
@cellpress.bsky.social
🎓 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Plants and animals evolve radically different body plans.
Do they also operate under fundamentally different molecular evolutionary constraints during organ formation?
@cellpress.bsky.social
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
I absolutely love this paper from @stuartmcdaniel.bsky.social
It is a part of a must-read list for all new members of my lab.
Bryophytes are not early diverging land plants - McDaniel - 2021 - New Phytologist - Wiley Online Library nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
It is a part of a must-read list for all new members of my lab.
Bryophytes are not early diverging land plants - McDaniel - 2021 - New Phytologist - Wiley Online Library nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Bryophytes are not early diverging land plants
Phylogenetic trees have permeated biology. However, an understanding of how to interpret phylogenies has lagged behind, notably in publications outside of evolutionary biology. Here I argue that some...
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:49 PM
I absolutely love this paper from @stuartmcdaniel.bsky.social
It is a part of a must-read list for all new members of my lab.
Bryophytes are not early diverging land plants - McDaniel - 2021 - New Phytologist - Wiley Online Library nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
It is a part of a must-read list for all new members of my lab.
Bryophytes are not early diverging land plants - McDaniel - 2021 - New Phytologist - Wiley Online Library nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
This explains so much.
People with psychopathic traits and low cognitive ability are over-represented in online political activity.
If someone is being cruel, obnoxious and ridiculous, don't try to reason with them. Chances are you won't get anywhere. Just block.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
People with psychopathic traits and low cognitive ability are over-represented in online political activity.
If someone is being cruel, obnoxious and ridiculous, don't try to reason with them. Chances are you won't get anywhere. Just block.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Dark personalities in the digital arena: how psychopathy and narcissism shape online political participation - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - Dark personalities in the digital arena: how psychopathy and narcissism shape online political participation
www.nature.com
January 6, 2026 at 7:05 AM
This explains so much.
People with psychopathic traits and low cognitive ability are over-represented in online political activity.
If someone is being cruel, obnoxious and ridiculous, don't try to reason with them. Chances are you won't get anywhere. Just block.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
People with psychopathic traits and low cognitive ability are over-represented in online political activity.
If someone is being cruel, obnoxious and ridiculous, don't try to reason with them. Chances are you won't get anywhere. Just block.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A novel cis-element enabled bacterial uptake by plant cells.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A novel cis-element enabled bacterial uptake by plant cells - Nature Plants
A key step in the evolution of the nitrogen-fixing root nodule symbiosis, occurring 100 million years ago, subjected the control of Nodule Inception (NIN) gene expression to a protein complex that reg...
www.nature.com
January 5, 2026 at 12:58 PM
A novel cis-element enabled bacterial uptake by plant cells.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
Our new study shows how nickel limitation changes electron flow in methanogens.
@nature.com
#methanogens #methane #archaea
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@nature.com
#methanogens #methane #archaea
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Electron flow in hydrogenotrophic methanogens under nickel limitation - Nature
Two distantly related methanogens shift the methanogenic pathway under nickel limitation, suggesting that methanogens adapt to changing bioavailability of nickel by rerouting electron flow between two...
www.nature.com
July 3, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Our new study shows how nickel limitation changes electron flow in methanogens.
@nature.com
#methanogens #methane #archaea
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@nature.com
#methanogens #methane #archaea
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
We are pleased to announce the official release of PLAZA 5.1, our plant genomics platform, which comes with a major front-end redesign. This results in improved performance, enhanced visualization tools, and refined Toolboxes. Src: www.vandepoelelab.be/plaza/news#28
December 23, 2025 at 9:38 AM
We are pleased to announce the official release of PLAZA 5.1, our plant genomics platform, which comes with a major front-end redesign. This results in improved performance, enhanced visualization tools, and refined Toolboxes. Src: www.vandepoelelab.be/plaza/news#28
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
Do not cite an academic paper unless you’ve read it
AI Is Inventing Academic Papers That Don't Exist -- And They're Being Cited in Real Journals
Academic articles from authors using large language model are creating an ecosystem of fake research that threatens human knowledge itself.
www.rollingstone.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Do not cite an academic paper unless you’ve read it
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
I’m excited to share a new preprint from Carella group #CarellaCapybaras! biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
In this study, we show molecular co-evolution of two popular nonhost resistance genes in plants, RAR1 and SGT1, in ferns. For a quick read before Christmas, here’s the thread:
In this study, we show molecular co-evolution of two popular nonhost resistance genes in plants, RAR1 and SGT1, in ferns. For a quick read before Christmas, here’s the thread:
December 19, 2025 at 12:24 PM
I’m excited to share a new preprint from Carella group #CarellaCapybaras! biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
In this study, we show molecular co-evolution of two popular nonhost resistance genes in plants, RAR1 and SGT1, in ferns. For a quick read before Christmas, here’s the thread:
In this study, we show molecular co-evolution of two popular nonhost resistance genes in plants, RAR1 and SGT1, in ferns. For a quick read before Christmas, here’s the thread:
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
Fantastic story how bacteria exploit a host pathway to dissolve plant tissue and obtain nutrients 🤯
Uncovering these mechanisms about plant-pathogen interactions is so cool!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Uncovering these mechanisms about plant-pathogen interactions is so cool!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Xanthomonas coordinates type III–type II effector synergy by activating fruit-ripening pathway
Plant cell walls harbor vast carbohydrate reserves, yet how pathogens unlock them remains unclear. We show that the citrus canker pathogen Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc) mobilizes cell wall suga...
www.science.org
December 19, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Fantastic story how bacteria exploit a host pathway to dissolve plant tissue and obtain nutrients 🤯
Uncovering these mechanisms about plant-pathogen interactions is so cool!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Uncovering these mechanisms about plant-pathogen interactions is so cool!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
Excited to share our latest preprint on the conservation of RAR1-SGT1 across plants and their unexpected divergence in ferns! @hynmn-jeong.bsky.social @michaelwebster.bsky.social @johninnescentre.bsky.social @yusugihara.bsky.social. Check out the preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 19, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Excited to share our latest preprint on the conservation of RAR1-SGT1 across plants and their unexpected divergence in ferns! @hynmn-jeong.bsky.social @michaelwebster.bsky.social @johninnescentre.bsky.social @yusugihara.bsky.social. Check out the preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
New opportunity to join our #EvoMPMI group @johninnescentre.bsky.social as a Postdoctoral Researcher working on the mechanistic basis of immunity in diverse plants. Please spread the word, reach out by email, and/or apply if interested! More details here: www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/po...
December 16, 2025 at 11:32 AM
New opportunity to join our #EvoMPMI group @johninnescentre.bsky.social as a Postdoctoral Researcher working on the mechanistic basis of immunity in diverse plants. Please spread the word, reach out by email, and/or apply if interested! More details here: www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/po...
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
Thread of French and Dutch research institutes slowly unsubscribing from web of science (and thence impact factors).
December 3, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Thread of French and Dutch research institutes slowly unsubscribing from web of science (and thence impact factors).
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
Trump thinks immigrants will destroy Europe. The truth is the opposite.
This column is about the long arc of population change, the hybridity of European cultures, and the widely-misinterpreted results of demographic momentum.
Big issues we need to understand.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
This column is about the long arc of population change, the hybridity of European cultures, and the widely-misinterpreted results of demographic momentum.
Big issues we need to understand.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The facts are stark: Europe must open the door to migrants, or face its own extinction | George Monbiot
These are the facts: plummeting birth rates mean that without attracting immigration, many countries are sliding towards collapse, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
December 12, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Trump thinks immigrants will destroy Europe. The truth is the opposite.
This column is about the long arc of population change, the hybridity of European cultures, and the widely-misinterpreted results of demographic momentum.
Big issues we need to understand.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
This column is about the long arc of population change, the hybridity of European cultures, and the widely-misinterpreted results of demographic momentum.
Big issues we need to understand.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
📣 Major milestone achieved! First @teamthomma.bsky.social @unicologne.bsky.social PhD student graduated 🎉! Congratulations to @wolki95.bsky.social for a stellar defence of a thesis on antimicrobial effectors of Verticillium dahliae that drive niche adaptation #proudPI #PhDone
December 12, 2025 at 12:39 PM
📣 Major milestone achieved! First @teamthomma.bsky.social @unicologne.bsky.social PhD student graduated 🎉! Congratulations to @wolki95.bsky.social for a stellar defence of a thesis on antimicrobial effectors of Verticillium dahliae that drive niche adaptation #proudPI #PhDone
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
‼️Please RT: The CEPLAS Graduate School call for 2026 is now open! Detailed info on our website: bit.ly/4q19JWk
@hhu.de @unicologne.bsky.social @mpipz.bsky.social @fz-juelich.de @leibnizipk.bsky.social @plantsciencedbg.bsky.social
@hhu.de @unicologne.bsky.social @mpipz.bsky.social @fz-juelich.de @leibnizipk.bsky.social @plantsciencedbg.bsky.social
December 9, 2025 at 2:42 PM
‼️Please RT: The CEPLAS Graduate School call for 2026 is now open! Detailed info on our website: bit.ly/4q19JWk
@hhu.de @unicologne.bsky.social @mpipz.bsky.social @fz-juelich.de @leibnizipk.bsky.social @plantsciencedbg.bsky.social
@hhu.de @unicologne.bsky.social @mpipz.bsky.social @fz-juelich.de @leibnizipk.bsky.social @plantsciencedbg.bsky.social
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
From the Science Communication Lab: a new mini documentary highlighting my lab’s work on roots and their environmental responses! Beautiful videography helps to communicate the wonder of this hidden world of plants below our feet. youtu.be/vqZ3LT8sCIQ?...
The Hidden World of Plant Roots with Stanford Biologist José R. Dinneny
YouTube video by Science Communication Lab
youtu.be
December 10, 2025 at 7:03 AM
From the Science Communication Lab: a new mini documentary highlighting my lab’s work on roots and their environmental responses! Beautiful videography helps to communicate the wonder of this hidden world of plants below our feet. youtu.be/vqZ3LT8sCIQ?...
Reposted by Leo Castanedo
I just published: ERC-Plus: jackpot science or missed chance to fix academia?
My reflections on ERC-Plus, Europe’s newest ultra-competitive research grant and what it tells us about the academic culture we’re building.
medium.com/p/erc-plus-j...
My reflections on ERC-Plus, Europe’s newest ultra-competitive research grant and what it tells us about the academic culture we’re building.
medium.com/p/erc-plus-j...
ERC-Plus: jackpot science or missed chance to fix academia?
My reflections on ERC-Plus, Europe’s newest ultra-competitive research grant and what it tells us about the academic culture we’re…
medium.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:42 AM
I just published: ERC-Plus: jackpot science or missed chance to fix academia?
My reflections on ERC-Plus, Europe’s newest ultra-competitive research grant and what it tells us about the academic culture we’re building.
medium.com/p/erc-plus-j...
My reflections on ERC-Plus, Europe’s newest ultra-competitive research grant and what it tells us about the academic culture we’re building.
medium.com/p/erc-plus-j...