Michael Hothorn
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structplantbio.bsky.social
Michael Hothorn
@structplantbio.bsky.social
Structural biologist interested in all things green. Professor at University of Geneva, Switzerland. https://web.structplantbio.org/
Pinned
Our new year starts of course with new preprint on brassinosteroid signaling tinyurl.com/nhzcfkxd. We re-analyzed the function of Kelch phosphatases, which were previously characterized as protein tyrosine phosphatases that dephosphorylate the critical pTyr200 in the GSK3 kinase BIN2. (1/6)
Plant Kelch phosphatases are Ser/Thr phosphatases involved in cell cycle regulation
Brassinosteroids (BRs) are plant steroid hormones sensed at the cell surface by the membrane receptor kinase BRI1. Activation of BRI1 leads to the dephosphorylation of BZR1/BES1 transcription factors ...
tinyurl.com
@hohmannulrich.bsky.social, your new address is freeing up quite some characters ;-)
February 10, 2026 at 7:49 AM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Ulrich’s research will help advance our understanding of RNA biology & gene regulation, as well as how these mechanisms might be altered during viral infections & other diseases.
@hohmannulrich.bsky.social comes from the @impvienna.bsky.social / @imbavienna.bsky.social

www.imb.de/about-imb/ne...
February 9, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
@lorenzoorts.bsky.social previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow at @impvienna.bsky.social in Austria. She will establish a new lab at IMB to investigate how mRNA translation is activated in the early embryo. Welcome to IMB Laura! 💐

Read more here: www.imb.de/about-imb/ne...
February 6, 2026 at 2:27 PM
I thought of myself as a structural biologist and biochemist. Apparently not...
February 9, 2026 at 9:22 AM
Very nice & complete review on inositol pyrophosphate metabolism and signaling in plants by Ricardo Giehl @leibnizipk.bsky.social and @gabrielschaaf.bsky.social @unibonn.bsky.social . Also includes an impressive to-do-list...
February 8, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Really excited to join IMB for this new scientific endeavour!
@lorenzoorts.bsky.social previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow at @impvienna.bsky.social in Austria. She will establish a new lab at IMB to investigate how mRNA translation is activated in the early embryo. Welcome to IMB Laura! 💐

Read more here: www.imb.de/about-imb/ne...
February 6, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Job opportunity: Join ETH Zurich as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Sustainable Plant Nutrition.
Application deadline: 28th February 2026.
Explore more details at the link. #PlantSciJobs

ethz.ch/en/the-eth-z...
Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) of Sustainable Plant Nutrition
The Department of Environmental Systems Science (www.usys.ethz.ch) at ETH Zurich invites applications for the above-mentioned position.
ethz.ch
February 5, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
New preprint out! Zhoubo Hu et al "A redox-regulated RCC1-like protein controls catalase activity in Arabidopsis". We identify CAIR1, a UVR8-interacting protein, as a redox-responsive regulator of catalase localization and activity, maintaining cellular ROS balance. 🌱
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
February 3, 2026 at 11:17 AM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
❗📢 The SNSF is adjusting its project funding as of 1 April 2026. Our goal is to stabilise success rates at a level that ensures funding for research of the highest quality. This is how we guarantee a fair chance for all researchers.

➡️ sohub.io/5x59
February 2, 2026 at 8:15 AM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Please share!
My group at @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social is offering a post-doctoral position (4 years). We look for a structural biologist with experience in Cryo-EM/Cryo-ET to investigate the mechanisms of host invasion by pathogenic fungi. Deadline February 28th!
uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet...
January 30, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
FoldMason is out now in @science.org. It generates accurate multiple structure alignments for thousands of protein structures in seconds. Great work by Cameron L. M. Gilchrist and @milot.bsky.social.
📄 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🌐 search.foldseek.com/foldmason
💾 github.com/steineggerla...
Multiple protein structure alignment at scale with FoldMason
Protein structure is conserved beyond sequence, making multiple structural alignment (MSTA) essential for analyzing distantly related proteins. Computational prediction methods have vastly extended ou...
www.science.org
January 30, 2026 at 6:11 AM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Forschungsförderung ist ein wichtiger Teil unserer Zukunftsvorsorge.

Österreich investiert in den nächsten 3 Jahren 3 Mrd € in die Grundlagenforschung. Ein reales Wachstum - selbst angesichts der hohen Inflation der letzten Jahre 👏

www.derstandard.at/story/300000...

@sbfi.admin.ch @snsf.ch 🧪
Ministerin Holzleitner prescht mit Drei-Milliarden-Budget für Grundlagenforschung vor
375 Millionen Euro mehr für drei Jahre für die Grundlagenforschung, FTI-Pakt bleibt aber weiterhin in Schwebe – Kürzungen bei angewandter Forschung werden befürchtet
www.derstandard.at
January 29, 2026 at 12:49 PM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/f...

Become our new colleague (and next door neighbor) and lead a chair/group/department of Biophysics at Wageningen University. Reach out to me for info and please spread!!!
Full Professor and Chair Laboratory of Biophysics
We are looking for a Full Professor in the Biophysics chair group, part of Wageningen University & Research (WUR)
www.wur.nl
January 28, 2026 at 5:20 AM
I said serine, not Siri
January 27, 2026 at 7:17 AM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Complexity at the ribosomal polypeptide tunnel exit. The major N-terminal acetyltransferase NatA may form different complexes on the ribosome to facilitate protein maturation. By Marius Klein & Klemens Wild in Irmgard Sinning's lab BZH & Nina McTiernan in my lab. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
January 26, 2026 at 11:24 AM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
PhD opportunity in the newly minted RO2T Respiration Group! Please share!
Interested in root biology, oxygen dynamics, imaging & modelling? We’re recruiting a PhD student at the University of Nottingham.
Deadline 15th February.
jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...
#plantscijobs #plantscience
January 21, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
New Brief Communication: "A CRISPR-based sequence proximity binding protein labelling system for scanning upstream regulatory proteins" rdcu.be/eZLUP

CRISPR-based proximity labelling system to profile DNA-binding proteins such as PIF4 transcription factor .
January 19, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
ONE WEEK LEFT TO APPLY: We’re hiring 4 roles at UWA's Plant Synbio Innovation Centre: Facility Manager + 3 Postdocs (single-cell genomics/screening; molecular tools; construct prototyping) bit.ly/4qfoftG bit.ly/3MFgD59 bit.ly/4pFT6jf bit.ly/48VkgLw

Apply by Tuesday 27 Jan 2026 (11:55pm AWST)
Prospective staff : Jobs at UWA : The University Of Western Australia
bit.ly
January 20, 2026 at 2:07 AM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Happy to share the pre-print on GEMMIFER, a novel ERF required for the initiation of gemma in Marchantia. One of the coolest phenotypes that I have ever seen. Congratulations to Yuki and Go, who led this research. #PlantScience @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
January 17, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
Launch your own independent research group!

2x David Sainsbury Career Development Fellowships at @slcuplants.bsky.social

📆 Apply by 30 Jan 2026

More info:
👉 www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/careers/grou...
Job details:
👉 www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/david-s...

Please share this post #PlantSciJobs #PlantSciJob
January 9, 2026 at 11:33 AM
Reposted by Michael Hothorn
DFG erlaubt Einsatz von KI in der Begutachtung.

Wenn wir jetzt noch die AI dazu kriegen, die komplette Forschung zu machen, haben wir den Menschen komplett von der Last des Forschungsprozzeses befreit und er kann sich komplett auf wichtige Dinge wie Reisekostenerstattungsanträge konzentrieren.
Künstliche Intelligenz in der Begutachtung
www.dfg.de
January 8, 2026 at 10:16 AM
@fxrico.bsky.social deleted the single BSU1 gene in Marchantia, resulting in a mass of undifferentiated cells & strong patterning defects. Cell cycle markers are highly active in the thallus. Our data point to a function for Kelch phosphatases in the cell cycle not in BR signaling (6/6).
January 7, 2026 at 7:53 AM