Team Thomma
@teamthomma.bsky.social
Alexander von Humboldt Professor of Evolutionary Microbiology
@UniCologne & @CEPLAS_1, studying how fungi interact with plants and their environment. He/him. 💛🖤
@UniCologne & @CEPLAS_1, studying how fungi interact with plants and their environment. He/him. 💛🖤
Pinned
Team Thomma
@teamthomma.bsky.social
· Oct 30
Undermining the cry for help: the phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae secretes an antimicrobial effector protein to undermine host recruitment of antagonistic Pseudomonas bacteria
During pathogen attack, plants recruit beneficial microbes in a ‘cry for help’ to mitigate disease development. Simultaneously, pathogens secrete effectors to promote host colonisation through vario...
doi.org
📣 Now announcing the journal publication 📄 of our work in @newphyt.bsky.social on how Verticillium undermines the plant's 🌱 "cry for help": terrific work by @antonkraege.bsky.social & @wolki95.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/nph....
Reposted by Team Thomma
You did not get your #MSCA and you are upset, because you really wanted to work on somatic cell evolution on the way to malignancy with single cell data and 🧬machine learning 💻?
Then get in touch!
There are other ways to fund a postdoc ;-)
Then get in touch!
There are other ways to fund a postdoc ;-)
February 11, 2026 at 11:05 AM
You did not get your #MSCA and you are upset, because you really wanted to work on somatic cell evolution on the way to malignancy with single cell data and 🧬machine learning 💻?
Then get in touch!
There are other ways to fund a postdoc ;-)
Then get in touch!
There are other ways to fund a postdoc ;-)
Reposted by Team Thomma
Spatial structure: Shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities
@femsjournals.bsky.social Microbiology Review by @marcelbaecker.bsky.social et al
from @bedutilh.bsky.social @bramvandijk.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan...
@femsjournals.bsky.social Microbiology Review by @marcelbaecker.bsky.social et al
from @bedutilh.bsky.social @bramvandijk.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan...
Spatial structure: Shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities
Abstract. Most microbes grow in spatially structured communities, and this profoundly shapes their ecology and evolution. At the microscale, short interact
academic.oup.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:39 PM
Spatial structure: Shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities
@femsjournals.bsky.social Microbiology Review by @marcelbaecker.bsky.social et al
from @bedutilh.bsky.social @bramvandijk.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan...
@femsjournals.bsky.social Microbiology Review by @marcelbaecker.bsky.social et al
from @bedutilh.bsky.social @bramvandijk.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan...
Reposted by Team Thomma
New OA Resource: "Motif-based substrate mapping of the receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase BIK1 reveals novel components and regulatory nodes of plant immunity" rdcu.be/e29Ro
...define and use the phosphorylation motif of BIK1 to find novel substrate candidates.
...define and use the phosphorylation motif of BIK1 to find novel substrate candidates.
February 9, 2026 at 8:23 PM
New OA Resource: "Motif-based substrate mapping of the receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase BIK1 reveals novel components and regulatory nodes of plant immunity" rdcu.be/e29Ro
...define and use the phosphorylation motif of BIK1 to find novel substrate candidates.
...define and use the phosphorylation motif of BIK1 to find novel substrate candidates.
Reposted by Team Thomma
Promote brilliant plant science #ECRs 🌱
@plantsciencedbg.bsky.social Awards 2026 are open. monetary prize, a certificate & a plenary talk at Botanik-Tagung.
Deadline: 26 Apr 2026.
Pro tip: 👉 Self-noms welcome for Horst Wiehe Award
Details: www.deutsche-botanische-gesellschaft.de/u/3awards
@plantsciencedbg.bsky.social Awards 2026 are open. monetary prize, a certificate & a plenary talk at Botanik-Tagung.
Deadline: 26 Apr 2026.
Pro tip: 👉 Self-noms welcome for Horst Wiehe Award
Details: www.deutsche-botanische-gesellschaft.de/u/3awards
Actualia (2026) - Notifications of the Society
Notifications from our Society (Deutsche Botanische Gesellschaft, DBG) for its members (2026)
www.deutsche-botanische-gesellschaft.de
February 9, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Promote brilliant plant science #ECRs 🌱
@plantsciencedbg.bsky.social Awards 2026 are open. monetary prize, a certificate & a plenary talk at Botanik-Tagung.
Deadline: 26 Apr 2026.
Pro tip: 👉 Self-noms welcome for Horst Wiehe Award
Details: www.deutsche-botanische-gesellschaft.de/u/3awards
@plantsciencedbg.bsky.social Awards 2026 are open. monetary prize, a certificate & a plenary talk at Botanik-Tagung.
Deadline: 26 Apr 2026.
Pro tip: 👉 Self-noms welcome for Horst Wiehe Award
Details: www.deutsche-botanische-gesellschaft.de/u/3awards
Reposted by Team Thomma
I am pleased to share that our paper is now published in Cell!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
I am deeply grateful to all co-authors for making this possible.
This work was made possible through the guidance of Dr. Peer Bork. I share this in grateful memory and with deep respect for his mentorship.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
I am deeply grateful to all co-authors for making this possible.
This work was made possible through the guidance of Dr. Peer Bork. I share this in grateful memory and with deep respect for his mentorship.
February 9, 2026 at 9:07 PM
I am pleased to share that our paper is now published in Cell!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
I am deeply grateful to all co-authors for making this possible.
This work was made possible through the guidance of Dr. Peer Bork. I share this in grateful memory and with deep respect for his mentorship.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
I am deeply grateful to all co-authors for making this possible.
This work was made possible through the guidance of Dr. Peer Bork. I share this in grateful memory and with deep respect for his mentorship.
Reposted by Team Thomma
Plants use cell-surface and intracellular receptors that collaborate to detect pathogens🦠. We discovered that a key #ubiquitin recognition event recruits both receptor types into an unexpected dual receptor complex that boost the translation of defence proteins and establishes robust #PlantImmunity👇🏾
February 9, 2026 at 9:57 AM
Plants use cell-surface and intracellular receptors that collaborate to detect pathogens🦠. We discovered that a key #ubiquitin recognition event recruits both receptor types into an unexpected dual receptor complex that boost the translation of defence proteins and establishes robust #PlantImmunity👇🏾
Reposted by Team Thomma
Structural basis of canonical TIR-NLR activation in plant innate immunity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.03.703613v1
February 6, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Structural basis of canonical TIR-NLR activation in plant innate immunity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.03.703613v1
Reposted by Team Thomma
Multi-omics analyses of mutants for Marchantia polymorpha FERONIA and MARIS reveal a link between cell wall integrity and abscisic acid responses url: academic.oup.com/pcp/article/...
Multi-omics analyses of mutants for Marchantia polymorpha FERONIA and MARIS reveal a link between cell wall integrity and abscisic acid responses
Abstract. At the core of cell wall integrity (CWI) mechanisms that enable plant cells to coordinate their growth with their cell wall status, lies the tran
academic.oup.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:20 PM
Multi-omics analyses of mutants for Marchantia polymorpha FERONIA and MARIS reveal a link between cell wall integrity and abscisic acid responses url: academic.oup.com/pcp/article/...
Reposted by Team Thomma
1/9 Our latest paper on immunity mechanisms in Marchantia just out @pnas.org ! 🔽
Close collaboration between our former PhD students @karimaelm.bsky.social and @chloe-beaulieu.bsky.social !
and the old gard @jacquet-chris.bsky.social @maximebonhomme.bsky.social
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Close collaboration between our former PhD students @karimaelm.bsky.social and @chloe-beaulieu.bsky.social !
and the old gard @jacquet-chris.bsky.social @maximebonhomme.bsky.social
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
February 5, 2026 at 10:58 AM
1/9 Our latest paper on immunity mechanisms in Marchantia just out @pnas.org ! 🔽
Close collaboration between our former PhD students @karimaelm.bsky.social and @chloe-beaulieu.bsky.social !
and the old gard @jacquet-chris.bsky.social @maximebonhomme.bsky.social
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Close collaboration between our former PhD students @karimaelm.bsky.social and @chloe-beaulieu.bsky.social !
and the old gard @jacquet-chris.bsky.social @maximebonhomme.bsky.social
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Team Thomma
🗣️ 𝐼𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝐃𝐫. 𝐂𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝐙𝐢𝐩𝐟𝐞𝐥
Cyril Zipfel, a leading voice in plant immunity, reflects on plant immune recognition, his scientific journey, and what’s next for the field 🌱🧬
interviewed by @luisdeluna.bsky.social
👉 doi.org/10.1111/tpj.70688
Cyril Zipfel, a leading voice in plant immunity, reflects on plant immune recognition, his scientific journey, and what’s next for the field 🌱🧬
interviewed by @luisdeluna.bsky.social
👉 doi.org/10.1111/tpj.70688
February 3, 2026 at 11:30 AM
🗣️ 𝐼𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝐃𝐫. 𝐂𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝐙𝐢𝐩𝐟𝐞𝐥
Cyril Zipfel, a leading voice in plant immunity, reflects on plant immune recognition, his scientific journey, and what’s next for the field 🌱🧬
interviewed by @luisdeluna.bsky.social
👉 doi.org/10.1111/tpj.70688
Cyril Zipfel, a leading voice in plant immunity, reflects on plant immune recognition, his scientific journey, and what’s next for the field 🌱🧬
interviewed by @luisdeluna.bsky.social
👉 doi.org/10.1111/tpj.70688
Reposted by Team Thomma
Happy to announce that our review article on vesicle-coupled mRNA trafficking is now availalbe
@mibinet.bsky.social
#EMBOrnaLocalization
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
@mibinet.bsky.social
#EMBOrnaLocalization
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
February 2, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Happy to announce that our review article on vesicle-coupled mRNA trafficking is now availalbe
@mibinet.bsky.social
#EMBOrnaLocalization
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
@mibinet.bsky.social
#EMBOrnaLocalization
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Team Thomma
Rereading these two papers:
Holes in the hologenome: why host-microbe symbioses are not holobionts.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
The Hologenome Concept: Helpful or Hollow?
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
And I still find myself in general agreement with most of the points in them
Holes in the hologenome: why host-microbe symbioses are not holobionts.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
The Hologenome Concept: Helpful or Hollow?
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
And I still find myself in general agreement with most of the points in them
Holes in the Hologenome: Why Host-Microbe Symbioses Are Not Holobionts | mBio
ABSTRACT The advent of relatively inexpensive tools for characterizing microbial communities
has led to an explosion of research exploring the diversity, ecology, and evolution
of microbe-host systems...
journals.asm.org
February 2, 2026 at 4:20 AM
Rereading these two papers:
Holes in the hologenome: why host-microbe symbioses are not holobionts.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
The Hologenome Concept: Helpful or Hollow?
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
And I still find myself in general agreement with most of the points in them
Holes in the hologenome: why host-microbe symbioses are not holobionts.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
The Hologenome Concept: Helpful or Hollow?
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
And I still find myself in general agreement with most of the points in them
Reposted by Team Thomma
Can plant pathogens boost vector fitness?
Together with @hassansalem.bsky.social, we review how phytopathogens can spread further by moonlighting as insect symbionts 🪲 More on this nifty lifestyle in @annualreviews.bsky.social!
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Together with @hassansalem.bsky.social, we review how phytopathogens can spread further by moonlighting as insect symbionts 🪲 More on this nifty lifestyle in @annualreviews.bsky.social!
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Plant Pathogens Moonlighting as Beneficial Insect Symbionts
Herbivorous insects can shape the epidemiology of disease in plants by vectoring numerous phytopathogens. While the consequences of infection are often well-characterized in the host plant, the extent...
www.annualreviews.org
February 2, 2026 at 7:48 AM
Can plant pathogens boost vector fitness?
Together with @hassansalem.bsky.social, we review how phytopathogens can spread further by moonlighting as insect symbionts 🪲 More on this nifty lifestyle in @annualreviews.bsky.social!
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Together with @hassansalem.bsky.social, we review how phytopathogens can spread further by moonlighting as insect symbionts 🪲 More on this nifty lifestyle in @annualreviews.bsky.social!
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Team Thomma
NEW H. H. Flor Distinguished Review: "The Extended Plant Immune System," by Corné M. J. Pieterse. Read the open access review in MPMI: https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-10-25-0144-HH
January 30, 2026 at 11:39 PM
NEW H. H. Flor Distinguished Review: "The Extended Plant Immune System," by Corné M. J. Pieterse. Read the open access review in MPMI: https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-10-25-0144-HH
Reposted by Team Thomma
A permanent position as a research scientist is opened in our team! We look for a plant physiologist with expertise in plant / microorganism interactions to identify plant susceptibility factors to fungal disease. Please forward!
It’s now official! INRAE is recruiting: @inrae-bioger.bsky.social is offering a permanent position as a research scientist to identify #plant #susceptibility factors to #fungal diseases. Visit jobs.inrae.fr/en/open-comp... before March 5, 2026 to apply!
January 31, 2026 at 6:35 PM
A permanent position as a research scientist is opened in our team! We look for a plant physiologist with expertise in plant / microorganism interactions to identify plant susceptibility factors to fungal disease. Please forward!
Reposted by Team Thomma
Interested in plant calcium signaling? This meeting is for you:
Connect, share your work and build collaborations at EMBO workshop Plant calcium signaling: 20 – 24 September 2026 | Primosten, Croatia
meetings.embo.org/event/26-cal...
#PhD#Postdoc#EMBO#CalciumSignalling
Connect, share your work and build collaborations at EMBO workshop Plant calcium signaling: 20 – 24 September 2026 | Primosten, Croatia
meetings.embo.org/event/26-cal...
#PhD#Postdoc#EMBO#CalciumSignalling
Plant calcium signaling
This EMBO Workshop will highlight newest developments on the role of Ca2+ signaling in responses to environmental factors such as light, abiotic stress or pathogens. Special focus will be places on t…
meetings.embo.org
January 31, 2026 at 10:09 AM
Interested in plant calcium signaling? This meeting is for you:
Connect, share your work and build collaborations at EMBO workshop Plant calcium signaling: 20 – 24 September 2026 | Primosten, Croatia
meetings.embo.org/event/26-cal...
#PhD#Postdoc#EMBO#CalciumSignalling
Connect, share your work and build collaborations at EMBO workshop Plant calcium signaling: 20 – 24 September 2026 | Primosten, Croatia
meetings.embo.org/event/26-cal...
#PhD#Postdoc#EMBO#CalciumSignalling
Reposted by Team Thomma
PhD done! 🎓
Grateful to my examiners for the great discussion and to my amazing colleagues and friends for the support! ✨
Grateful to my examiners for the great discussion and to my amazing colleagues and friends for the support! ✨
🎉 Yesterday we enjoyed the glorious defence of @gabriellapetti.bsky.social of her @unicologne.bsky.social PhD thesis on "Homologous antimicrobial proteins in plants and fungi: conserved mechanisms shaping the plant microbiota" #proudPI #PhDone ..mind the crown modeled after the Ave1 NMR structure!😍
January 28, 2026 at 10:40 PM
PhD done! 🎓
Grateful to my examiners for the great discussion and to my amazing colleagues and friends for the support! ✨
Grateful to my examiners for the great discussion and to my amazing colleagues and friends for the support! ✨
Reposted by Team Thomma
📣 Job opportunity: I’m still looking for an enthusiastic PhD student to join my lab @leibniz-hki.de who is interested in fungal natural product research and genetic engineering. We’ll work on an interdisciplinary project with the team of @luziagyr.bsky.social 👇🏻
www.leibniz-hki.de/en/job-offer...
www.leibniz-hki.de/en/job-offer...
Doctoral Researcher (m/f/div) in Microbial Genetic Engineering - Leibniz-HKI
www.leibniz-hki.de
January 21, 2026 at 1:20 PM
📣 Job opportunity: I’m still looking for an enthusiastic PhD student to join my lab @leibniz-hki.de who is interested in fungal natural product research and genetic engineering. We’ll work on an interdisciplinary project with the team of @luziagyr.bsky.social 👇🏻
www.leibniz-hki.de/en/job-offer...
www.leibniz-hki.de/en/job-offer...
Reposted by Team Thomma
Kudos Rita @ritamarquex and Team for this nice contribution to NLR biology of legume plants (Fabaceae) 🫛🫘🥜🌿
1/12 I'm ecstatic to share my preprint on legume NLR tissue expression! We investigated the NLRomes of 28 legumes + 4 outgroups, examining tissue expression across 7 legume species. Paper thread below 🧵👇
@thesainsburylab.bsky.social @itqbnova.bsky.social
🔗https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.25.701577
@thesainsburylab.bsky.social @itqbnova.bsky.social
🔗https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.25.701577
January 29, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Kudos Rita @ritamarquex and Team for this nice contribution to NLR biology of legume plants (Fabaceae) 🫛🫘🥜🌿
Reposted by Team Thomma
Predatory vibes from @pensoft.net — click a link to decline a review and you’re forced to create an account—purely to pump user metrics.
Declining a review should not require registration. Commercially driven #predatorypublishing plain and simple.
#sciencecrisis
Declining a review should not require registration. Commercially driven #predatorypublishing plain and simple.
#sciencecrisis
January 30, 2026 at 9:48 AM
Predatory vibes from @pensoft.net — click a link to decline a review and you’re forced to create an account—purely to pump user metrics.
Declining a review should not require registration. Commercially driven #predatorypublishing plain and simple.
#sciencecrisis
Declining a review should not require registration. Commercially driven #predatorypublishing plain and simple.
#sciencecrisis
Reposted by Team Thomma
Predation by soil protists shifts bacterial metabolism from competitive to cooperative interactions
-in @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social from Wu Xiong (Qirong Shen)
with Stefan Geisen, Alex Jousset
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
-in @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social from Wu Xiong (Qirong Shen)
with Stefan Geisen, Alex Jousset
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Predation by soil protists shifts bacterial metabolism from competitive to cooperative interactions
Many soil protists are bacterivores, yet how protist predation reshapes bacterial metabolic interactions and functions remains poorly understood. Here…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 30, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Predation by soil protists shifts bacterial metabolism from competitive to cooperative interactions
-in @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social from Wu Xiong (Qirong Shen)
with Stefan Geisen, Alex Jousset
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
-in @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social from Wu Xiong (Qirong Shen)
with Stefan Geisen, Alex Jousset
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Team Thomma
Have a look at our most recent preprint, where we looked at transcriptional regulation during tomato root colonization by Rhizophagus irregularis.
Decoding stage-specific symbiotic programs in the Rhizophagus irregularis-tomato interaction using single-nucleus transcriptomics https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.22.701092v1
January 27, 2026 at 12:08 PM
Have a look at our most recent preprint, where we looked at transcriptional regulation during tomato root colonization by Rhizophagus irregularis.
Reposted by Team Thomma
Great news — forward looking voices are finally prevailing in the discussion on genome editing in crop plants!
Plant Breeding Innovation Clears Next Hurdle for EU NGT Framework
https://www.europesays.com/2737143/
The European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment (ENVI) has approved, by a strong majority, the compromise text on…
https://www.europesays.com/2737143/
The European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment (ENVI) has approved, by a strong majority, the compromise text on…
Plant Breeding Innovation Clears Next Hurdle for EU NGT Framework - EUROPE SAYS
The European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment (ENVI) has approved, by a strong majority, the compromise text on the NGT Regulation agreed in trilogue
www.europesays.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Great news — forward looking voices are finally prevailing in the discussion on genome editing in crop plants!
Reposted by Team Thomma
What enables a fungus to invade a mammal host? @marco-guerreiro.bsky.social unravels signatures of translation adaptation among pathogenic and non-pathogenic species of Trichosporonales. See more: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Genomic and physiological signatures of adaptation in pathogenic fungi - Nature Communications
Emerging fungal pathogens have detrimental impacts on crops, animals, and humans, however little is known about their transition to a pathogenic lifestyle. This study demonstrates that the transition ...
www.nature.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:55 PM
What enables a fungus to invade a mammal host? @marco-guerreiro.bsky.social unravels signatures of translation adaptation among pathogenic and non-pathogenic species of Trichosporonales. See more: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Team Thomma
Congratulations again @gabriellapetti.bsky.social and @teamthomma.bsky.social! It was indeed a fantastic defence and you did an incredible job in utilizing and mastering NMR, Gabriella (among all the other things you achieved in your PhD)!
January 27, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Congratulations again @gabriellapetti.bsky.social and @teamthomma.bsky.social! It was indeed a fantastic defence and you did an incredible job in utilizing and mastering NMR, Gabriella (among all the other things you achieved in your PhD)!