Lukas Kunz
@lukas-kunz.bsky.social
Postdoc in the lab of Beat Keller at University of Zurich
Interested in molecular plant pathology, fungal & cereal genetics.
Passionate hunter of avirulence genes.
Advocate for #CleanAir
Interested in molecular plant pathology, fungal & cereal genetics.
Passionate hunter of avirulence genes.
Advocate for #CleanAir
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
Our latest pre-print on TE-mediated tandem duplication of the ToxB effector is now online...still a puzzle for us but we think it is in a Helitron! Together with amazing collaborators, Reem Aboukhaddour and Ryan Gourlie #TE #fungi
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
The virulence gene ToxB is both amplified and disrupted by transposons in the wheat pathogen Pyrenophora tritici-repentis
### Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, https://ror.org/051dzs374
Alberta Grain
Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commissio...
www.biorxiv.org
November 18, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Our latest pre-print on TE-mediated tandem duplication of the ToxB effector is now online...still a puzzle for us but we think it is in a Helitron! Together with amazing collaborators, Reem Aboukhaddour and Ryan Gourlie #TE #fungi
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
New light on old stones: a fossil #fungus in #symbiosis with one of the oldest known land plants
@chistinesd.bsky.social, et al.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@dromius.bsky.social @ffercoq.bsky.social #PlantScience
Summary also available in French and Spanish.
@chistinesd.bsky.social, et al.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@dromius.bsky.social @ffercoq.bsky.social #PlantScience
Summary also available in French and Spanish.
November 14, 2025 at 7:35 AM
New light on old stones: a fossil #fungus in #symbiosis with one of the oldest known land plants
@chistinesd.bsky.social, et al.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@dromius.bsky.social @ffercoq.bsky.social #PlantScience
Summary also available in French and Spanish.
@chistinesd.bsky.social, et al.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@dromius.bsky.social @ffercoq.bsky.social #PlantScience
Summary also available in French and Spanish.
A wheat NLR conferring broad-spectrum resistance against powdery mildew by recognizing two structurally diverse AVR effectors. Interested? Check out our newest preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Dual recognition of structurally unrelated mildew effectors underlies the broad-spectrum resistance of Pm3e in wheat
Broad-spectrum resistance genes are highly valuable for sustainable crop protection, yet the molecular basis of their activity is often unknown. The Pm3 allelic series in wheat encodes NLR receptors t...
www.biorxiv.org
November 2, 2025 at 1:29 PM
A wheat NLR conferring broad-spectrum resistance against powdery mildew by recognizing two structurally diverse AVR effectors. Interested? Check out our newest preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
Super excited to see our work on the NLRseek program finally published 🥳 Here we identify new NLRs against major wheat pathogens and present a pipeline for NLR identification. Huge thank you to all of the co-authors for bringing this work together! @matthewmoscou.bsky.social rdcu.be/eIGvv
Discovery of functional NLRs using expression level, high-throughput transformation and large-scale phenotyping
Nature Plants - Rapid discovery of functional resistance genes is enabled by a high-expression signature and high-throughput transformation. This approach identified 31 new resistance genes for...
rdcu.be
September 29, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Super excited to see our work on the NLRseek program finally published 🥳 Here we identify new NLRs against major wheat pathogens and present a pipeline for NLR identification. Huge thank you to all of the co-authors for bringing this work together! @matthewmoscou.bsky.social rdcu.be/eIGvv
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
New: ‘Kronos’ #wheat genome preprint
• PacBio+Hi-C; 99.9% BUSCO
• 2.3k curated NLR loci (1,089 high conf)
• 3k EMS datasets re-mapped; 📈 new mutations
• Curated smallRNA atlas
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
zenodo.org/records/1021...
#genomics #openscience
team effort led by Dr Kyungyong Seong 💫
• PacBio+Hi-C; 99.9% BUSCO
• 2.3k curated NLR loci (1,089 high conf)
• 3k EMS datasets re-mapped; 📈 new mutations
• Curated smallRNA atlas
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
zenodo.org/records/1021...
#genomics #openscience
team effort led by Dr Kyungyong Seong 💫
The Annotated Blueprint: Integrated Functional Genomic Resources for a Model Tetraploid Wheat Triticum turgidum cv. Kronos
Triticum turgidum cv. Kronos is a tetraploid wheat cultivar that underpins one of the richest community platforms for functional genomics. Over the past decade, about 3,000 exome- and promoter-capture...
www.biorxiv.org
September 17, 2025 at 5:59 PM
New: ‘Kronos’ #wheat genome preprint
• PacBio+Hi-C; 99.9% BUSCO
• 2.3k curated NLR loci (1,089 high conf)
• 3k EMS datasets re-mapped; 📈 new mutations
• Curated smallRNA atlas
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
zenodo.org/records/1021...
#genomics #openscience
team effort led by Dr Kyungyong Seong 💫
• PacBio+Hi-C; 99.9% BUSCO
• 2.3k curated NLR loci (1,089 high conf)
• 3k EMS datasets re-mapped; 📈 new mutations
• Curated smallRNA atlas
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
zenodo.org/records/1021...
#genomics #openscience
team effort led by Dr Kyungyong Seong 💫
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
Check out our new pre-print! ✨
We cloned AvrWTK4, the first wheat powdery mildew effector recognised by a tandem kinase protein, and show that an HMA-like integrated domain in WTK4 acts as pathogen decoy. Discover the whole story on bioRxiv ⬇️
We cloned AvrWTK4, the first wheat powdery mildew effector recognised by a tandem kinase protein, and show that an HMA-like integrated domain in WTK4 acts as pathogen decoy. Discover the whole story on bioRxiv ⬇️
An HMA-like integrated domain in the wheat tandem kinase WTK4 recognises an RNase-like pathogen effector https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.26.672365v1
September 1, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Check out our new pre-print! ✨
We cloned AvrWTK4, the first wheat powdery mildew effector recognised by a tandem kinase protein, and show that an HMA-like integrated domain in WTK4 acts as pathogen decoy. Discover the whole story on bioRxiv ⬇️
We cloned AvrWTK4, the first wheat powdery mildew effector recognised by a tandem kinase protein, and show that an HMA-like integrated domain in WTK4 acts as pathogen decoy. Discover the whole story on bioRxiv ⬇️
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
First a pentamer, then a hexamer… now an octamer!
The riddle of the enigmatic CCG10-NLR immune receptor family cracked open 🔥
Congrats Guanghao @GuanghaoGuo He Zhang @mhz1989 Selva @M__Selvaraj et al.
#NLRbiology #plantsci #immunology
The riddle of the enigmatic CCG10-NLR immune receptor family cracked open 🔥
Congrats Guanghao @GuanghaoGuo He Zhang @mhz1989 Selva @M__Selvaraj et al.
#NLRbiology #plantsci #immunology
August 28, 2025 at 12:05 PM
First a pentamer, then a hexamer… now an octamer!
The riddle of the enigmatic CCG10-NLR immune receptor family cracked open 🔥
Congrats Guanghao @GuanghaoGuo He Zhang @mhz1989 Selva @M__Selvaraj et al.
#NLRbiology #plantsci #immunology
The riddle of the enigmatic CCG10-NLR immune receptor family cracked open 🔥
Congrats Guanghao @GuanghaoGuo He Zhang @mhz1989 Selva @M__Selvaraj et al.
#NLRbiology #plantsci #immunology
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
Check out our work on virulence on Pm4 controlled not by one, but two effectors! Avirulence vs. Suppression, a beautiful case of the arms race between wheat and mildew. Work led by @zoebernasconi.bsky.social , Aline Herger, Pilar Caro, and @lukas-kunz.bsky.social 😍🌱🦠!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Virulence on Pm4 kinase-based resistance is determined by two divergent wheat powdery mildew effectors
The wheat resistance gene Pm4 encodes a kinase fusion protein and has gained particular attention as it confers race-specific resistance against two major wheat pathogens: powdery mildew and blast. He...
www.biorxiv.org
July 9, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Check out our work on virulence on Pm4 controlled not by one, but two effectors! Avirulence vs. Suppression, a beautiful case of the arms race between wheat and mildew. Work led by @zoebernasconi.bsky.social , Aline Herger, Pilar Caro, and @lukas-kunz.bsky.social 😍🌱🦠!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
Molecular investigation of Rlm3 from rapeseed as a broad-spectrum resistance gene against fungal pathogens producing structurally conserved effectors https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.03.635517v1
February 8, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Molecular investigation of Rlm3 from rapeseed as a broad-spectrum resistance gene against fungal pathogens producing structurally conserved effectors https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.03.635517v1
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
Fungal 'sex' is so cool and def gender bending ;). Go check out our @plos.org pathogen perl "Sexual recombination in cereal rust fungi: Knowns and unknowns of pathogen evolution and adaptation" journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
Sexual recombination in cereal rust fungi: Knowns and unknowns of pathogen evolution and adaptation
journals.plos.org
February 5, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Fungal 'sex' is so cool and def gender bending ;). Go check out our @plos.org pathogen perl "Sexual recombination in cereal rust fungi: Knowns and unknowns of pathogen evolution and adaptation" journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
Latest from the lab 📰 🍄 🦠 - Molecular Insights into Fungal Innate Immunity using genetically tractable model systems, Neurospora crassa and Pseudomonas syringae. When fungi and bacteria meet, they really grow on each other! Led by a PhD student Grace Stark
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Molecular Insights into Fungal Innate Immunity Using the Neurospora crassa - Pseudomonas syringae Model
Recent comparative genomics and mechanistic analyses support the existence of a fungal immune system. Fungi encode genes with features similar to non-self recognition systems in plants, animals, and b...
www.biorxiv.org
January 26, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Latest from the lab 📰 🍄 🦠 - Molecular Insights into Fungal Innate Immunity using genetically tractable model systems, Neurospora crassa and Pseudomonas syringae. When fungi and bacteria meet, they really grow on each other! Led by a PhD student Grace Stark
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
@tbadet.bsky.social and I have a preprint out on transposon silencing in fungi!
Genome size evolution is fascinating and showcases the dynamic nature of transposon activation.
What we understand less are the dynamics of transposon defense systems encoded by the genomes.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Genome size evolution is fascinating and showcases the dynamic nature of transposon activation.
What we understand less are the dynamics of transposon defense systems encoded by the genomes.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
January 16, 2025 at 9:09 PM
@tbadet.bsky.social and I have a preprint out on transposon silencing in fungi!
Genome size evolution is fascinating and showcases the dynamic nature of transposon activation.
What we understand less are the dynamics of transposon defense systems encoded by the genomes.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Genome size evolution is fascinating and showcases the dynamic nature of transposon activation.
What we understand less are the dynamics of transposon defense systems encoded by the genomes.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
This is a truly awesome story by @priyaramakrishna.bsky.social & @nikogeldner.bsky.social et al. #CryoSEM imaging of elements!!! They just opened the floodgates for many many cool discoveries!!! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Elemental cryo-imaging reveals SOS1-dependent vacuolar sodium accumulation - Nature
This study demonstrates that cryo nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (CryoNanoSIMS) enables direct multi-elemental imaging at subcellular resolution of macro- and micronutrients or trace elemen...
www.nature.com
January 15, 2025 at 8:47 PM
This is a truly awesome story by @priyaramakrishna.bsky.social & @nikogeldner.bsky.social et al. #CryoSEM imaging of elements!!! They just opened the floodgates for many many cool discoveries!!! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
Obligate biotrophic fungi cause some of the most devastating diseases on cereals.
They are also highly difficult to study….
It is truely remarkable how well described the barley and what powdery mildews are.
Here you find an overview on the current knowledge and summary of great resources. Enjoy!
They are also highly difficult to study….
It is truely remarkable how well described the barley and what powdery mildews are.
Here you find an overview on the current knowledge and summary of great resources. Enjoy!
Get a First Look!
👇
🌱🌾Technical Advances Drive the Molecular Understanding of Effectors from Wheat and Barley Powdery Mildew Fungi doi.org/10.1094/MPMI...
@izzysaurlab.bsky.social
👇
🌱🌾Technical Advances Drive the Molecular Understanding of Effectors from Wheat and Barley Powdery Mildew Fungi doi.org/10.1094/MPMI...
@izzysaurlab.bsky.social
Technical Advances Drive the Molecular Understanding of Effectors from Wheat and Barley Powdery Mildew Fungi | Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions®
Pathogens manipulate host physiology through the secretion of virulence factors (effectors) to invade and proliferate on the host. The molecular functions of effectors inside plant hosts have been of ...
doi.org
January 14, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Obligate biotrophic fungi cause some of the most devastating diseases on cereals.
They are also highly difficult to study….
It is truely remarkable how well described the barley and what powdery mildews are.
Here you find an overview on the current knowledge and summary of great resources. Enjoy!
They are also highly difficult to study….
It is truely remarkable how well described the barley and what powdery mildews are.
Here you find an overview on the current knowledge and summary of great resources. Enjoy!
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
"A study of federally funded research projects in the United States estimated that principal investigators spend on average about 45% of their time on administrative activities related to applying for and managing projects rather than conducting active research"
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
January 4, 2025 at 1:26 PM
"A study of federally funded research projects in the United States estimated that principal investigators spend on average about 45% of their time on administrative activities related to applying for and managing projects rather than conducting active research"
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
#PlantScienceClassics #17: The Mildew Resistance Locus O (MLO). 80 years ago Rudolf Freisleben & Alfred Lein created the first powdery mildew resistant #barley plant. 30yrs ago the gene was mapped,&25 yrs ago cloned - yet, it's mode of action remains a mystery. doi.org/10.1007/BF01... #PlantImmunity
December 15, 2024 at 3:31 PM
#PlantScienceClassics #17: The Mildew Resistance Locus O (MLO). 80 years ago Rudolf Freisleben & Alfred Lein created the first powdery mildew resistant #barley plant. 30yrs ago the gene was mapped,&25 yrs ago cloned - yet, it's mode of action remains a mystery. doi.org/10.1007/BF01... #PlantImmunity
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
Cool read in @plosbiology.bsky.social showing that horizontal transfers between fungal Fusarium species contributed to successive outbreaks of coffee wilt disease, and suggesting a key role for Starship transposons journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Horizontal transfers between fungal Fusarium species contributed to successive outbreaks of coffee wilt disease
Outbreaks of coffee wilt disease, caused by the fungus Fusarium xylarioides, have severely impacted coffee production. By sequencing and comparing 13 historical strains spanning 60 years and multiple ...
journals.plos.org
December 10, 2024 at 12:55 PM
Cool read in @plosbiology.bsky.social showing that horizontal transfers between fungal Fusarium species contributed to successive outbreaks of coffee wilt disease, and suggesting a key role for Starship transposons journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
Pan-genome bridges wheat structural variations with habitat and breeding
« We investigated the copy number changes of NLR genes across genomes from different periods (1950–1960s, 1980-1990s and post-2000s) » www.nature.com/articles/s41...
« We investigated the copy number changes of NLR genes across genomes from different periods (1950–1960s, 1980-1990s and post-2000s) » www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Pan-genome bridges wheat structural variations with habitat and breeding - Nature
The pan-genome of 17 wheat cultivars grown in China is explored, providing insights into the breeding history of wheat in East Asia.
www.nature.com
December 5, 2024 at 6:58 PM
Pan-genome bridges wheat structural variations with habitat and breeding
« We investigated the copy number changes of NLR genes across genomes from different periods (1950–1960s, 1980-1990s and post-2000s) » www.nature.com/articles/s41...
« We investigated the copy number changes of NLR genes across genomes from different periods (1950–1960s, 1980-1990s and post-2000s) » www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
New carefully conducted study from
@michela-audisio.bsky.social finds little evidence for previous, spectacular claims of massive carbon transfer between roots of trees (but support for plant-fungus carbon transfer).
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@michela-audisio.bsky.social finds little evidence for previous, spectacular claims of massive carbon transfer between roots of trees (but support for plant-fungus carbon transfer).
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
December 6, 2024 at 8:13 AM
New carefully conducted study from
@michela-audisio.bsky.social finds little evidence for previous, spectacular claims of massive carbon transfer between roots of trees (but support for plant-fungus carbon transfer).
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@michela-audisio.bsky.social finds little evidence for previous, spectacular claims of massive carbon transfer between roots of trees (but support for plant-fungus carbon transfer).
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
Rhizobium rhizogenes A4-derived strains mediate hyper-efficient transient gene expression in Nicotiana benthamiana and other solanaceous plants www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Rhizobium rhizogenes A4-derived strains mediate hyper-efficient transient gene expression in Nicotiana benthamiana and other solanaceous plants
Agroinfiltration, a method utilizing agrobacteria to transfer DNA into plant cells, is widely used for transient gene expression in plants. Besides the commonly used Agrobacterium strains, Rhizobium r...
www.biorxiv.org
December 4, 2024 at 7:49 AM
Rhizobium rhizogenes A4-derived strains mediate hyper-efficient transient gene expression in Nicotiana benthamiana and other solanaceous plants www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
Conserved effector families render Phytophthora species vulnerable to recognition by NLR receptors in nonhost plants
Soohyun Oh et al. 2024 rdcu.be/d1f33
Soohyun Oh et al. 2024 rdcu.be/d1f33
Conserved effector families render Phytophthora species vulnerable to recognition by NLR receptors in nonhost plants
Nature Communications - Genus Phytophthora threat various plant species including fruit, vegetable, and flower crops. The authors report that some NLRs recognize conserved effector families of...
rdcu.be
November 23, 2024 at 7:48 PM
Conserved effector families render Phytophthora species vulnerable to recognition by NLR receptors in nonhost plants
Soohyun Oh et al. 2024 rdcu.be/d1f33
Soohyun Oh et al. 2024 rdcu.be/d1f33
Struggling to interpret or depict extensive copy-number variations of pathogen effectors? This paper by the group of @mfseidl.bsky.social might hold some inspiration:
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Pangenome graph analysis reveals extensive effector copy-number variation in spinach downy mildew
Author summary Plant pathogens are known to evolve rapidly and overcome disease resistance of newly introduced crop varieties. This swift adaptation is visible in the genomes of these pathogens, which...
doi.org
November 19, 2024 at 6:45 AM
Struggling to interpret or depict extensive copy-number variations of pathogen effectors? This paper by the group of @mfseidl.bsky.social might hold some inspiration:
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Reposted by Lukas Kunz
Happy to see our paper out @ Nat Comm
We discovered a bacterial NLR-like pattern recognition receptor that can sense 3 different viral proteins as a signature for infection. This explains its broad defense against different phage families
Congrats Nathalie Béchon!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We discovered a bacterial NLR-like pattern recognition receptor that can sense 3 different viral proteins as a signature for infection. This explains its broad defense against different phage families
Congrats Nathalie Béchon!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Diversification of molecular pattern recognition in bacterial NLR-like proteins - Nature Communications
Avs proteins are bacterial anti-phage pattern recognition receptors evolutionarily related to eukaryotic NLRs. Here, Béchon et al show that a single bacterial Avs can recognize different phage protein...
www.nature.com
November 14, 2024 at 4:45 PM
Happy to see our paper out @ Nat Comm
We discovered a bacterial NLR-like pattern recognition receptor that can sense 3 different viral proteins as a signature for infection. This explains its broad defense against different phage families
Congrats Nathalie Béchon!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We discovered a bacterial NLR-like pattern recognition receptor that can sense 3 different viral proteins as a signature for infection. This explains its broad defense against different phage families
Congrats Nathalie Béchon!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...