Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU)
LightNews LightNews
banner
slcuplants.bsky.social
Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU)
@slcuplants.bsky.social
1.7K followers 450 following 76 posts
Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) is a research institute of the University of Cambridge dedicated to plant developmental biology.
Posts Replies Media Videos
slcuplants.bsky.social
Congratulations Elise Laruelle & @robinsonsci.bsky.social on your @acceleratescience.bsky.social - @c2d3.cam.ac.uk funded project "Plant automatic cell lineage reconstruction"
More info www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/news/plant-a...
Illustration by Elise Laruelle & leaf images by @sainikumud.bsky.social
Graphic depicting the Plant Automatic Cell Lineage Reconstruction project which aims to train a neural network to recognise “sister cells” in mature plant leaves and reconstruct their complete cell division history from a single image.. Illustration by Elise Laruelle and leaf images by Kumud Saini.
November 28, 2025 at 1:44 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
Read about the microscopy techniques employed to detect and distinguish traces of organisms long after their DNA has vanished.
www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/news/scienti...
The original thin polished sample of Windyfield chert (left) was placed on a slide and imaged under a Keyence microscope. Zooming in on the sample revealed exquisitely preserved fungal structures, including details of hyphae and arbuscules. Images by Gareth Evans taken using a Keyence brightfield microscope.
November 12, 2025 at 12:31 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
Confocal scanning laser microscopy, fluorescence lifetime imaging & Raman analyses allowed @nhm-london.bsky.social, @slcuplants.bsky.social & @cambridge-ee.bsky.social researchers to resolve plant & fungal structures fossil
Read in @newphyt.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....

@dromius.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 12:31 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
And the grand winner of the 2025 SLCU Pumpkin Carving Competition was Neha Bhatia's Research Group with their Haunted House and Ginghosts. Congratulations Team Bhatia!
Black gothic style house with turrets and glowing orange windows painted on an orange pumpkin. Yellow ginkgo leaves on foreground with ghost shape cutouts. Ghost cutouts pinned to the pumpkin floating across the haunted house painting
November 3, 2025 at 11:52 AM
slcuplants.bsky.social
🎃✨ Pumpkin perfection!

We were seriously impressed by the beautifully carved and brilliantly lit pumpkins from @thesainsburylab.bsky.social🕯️

We also got spiritedly competitive with our annual team pumpkin carving competition 😄🎃

Who knew plant scientists were such talented artists? 🪚🎃🌿
Collage of 13 pumpkins that have been carved in various designs and painted for the annual SLCU Pumpkin Carving Competition
November 3, 2025 at 11:35 AM
slcuplants.bsky.social
Ever seen a pumpkin under a microscope? 🎃🔬

This Halloween, Raymond Wightman & Daniel Sparrow used @slcuplants.bsky.social’s powerful imaging tools to reveal:
🔬 Skin detail with the #Keyence microscope
💡 Beta-carotene via #Raman spectroscopy
❄️ Flash-frozen oval cells via cryo-SEM

#HappyHalloween
Composite image showing a pumpkin used for microscopy. A photo of the whole pumpkin with a small 2mm square cut out indicates the area imaged. The main background shows the orange flesh captured with a Keyence digital microscope, with the darker ridge on the left marking the skin. An inset black graph displays the Raman spectrum with strong beta-carotene peaks, explaining the pumpkin’s orange colour. Another inset image from cryo-SEM reveals tightly packed oval cells that make up the pumpkin’s fleshy interior. Images by Raymond Wightman and Daniel Sparrow. Pumpkin on the Raman microscope Flash frozen pumpkin in the vacuum chamber of the cryo-SEM before undergoing cryofracture and then coating in gold/palladium. It was then passed in to the cryo-SEM itself for imaging.
October 31, 2025 at 3:24 AM
slcuplants.bsky.social
SalicS1 visualised surges of SA accumulation spreading from the site of pathogen invasion. First author @bijuntang.bsky.social said: “With SalicS1 we can watch SA as it rises and falls in real time, inside living tissues, and even track how it spreads from cell-to-cell during infection.”
Arabidopsis thaliana leaf under mock (left) versus infection (right) 20 hours after infection: The right leaf shows salcylic acid (SA) accumulation spreading from the site of pathogen invasion. Images by Bijun Tang.
October 9, 2025 at 10:32 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
Salicylic acid biosensor, SalicS1, tracks the plant immune hormone salicylic acid in real time - revealing propagation of hormone surge during plant pathogen advance

Latest biosensor from @xanderjones.bsky.social team
In Science doi.org/10.1126/scie...
Summary www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/news/new-bio...
October 9, 2025 at 10:32 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
“This work brings together experiments and modelling to show how local and systemic signals can interact to control bud growth. What’s striking is that such a simple model can capture the range of branching behaviours we see experimentally.” -James Locke
Fig 3. Branching behaviors of 2-node explants can be captured by a model with self-activating and mutually-inhibiting buds. (A) and (B) Model conceptualization and mathematical formulation. The interaction between two buds in a 2-node explant can be considered as a set of self-activating and mutually-inhibiting feedbacks on auxin efflux. Each bud promotes its own auxin efflux and inhibits efflux from the other bud. The auxin efflux E and F from the top and bottom bud, respectively, is influenced by three components (i) a basal rate of auxin efflux v0, (ii) a Hill function which creates a positive feedback on auxin efflux, where v sets the maximum rate of auxin efflux, S the strength of auxin efflux, K the Hill saturation coefficient, n the degree of non-linearity of the Hill function, D the strength of the mutual inhibition between the auxin efflux of the two buds, and (iii) a linear decrease in auxin efflux, the strength of which is set by µ. E and F influence bud lengths N and M, respectively. The relationship between auxin efflux and growth rate is a Hill function, where m influences the degree of nonlinearity, and Q is the saturation coefficient. (C) Steady state growth rate as a function of the steady state of auxin efflux, for different values of Q and m. Three grey vertical lines mark three steady states of auxin efflux at 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75. (D) and (E) Three stochastic simulations illustrating the model behaviors. Each set of simulations is represented with a different color. (F) Deterministic simulation showing the change in auxin efflux E over time for 5 different values of v0: 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, and 0.09. Scripts of simulations underlying this figure can be found at https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.120831.
September 19, 2025 at 1:50 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
Scientists from @slcuplants.bsky.social combined experiments & modelling to demonstrate how local signals in plant buds link up with whole-plant hormone flows to control branching.
Research summary
www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/news/bud-to-...
(A) A stem segment with two axillary buds illustrates two regulatory hubs controlling shoot branching (i) local expression of the transcription factor BRC1, a repressor of bud activation, and (ii) systemic regulation of the auxin transport network. A canalization-based model of shoot branching postulates that bud activation requires the establishment of canalized auxin transport from the bud into the main stem, the dynamics of which is influenced by autocatalytic feedback in auxin flow between the bud and the stem, and the relative auxin source and sink strengths of the bud and stem, respectively. The relationship between BRC1- and auxin-transport-mediated regulation is not known. (B) Arabidopsis bud activation occurs in at least two phases: a slow-growing lag phase, then a switch to rapid outgrowth. Typical timescale 10–12 days. Modified from Nahas and colleagues [46]. (C) Diagram illustrating the four possible growth outcomes for bud activation on 2-node explants, and their representation in a Mitchison plot. Mitchison plots present the length of the top bud versus that of the bottom bud over time in each explant. Explants where at least one bud grows are termed active, otherwise, they are inactive. Within active explants, there are three possible outcomes: both buds grow, or only either the top or the bottom bud activates. All graphics were drawn by hand using Adobe Illustrator by Zoe Nahas.
September 19, 2025 at 1:50 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
🌱From Bud to Branch🌱
New model reveals how local & systemic signals combine to regulate shoot branching.
"...by modulating #auxin transport, local #BRC1 expression in each bud could contribute to the systemic control of branching." @zoenahas.bsky.social
🔗 dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
@plosbiology.org
Axillary buds are located at the base of each leaf. Initially dormant, each can grow into a branch. To study how branching is regulated by local signalling within each bud and by systemic signalling from other buds, we used stem sections with two axillary buds and their associated leaves (left). This signalling network influences, for example, whether one bud grows and rapidly inhibits the other (middle), or whether both buds grow simultaneously (right).
September 19, 2025 at 1:50 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
🌿💻 Plant Models and Morphology 💻🌿

The 9th International Plant Computational Biology Workshop @slcuplants.bsky.social brought together mathematicians, computer scientists, physicists and biologists exploring plant development through models and simulations.

Huge thanks to organisers and speakers!👏
Group photo of workshop attendees standing in ginkgo tree courtyard with the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University building in background.
September 17, 2025 at 12:03 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
Advancing Neuroinclusion – Best Practices Round Table
📅 24 September 2024 | 2pm BST
📍 Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University & 💻 Zoom

Join us for a round table exploring how we can better support neurodiverse staff & students in research and academic settings
🔗 www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/advancing-ne...
Promotional informational image with text, symbol for neurodiversity ( rainbow infinity symbol) and photos of panellists. The text says: Advancing Neuroinclusion Best Practices Round Table 24 September 2024 | 2pm Venue: Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 47 Bateman St, Cambridge CB1 7AF (How to find us) Attend Online: Join the live Zoom Webinar More information: events@slcu.cam.ac.uk Please join us in this round table to discuss how we can support neurodiverse colleagues and create an environment where everyone can thrive. Panellists are: Dr Kelsey J.R.P Byers (John Innes Centre), Dr Amanda Brunton (CCTL, University of Cambridge), Dr Julie Bailey (University of Cambridge) and Dr Kate Hughes (Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge). Hosted by the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU)
September 15, 2025 at 1:58 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
Researchers from ‪@w-u-r.bsky.social‬ & ‪@slcuplants.bsky.social‬ discovered that ENOD40 sequesters a miRNA that usually downregulates a positive regulator of nodulation. Dr Nadia Mohd-Radzman explains the findings at www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/news/scienti...
Full paper in @pnas.org doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Microscopy images of nodues showing that enod40-1-2/1 nodules have wild type-like morphology and MtENOD40 and MtNF-YA1 have similar spatial expression patterns during nodule primordium formation. Figure first published in Wijsmana et al PNAS 2025.
August 22, 2025 at 5:03 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
🌱 Flipping the script on plant engineering!
New ‪‪@aria-research.bsky.social‬ grant for James Locke & Chris Micklem to pioneer stochastic synthetic biology using gene expression noise as a tool to design more resilient, climate-adaptive plants.
🔗 www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/news/aria-gr...
#synbio #plantsci
Graphic with seedlings undergoing a heat stress and illustrating how plants with thermotolerence have a higher survival rate. Gene circuits will be tested for their ability to enhance traits like thermotolerance and drought resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana plants. Graphic by Chris Micklem.
August 1, 2025 at 1:32 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
📢 Final hours to register for the Plant Computational Biology Workshop 2025! 📢
Don’t miss your chance to take part in talks and hands-on sessions with other plant modelling enthusiasts🪴
Deadline tomorrow (31 July) - www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/computationa...
#ComputationalBiology #PlantSci
July 30, 2025 at 11:17 AM
slcuplants.bsky.social
🚨Don’t miss out! Last weeks left to register for the Plant Computational Biology Workshop 2025, sponsored by @cambup-lifesci.cambridge.org 🌱
📆Deadline 31 July - www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/computationa...
#ComputationalBiology #PlantSci
July 23, 2025 at 8:14 AM
slcuplants.bsky.social
Botanicon 2025 - the 3rd annual Plants @ Cambridge conference bringing together plant scientists from across Cambridge to share their work and ideas.

@camplantsci.bsky.social @cropscicentre.bsky.social @niab-uk.bsky.social @cubotanicgarden.bsky.social #PlantsAtCambridge
July 4, 2025 at 1:54 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
Under the rainbow: Novel insights on the mechanisms driving the development & evolution of petal pigmentation gives insights into speciation & the emergence of Darwin's ‘endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful’
By Edwige Moyroud & May Yeo in Curr. Opin. Plant Biol.
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.pb...
Developmental boundaries divide the petal into domains that guide colour pattern production and evolution. Boundaries (dotted white lines) can be established early during petal development, before any visible pattern emerges. Those boundaries divide the petal surface into territories, like a ‘paint-by-number’ canvas, in which the activity of distinct genes can induce or repress pigment synthesis. (a) The petal primordia of H. trionum is divided into proximal and distal regions during this pre-patterning phase. The expression of BERRY1 and CREAM1 in the proximal and distal domains, respectively, led to the accumulation of concentrated purple anthocyanins at the petal base and cream flavonols in the top region [49]. (b) A similar boundary divides the petal surface of Clarkia gracilis: the petal appears uniformly pink when MYB11 and MYB12 are each expressed in the distal and proximal domains but loss of MYB12 expression at the petal base yields the white cup variant [24,72]. C. gracilis populations can also display a central magenta spot but whether this spot indicate the existence of another developmental domain (blue dotted line) remains to be tested. (c) The boundary dividing the Mimulus petal is visible in the rto mutant which displays uniform red colouration restricted to the petal base [26]. Published in current Opinion in Plant Biology
June 16, 2025 at 11:04 AM
slcuplants.bsky.social
🚨 Calling all plant modelling enthusiasts!
Plant Computational Biology Workshop
Open to researchers at all levels
Workshop is free. Participants cover own travel, food & accommodation
📅 8-12 Sept | 💻 Talks, tools & hand-on sessions
🔗 www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/computationa...
#ComputationalBiology #PlantSci
Promotional poster with images of an Arabidopsis flower development over time from a cluster of identical cells to the final flower and two models of Arabirbiopsis flower meristems highligting active genes. Text reads: 9th Plant Computational Biology Workshop, 8-12 September 2025, Sainsbury Laboratory, University fo Cambridge.
June 13, 2025 at 9:43 AM
slcuplants.bsky.social
Cool SEM images being captured at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this week. We are looking for more samples - so if you know a nursery or specialist grower exhibiting at #RHSChelsea, please share this post with them.
May 22, 2025 at 4:14 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
@binebrumm.bsky.social, together with @dromius.bsky.social team colleagues, unveiled how key proteins act as 'sculptors' in plant cells, taking on different roles to shape development

Read more www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/news/plant-c...
And full paper doi.org/10.1126/scia...
Trichomes on an Arabidopsis thaliana leaf (here shown using electron microscopy) are formed by a single cell adopting this spiked shape (top images). Arabidopsis plants without a SCAR/WAVE gene cannot form properly shaped trichomes, because their inner cytoskeleton control is impaired (bottom images). Images by Sabine Brumm.
May 22, 2025 at 2:59 AM
slcuplants.bsky.social
Our scientists were busy bees chatting to RHS Chelsea Flower Show visitors this morning about our two favourite subjects - PLANTS & SCIENCE! 🌱🔬

Visit us at the GreenSTEM zone at Site 5 in the Great Pavilion (next door to RHS Experience)

#RHSChelsea #RHSChelsea2025 #GreenSTEM
May 21, 2025 at 5:28 PM
slcuplants.bsky.social
We are thrilled to have been awarded a silver-gilt medal at our first Chelsea Flower Show! 🪻

An enormous thank you to everyone who contributed to this success - @eng.cam.ac.uk, Darwin Nurseries and Oakington Garden Centre!

#RHSChelsea @cambridgeuni.bsky.social
May 20, 2025 at 7:52 AM
slcuplants.bsky.social
🔍 Spot the special University of Cambridge references in our RHS Chelsea Flower Show exhibit! 🔍

We’ve included some references to His Majesty’s alma mater, Trinity College, and we’re hoping King Charles himself might stop by to take a look!
May 19, 2025 at 2:26 PM