Alex Costa

Too much water can be a challenge for plants, too! 🌱💧 Our new Spotlight in Molecular Plant explores how COSR channels link hypoosmotic stress to Ca²⁺ signaling. Happy to share this piece with Matteo Grenzi and Yang Zhao! doi.org/10.1016/j.mo...

It's finally out! Another piece of the puzzle of wound-induced long-distance signaling in Arabidopsis 🧩 Thanks to @jyothivadassery.bsky.social for this great collaboration! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

I am truly honored to be featured in a New Phytologist Profile. My sincere thanks to @newphyt.bsky.social for this opportunity and for highlighting my scientific journey! 🌱 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#Stomata: an introduction to a virtual issue Check out this #Editorial from Alistair Hetherington introducing the Virtual Issue 'Stomata' 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #LatestIssue #PlantScience

OsOSCA2.4 regulates post-Golgi trafficking of storage proteins by modulating Ca2+ homeostasis in rice endosperm academic.oup.com/plcell/artic...

⚡ SPECIAL ISSUE REVIEW ⚡ A crosstalk exists between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and calcium (Ca2+) signaling. In this review, Jiménez et al. highlight how thioredoxins mediate redox regulation of Ca2+ transporters, sensors, and effectors. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/... #PlantScience 🧪

🌱💧 Can we improve drought tolerance without relying on ABA? Our latest study identifies two small molecules that inhibit plasma membrane K⁺ channels, triggering stomatal closure, Ca²⁺ elevation, and enhanced drought resistance through an ABA-independent pathway. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Happy to see this out! ER-located Ca2+ ATPase ACA2 regulates Ca2+ cytoplasmic pool linked to root hair growth in Arabidopsis thaliana. Great work of Mariana Carignani, a fruitfull colaboration with Teresa Portes, Daniel Damineli, Hugo Verli and @labcosta.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Huge congratulations to Carlo @cpasini.bsky.social on your fantastic PhD defence at @ethz.ch! It was a brilliant presentation followed by a truly engaging discussion. Wishing you every success in your exciting new adventure in science!

Explore plant #CalciumSignaling in the eponymous EMBO Workshop in Primosten, Croatia, 20–24 September 2026. Abstract submission deadline: 30 May 2026 Registration deadline: 31 May 2026 https://meetings.embo.org/event/26-calcium-signaling #EMBOCalciumSignaling #conference #meeting #EMBOevents 🧪

Excited to share our new work on pollen tube growth in Arabidopsis thaliana! 🌱 We show that vacuolar and ER Ca²⁺-ATPases are key regulators of calcium dynamics during pollen tube growth. A great collaboration with the Muschietti and Estevez labs 🤝 academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...

This was a wonderful defence of a very impressive thesis! Bianca, you did brilliantly, bravo! Thank you Alex for inviting me participate in this!

Many congratulations to Bianca on the successful defence of her PhD thesis! 🎉. And many thanks to @botanicaljim.bsky.social for being part of the committee and contributing to this important milestone.

A helper NLR channels organellar calcium to trigger plant immunity | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

There is still time to register for the EMBO Workshop on Plant Calcium Signaling 2026! Dive into cutting-edge research on Ca²⁺ signaling in plants 🌿 Primosten, Croatia | 20–24 Sept 2026 meetings.embo.org/event/26-cal... Travel grants are available embo.org/funding/lect...

In Vivo Monitoring of Energy Metabolism with Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Biosensors - www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

Plant Science Research Weekly --  Macro Plant Projection Imaging (MAPPI): An open, scalable platform for whole-plant fluorescence real-time imaging (Science Advances) @labcosta.bsky.social (Summary by Indrani Kakati @indranik18.bsky.social) buff.ly/LxaRjzT #PlantaePSRW

With MAPPI, we can design simple fluorescent experiments for long-term Ca²⁺ imaging — 16 hours in this video — tracking signals (if any) during growth or dynamic movements 📷 @ScienceAdvances @science.org science.org/doi/10.1126/...

phys.org/news/2026-02...

Plants "talk" internally — and now we can watch it happen. MAPPI lets us track shoot-to-root Ca²⁺ signals in real time 🌱⚡ @ScienceAdvance! @science.org science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Explore plant #CalciumSignaling in the eponymous EMBO Workshop "Plant calcium signaling" in #Primosten, Croatia, 20–24 September 2026. Abstract submission deadline: 1 May Registration deadline: 31 May https://meetings.embo.org/event/26-calcium-signaling #EMBOCalciumSignaling #EMBOevents 🧪

@ScienceAdvances @science.org Using MAPPI for real-time whole-plant imaging, we reveal the earliest flooding response — a Ca²⁺ signal, expected, yet now directly visualised and strongest in young leaves...🔬📷 science.org/doi/10.1126/...

We thank Jon K. Pittman for his thoughtful and inspiring commentary nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... published in @newphyt.bsky.social on our recent work (Grenzi et al. 2025) nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

🔥 Spodoptera littoralis feeding doesn’t just spike cytosolic Ca²⁺ — it also unleashes a surge of apoplastic glutamate in Nicotiana benthamiana @ScienceAdvances science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Registration is now OPEN for the EMBO Workshop on Plant Calcium Signaling 2026! Dive into cutting-edge research on Ca²⁺ signaling in plants 🌿 📍 Primosten, Croatia | 🗓️ 20–24 September 2026 meetings.embo.org/event/26-cal...

The MAPPI setup we @AndreaBassi78 @labcosta.bsky.social published in @ScienceAdvances shows its versatility, enabling us to design amazing experiments that we never thought could be possible... science.org/doi/10.1126/... So, now guess what this video is showing❔❔

@labcosta.bsky.social Out now in ScienceAdvances our new work with @AndreaBassi78 MAcro Plant Projection Imaging (MAPPI): An open, scalable platform for whole-plant fluorescence real-time imaging | Science Advances science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🚀 New Review out by @elenist.bsky.social @labcosta.bsky.social Bioelectronics for basic plant science and precision agriculture 🌱⚡️ A deep dive into how bioelectronic tools are transforming plant research & farming... Published in Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering: doi.org/10.1038/s442...

Huge thanks to @Nikon for an unforgettable Christmas present 🎁 Feeling truly privileged to receive such a unique microscope 🔬

Small molecule, big impact: H2S contributes to pathogen-induced stomatal closure url: academic.oup.com/plphys/artic... Really nice News & Views on the new paper from @charliemdq.bsky.social’s lab 👏 academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...

Just for Xmas! Nice collaboration with @schwarzlanderlab.bsky.social and @labcosta.bsky.social labs. Hydrogen sulfide modulates flagellin-induced stomatal immunity url: academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...

Great collaboration with @Charlie Garcia-Mata lab! 🧪 New Plant Physiology paper: Hydrogen sulfide modulates flagellin-induced stomatal immunity, revealing a key role for H₂S in guard cell immune responses 🌱 academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...

Subfamily I ethylene receptors are functionally conserved in calcium permeability across the green lineage #research #MolecularPlant cell.com/molecular-pl...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from @labcosta.bsky.social! 🎄✨ Thanks to all our collaborators, colleagues, and friends for a great year together.

Investigating the origin of spontaneous cytosolic calcium oscillations in stomatal guard cells: a dialogue between apoplastic and endoplasmic reticulum stores Grenzi et al. @labcosta.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/KRMCPP...

...we can infer that, in the presence of CPA, the ER behaves like anengine without fuel, incapable of sustaining the mechanism required to maintain the [Ca²⁺]cyt oscillations... doi.org/10.1111/nph....

Blue light decreases ER Ca²⁺ in stomatal guard cells, with refilling in the dark. Our new @newphyt.bsky.social study shows how ER Ca²⁺ shapes cytosolic Ca²⁺ dynamics doi.org/10.1111/nph....

Two acceptances back-to-back on plant Ca²⁺ signaling! 🌱 The ER role in guard cell Ca²⁺ signaling @newphyt.bsky.social 🔬 A new way to perform Ca²⁺ imaging in adult plants grown under physiological conditions Science Advances @science.org Stay tuned — details coming soon!

SALICYLIC ACID SENSOR1 reveals the propagation of an SA hormone surge during plant pathogen advance | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Farewell party for Matteo! After 8 successful years in my lab, he is now ready to begin a new adventure in Sierla’s lab at @helsinki.fi. Wishing him the best of luck!

🍕 Pizza day for @lab_costa with our new guests from Spain — Jorge Morello (Miguel Botella lab, Malaga) and Pavel Brito-Gutiérrez (Maite Sanmartín lab, Valencia). Great way to kick things off!

Differential regulation of calcium-activated plant kinases in Arabidopsis thaliana 🌱 A fascinating insight into how plants decode Ca²⁺ signals through CPKs — revealing specificity in calcium signaling. 🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

www.microscope.healthcare.nikon.com/it_EU/joico-... It includes a short profile of mine...

Why would anyone want to be a scientist? "Doing good science requires the utmost exertion of body, mind and spirit, yet is consistently filled with failure and rejection." journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

Thrilled to share that Stefano Buratti has been awarded the Fratelli Confalonieri Postdoctoral Fellowship! He'll be joining my lab @LaStatale to develop innovative tools for exploring plant–environment interactions. Congratulations, Stefano!

What started as a 'funky' observation back in 2017 while visiting the lab of @labcosta.bsky.social, and after skilfull execution of Dominic Kuang, Shanna Romand, and many more, now found a home in Current Biology. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Interested in plant Ca2+ imaging? If you have (or are about to earn) a PhD, consider joining our team at La Statale (UNIMI) as a Postdoc. A great opportunity to grow your expertise in a vibrant research environment! Feel free to contact me to discuss applications to the MSCA

Quantifying Plant Biology with Fluorescent Biosensors pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40153610/ A very nice Review from Jones' lab www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/people/alexa...

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Hydrogen Sulfide 🌋👃 modulates Flagellin-Induced Stomatal Immunity 🍃🦠 New preprint led by Denise Scuffi www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... @labcosta.bsky.social @jan-oleniemeier.bsky.social