Marc Somssich

𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 and 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞! 👋 Here's some content you might find interesting: 𝟏) My chapters of "𝐀 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞" 𝟐) My 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 threads 𝟑) My threads on 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝟒) My Bluesky 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 & 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝟓) Some info on 𝐌𝐲 𝐎𝐰𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 See all compiled Below 👇🧵

The 5-year cancer survival rate is up to 70% SIDS deaths have decreased by over 50% 89% decline in tornado deaths All thanks to federal investment in science and OUR tax dollars at work!

Happy to share that a large portion of my PhD work is now publicly available on bioRxiv and grateful to all co-authors for their contributions.

No-one knows how yeast take up DNA in transformations. Really! (Ok, endocytosis is required.) We noticed that "yeast transformation mix" w/ Lithium salts, PEG, carrier DNA ... is exactly the mix that chemists use to make DNA phase separate. Our review paper in Yeast Journal! w/ Alistair Elfick 1/

Anthocyanin biosynthesis remains a hot topic in plant biology despite nearly 200 years of research #FlavonoidFriday doi.org/10.1111/plb.... & shorturl.at/fCVcO @nancy-choudhary.bsky.social @puckerlab.bsky.social

And now the second preprint of the lab! doi.org/10.64898/202... HY5 shoot-root movement is real and it is necessary and sufficient for the root developmental response to neighbour shading. This is a story in collaboration with the lab of @ronaldpierik.bsky.social + @kyravandervelde.bsky.social

How we are approaching AI at openRxiv - new blog post prompted by growing adoption by researchers, submission patterns, and questions from the community openrxiv.org/approach-to-... 1/n

What happens when applicants review each other's grants? Our two-year trial with @volkswagenstiftung.de reveals high applicant backing, faster reviews, and surprisingly different funding choices than traditional panels: doi.org/10.6084/m9.f...

Even *starting* with a 5 year grant is unheard of here in Australia

1 of 3 related papers www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

We're working on an interactive book about cells, and how they work. Our next installment, "A Recipe for Cells," is out today. It's about what cells are made from and why, despite us *knowing* what they are made from, we are not able to create life synthetically.

How can genome editing help breeders develop robust varieties faster? In our latest #KWSPortrait magazine, we explore this question by diving into our work on tackling the cabbage-stem flea beetle. 👉https://ow.ly/N7UT50ZXYxM

Genome editing in Pj. So cool!

Happy to share that our manuscript on virus-induced genome editing in a #ParasiticPlant has been published in Plant, Cell & Environment: doi.org/10.1111/pce.... The method also works well beyond the genes edited in the paper—so, more to come! The plasmids will soon be available from Addgene.

Full time job opportunity for a scientific illustrator to work with us at the U-Michigan museum of zoology and herbarium! careers.umich.edu/job_detail/2...

For women: 31% decrease in publication rate after having a child. ➡️ When motherhood highly affects academic research career prospects and why this should really count while applying for founding and grants. Original article ⤵️ share.google/EFeaNjdncnje...

Big news! Our new book, "Making the Modern Laboratory," is now available for pre-order. It is a stunning, 504-page hardcover book that explains how the research laboratory, and everything in it, came to be. Pre-order: press.asimov.com/articles/mo...

The Arabidopsis outward K+ channel GORK mediates flg22-induced K+ efflux and stomatal closure https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.10.758189v1

🧬 One marker chip, up to 70,000 markers! By reading thousands of genetic markers at once, our KWS teams can support earlier, more precise selection in vegetable breeding. Read more about marker chips and how we use them 👉 https://ow.ly/rS9950ZVMGS #insidekws

I was happy to take a small part in this #PlantScience project led by the wonderful @gwenkirschner.bsky.social!

Cytokinin regulates the gravitropic setpoint angle of seminal roots in barley and wheat https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.09.757912v1

Finally, the outcome of our demo in cooperation with Bruker and Scienion: Advances in single-cell proteomics: label-free quantification of over 3500 protein groups from individual Arabidopsis thaliana seedling cells academic.oup.com/pcp/article/...

Development wants to help you publish. We have a strong commitment to publishing your paper after inviting revision. Our peer review history files, published alongside research articles, show how constructive peer review process improves the papers we publish. More reasons to publish:

My first paper as a corresponding author was about phosphoproteomics in plants, which was published in @plantcellphysiol.bsky.social 15 years ago (doi.org/10.1093/pcp/...). Next goal would be single-cell phosphoproteomics in plants published in PCP, a great society journal by @jspp-news.bsky.social?

Happy to share the results of our first attempt at single-cell proteomics using Arabidopsis protoplasts, led by @sara-stolze.bsky.social, with support from @brukercorporation.bsky.social and Cellenion. doi.org/10.1093/pcp/...

New paper! Distribution and Shared Pathogenicity of Small-Spored Alternaria on Solanaceous Crops in Europe dx.doi.org/10.1111/ppa.... Marker analyses of small-spored Alternaria from Germany, Poland and Serbia finds 2 spp mixed. We need full genome sequencing to understand local or host adaptation.

Pro-Tip: Don't upload your unfinished or unpublished papers to OpenAI etc.

Congrats, Milena! Really well deserved!!🏆🎉

Nikon Small World does the right thing

📣Paper Alert! 🥳 A new study @cp-cell.bsky.social from the Schulze-Lefert group @mpipz.bsky.social reveals how Arabidopsis adapts its iron acquisition strategy to soil pH, using coumarins & bacterial pathways to access this essential nutrient. 👏 👉 bit.ly/4yEU9Em #plantsci www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

A new plant-bacteria immunological connection in the first preprint of our group at @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social @plantevolution.bsky.social! Straight from the top of Mt. Olympus ⛰️🦅 Led by Eirik @eiriklag.bsky.social, in collaboration with @geminiteamlab.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Have a look at this very cool story! #iron #PGPR #Arabidopsis

🌱🦠 Excited to share part of my PhD work @mpipz.bsky.social with @hotvegetables.bsky.social as co-first, in collab with @leibnizipk.bsky.social and @ceplas.bsky.social. We found that Arabidopsis and its microbiota work together to adapt iron acquisition to soil pH. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... 🧵

Microscopy images are scientific evidence, and that image processing must be transparent and faithful to the underlying biology. Reinforce those standards, especially now-insist Nikon uphold them. #NikonSWiM2026 Read the letter: tinyurl.com/OpenLetterSW... Add your name: forms.gle/TyGRELnCxq5z...

Our new Nat Plants paper introduces WALLΦ, a genetically encoded cell wall pH sensor, and reveals that root developmental zonation is independent of local cell wall pH. Wall pH supports growth at the organ level, but local growth patterns are governed by other mechanisms. doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Research is full of uncertainty, but every once in a while, nature works out exactly as you hypothesized. In 2019, while finishing my PhD, I pitched a bold idea in an email to @harmitmalik.bsky.social (below). Seven years later, it feels surreal to see that hypothesis become empirical reality. 🧵👇

Professorship for Plant Metabolism: www.biologie.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/about-the...

🌱New preprint 🎉 I am happy to share this last work of my PhD research! We uncover a novel role of cysteine protease RD19 in immunity. RD19 regulates RBOHD-generated ROS and is required for induced resistance responses. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... More details in the thread below! 🧵

Arabidopsis cysteine protease RD19 limits RBOHD-generated ROS production in pattern triggered immunity https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.02.755912v1

🌱 We are hiring! 🌱 Join our team as an Assistant Editor (12-month FTC) where you will support peer review, journal meetings, content promotion and editorial development. 📅 Apply by 23 October 2026 Please share with your network! @sebiology.bsky.social @plantpostdocs.bsky.social #PlantScience 🧪

Great to present a major update to our manuscript: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... In collaboration with @grandpahiro.bsky.social, @sara-stolze.bsky.social, Matthieu Platre & the teams of Götz Hensel & Gunther Döhlemann we demonstrate that….. (1/x)

5 years ago, @hacquardst.bsky.social and I became very interested in 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎 𝑐𝑢𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑎, an emerging fungal pathogen that colonizes the roots of many plants 🌱 🍅 🌾 🆕📝 Final result of a huge team effort to uncover the bases of its multi-host compatibility👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Very excited to share the first preprint from my PhD with the community! This is also the first paper from the Plant Immunogenomics group with @galofir.bsky.social, so stay tuned for more! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 1/n 🧵

Job alert! We are looking for a Head of Applied Genomics in our Vegetable Division @kwsgroup.bsky.social. This is a leadership position (full-time, permanent) based in the Netherlands. A strong background in #CropGenetics and leadership experience are necessary. #PlantScienceJobs #PlantSciJobs

🚨 FINAL CALL 🚨 ⏰ Our 2027 Editorial Internship call closes TOMORROW at 23:59 BST 🌱✍️ Don’t leave it to last minute – the application takes a bit of work. You'll need: 📄 A CV 📝 A Cover letter 🔍 An Insight-style article Apply here: bit.ly/jxbinterns @sebiology.bsky.social

PhD Defense done ✅ It was a fantastic journey! I would like to thank all the people who contributed and helped me sailing my boat! Specially PhDoffice & @tonnigrubeandersen.bsky.social for being the incredibly best supervisor and mentor! @defengshen.bsky.social for introducing me to Lotus Universe!

Do you want to know more about plant barriers? Read our new review, here is probably more than you ever wanted :-) . A very fun writing experience with Gwyneth Ingram: Welcome to The Junction: Polymeric extracellular interfaces and barriers in plant life academic.oup.com/jxb/article/...

Here's a balanced account of where the microscopy community stands on AI use by this year's Small World in Motion winner. My main issue is that no one seems to have seen the original data despite requests (no mention of it being reviewed by the organizers) www.the-scientist.com/allegations-...