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Team Thomma

@teamthomma.bsky.social

2.7K followers 980 following 150 posts

Alexander von Humboldt Professor of Evolutionary Microbiology @UniCologne & @CEPLAS_1, studying how fungi interact with plants and their environment. He/him. 💛🖤

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Team Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · Jun 16

Last week, our latest @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social preprint was released, a joint-venture of @antonkraege.bsky.social & @wolki95.bsky.social and co-directed by @nicksnelders.bsky.social a 🧵

bioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · Jun 11

Undermining the cry for help: The phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae secretes an antimicrobial effector protein to undermine host recruitment of antagonistic Pseudomonas bacteria https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.09.658588v1

Team Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 1d

Altogether we show that the outcome of effector-mediated microbiota manipulation by Verticillium is determined by the composition of the host-associated microbiota which, in turn, is influenced by the surrounding soil. Happy to hear your feedback! {END}

Team Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 1d

Intriguingly, tomato root microbiota differed between wild-type and Ave1-deficient Verticillium, with Ave1 causing soil-specific shifts in bacterial composition, even where it did not affect virulence.

Team Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 1d

We hypothesized that effector-mediated microbiota manipulation depends on host-associated soil microbiota. Testing this with tomato plants, Ave1 showed variable contributions to Verticillium virulence across soils.

Team Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 1d

Notably, the fungal composition of the root microbiota is also influenced by plant species across soil samples. Similar as for the bacterial phyllosphere microbiota, we observed strong separation of the fungal phyllosphere community based on plant species.

Team Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 1d

Using our soil collection, we studied microbiota assembly in tomato, barley, and cotton grown under controlled greenhouse conditions. Soil primarily shaped root bacterial diversity, while plant species more strongly influenced phyllosphere communities.

Team Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 1d

To determine differences in physicochemical properties of our soil samples, we measured pH, the amount of total organic carbon and nitrogen, as well as element levels for all soil samples. Furthermore, we conducted 16S amplicon sequencing and analyzed β-diversities.

Team Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 1d

To study microbiota assemblies and the role of antimicrobial effector proteins of fungal plant pathogens in diverse soils we composed a collection of 9 natural soil samples throughout the Netherlands with differences in type, texture and appearance.

Team Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 1d

Since discovering that the pathogenic fungus Verticillium employs antimicrobial effectors to manipulate host microbiota, their importance has become well established. However, how these effectors promote fungal establishment across different environments remains unclear.
rdcu.be/cby7M

Microbiome manipulation by a soil-borne fungal plant pathogen using effector proteins

Nature Plants - A secreted protein effector from the fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae has bactericidal properties. It allows the pathogen to modify the root microbiome in tomato and cotton,...

Team Thomma @teamthomma.bsky.social · 1d

📣 New @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social preprint, another joint-venture of @wolki95.bsky.social & @antonkraege.bsky.social, co-directed by @nicksnelders.bsky.social. Here’s a 🧵

bioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · 13d

Differential contributions of an antimicrobial effector from Verticillium dahliae to virulence and tomato microbiota assembly across natural soils https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.30.679524v1

Reposted by Team Thomma

Christine Faulkner @pdchristine.bsky.social · 1d

New pre-print from the team!

The manuscript is @emma-raven.bsky.social's PhD work showing that whether a leaf is a carbon sink or a carbon source influences how they execute immune responses.

Have a read!

#PlantScience
@johninnescentre.bsky.social

bioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · 1d

Primary metabolism underpins the execution of immune responses in different tissues of the same plant https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.11.681807v1

Reposted by Team Thomma

ZMBP @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social · 1d

Engineering the C-tail of the versatile Arabidopsis immune receptor RLP23 enhances pathogen resistance in rice and poplar!
Congrats to Andrea Gust and her group at #ZMBP 👏👏👏
#MPMI #EvoMPMI #plantsci

Nature Biotechnology @natbiotech.nature.com · 2d

Engineered pattern recognition receptors enhance broad-spectrum plant resistance - @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social go.nature.com/474nnA9

Reposted by Team Thomma

Eliza Loo @elizaloopi.bsky.social · 3d

Our latest work is out! We set out to see if we could recreate soil-nurturing plant growth in vitro. The plants looked happy and we see microbiome-induced cell-type-specific responses! A modest step but a fun challenge 😁

bioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · 3d

Artificial Soil (ArtSoil): recreating soil conditions in synthetic plant growth media https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.09.681539v1

Reposted by Team Thomma

Phil Carella @philcarella.bsky.social · 3d

New opportunity to undertake a PhD in my group ⁦‪at the John Innes Centre - if you’re interested in plant immunity and evolution check out the link!

Understanding Host Compatibility in the Marchantia-Phytophthora System (CARELLA_J26DTP) | Doctoral Training Partnership

The fossil record demonstrates that filamentous microbes invaded ancient plant cells with intracellular hyphal structures over 450 million years ago. To this day, a rich diversity of extant land plant...

biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk

Reposted by Team Thomma

Christine Faulkner @pdchristine.bsky.social · 3d

We have a project available for 2026 NRP Doctoral Training Partnership entry (i.e. PhD studentship opportunity!)

How do cells communicate when it's hot?

Don't know? Me either! Come work with us @johninnescentre.bsky.social and figure it out

biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/projects/how...

How do cells communicate when it’s hot? (FAULKNER_J26DTP) | Doctoral Training Partnership

Plant cells are connected to their neighbours via ‘tubes’ called plasmodesmata, creating an interconnected cytoplasm that joins cells within and between tissues and organs.

biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk

Reposted by Team Thomma

Gitta Coaker @gittacoaker.bsky.social · 6d

FRET sensor for SA developed. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

SALICYLIC ACID SENSOR1 reveals the propagation of an SA hormone surge during plant pathogen advance

Salicylic acid (SA) is a key phytohormone that orchestrates immune responses against pathogens, including Pseudomonas syringae bacteria. The timing and extent of SA accumulation are tightly controlled...

www.science.org

Reposted by Team Thomma

Annie Hatmaker, Ph.D. @annemakerofhats.bsky.social · 8d

If you saw my talk on the population structure of #Aspergillus flavus at Fungal Genetics in 2024, you might have heard someone ask "how does Aspergillus oryzae fit into the picture?"
If so, you heard my answer was "wait and see--we're working on this exact topic"
Well, the wait is over! Preprint ⬇️

bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 11d

Population-Specific Transcriptomic Shifts Underlie Secondary Metabolic Diversification in Aspergillus flavus and the Domestication of Aspergillus oryzae https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.02.680074v1

Reposted by Team Thomma

Soil Biology Group - Wageningen UR @sbl-wur.bsky.social · 9d

📢 Hot off the press in New Phytologist!
A fresh study explores the link between root traits and ecosystem functions 🌱🌍, with our very own Thom Kuyper among the co-authors! 👏

🔗 Check it out :
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Rooting for function: community‐level fine‐root traits relate to many ecosystem functions

Humans are driving biodiversity change, which also alters community functional traits. However, how changes in the functional traits of the community alter ecosystem functions—especially belowground...

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Team Thomma

German Society for Plant Sciences (DBG) @plantsciencedbg.bsky.social · 9d

W3-Professur: Evolution und Biodiversität der Pflanzen
@humboldtuni.bsky.social

Start: 1 Oktober 2026
Deadline: 24 Oktober 2025

haushalt-und-personal.hu-berlin.de/de/personal/...

W3-Professur für „Evolution und Biodiversität der Pflanzen“

haushalt-und-personal.hu-berlin.de

Reposted by Team Thomma

PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 9d

Evolution of fungal mating systems: Study of #Cryptococcus & Kwoniella by @marcoacoelho.bsky.social @marciadavidpalma.bsky.social &co shows that MAT locus fusions & recombination suppression drive diversity of #SexualReproduction in #fungi @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/479579M

Top: Micrographs showing hyphal filaments extending from colony peripheries in a sexual cross between CBS8507 and CBS10435 after 2 weeks of incubation on CMA and V8 pH 5 media, in the dark, at room temperature. Insets depict two types of basidia: globose (a–c) and lageniform (b–d). Black arrows indicate clusters of cells emerging near basidia (either at the surface or embedded), scored as potential meiotic progeny (basidiospores). Bottom: Schematic representation of key chromosomal rearrangements and evolutionary events underlying transitions from tetrapolar to bipolar and pseudobipolar mating configurations. The phylogenetic tree highlights inferred changes in MAT locus structure, with color-coded branches representing both extant and reconstructed MAT configurations. Dashed lines indicate unresolved phylogenetic relationships among clades A, B, and C. Insets summarize distinct evolutionary stages, including: the ancestral organization with unlinked and compact P/R and HD loci (1); small-scale expansion of the P/R locus in Kwoniella (2); two independent large-scale expansions of the P/R locus in Cryptococcus (5); relocation of P/R and HD loci onto the same chromosome in Kwoniella resulting in either pseudobipolar (3) or fused (4) MAT configurations; and independent HD-P/R fusion events with HD gene loss in Cryptococcus pathogens and Cryptococcus sp. 3 (6). These transitions illustrate the diverse pathways by which chromosomal rearrangements (CRs) have shaped MAT locus architecture in these fungal lineages.

Reposted by Team Thomma

bioRxiv Plant Bio @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social · 13d

Differential contributions of an antimicrobial effector from Verticillium dahliae to virulence and tomato microbiota assembly across natural soils https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.30.679524v1

Reposted by Team Thomma

Charles Roussin-Léveillée @charlesrleveillee.bsky.social · 13d

NEW ARTICLE FROM THE LAB 🎉🍀🧫

Groundbreaking work performed by @hueihsuantsai.bsky.social and all!

Please, go have a read! Congrats to making it to the cover!!!

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Reposted by Team Thomma

Isabel Monte @isabelmonte.bsky.social · 14d

Thanks Sebastian @pfeilmeier.bsky.social for coming to the @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social for a #TRR356 seminar. We have all enjoyed discussing with you about #MPMI, Xanthomonas, hydathodes and more!

Three ZMBP junior PIs (Mau, Margot and Isa) and Sebastian sitting in a bar with some empty glasses

Reposted by Team Thomma

ZMBP @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social · 13d

Have you noticed someone new here? 👇
Welcome @mpcontreras.bsky.social, our new junior group leader at the ZMBP!
#newPI #plantscience #MPMI

Isabel Monte @isabelmonte.bsky.social · 14d

Thanks Sebastian @pfeilmeier.bsky.social for coming to the @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social for a #TRR356 seminar. We have all enjoyed discussing with you about #MPMI, Xanthomonas, hydathodes and more!

Three ZMBP junior PIs (Mau, Margot and Isa) and Sebastian sitting in a bar with some empty glasses

Reposted by Team Thomma

Remco Stam @rstam.bsky.social · 14d

Very happy to see this work finally online!
Resistance against necrotrophic pathogens is not generally conserved. When comparing five wild tomato spp, we saw that one spp co-opted a different mechanism against Sclerotinia infection!

KunzLab@LMU @kunzlab.bsky.social · 14d

This looks very interesting. Congrats @rstam.bsky.social et al. Co-option of transcription factors drives evolution of quantitative disease resistance against a necrotrophic pathogen url: academic.oup.com/plcell/artic...

Co-option of transcription factors drives evolution of quantitative disease resistance against a necrotrophic pathogen

Quantitative disease resistance in a wild tomato genotype evolved through species-specific regulatory network rewiring, with an ancient transcription facto

academic.oup.com

Reposted by Team Thomma

Michael Hothorn @structplantbio.bsky.social · 15d

Amazing work by the Santiago lab @unil.bsky.social. The malectin-LRR receptor kinase IGP1 senses cello-oligomers to alert the plant immune system & enhance disease resistance. Very nice discovery & mechanism.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...