Erin Sparks
@erinsparks.bsky.social
📤 848
📥 414
📝 33
Faculty @ Mizzou & Danforth Center. Loves brace roots & biomechanics.
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Plant Biomechanics
about 2 months ago
We are excited to announce the Plant Biomechanics Webinar Series 2025! 🗓 Webinar #1: Thursday, 25 September 2025 🕑 Time: 14.00 – 15.40 (UTC+7) 🎙 Speakers: Yamamoto M. Matsuo-Ueda R. Noviandi G.I. Hutabarat 📝 Registration:
ugm.id/PBMweb1
loading . . .
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Webinar #1 Plant Biomechanics. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
Part of Webinar Series 2025 Road to The 11th International Plant Biomechanics Conference
http://ugm.id/PBMweb1
0
3
3
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Roeder Lab
2 months ago
We learned a lot about plant cell wall mechanics by stretching the Arabidopsis epidermis. Now published in @natcomms.nature.com Fibrous network nature of plant cell walls enables tunable mechanics for development
doi.org/10.1038/s414...
1
50
16
Excited for today’s
#STLPlantFam25
Plant Science Family Reunion hosted by
@39northstl.bsky.social
. The joy of connecting with the STL plant fam is indescribable.
3 months ago
0
3
0
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
0
1
1
It was such an honor to coordinate this plenary! So much amazing science happening in Plant Biomechanics. Thanks to
@radinbio.bsky.social
,
@geitmannlab.bsky.social
, Naomi Nakayama, and Frank Telewski for sharing their work!
#PlantBio2025
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
0
21
3
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Plant Cell Atlas
4 months ago
PCA Member Ivan Radin presented this morning at the 2025 ASPB Conference with his talk on "Evolution of Organellar Mechanosensing."
#PlantBio2025
@radinbio.bsky.social
0
6
1
reposted by
Erin Sparks
American Society of Plant Biologists
4 months ago
ASPB Fellow Anja Geitmann presents "From microstructural features to macroscopic traits" exploring her lab's work to understand the hierarchical architectural concepts underpinning metabolic processes.
@geitmannlab.bsky.social
#plantscience
#PlantBio2025
0
7
1
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Tatsuya Nobori
4 months ago
Loved Naomi Nakayama’s talk-truly original research!
#PlantBio2025
0
10
2
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Arif Ashraf
4 months ago
#PlantBio2025
I am excited for my awesome grad student, Olivia
@ohazel.bsky.social
from
@science.ubc.ca
@ubcbotany.bsky.social
presenting today at ASPB meeting in the poster session (unnumbered section). Here is Olivia's 1st author preprint:
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
0
9
1
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Arif Ashraf
4 months ago
We
@ohazel.bsky.social
@jessicaa-orr.bsky.social
arrived in Wisconsin to attend the ASPB meeting. We are off to a great start here and had a great time hanging out with Erin
@erinsparks.bsky.social
today. Thanks Erin for making the time.
0
11
1
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Keith Duncan
4 months ago
I'm off to ASPB
#PlantBio2025
tomorrow, with a poster and talk on using X-ray imaging in Plant Biology. New soybean imaging to share, like this fly-through animation of the meristematic region from an XRM scan.
@danforthcenter.bsky.social
@zeiss-microscopy.bsky.social
loading . . .
1
31
11
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Gitta Coaker
4 months ago
Congratulations
@kcox-bioguy.bsky.social
for your ASPB award. Well deserved!
#PlantBio2025
4
51
12
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Brian Dilkes
4 months ago
The lab used our mutagen of choice, Ethyl methanesulfonate, and sequencing of somatic sectors to do some forward genetics in sorghum. Additional alleles in one generation to find and validate the gene! Something old, something new...
@genetics-gsa.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/genetics/art...
loading . . .
Targeted seed EMS mutagenesis reveals a basic helix–loop–helix transcription factor underlying male sterility in sorghum
Abstract. Forward genetic screens of mutant populations are fundamental for functional genomics studies. However, isolating independent mutant alleles to m
https://academic.oup.com/genetics/article/230/3/iyaf017/7990424
0
5
4
reposted by
Erin Sparks
MaizeGDB
5 months ago
New data from the Bob Schmitz lab (Marand 2025) on cell type-specific cis-regulation in maize! This study, in
@science.org
, reveals how DNA changes impact expression and maize traits. Explore the 176 new tracks on the browser under Epigenetics and DNA binding. ➡️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
loading . . .
The genetic architecture of cell type–specific cis regulation in maize
Gene expression and complex phenotypes are determined by the activity of cis-regulatory elements. However, an understanding of how extant genetic variants affect cis regulation remains limited. Here, ...
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads6601
1
17
5
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Rebel Science Union
5 months ago
🚨It's here!🚨 The Underground Journal Launched Today!
@lindzeamays.bsky.social
is our first featured artist! Sign up to learn more about Lindsay's work as a science illustrator. We are already accepting submissions for the next issue! So excited to see what you all create!
#sciart
#scicomm
1
17
7
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Brian Dilkes
5 months ago
Make your own maize mutants! Raj Khangura, Norman Best and I contributed maize pollen and seed EMS mutagenesis protocols for the new maize handbook! Updated practices 1/n
cshprotocols.cshlp.org/content/earl...
cshprotocols.cshlp.org/content/earl...
cshprotocols.cshlp.org/content/earl...
loading . . .
Uses and Opportunities for Ethyl Methanesulfonate Mutagenesis in Maize
https://cshprotocols.cshlp.org/content/early/2025/06/03/pdb.top108504.abstract
1
12
8
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra
5 months ago
Reason number 4,517 (yes I'm counting) why
@maizegdb.bsky.social
is so awesome and we're so lucky as a community to have these folks. Also a great example of maize community sharing. UNPUBLISHED data already up on the community database showing conservation scores across the maize genome.
add a skeleton here at some point
0
19
4
reposted by
Erin Sparks
6 months ago
Thrilled that
@10xgenomics.bsky.social
is sponsoring the 6th Interdisciplinary
#Plant
Group Root (IPG)
#Biology
Symposium at Mizzou! May 20-23, 2025 IPG is a community of researchers at at MU who are pursuing novel ideas in the field of plant biology! link below!
ipg.missouri.edu/symposium/in...
loading . . .
2025 Symposium Information| Interdisciplinary Plant Group | University of Missouri
https://ipg.missouri.edu/symposium/index.cfm
0
4
2
reposted by
Erin Sparks
American Society of Plant Biologists
6 months ago
📣
#PlantBio2025
Plenary: Biomechanics.🌱 Learn more and register now!
buff.ly/eAQJjVe
👉Advanced rates end June 10! Hurry and register soon for the best savings on the event you don’t want to miss.
buff.ly/dtqtnUX
#PlantScience
loading . . .
1
9
10
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Arif Ashraf
6 months ago
(1/15) We are happy to share the recent preprint from the lab, in a collaboration with Erin Sparks
@erinsparks.bsky.social
and Norman Best. This story is focused on cell division and auxin in presence of one of the toxic metals, lead (Pb).
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
add a skeleton here at some point
1
21
9
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Marie-Cécile Caillaud
6 months ago
👀
add a skeleton here at some point
0
9
4
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Kevin Cox Jr
6 months ago
🌱🦠👩🏾🔬 Check out Shanice and her awesome work!
add a skeleton here at some point
0
7
4
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Plantae.org
8 months ago
Plant Science Research Weekly -- Firmly grounded: root system stiffness and plant mechanics (Journal of Experimental Botany) (Summary by Irene I. Ikiriko)
buff.ly/HBp5OK5
#PlantaePSRW
loading . . .
Firmly grounded: Root system stiffness and plant mechanics | Plantae
Field-based technologies are essential for understanding plant mechanical behavior in field-relevant contexts. This behavior can be elastic, with temporary deformation measured as stiffness…
https://buff.ly/HBp5OK5
0
5
4
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Arif Ashraf
7 months ago
(1/17) We are excited to share the Ashraf and Gallagher labs collaboration on cell cycle regulation during environmental stress recovery in Arabidopsis, Brachypodium, and ryegrass.
add a skeleton here at some point
2
23
23
reposted by
Erin Sparks
PM Delaux
7 months ago
Latest paper from
@philcarella.bsky.social
lab! Pseudomonas viridiflava as a naturally occurring pathogens of Marchantia. ▶️ T3SS matters ▶️ conserved effectors for infection in angio and Marchantia
www.cell.com/current-biol...
loading . . .
Conserved effectors underpin the virulence of liverwort-isolated Pseudomonas in divergent plants
Robinson et al. identify pathogenic Pseudomonas viridiflava in wild Marchantia polymorpha liverworts and interrogate the mechanisms enabling virulence in non-flowering and flowering plants. Their resu...
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)00300-8
0
23
11
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Frank Hochholdinger
8 months ago
The 2025 maize genetics meeting is over. Looking forward to having the 2026 maize meeting from Feb 26 to March 1 in Cologne (Köln), Germany 🇩🇪. Please already mark your calendars.
#MGM2025
>
#MGM2026
.
0
21
11
Excited that this paper from my group is now out! 🥳 congrats to all the authors.
add a skeleton here at some point
8 months ago
1
29
10
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Common Descent
8 months ago
We’re proud to announce a new podcast, Leaf it to Us, hosted by Nora Spurling and Aly Baumgartner! As a special preview, the pilot episode and its accompanying bonus episode are both now out on the Common Descent podcast feed! Take a listen and let us know what you think!
2
39
12
Thank you Katie! I’m beyond honored to receive this award from a community that has welcomed me with open arms and endless seed supplies. 🥰🌽
add a skeleton here at some point
8 months ago
0
14
0
Sparks Lab at the Maize Meeting 2025!
8 months ago
1
23
3
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra
8 months ago
Nearing 400 members on our Zeavolution slack! Want to interact with other members of the maize genetics community? We have a weekly webinar on maize diversity/evolution as well. DM me and I'll share a link to join the slack.
0
18
12
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Kevin Cox Jr
8 months ago
Some of my postdoc work has been "exposed" today in
@theplantjournal.bsky.social
! 😁🎉🔬 We developed ExPOSE - a method to perform expansion microscopy in plant protoplast systems. Here's a quick🧵of the details:
@meter76.bsky.social
@lily-oconnor.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
loading . . .
ExPOSE: a comprehensive toolkit to perform expansion microscopy in plant protoplast systems
This method provides a robust approach for performing expansion microscopy in plant protoplasts for imaging single-cell and subcellular compartments at greatly enhanced resolution.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tpj.70049?af=R
3
61
26
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Its Maize Genetics Meeting week!!!!! 🌽🥳
over 1 year ago
0
5
3
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Joop Vermeer
9 months ago
We are hiring! Are you interested in lateral root development and the cellular processes that accommodate these newly formed organs? If yes, apply! We are recruiting a Post-doc (from May 2025) and a PhD student (from September 2025).
www.unine.ch/lbmc/jobs/
loading . . .
Jobs - Laboratory of cell and molecular biology
Join Our Team – Open Positions at the LBMC, Vermeer Lab. We are excited to announce two open positions, please get in touch with Prof. Dr. Joop Vermeer:
[email protected]
Applications open f...
https://www.unine.ch/lbmc/jobs/
0
35
54
reposted by
Erin Sparks
RNAHelix
9 months ago
this website shows you how many jobs NIH funding creates for your state along with the overall economic activity generated
www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/nih-in-your-...
loading . . .
NIH In Your State - United For Medical Research
Select a state on the map to see the impact of NIH funding across America.
https://www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/nih-in-your-state/
15
425
308
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
9 months ago
Threats to government support for scientific research cause ripple effects in the scientific community. Read more:
www.danforthcenter.org/news/st-loui...
loading . . .
(St. Louis Post Dispatch) Trump freeze is over. Local industries still worry. - Danforth Plant Science Center
Becky Bart spends much of her work at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center studying staple crops, examining soil microbes and probing ways to combat drought — a top threat to global farmers and fo...
https://www.danforthcenter.org/news/st-louis-post-dispatch-trump-freeze-is-over-local-industries-still-worry/
0
5
3
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Boze the Library Owl
9 months ago
just stumbled on a real jaw-dropper of a line in an essay -- “The corollary of being interested in a great range of things is to have sympathy with a great range of outlooks” -- and that, my friends, is why reading is so important.
61
6713
1305
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Eric Lofgren
9 months ago
My occasional reminder to folks on tenure and promotion committees that there will be a cohort of people whose early careers were defined entirely by the pandemic and *waves vaguely* this nonsense, and it *will* impact their productivity. It can't not.
14
1288
234
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Noah Fahlgren
10 months ago
We hope you join us for the 2025 NAPPN Annual Conference taking place Feb. 25th to 27th, 2025! This year, the meeting looks a little different in structure, with NAPPN hosting a virtual conference and several regional Hubs hosting additional in-person events
www.plantphenotyping.org/conference-h...
loading . . .
2025 Annual Conference — North American Plant Phenotyping Network
The 2025 NAPPN Annual Conference will be a hybrid event that includes a common online component and distributed activities organized at regional hub locations. Join us for exciting scientific content,...
https://www.plantphenotyping.org/conference-home
0
4
4
Very excited for this session! Join us in Milwaukee next July!
add a skeleton here at some point
10 months ago
0
2
0
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Maizel lab
10 months ago
Delighted to announce the 18th
#FASEB
Mechanisms of Plants Development will take place Aug 24-28th. ‼️ Register before June 29th →
tinyurl.com/24fsjq6a
🌱 🎁 Vote for the conference image by Jan 31st →
tinyurl.com/2872w6vm
The poster & speakers lineup will be announced in early Feb. Spread the word!
3
57
50
Ditto but due to the sheer number of review requests I get in December! Submit by November or wait until next year!
add a skeleton here at some point
11 months ago
0
2
0
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Marc Somssich
11 months ago
📜 Update on the Structure and Regulated Biosynthesis of the Apoplastic Polymers Cutin and Suberin 🧑🔬 Dylan K Kosma, José Graca, Isabel Molina 📙
@plantphys.bsky.social
🔗
academic.oup.com/plphys/advan...
#️⃣
#PlantScience
#Suberin
#Cutin
#PlantPhysiology
loading . . .
Update on the Structure and Regulated Biosynthesis of the Apoplastic Polymers Cutin and Suberin
Abstract. The plant lipid polymers cutin and suberin play a critical role in many aspects of plant growth and development, and physiology. The mechanisms o
https://academic.oup.com/plphys/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/plphys/kiae653/7919659
0
8
1
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Chenxin Li, PhD
11 months ago
Friends don't let friends make bad graphs repo has been updated! Friends don't let friends use histogram for small sample sizes. Bin numbers affect the appearance of histograms, thus not robust to small (and modest sample sizes). They stabilize w/ large sample sizes.
github.com/cxli233/Frie...
1
59
22
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Kaisa Kajala
11 months ago
The second Plant Cell Identity webinar by PCA is coming next Tuesday (10th December)! It will be my pleasure the moderate the exciting talks from
@rachelmshahan.bsky.social
and Geoff Schiebinger. If you haven't signed up for the series yet, you can do so here:
bit.ly/PCAPCI_Webinar
0
21
14
reposted by
Erin Sparks
José Dinneny
11 months ago
Proud to share our new
@plantphys.bsky.social
review exploring the anatomical and molecular basis for root adaptations to the environment. Prashanth Ramachandran and Andrea Ramirez detail cell types and pathways that help plants stay resilient in a changing world.
academic.oup.com/plphys/advan...
loading . . .
Rooting for survival: how plants tackle a challenging environment through a diversity of root forms and functions
Abstract. The current climate crisis has global impacts and will affect the physiology of plants across every continent. Ensuring resilience of our agricul
https://academic.oup.com/plphys/advance-article/doi/10.1093/plphys/kiae586/7917389?searchresult=1
0
79
29
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Brady Lab
11 months ago
I am so excited to share Dr. C Manzano’s work: she demonstrates the developmental timeline, function and genetic regulation of the polar lignin cap in the tomato root. It functions as a distinct intercellular barrier from the Casparian strip and is repressed in inner layers.
rdcu.be/d10Pd
6
54
24
reposted by
Erin Sparks
Nicki Washington, Ph.D.
11 months ago
Shout out to the faculty fighting for their lives this week as they try to navigate the last week of classes, annual reports, and a flood of emails you have to navigate through (which will inevitably be increased 10-fold once final grades post). May the odds be ever in our favor.
#AcademicSky
2
87
7
reposted by
Erin Sparks
International Society of Root Research
12 months ago
Dr Amelia Henry of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines was the 10th Dundee
#Root
Medal recipient. Her medal lecture was entitled “Integrated root phenotypes under seedling stage drought in direct-seeded rice” 🧪
#PlantScience
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e_s...
loading . . .
Dundee Root Medal - 6th November 2024
YouTube video by Healthy Soils project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e_sV_HO_Kw
0
11
7
Load more
feeds!
log in