Congratulations to Hui-Kyong Cho and Hatem Rouached (@hatem-rouached.bsky.social) of Michigan State University as well as their collaborators on their new article “Coumarins link iron deficiency to TOR inhibition in plants” published in Current Biology! 🌿🔬 🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.cu... #PlantScience

For those of you heading to #PlantBio2026, you won't want to miss the talks next week from PRI Postdoctoral Fellow Joanna Feehan and PRI Director Sue Rhee! We hope to see you in Ottawa to share advances, foster collaborations, and highlight achievements in #plantscience.

Earlier this week, the Plant Cell Atlas SynBio Hackathon brought together early-career researchers at MIT for two days of collaboration and innovation in plant synthetic biology. Thanks to all the organizers, mentors, participants, and sponsors who made this inspiring event possible! 🌱🧬

🌱 Upcoming Rhee Lab member talk! 🔬 Joanna Feehan will chair & present in the Abiotic Stress symposium at #PlantBiology2026 🇨🇦 Her talk explores how extreme cooling helps desert plants survive extreme heat! 🗓️ July 19, 4:30 pm EDT 📍 Room 206/208 🔗 plantbiology.aspb.org/ #plantscience

🌱 Upcoming C-SPIRIT team member talk! 🔬 Dr. Sue Rhee will present at #PlantBiology2026 🇨🇦 Her talk explores how Arabidopsis RHAMNOSE 1 forms “rhamnosomes” that help drive UDP-rhamnose synthesis and plant development. 🗓️ Monday, July 20, 4:10 pm EDT 📍 Room 214 🔗 plantbiology.aspb.org/ #plantscience

We are excited to share the PCA 2025-2026 Annual Report! From scientific breakthroughs to a growing global community, this annual report highlights the achievements that are advancing our mission. Explore the Report: bit.ly/4yaHYPI

Congratulations to Rhee Lab member Aidan Deneen on receiving the MSU Plant Biotechnology for Health and Sustainability Graduate Training Program Fellowship! 🌱🎉 We’re proud to celebrate this recognition and Aidan’s continued contributions to plant biotechnology and sustainability. 👏 #plantscience

WALII members gathered in Salt Lake City, Utah, June 4–6 for our Annual Retreat and SAB Meeting. The weekend was filled with connection, collaboration, learning, and reflection, while also providing an opportunity to experience the beauty of the surrounding area.

Don't forget to join us for the next Anhydrobiosis Research, Tools & Techniques Webinar featuring Dr. Matt Stata! His technical training workshop will be on "Exploring the Many Applications of RNA-seq Data." Learn more and register for this event here: bit.ly/4uDLobX @mattstata.bsky.social

🌱 Our 2026 C-SPIRIT All-Hands Meeting! 🌏 Last week, our team gathered in person at RIKEN Yokohama in Japan for pipeline working time, a poster session, networking, and dinner aboard the Yakatabune Suzuyoshi Riverboat 🚢✨ Thank you to our hosts, organizers, and attendees 💚 #PlantScience

🌱 Welcome to the Rhee Lab, Dr. Shifa Ansari! 🎉 Shifa joins us as a postdoctoral scholar contributing to EWAS-PR, using computational approaches to connect environmental, phenotypic, and genomic data for plant resilience research. 🌾🧬 We’re so glad to have you in the lab, Shifa! 💚 #PlantScience

🧬 New C-SPIRIT Publication! Congratulations to C-SPIRIT members Prakash Paudel, Kamal Prasad Regmi, and Tae-Jin Oh of Sun Moon University on their new Bioorganic Chemistry article on CYP154C10 biocatalysis! doi.org/10.1016/j.bi... #plantscience

🌱 C-SPIRIT is headed to IBS 2026! 🌏 Our members will present in the JST ASPIRE Symposium session “International Research Center for Enhancing Plant Resilience" 🎤 Featuring Motoaki Seki, Kathe Rivera-Zuluaga, Nick Schlecht, Miyo Yamane, Shogo Kuwayama, Toon Suzuki & Suzuka Matsuki #PlantScience

Congratulations to @mattstata.bsky.social on his new faculty position at @umassamherst.bsky.social! We're excited to see him build on his work in the @rheelab.bsky.social at the MSU Plant Resilience Institute as he launches the Stata lab this fall!

🌱🤖 New C-SPIRIT Publication! Congrats to C-SPIRIT members Gaurav Moghe, Alen Zimić, Nicholas Provart, Olivia Wilkins, Robert VanBuren, Sue Rhee, and Yuying Xie & colleagues on their new The Plant Cell Perspective on GenAI and plant science training. 🌎🌿 📖 doi.org/10.1093/plce... #PlantScience

This fall I'm thrilled to be joining UMass Amherst (@umassamherst.bsky.social) as an assistant prof. My lab will study photosynthetic evolution, diversity & resilience, focusing on C4 photosynthesis, one of the most remarkably convergent traits in the biosphere. #PlantScience #Evolution #NewPI

🌱 We are thrilled to welcome Henry Nvenankeng to the Rhee Lab! Henry will join us in August as a Research Associate, exploring how nematodes respond to plant-derived compounds and environmental stress, with the goal of advancing sustainable crop protection and plant resilience. 🪱🔬 #PlantScience

🌿 Welcome to the Rhee Lab, Dr. Huiqiao Pan! Dr. Pan will be joining us as a Lab Manager this August. Her background includes plant-microbe interactions, rhizobial symbiosis, and plant immunity — and we’re so excited to have her on the team! 🎉🌱 #PlantScience

🌿 Welcome to the Rhee Lab, Dr. Huiqiao Pan! Dr. Pan will be joining us as a Lab Manager this August. Her background includes plant-microbe interactions, rhizobial symbiosis, and plant immunity — and we’re so excited to have her on the team! 🎉🌱 #PlantScience

🎓 Congratulations to Dr. Evan Saldivar! This past Sunday, June 14th, Rhee Lab member Evan was officially hooded in celebration of earning his PhD from Stanford Biology. We are so proud of you, Evan, and excited to see what you do next! 👏 #PlantScience

PMN Members Gabrielle Wyatt and Charles Hawkins were group leaders for today's workshop, "Integration of A.I. into Phytochemical Research" at this year's Phytochemical Society of North America (PSNA) annual meeting! Learn more about this meeting here: sites.google.com/wisc.edu/psn...

📣#PlantBio2026 daily highlight: Order From Disorder: The Role of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins in Plant Development Concurrent Session!🌱 plantbiology2026.eventscribe.net/index.asp #plantscience #plantsci

How is the CCM influencing the response to nitrogen deprivation? 🤔 In this preprint led by Evan Saldivar in collaboration with @rheelab.bsky.social , we reveal that in cyanobacteria🦠, the CCM is required for rapidly responding to dynamic nitrogen concentrations👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

🎉 Congrats to Rhee Lab member Matt Stata on a new Current Biology review! “A single-cell blueprint for cellular diversity in the Green Lineage” explores how single-cell genomics is reshaping what we know about plant cell identity and evolution. 🌱🧬 Read here: doi.org/10.1016/j.cu... #PlantScience

Don't forget to register and join us TOMORROW June 11, 2026, for a seminar presented by Dr. Daniela Billi on "Survival Potential of Desert Cyanobacteria Under Non-Earth Conditions." Learn more and register: bit.ly/4uDLobX

📣#PlantBio2026 daily highlight: Abiotic Stress: Hot, Cold, Bright Concurrent Session!🌱 plantbiology2026.eventscribe.net/index.asp #plantscience #plantsci

🔜Two postdoc positions are available in Rouached Lab for a creative individual to lead a project that will explore a new dimension in the field of plant nutrition. Please contact me if you are interested in TOR signaling, epigenetic and/or plant development [email protected]

Don't forget to join us THIS MONTH at PSNA 2026! You can meet us during PSNA at our booth where we invite researchers to contribute their enzyme data to PMN's database! For more info: go.wisc.edu/PSNA2026

📬 Our May 2026 C-SPIRIT Newsletter is out now! This month: the launch of a new Lab Spotlight series feat. the Provart Lab at UToronto, a KOPRI feature, a new member publication, upcoming events, & social media posts. 🌱 🔗 createsend.com/t/y-630438C3... Sub: forms.gle/hWQycasrts2m... #plantscience

We're excited to announce that the PMN article, "Plant Metabolic Network 16: expansion of underrepresented plant groups and experimentally supported enzyme data," from PMN members is amongst the most-cited articles published in Nucleic Acids Research! Read it here: bit.ly/4dEukez

The Application deadline for the SynBio Hackathon has been EXTENDED until June 8, 2026! Apply Now Here: www.plantcellatlas.org/2026-synbio-... *Participants will be reimbursed up to $800 for travel and lodging costs.

We are excited to announce the next Anhydrobiosis Research, Tools & Techniques Webinar! Join us June 11, 2026, for a seminar presented by Dr. Daniela Billi on "Survival Potential of Desert Cyanobacteria Under Non-Earth Conditions." Learn more and register: bit.ly/4uDLobX

Just under TWO WEEKS LEFT TO APPLY for the PCA SynBio Hackathon! Make sure to apply now! bit.ly/3QpF5Jr

Happy Fascination of Plants Day! 🌱 At the Rhee Lab, we’re fascinated by the many ways plants grow, adapt, interact, and contribute to a more sustainable future. Today, we’re celebrating plants, curiosity, and the science that helps us better understand the living world. #plantscience

The @rheelab.bsky.social is seeking a research assistant III to support the lab’s collaborative projects in molecular and cell biology, international and transdisciplinary initiatives, as well as carry out lab management responsibilities! #PlantSciJobs Apply now: careers.msu.edu/jobs/researc...

Are you interested in competing in a time-bound event where participants work to design synthetic genetic circuits to program plants with new functions? If so, apply to the SynBio Hackathon! Applications are due June 1, 2026! Apply Here: bit.ly/3QpF5Jr

We had a great time at the 2026 MSU Plant Resilience Institute All-Hands Retreat & 10th Anniversary! 🌿 From posters and flash talks to trivia and bingo, it was an incredible chance to connect with such a passionate community. Excited for what’s ahead in PRI’s next decade! #plantscience

🎉 Congrats to Rhee Lab grad student Erin Cushing on earning a Paul Taylor Endowment Award from MSU Plant Biology! This award funds travel for conferences and opportunities to learn new research techniques. 🌱 Way to go, Erin! #PlantScience

Happy #AdministrativeProfessionalsDay! We’re celebrating the dedicated professionals behind the MSU Plant Resilience Institute across project management, communications, outreach, finance, operations, and germplasm curation. Your work keeps PRI and its center-level grants thriving. Thank you! 🌱

Happy Earth Day! 🌱🌍 A more sustainable future starts with resilient plants—that’s why C-SPIRIT connects global teams to drive plant innovation and resilience. #EarthDay #PlantScience

Are you interested in competing in a time-bound event where participants work to design synthetic genetic circuits to program plants with new functions? If so, apply to the SynBio Hackathon! Applications are due June 1, 2026! Apply Here: bit.ly/3QpF5Jr

We’re hiring a Research Assistant III/S in the Rhee Lab @ MSU 🌱🔬 Work on plant resilience using molecular biology + advanced imaging in a collaborative lab. Apply: careers.msu.edu/jobs/researc... Closes April 21 (may re-open late April/early May). If closed, reach out by email. #plantscience

Last week, PCA's Dr. Sue Rhee gave a talk on "Understanding and engineering drought resilience in sorghum using modeling and single-cell omics” hosted at the PCA SoCal Single Cell Retreat at the University of California, Riverside! @rheelab.bsky.social

🎉 New publication! Congrats to Rhee Lab members Evan Saldivar, Bo Xue, Sue Rhee & colleagues on their Plant Direct paper. In their paper, they present SPLASH, a method that identifies gene regulation from RNA-seq without a reference genome. 🔗 doi.org/10.1002/pld3... #PlantScience

We would like to welcome to the lab Yingtao Li, a visiting postdoc from the University of Tsukuba! Dr. Li will be with the Rhee lab for the next year working with @c-spirit.org. After arriving last night, Dr. Li is already making a difference at #MSUSciFest showcasing how crops defend themselves.

Rhee Lab member Karine Prado leads our booth at MSU Sci-Fest on Exploring Growth and Self-Recycling with Corn! Come check it out and get your own colorful glass-gem Indian corn kernels to grow at home! @msuscifest.bsky.social #PlantScience

We're back at Michigan State University's Science Festival with our popular interactive activity, "Why Do Bananas Smell So Good? How Plants Make Themselves A-Peeling!" Come stop by the MSU STEM Teaching & Learning Facility, Room 2202 today until 4pm & tomorrow, 11am-4pm! @msuscifest.bsky.social

Rhee Lab members Natalie Pitts, Ryan Brener, and Aidan Deneen are representing @waliianhydro.bsky.social at this year's MSU SciFest!

The MSU SciFest STEAM Expo Days are this weekend! Join the Rhee Lab in the STEM Teaching & Learning Facility April 11-12 to participate in our interactive booth "Exploring Growth and Self-Recycling with Corn!" Learn about autophagy in maize & take home colorful kernels 🌽 #plantscience

We’re hiring a Research Assistant III/S in the Rhee Lab @ MSU 🌱🔬 Work on plant resilience using molecular biology + advanced imaging in a collaborative lab. Apply: careers.msu.edu/jobs/researc... Closes April 21 (may re-open late April/early May). If closed, reach out by email. #plantscience