Looking to connect with the #ERGA community on Bluesky? 🦋 We’ve created a starter pack! If you’re interested in #ReferenceGenomes and want your account added, just drop us a message below 💬 go.bsky.app/15jzVKB 🔁 Please reshare so we can reach the whole community! #genomes for #biodiversity

We really did try everything, throwing the kitchen sink of VERG techniques at these rice plants... but nothing we tried worked. We're hoping that by sharing our negative data, others won't walk down the same deadends! Full data at doi.org/10.1101/2025...

We tried and we tried... but none of our virus-enabled reverse genetics tricks worked in rice! We're trying to let the scientific community know to keep others from wasting their time trying the same things. www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/rices-r... with the full article at doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Join me for a pint 🍻 tomorrow night as I dig into the genetics of wicked weeds 🌱. No biology degree required just a fair dose of curiosity. A bit of heckling welcome.... 📍 Harpenden Arms AL5 2TR 📅 8/7/25 at 7pm #WeedScience #PlantGenetics #Blackgrass #ScienceTalk

I've just spent the last two days at the first ever ARIA Summit. What a rush! It was so inspiring to be surrounded by people for whom "Having Ambition" was not a detriment and think that saving the world is a real and achievable milestone. More? See @amyrlewin.bsky.social sifted.eu/articles/ari...

Sometimes you just have to shout "Duck" and see what happens. Credit to my daughter for incredible photo and www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places... for the great location.

I am proud of my Rothamsted science! We are uncovering how weeds overcome human and abiotic agroecosystem stresses and which resilience traits can inform weed control and crop improvement. Hoping to demonstrate my own resilience and keep building toward even greater impact despite upcoming changes.

Grant deadlines & manuscript revisions have kept me busy - but this sneakily resilient ivy-leaved toadflax flourishing in the walls and crevices at Sizergh @nationaltrust.org.uk www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/lake-d... caught my eye over Easter. Even the prettiest plants are weeds to someone else!

#PhD Opportunity: A Greener Way to Control Weeds We need new solutions to combat #Blackgrass; Could naturally occurring soil microbes hold the key? Full details www.envision-dtp.org/2025/a-green... Open to UK “home” applicants only. DEADLINE: 17:00 Wed 12 March [email protected]

💬 "The DEFRA Secretary’s commitment to implementing the new Precision Breeding Act is great news. “The regulation that will be established by this legislation will create new markets for healthier, more environmentally beneficial plant products." - Prof Neil Hall, Director of the Earlham Institute.

Very excited to see both these papers out! Press release at www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/new-seq... We've worked hard to understand Alopecurus weeds and having genomes for both A. myosuroides and A. aequalis will be incredibly enabling. Thanks so much to the many collaborators who have been involved!

Thanks also to @biggenomes.bsky.social! Data below shows the Orange foxtail genome structure is more similar to barley than blackgrass! We expect this new T2T quality genome will be a valuable tool for researchers. Although fully open acces, I would love to hear from anyone using it.

New #OpenAccess tool for #WeedGenomics, #HerbicideResistance, and #ComparativeGenomics. Chromosome-scale genome assembly for Alopecurus aequalis - rdcu.be/d335n @rothamsted.bsky.social @earlhaminst.bsky.social @jonwright99.bsky.social @gemygk.bsky.social @ergabiodiv.bsky.social and all 24 authors!

Last days to apply for www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin... #PhD The enemy of my enemy. Answers to "why does Zymoseptoria infect wheat but not wheat's worst weed blackgrass?" BBSRC #SWBioDTP studentship for 2025. Closing midnight 11th December 2024. @rothamsted.bsky.social @quietscientist.bsky.social

Last chance to apply for our www.rothamsted.ac.uk/studentship/... PhD project, where your data will help develop rapid and effective strategies to control unmanageable seed-dispersed weed populations Apply samis.bath.ac.uk/urd/sits.urd... before midnight 11th December 2024 @rothamsted.bsky.social

📢 SWBio DTP PhD Opportunity: What Makes Weeds Flower? Disrupting Seed Production in Herbicide-Resistant Weeds to Improve Sustainable Agriculture @rothamsted.bsky.social 📄 www.swbio.ac.uk/agriculture-... Apply samis.bath.ac.uk/urd/sits.urd... 🗓️ Closing Wed 11 Dec #PhD #WeedScience #Bioinformatics

📢 SWBio DTP PhD Opportunity - The enemy of my enemy… why does Zymoseptoria infect wheat but not wheat’s worst weed blackgrass? 📄 Full details: www.swbio.ac.uk/agriculture-... Apply www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin... 🗓️ Closing Date: Midnight, Wed 11 Dec #PhD #PlantPathology #WeedScience #AgriResearch