Out in eLife: Balancing selection in Capsella
Long-term balancing selection drives evolution of immunity genes in Capsella
Koenig et al., eLife 2019;8:e43606 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.43606
Genetic drift is expected to remove polymorphism from populations over long periods of time, with the rate of polymorphism loss being accelerated when … Read the rest
Cell-type specific RNA-seq and ChIP-seq
Phloem companion cell-specific transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses identify MRF1, a novel regulator of flowering
You et al. Plant Cell DOI: https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.17.00714
The phloem plays essential roles in source-to-sink relationship and in long-distance communication to coordinate growth and development throughout the … Read the rest
PLoS Biology: The magic of heterosis explained
Nonlinear phenotypic variation uncovers the emergence of heterosis in Arabidopsis thaliana
François Vasseur , Louise Fouqueau, Dominique de Vienne, Thibault Nidelet, Cyrille Violle, Detlef Weigel
PLoS Biology https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000214
Heterosis describes the phenotypic superiority of hybrids over their parents in traits … Read the rest
Detlef elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Other new members this year include Michelle Obama & gender theorist Judith Butler
Detlef has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This year, more than 200 individuals with compelling achievements in academia, business, government, and public … Read the rest
HFSP fellowships to two recent PhD graduates
Patricia Lang and Giovanna Capovilla both won HFSP support!
Congratulations to Patricia Lang, who will work on “Evolutionary genetics of stomata-related climate change-adaptation through space and time”, and Giovanna Capovilla, who will work on “Prochlorococcus cyanophage: lysogenic potential … Read the rest
Congratulations, Dr. Karelina & Dr. Van de Weyer!
A first: Two PhD defenses on one day!
Both Anna-Lena and Darya investigated the amazing diversity of NLR genes in Arabidopsis thaliana:
Anan-Lena’s PhD thesis is entitled “The pan-NLR’ome of Arabidopsis thalianaGenome-Wide Analysis of Nucleotide-Binding Domain Leucine-Rich Repeat (NLR) Variation … Read the rest
bioRxiv: Barragan et al – Predicting hybrid underperformance
RPW8/HR Repeats Predict NLR-dependent Hybrid Performance
Barragan et al., bioRxiv, posted Feb 24, 2019
Hybrid offspring can look very different from their parents, including having greatly increased or decreased fitness. In many plant species, conflicts between divergent elements of the … Read the rest
First preprint of 2019: The A. thaliana pan-NLRome
The Arabidopsis thaliana pan-NLRome
1000s of NLR genes in 65 diverse accessions
Van de Weyer et al., bioRxiv 537001, posted January 31, 2019
Disease is both among the most important selection pressures in nature and among the main causes … Read the rest
Last preprint of 2018: Evolution of herbicide resistance
Multiple modes of convergent adaptation in the spread of glyphosate-resistant Amaranthus tuberculatus
Julia M. Kreiner, Darci Giacomini, Felix Bemm, Bridgit Waithaka, Julian Regalado, Christa Lanz, Julia Hildebrandt, Peter H. Sikkema, Patrick J. Tranel, Detlef Weigel, John R. Stinchcombe, Stephen I. … Read the rest
In Genetics: over 1,000 spontaneous mutations
Fine-Grained Analysis of Spontaneous Mutation Spectrum and Frequency in Arabidopsis thaliana
Mao-Lun Weng, Claude Becker, Julia Hildebrandt, Matthew T. Rutter, Ruth G. Shaw, Detlef Weigel and Charles B. Fenster
Mutations are the ultimate source of all genetic variation.
On bioRxiv: Balancing selection in Capsella
Long-term balancing selection drives evolution of immunity genes in Capsella
Daniel Koenig et al. bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/477612
Genetic drift is expected to remove polymorphism from populations over long periods of time, with the rate of polymorphism loss being accelerated when species … Read the rest
Appeal to Federal Ministries of Research and Ag
German plant scientists: gene technology law is outdated
Leading German plant scientists agree that the gene technology law, which has been interpreted by the European Court of Justice to include genome edited organisms, is outdated and must be changed. They … Read the rest
Gentechnik im grünen Bereich?
Video from debate with Renate Künast
Debate about genome editing and gene technology on October 29, 2018, at DAI Heidelberg.
… 
It’s a (Wo)Man’s World?
Detlef speaking at event on #WomenInSTEM
Public discussion on chances and opportunities for women in STEM professions. With Prof. Katharina Foerster, Dr. Brigit Buschmann, Prof. Corinna Salander and Detlef
November 28, 7 pm, Frauenprojektehaus Tübingen
… 
Successful 2-day microbiome retreat
Intense brainstorming with Vorholt and Kemen labs
On November 6 and 7, we spent two days at Kloster Kirchberg to discuss the past, present and future of plant microbiome studies with the labs of Julia Vorholt at ETH and Eric … Read the rest
EMBO Short Term Fellowship for Anita Bollmann
For studying the interactions of Sphingomonas and Pseudomonas
Anita Bollmann from the John Innes Centre received an EMBO Short Term Fellowship for her project “Studying plant-associated interactions of Pseudomonas and Sphingomonas in the A.thaliana phyllosphere”.
… Spiegel reports on debate with Renate Künast
Successful event in Heidelberg on October 29
Reporter criticizes Renate Künast for not addressing genetic modification, but mostly discussing other topics of agricultural relevance. Summary: A win for science based on points.
(C) Filip Fehrmann… Read the rest
Congratulations, Dr. Moises Exposito-Alonso!
‘Summa cum laude’ for thesis on climate change & evolution
Moi defended his thesis on climate change and genetic evolution in Arabidopsis thaliana yesterday. For his effort, he was awarded a ‘summa cum laude’ — with distinction. The examiners agreed … Read the rest
Congratulations, Dr. Effie Symeonidi!
Another PhD thesis graduate of WeigelWorld
Effie defended her thesis ‘Studying salicylic acid function in natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana using CRISPR/Cas technology’. She applied CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing of the same gene (ICS1) to multiple accessions, developed with … Read the rest
European plant scientists speak up for CRISPR
Position paper by Europe’s leading plant scientists
European scientists unite to safeguard precision breeding for sustainable agriculture
… 
