Kaisa Kajala
Associate professor at Utrecht University, loves plant cell types & regulatory networks and their evolution.
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaSomeone got Cas9-Turbo to work. It's like basically Y1H but with proteomics. It however requires transgenic plant expressing Cas9-Turbo and gRNAs, which is still cumbersome for many plants that are not Arabidopsis. #PlantSciences
- New Brief Communication: "A CRISPR-based sequence proximity binding protein labelling system for scanning upstream regulatory proteins" rdcu.be/eZLUP CRISPR-based proximity labelling system to profile DNA-binding proteins such as PIF4 transcription factor .
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaAre you, or do you know someone that is excited to do a PhD in plant biology. We are happy to offer a position to explore physiology, gene regulatory networks and wild species. Come join our team in a stimulating scientific environment at the University of Groningen! werkenbij.rug.nl/vacature/phd...
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaWere you considering applying to the 2026 GRC on Salt and Water Stress? Do you want to give an oral presentation? We are over 60% full, so apply soon! Consideration for oral presentations from submitted abstracts will occur on March 9, 2026. www.grc.org/salt-and-wat... Please re-post!
- PhD position open with an excellent supervisor and in a very warm, fun research group! Highly recommended! #plantscience #suberinteresting
- PhD position open in my team @uuplants.bsky.social ! Join us to investigate how sorghum roots interact with recently discovered Suberin-Inducing Microbes! More details: www.uu.nl/en/organisat... Please share!
- It may be forever January 2026 in my office from now on. 🌱🔬 TEM image of suberin lamella by @riannekluck.bsky.social #suberinteresting
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaRooting for roots? #PlantScience Join us online for the Mini Symposium of the International Society of Root Research @rootscientists.bsky.social Register here for free: tinyurl.com/yzeddrjx Programme👇
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaI'm very happy to announce that starting February 2026, I'm joining Utrecht University as an Assistant Professor!!!
- Reposted by Kaisa Kajala🧵 Just out in Cell after more than 10 years in the making! 🎓 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... Plants and animals evolve radically different body plans. Do they also operate under fundamentally different molecular evolutionary constraints during organ formation? @cellpress.bsky.social
- Reposted by Kaisa Kajala🚨We’re hiring! Please help spread the word! Our lab at @TheSainsburyLab is recruiting a pre-doctoral intern to work on plant immunity research. Ideal for those who are planning to pursue a PhD and seeking research experience. tatsuyanobori.com
- 📣 VACANCY: Predoctoral Intern in the Nobori group @tatsuyanobori.bsky.social Join the team to work on plant immunity research at single-cell and spatial resolution 🌱 Apply online, deadline 26 Jan 2026 www.tsl.ac.uk/working-at-t... #PlantSciJobs #PlantScience #STEMJobs
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaCool paper #plantscience www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Last week I saw @leonardojo.bsky.social present a summary of his postdoc work, and I was so impressed about his ability to draw overarching themes and draw ideas from his various postdoc projects. It made me contemplate the importance of taking a step back and look at the big picture. (1/4)
- The projects were on 1) chickpea exodermis with me (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...) 2) effector-triggered immunity with @dinglab.bsky.social (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...) 3) far-red responses with @ronaldpierik.bsky.social. What a crazy diverse set to see shared biology in! (2/4)
- This also reminded me that I may have forgotten to celebrate the fact here that he was awarded a prestigious Dutch Talent Program VENI fellowship earlier this year! This allows him to carry out independent research on his chosen topic, pioneer factors! 🎉 www.wur.nl/en/news/hitc... (3/4)
- So, this is to say that I am one proud mentor and enthusiastic fan of @leonardojo.bsky.social, and I look forward to seeing his future research output! (4/4)
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaAre you interested in using synthetic approaches to promote arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiosis? Then our PostDoc position may be for you: jobs.mpimp-golm.mpg.de/jobposting/b...
- Reposted by Kaisa Kajala📣 Check out the Journal of Experimental Botany's newest special issue 📣 🍅 Tomato - Issue 21 of 2025 🍅 📘 Guest edited by Yves Gibon, Diane Beckles, Sonia Osorio & Hiroshi Ezura 🔗 academic.oup.com/jxb... #JXBspecialissues #PlantScience 🧪 @sebiology.bsky.social @dianemariabeckles.bsky.social
- Reposted by Kaisa Kajala🧬 🍅 SPECIAL ISSUE RESEARCH 🍅 🧬 MYB and WRKY transcription factors collaboratively regulate suberin biosynthesis in the tomato root exodermis. Antagonistic interactions may fine-tune suberization or act as a brake on overaccumulation - Jo et al. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/... #PlantScience 🧪
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaCheck out this #Root methods course organised at Aarhus University in May 2026! Register using the link below. phd.tech.au.dk/for-phd-stud...
- Super proud to see my first postdoc @marianasartur.bsky.social publishing super cool work from her own lab! 🌱⏳ #PlantScience
- Absolutely happy to share our latest publication!🥳🎉 The first manuscript of the first PhD candidate of my team! 🥹🤩 Huge congratulations to our brilliant Asif Ahmed Sami for his excellent work! ✨️ academic.oup.com/plcell/artic...
- Flashback also to September when @marianasartur.bsky.social had her first co-promoted PhD graduate from @pph-wur.bsky.social! First photo shows her signing the PhD diploma, and second with the freshly minted PhD. So happy to see mentees become excellent mentors! 💚
- Reposted by Kaisa Kajala🥔 🌱 Reading about potato breeding I learned: "there has been no genetic gain in potato yield over the last 100 years" 🤯 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- Reposted by Kaisa Kajalawarwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fa... I also have a plant evo-devo PhD opportunity open to study the evolutionary origins of female meiosis with me ^^. Deadline Thursday 27th November, so if you know anyone who might be interested, please do let them know! #Plantscience
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaBy combining molecular genetics with cell-ablation experiments, we found that vascular cambium stem cells and xylem-identity cells form an interchangeable unit, a stem cell niche. Meticulous work by @xixizhang9001.bsky.social, Ondrej Smetana, Jing Zhang & Xiaoyu Wang 1/x www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaGreat opportunity for Early Career Researchers - Utrecht PhD Summer School 2026! eps.sites.uu.nl
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaWe are beyond excited to reveal the full line-up for our Environmental Signaling in Plants summer school 2026! Registration is now open here eps.sites.uu.nl - we look forward to seeing you in Utrecht on 24th-26th August!
- EPS Theme 1 (plant development) symposium today in Utrecht! Exciting talks so far and very lively Q&As! Proud to be part of this community 🌱 @epsgraduateschool.bsky.social @violawillemsen.bsky.social @renskevroomans.bsky.social @uuplants.bsky.social
- Finishing the symposium with our second keynote @apmahonen.bsky.social - so many cool and impactful stories rolled into his talk!
- I really enjoyed this edition of the symposium - thank you to all PhDs and PDs for presenting, helping out with hosting, and especially asking the great questions! 🌱 Also 👏🎉 to @violawillemsen.bsky.social for co-chairing & @epsgraduateschool.bsky.social office for organization!
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaNew paper is online! We used single cell RNA-seq & phylogenetics to identify 2 additional cell type specific TFs that control late-stage vinca alkaloid biosynthesis. The key insights originated from Camptotheca, another species that produces alkaloids. doi.org/10.1111/nph.... #PlantScience #SecMet
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaI am beyond thrilled (like the screaming and jumping type of thrilled) that my SNSF Starting Grant was funded. I will start my own lab @unibe.ch next year, studying succulent anatomy development and if and how this anatomy is required for efficient CAM photosynthesis in different Kalanchoë species 🌱
- ✨ Searching for extraterrestrial life or combating speech disorders: The SNSF is awarding #SNSFStartingGrants to 41 outstanding researchers. They will receive a maximum of CHF 1 million to lead a project with their own #research team at a Swiss university. 🚀 ℹ️ sohub.io/aq26
- Reposted by Kaisa Kajala🎃 Why are (Halloween) pumpkins orange – and not pink or blue? This secret is explored by @bpucker.bsky.social, @nancy-choudhary.bsky.social and Marie Hagedorn. Their research examines how carotenoids took over, making Jack O’Lanterns forever orange: www.uni-bonn.de/en/news/colo.... Happy Halloween!
- Our recent Tansley Insight is already out of date 😂 doi.org/10.1111/nph.... Joking aside, I’m excited to see an inner cortex-specifying cue resolved!
- New Article: "A mobile DELLA controls Medicago truncatula root cortex patterning to host arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi" rdcu.be/eJO9O Mobile transcriptional regulators DELLA and SHORT-ROOT control the number of root inner cortex cell layers able to host symbiotic AMF.
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaOur article "Guns in Rosettes: The Arabidopsis chemical weapons arsenal" is finally published @plantphys.bsky.social! You can download the #OpenAccess PDF here: doi.org/10.1093/plph... But real connoisseurs of #AntimicrobialCompounds will want to get the vinyl boxset: #PlantScience #PlantImmunity
- Check out the finale of the Plant Cell Identity webinar series! 🌱 🔬 🧬 We had a panel discussion with @oli-wilkins.bsky.social, @bas-bargmann.bsky.social and Marc Libault, on why and how we define cell types, and what could be done better. I love this question and its complexity! ✨
- In case you missed it... The final installment of the Plant Cell Identity Webinar Series - The Open Panel Discussion, is now available on YouTube! youtu.be/BNy3dNRphnc
- Incredibly exited to see @dorotakawa.bsky.social be awarded the "Dutch starting grant" (VIDI)! 🎉 And what a cohort, so many plant biologists awarded! Including @andrekuhn.bsky.social @charlieunderwood.bsky.social @kinpanchung.bsky.social - what a boost to the community and exciting science planned!
- Delighted to be awarded NWO VIDI grant! We will study how microbes shape root cells to enhance plant stress resilience - so exciting!!!! www.nwo.nl/en/news/149-... Fantastic to see several plant projects granted🌽🌱
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaDelighted to be awarded NWO VIDI grant! We will study how microbes shape root cells to enhance plant stress resilience - so exciting!!!! www.nwo.nl/en/news/149-... Fantastic to see several plant projects granted🌽🌱
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaFinal, edited version of the paper now available www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- 🌱 What happens when lateral root primordia (LRPs) fail to emerge? Using our new lineage tracing tool LRTracker, Xin discovered that arrested LRPs don’t just disappear—they gradually switch fate and become part of the cambium, contributing to secondary growth.1/x www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaAn updated perspective: what genes make a tree a tree? #plantscience
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaSimon's mutant finally published! Well done, Satoko' lab with Harro, Tobimatsu, Tohge collaborations. Glucosylation of endogenous haustorium-inducing factors underpins kin avoidance in parasitic plants | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaVery happy to see our work out examining guard cell transcriptomes over the course of a slowly developing drought. Thanks to @bradylabs.bsky.social and @kaisakajala.bsky.social for the inspiration, way back in Davis in 2013! The data are available in bar.utoronto.ca/eplant & doi.org/10.1093/plce...
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaThe @uncchapelhill.bsky.social Department of Biology is searching for tenure-track Assistant Professor in Plant Molecular Biology. Chapel Hill is a wonderful place and Biology is an amazing group of people. To apply, see: unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/307...
- Reposted by Kaisa Kajala...and if you missed it, here are 60 phylogenetically diverse brown algae genomes www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
- ...and 10 new phylogenetically diverse hornwort genomes here: www.nature.com/articles/s41... @fernway.bsky.social @jandevries.bsky.social @watertoland.bsky.social
- Reposted by Kaisa Kajala...and 10 new phylogenetically diverse hornwort genomes here: www.nature.com/articles/s41... @fernway.bsky.social @jandevries.bsky.social @watertoland.bsky.social
- Here's 123 new bryophyte genomes for you! Apparently, bryophytes time and again include microbial genes in their genomic repertoire, and occupy a langer gene space than vascular plants. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaHere's 123 new bryophyte genomes for you! Apparently, bryophytes time and again include microbial genes in their genomic repertoire, and occupy a langer gene space than vascular plants. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaCoordination of cortex modifications in time, space, and under stress 📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #Tansleyinsight by @dorotakawa.bsky.social, @hannahschneider.bsky.social and @kaisakajala.bsky.social @uuplants.bsky.social #PlantScience
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaComing to you live from #ISPLORE2025JP Fresh preprint from my lab showing that leaves progressively oxygenate and how this is important for their morphogenesis.Thanks to our collaborators from @Fra_LicO2si lab. #plantscience www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaWhich fungal 🍄 molecules cause zombie 🧟♀️ ant 🐜 behaviors? @williamycete.bsky.social has begun to answer this question! He found a peptide that binds to scramblase and affects important odor-dependent behaviors in ants. Spoiler: worms 🪱 played a key role in this research 🧐 doi.org/10.1101/2025...
- Delighted to present our Tansley Insight on what we know about the potential of different root cortex layers to do develop into different things! 👩🔬 @dorotakawa.bsky.social @hannahschneider.bsky.social 📗 @newphyt.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
- I had great co-authors to have long conversations about what cortex even is - cell type, tissue, collection of tissues... I actually would like to hear how you think we managed? @plantcellatlas.bsky.social
- Finally, I also want to highlight our other review on cortex, this one is specifically about Poaceae and more about the physiological roles of the different cortex modifications: doi.org/10.1007/s111...
- Starting in 3h or so - we will be discussing why and how we should be defining cell types and states - I expect really stimulating conversation and important suggestions for how to (not) use the terminology! #PlantScience @oli-wilkins.bsky.social @bas-bargmann.bsky.social @b-coli.bsky.social
- TOMORROW! The final segment of the Plant Cell Identity Webinar Series, The Open Panel Discussion is tomorrow, Sept. 16, 2025. To Register: bit.ly/PCAPCI_Webinar @kaisakajala.bsky.social
- Really looking forward to this panel discussion on Tuesday - getting to discuss in depth why it is important to define plant cell types and states! #PlantScience 🌱
- ONE WEEK AWAY! The final segment of the Plant Cell Identity Webinar Series, The Open Panel Discussion is Sept. 16, 2025. To Register: bit.ly/PCAPCI_Webinar
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaONE WEEK AWAY! The final segment of the Plant Cell Identity Webinar Series, The Open Panel Discussion is Sept. 16, 2025. To Register: bit.ly/PCAPCI_Webinar
- Reposted by Kaisa Kajala📢Come work with us! We are looking for a Postdoctoral Research Associate for the ARIA-funded PlantPlug project🌱 Be part of pioneering work turning mistletoe into programmable plant biointerfaces🧬 More information: vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrec... #PlantScience #PostdocJobs #SyntheticBiology
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaNew preprint! 🐛 Root-knot nematodes hijack root cells, turning them into feeding sites and making plants very sick. Using a cross-species scRNA-seq approach we mapped this process and show how this knowledge can be used to engineer resistant crops.🌱 A summary🧵 : www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Kaisa Kajala
We are looking for a PDRA for the PlantPlug project, turning parasitic plants into programmable bio-modules! Using mistletoe as a novel chassis, we are exploring the frontiers of inter-species communication. Apply online by 15/10/2025. *RP* #PlantSciencesJobs vacancies.essex.ac.uk/tlive_webrec... - Reposted by Kaisa KajalaThis might be one of the simplest images I captured, but very fascinating nonetheless, as it shows how tight the cytoplasm in a plant cell is. The cytosol and all other organelles are squished between the plasma membrane (magenta) and the central vacuole (its membrane is green) #MicroscopyMonday
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaSuch a cool story! 💐
- Reposted by Kaisa Kajalathese are all real DAP-seq peaks! specifically, peaks in the promoter of SWEET11 (a sugar transport gene) and its orthologs across 10 plant species the darker colored peaks are binding sites for transcription factors that have maintained regulation of SWEET11 across 100+M years of plant evolution
- The August issue is now fully online, with a beautiful cover that might be a nostalgia trigger for some of us (young people can find an explanation in the Editorial): www.nature.com/nplants/volu...
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaVery excited that our work on directional symplastic transport in differentiated root is now published!A developmental switch controls cell-to-cell transport in roots via pectin-linked plasmodesmata changes: Molecular Plant www.cell.com/molecular-pl...
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaThe application/registration deadline has been extended to July 21! Apply now! lnkd.in/gvkMxuKR Meet The Speakers of the Single-Cell Approaches in Plant Biology GRC Conference! To Learn More About Dr. Uhrig's Research: www.uhriglab.com @uhriglab.bsky.social
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaJoin us this September in Wageningen/Ede to discuss and learn about Plant Development 🌱💚
- 🌱 Passionate About Plant Development? Join the "Summer School", a dynamic three-day intensive program tailored for enthusiastic PhD students and postdocs eager to deepen their understanding of plant developmental biology. Register here: www.graduateschool-eps.info/events/eps-s...
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaSave the date! The 2026 edition of UU Summer School in Environmental Signaling in Plants will be on 24th-26th August 2026! @epsgraduateschool.bsky.social @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaI have a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position starting in January to study the evolution of seed gene networks using the fern Ceratopteris! Interested? More info here: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNU179/r... Closing date 31st July. 🙂 #PlantScience #PlantSciencejobs
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaLatest #preprint from the lab @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social Please welcome Nissolia brasiliensis, the new non-nodulating model legume ☘️ developped by Camille Girou in the team! Work led by Tatiana, with input from many! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Kaisa Kajala🔥Postdoc opportunity 🌱 The Legris lab at the University of Neuchâtel 🇨🇭 is looking for a Postdoc to work on the regulation of branching by warm temperatures. If you have a background on plant physiology and development, and you're interested in shoot thermomorphogenesis, apply now!
- Reposted by Kaisa KajalaCome join us in Wageningen for awesome plant developmental biology!!!
- 🌱 Passionate About Plant Development? Join the "Summer School", a dynamic three-day intensive program tailored for enthusiastic PhD students and postdocs eager to deepen their understanding of plant developmental biology. Register here: www.graduateschool-eps.info/events/eps-s...
