ERC SYNERGY Project HYDROSENSING
We are on a mission to transform our understanding of how plants sense and respond to water. Curated by @isabelmyp.bsky.social
https://hydrosensing.eu
- Reposted by ERC SYNERGY Project HYDROSENSINGFull professor for plant ecology in Regensburg. #plantscience #plantscijobs jobs.zeit.de/jobs/w3-prof...
- 🌱 How do roots push through compacted soil? A new study in @nature.com shows that soil compaction increases ethylene, reshaping cell wall mechanics in roots hydrosensing.eu/2026/02/ethy... Some key findings📝 • Ethylene activates ARF1 in the root cortex • ARF1 represses cellulose synthase genes 👇
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- Reposted by ERC SYNERGY Project HYDROSENSING📣 Check out the latest unit in the Teaching Tools in Plant Biology series, “Genomic Analysis of Botanical Collections: Opportunities and Challenges,” blog.aspb.org/new-teaching.... 🌱 #PlantScience
- From a tiny model plant to global food systems 🌍🌱 Review in The Plant Cell explores how decades of research on Arabidopsis thaliana have transformed our understanding of plant development. #PlantScience #Arabidopsis #PlantGenomics 👇
- 🧬🌱 How do cells tune SUMOylation under stress? New study builds a SUMO Cell Atlas of the Arabidopsis root, revealing striking tissue- and compartment-specific regulation of the entire SUMO pathway, and how different stresses rewire it. 📝 To the full paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- 🧬🌱 Just added a new paper to the website: A report about a Multi Targeted AmiRNA Cell type-specific Transportome-scale (mTACT) toolbox, a cell type-specific, transportome-scale amiRNA toolbox that overcomes functional redundancy in Arabidopsis. 📝 Here: hydrosensing.eu/2026/01/mtac... 👇
- Reposted by ERC SYNERGY Project HYDROSENSING🌿To #grow or not to grow...🌿 This #OpenAccess #JIPB commentary discusses the mechanism by which #plants decide whether stop or continue growing under fluctuating #environmental conditions. doi.org/10.1111/jipb... @wileylifesci.bsky.social #PlantScience #botany #evolution #ClimateChange
- Reposted by ERC SYNERGY Project HYDROSENSING2026 UK plant biomechanics workshop on 17th April 2026 in Nottingham. Abstract submissions deadline is 13 Feb, and registration is open. 🌱🧪🌿🔬#PlantSci
- 🌱 How do maize roots know where water is in dry soils... and why don’t all crops do this equally well?? Recap of the #HS Science paper "Moisture-responsive root-branching pathways identified in diverse maize breeding germplasm"💧🌿 📄 Full paper: www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1... 👇 1/3
- 🌱 How do plant roots sense and respond to water in the soil? Recap of hashtag#HS Journal of Experimental Botany review that synthesises current knowledge on hormonal control of root growth–water interactions💧🌿 📄 Full paper: academic.oup.com/jxb/article/76/7/1987/8011474 👇
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- What is hydrotropism?💧 Hydrotropism is how plant roots find water. Roots don’t just grow straight down. They can sense where water is in the soil & grow toward wetter areas. This helps plants get the water they need to stay alive, especially when the soil is very dry. Think of it like this👇
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- Reposted by ERC SYNERGY Project HYDROSENSINGRooting 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👇
- 🌾 How plants adjust root architecture under drought? Recap of #HS paper in Current Biology! 🌱 Read the study: doi.org/10.1016/j.cu... Study showed that ABA helps crops (eg rice & maize) grow roots at steeper angles in response to drought by boosting local auxin production at the root tip. 1/4
- Reposted by ERC SYNERGY Project HYDROSENSINGCelebrating Plant Science Excellence: 2026 Rank Prize in Nutrition The Global Plant Council warmly congratulates Professors David E. Salt and Martin Broadley on receiving the 2026 Rank Prize for Nutrition. buff.ly/S5pa3jP via Rank Prize #PlantScience
- Our Hydrosensing partner NTNU hosted yesterday a fascinating lab webinar exploring the delicate relationship between the plasma membrane and the cell wall... and why studying it can truly test a scientist’s patience! Great insights from W Häger & M Tichá and great discussions followed 🌱🔬
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- Reposted by ERC SYNERGY Project HYDROSENSINGPlaces still available for @embo.org Lab Leadership for #Postdocs online/in-person courses in January! Take time to focus on your interpersonal skills, discover tools to support your development + tune up your communication skills. Sign up now: www.embolableadership.org/course/embol... #EMBOLabLead
- 18 months into #HYDROSENSING learning about water sensing & droughts response & it shows: 🧬 15 publications (more coming) 🔬 CRISPR libraries + protein structures underway 🌾 Work advancing in Arabidopsis, tomato & rice models 🌱 40+ scientists collaborating Read more: hydrosensing.eu/2025/12/hydr...
- Great session yesterday with Andrew Fleming from @sheffielduni.bsky.social He gave our researchers a fascinating look at stomatal mecanics & the role of stomata in plant function, which was especially insightful for those of us who usually focus on roots🌱 Thank you Andy for an inspiring talk!
- Dr. Malcolm Bennett will be speaking about “Discovering how plants sense water stress” this Wednesday, 26th of November at Auditorio Abate Molina, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas UC, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile 🔸 Wednesday, 26 November 🕙 10:00 hrs
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- In today’s meeting, Malcolm Bennett went member by member through the research updates from the @uniofnottingham.bsky.social team, discussing methods, results, and how these connect with the work of others across the extended Hydrosensing team. Lots of food for thought. Exciting times ahead 😉
- Reposted by ERC SYNERGY Project HYDROSENSINGThe 2026 plant science conference travel award program is open! Awards are given to student/mentor pairs. At lease one of the pair must be a member of SACNAS or MANRRS or AISES. Please share, applications due by Dec 5, 2025. @sacnas.bsky.social rootandshoot.org/2026-root-sh...
- Huge congratulations to our colleague and PI Malcolm Bennett, named among Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers 2025 in Plant & Animal Science! One of only 7 UK researchers in this field! 👏👏👏 Beyond being an outstanding scientist, he’s also a truly supportive and kind colleague. We’re so proud!!
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- We’ve just hit the 1/3 mark on the project, good time to pause & ask: what’s working, & what could be better? At our last meeting, the ECRs led the discussion, PIs listening in. Everyone agreed the ECR meetings have been a strength a space to share the basics of each team’s work & discipline 💬
- Reposted by ERC SYNERGY Project HYDROSENSINGJoin us for the EMBO | EMBL Symposium 'AI and biology' 🤖🧬 Explore how AI transforms biological research – from foundation models for biology to generative modelling 🧠💡 10 – 13 March 2026 EMBL Heidelberg and Virtual Submit your abstract: s.embl.org/ees26-02-bl #EESAIBio #AI
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- Reposted by ERC SYNERGY Project HYDROSENSINGWhy do scientific societies matter now more than ever? Scientists board explore how societies support researchers, foster global collaboration, & shape the future of science. A must-read for all career stages 👍 🔗 buff.ly/YW2XUN3 #plantscience #science
- Big news from the NTNU team! 👏 They've received €2.1M from the Norwegian Research Council for #StrawberryWalls project, exploring how plants adapt to heat, drought & pests in a warming Arctic. 👉 hydrosensing.eu/2025/10/strawberrywalls-new-research-to-help-plants-thrive-in-a-warming-arctic/ 1/4
- From Sep 28th to Oct 1st, three of our PIs met in Nottingham for an in-person exchange of ideas and progress discussions. Over the days, the team engaged in: 🔬 Lab tours & hands-on sessions 💻 Project webinars 🍽️ Group lunches and dinners 💡 Discussions to spark ideas for collaborations 1/4
- Exciting news from the @uniofnottingham.bsky.social lab!🔬 They have just set up a new ERC-funded vertical confocal platform that will allow to image root systems growing in more "natural ways" This setup will open up new opportunities to study plant development in unprecedented detail
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- Back from summer & team meetings are buzzing again!!🧑🔬 To a good start, Barak Mitman from @eilonshani.bsky.social shared work on xerobranching-associated genes & transporters 🌱 We also welcomed many new faces, especially from Nottingham, making our calls bigger than ever: 26 people, 4 countries!! 🤩
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- Plant roots don’t just rely on genes... physics shapes them too 🌱 Research shows plant roots can adjust their stiffness + softness within HOURS to keep growing, even under stress. 1/2
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- Today, Amichai Berman, PhD student from TAU - @eilonshani.bsky.social - deliver an engaging seminar on CRISPR; the 1st session on this & 3rd seminar overall in our ongoing series for PhD students & PostDocs. With 13 attendees across the 4 different teams of the project. #CRISPR #PhDLife #Science
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- Not only small model plants! 🌱 #Hydrosensing team at Tel Aviv (Shani Lab) is carrying out large-scale CRISPR libraries in crops.
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- Congratulations to Prof. @eilonshani.bsky.social Eilon Shani, #Hydrosensing PI, on being elected to EMBO 2025! 🎉 This honor recognizes his outstanding contributions to plant molecular genetics and scientific excellence @embo.org www.embo.org/press-releas...
- Reposted by ERC SYNERGY Project HYDROSENSINGWelcome and congratulations to the 60 new members and 9 associate members who have been elected to the EMBO Membership! This honour celebrates #research excellence and outstanding achievements in the #LifeSciences. 🧪 Learn more here: www.embo.org/press-releas... #EMBOMembers2025
- Moments from #ICAR2025 by HS team members 1️⃣ Malcolm Bennett & Danielle Colyer w Marc Van Montagu, the legendary pioneer who co-discovered Agrobacterium DNA transformation; the foundation of plant genetic modification 🧬🌱 2️⃣ MB catching up with Tom Beeckman, one of the driving forces behind ICAR 💪
