Ben Field 🌿
@benfield1.bsky.social
Marseillais Brittanique and 🌿plant biologist interested in chloroplasts. Also @[email protected]
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
Paid Masters M2 internship: Microbial dormancy in the cryosphere 🦠❄️🌡️
@erc.europa.eu #ERC_SIESTA @lassezj.bsky.social
📢 PLEASE RT
🧬 Microbial activity measurements, flow cytometry, ecological interpretation
☀️ Marseille, France @mioceanologie.bsky.social
‼️ Apply via email ASAP & before 15 Oct
@erc.europa.eu #ERC_SIESTA @lassezj.bsky.social
📢 PLEASE RT
🧬 Microbial activity measurements, flow cytometry, ecological interpretation
☀️ Marseille, France @mioceanologie.bsky.social
‼️ Apply via email ASAP & before 15 Oct
September 15, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Paid Masters M2 internship: Microbial dormancy in the cryosphere 🦠❄️🌡️
@erc.europa.eu #ERC_SIESTA @lassezj.bsky.social
📢 PLEASE RT
🧬 Microbial activity measurements, flow cytometry, ecological interpretation
☀️ Marseille, France @mioceanologie.bsky.social
‼️ Apply via email ASAP & before 15 Oct
@erc.europa.eu #ERC_SIESTA @lassezj.bsky.social
📢 PLEASE RT
🧬 Microbial activity measurements, flow cytometry, ecological interpretation
☀️ Marseille, France @mioceanologie.bsky.social
‼️ Apply via email ASAP & before 15 Oct
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
ACHT2 deactivates carbon assimilation during light-dark transition https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.748655v1
September 8, 2026 at 6:00 AM
ACHT2 deactivates carbon assimilation during light-dark transition https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.748655v1
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
Super excited of obtaining a ERCstg to support our project MORPHEUS 🎉🎉
Receiving this grant is a pivotal moment for my lab at @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social as will allow to extend the scope of our research in cellular reprogramming using ribosome dormancy as entry point
😴🌱❄️🔬
@erc.europa.eu
Receiving this grant is a pivotal moment for my lab at @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social as will allow to extend the scope of our research in cellular reprogramming using ribosome dormancy as entry point
😴🌱❄️🔬
@erc.europa.eu
📣 Good news! 📣
Results of the ERC 2026 Starting Grant call are out!
Funding worth a total of €705 million will go to 421 early-career researchers across Europe.
Discover who, what and where 👉 link.europa.eu/9M3MmN
🧪 #ERCStG #FrontierResearch #HorizonEurope
🇪🇺 @scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu
Results of the ERC 2026 Starting Grant call are out!
Funding worth a total of €705 million will go to 421 early-career researchers across Europe.
Discover who, what and where 👉 link.europa.eu/9M3MmN
🧪 #ERCStG #FrontierResearch #HorizonEurope
🇪🇺 @scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu
September 3, 2026 at 12:35 PM
Super excited of obtaining a ERCstg to support our project MORPHEUS 🎉🎉
Receiving this grant is a pivotal moment for my lab at @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social as will allow to extend the scope of our research in cellular reprogramming using ribosome dormancy as entry point
😴🌱❄️🔬
@erc.europa.eu
Receiving this grant is a pivotal moment for my lab at @zmbp-tuebingen.bsky.social as will allow to extend the scope of our research in cellular reprogramming using ribosome dormancy as entry point
😴🌱❄️🔬
@erc.europa.eu
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
Thrilled to have the opportunity to investigate the role of membrane protein proteolysis in plant immunity through the ERC Starting Grant FRONTERA!
A heartfelt thank you to my mentors, friends, and family whose support, encouragement, and guidance made this possible.
#ERCStG @erc.europa.eu
A heartfelt thank you to my mentors, friends, and family whose support, encouragement, and guidance made this possible.
#ERCStG @erc.europa.eu
📣 Good news! 📣
Results of the ERC 2026 Starting Grant call are out!
Funding worth a total of €705 million will go to 421 early-career researchers across Europe.
Discover who, what and where 👉 link.europa.eu/9M3MmN
🧪 #ERCStG #FrontierResearch #HorizonEurope
🇪🇺 @scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu
Results of the ERC 2026 Starting Grant call are out!
Funding worth a total of €705 million will go to 421 early-career researchers across Europe.
Discover who, what and where 👉 link.europa.eu/9M3MmN
🧪 #ERCStG #FrontierResearch #HorizonEurope
🇪🇺 @scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu
September 3, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Thrilled to have the opportunity to investigate the role of membrane protein proteolysis in plant immunity through the ERC Starting Grant FRONTERA!
A heartfelt thank you to my mentors, friends, and family whose support, encouragement, and guidance made this possible.
#ERCStG @erc.europa.eu
A heartfelt thank you to my mentors, friends, and family whose support, encouragement, and guidance made this possible.
#ERCStG @erc.europa.eu
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
Oh. my. god. The biggest scientific publishers are collecting nearly $4 BILLION A YEAR in author fees.
This is absurd. We've got to break free of this system. If everyone would just agree to it, we could just post all our new papers on bsky and it wouldn't cost anything. Or something. But not this.
This is absurd. We've got to break free of this system. If everyone would just agree to it, we could just post all our new papers on bsky and it wouldn't cost anything. Or something. But not this.
🚨Update: Our analysis of global APC expenditure has now been expanded to cover more publishers (7 -> 14) and more years (2019-2025).
We estimate $15B in APCs paid over seven years, $3.7B in 2025 alone. Elsevier crosses the $1B threshold by itself in 2025.
arxiv.org/abs/2608.16322 #ScholComm
We estimate $15B in APCs paid over seven years, $3.7B in 2025 alone. Elsevier crosses the $1B threshold by itself in 2025.
arxiv.org/abs/2608.16322 #ScholComm
September 1, 2026 at 11:54 AM
Oh. my. god. The biggest scientific publishers are collecting nearly $4 BILLION A YEAR in author fees.
This is absurd. We've got to break free of this system. If everyone would just agree to it, we could just post all our new papers on bsky and it wouldn't cost anything. Or something. But not this.
This is absurd. We've got to break free of this system. If everyone would just agree to it, we could just post all our new papers on bsky and it wouldn't cost anything. Or something. But not this.
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
A new article is out in the free, generalist, open-access Peer Community Journal!
🔗 Free full-text article: peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
Free public peer-reviews and recommendation by PCI Plants: doi.org/10.24072/pci...
#PlantScience #PlantVirology #CRISPR #Rice #RYMV #PlantBreeding
🔗 Free full-text article: peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
Free public peer-reviews and recommendation by PCI Plants: doi.org/10.24072/pci...
#PlantScience #PlantVirology #CRISPR #Rice #RYMV #PlantBreeding
eIFiso4G editing confers high and broad-spectrum resistance against rice yellow mottle virus
Auguy, Florence1 ; Chéron, Sophie1; Dossou, Laurence1 ; Pinel-Galzi, Agnès1 ; Thomas, Emilie1; Aribi, Jamel1; Celli, Marcos Giovani1, 2 ; Cunnac, Sébastien1 ; Hébrard, Eugénie1 ; Albar,…
peercommunityjournal.org
September 1, 2026 at 7:00 AM
A new article is out in the free, generalist, open-access Peer Community Journal!
🔗 Free full-text article: peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
Free public peer-reviews and recommendation by PCI Plants: doi.org/10.24072/pci...
#PlantScience #PlantVirology #CRISPR #Rice #RYMV #PlantBreeding
🔗 Free full-text article: peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
Free public peer-reviews and recommendation by PCI Plants: doi.org/10.24072/pci...
#PlantScience #PlantVirology #CRISPR #Rice #RYMV #PlantBreeding
💰 We spent an estimated $3.7bn in APCs in 2025. Peer Community Journal has now published 500+ papers for $0, on preprints reviewed by researcher-run communities. The plant science topic 🌱 recently started up and is looking for reviewers and manuscripts. peercommunityjournal.org
August 28, 2026 at 11:37 AM
💰 We spent an estimated $3.7bn in APCs in 2025. Peer Community Journal has now published 500+ papers for $0, on preprints reviewed by researcher-run communities. The plant science topic 🌱 recently started up and is looking for reviewers and manuscripts. peercommunityjournal.org
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
Our new study on plant light harvesting complexes (LHCII) is live 🎉 We found that complexes engaged in energy dissipation show enhanced fluorescence intermittency ("blinking"). This links a native photoprotective state in plants (qH) to the fluorescence dynamics of individual antenna complexes 🌱✨
Sustained photoprotection involves enhanced fluorescence intermittency in a subpopulation of LHCII https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.24.746725v1
August 25, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Our new study on plant light harvesting complexes (LHCII) is live 🎉 We found that complexes engaged in energy dissipation show enhanced fluorescence intermittency ("blinking"). This links a native photoprotective state in plants (qH) to the fluorescence dynamics of individual antenna complexes 🌱✨
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
Protein synthesis is dynamically responsive to the environment, but how do cells ensure that their protein quality control mechanisms are appropriately scaled to changing translational demand?
We address this question in our new study in @natcomms.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We address this question in our new study in @natcomms.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
TOR–NOT4 signalling couples translation to co-translational quality control in plants - Nature Communications
Here, Schwarze et al. reveal how plant cells match protein quality control to changing rates of protein production through a functional link between TOR kinase signalling and NOT4 E3 ubiquitin ligases
www.nature.com
August 24, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Protein synthesis is dynamically responsive to the environment, but how do cells ensure that their protein quality control mechanisms are appropriately scaled to changing translational demand?
We address this question in our new study in @natcomms.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We address this question in our new study in @natcomms.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
And now also in @lemonde.fr 🎉 www.lemonde.fr/sciences/art...
August 19, 2026 at 6:06 AM
And now also in @lemonde.fr 🎉 www.lemonde.fr/sciences/art...
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
New pre-print from the @saskiahogenhout.bsky.social lab We (@qunliu07.bsky.social et al.) show that the aphid effector protein CathB6, in addition to suppressing plant immunity via EDS1, also alters the regulation of chloroplast-nuclear signalling to maintain photosynthetic gene expression. 1/n
The aphid effector CathB6 suppresses EDS1-dependentimmunity and rewires MORF2-GUN1-GLK signalling tosustain host cellular homeostasis in Arabidopsis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.10.743731v1
August 12, 2026 at 9:08 AM
New pre-print from the @saskiahogenhout.bsky.social lab We (@qunliu07.bsky.social et al.) show that the aphid effector protein CathB6, in addition to suppressing plant immunity via EDS1, also alters the regulation of chloroplast-nuclear signalling to maintain photosynthetic gene expression. 1/n
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
Thanks for the opportunity! it was my first experience speaking to a big english-speaking audience and, thankfully, it went out good! 🫶🌱🧫
🚨 TODAY! Our Rising Stars of IS-MPMI take the virtual stage at 3PM UTC. Join us to hear about the latest advances in plant-microbe interactions from Nhi, Urooj, Adrian and @fedeaballay.bsky.social.
There's still time to register 👉 uchicago.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
See you there!
#PlantScience
There's still time to register 👉 uchicago.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
See you there!
#PlantScience
July 30, 2026 at 11:29 AM
Thanks for the opportunity! it was my first experience speaking to a big english-speaking audience and, thankfully, it went out good! 🫶🌱🧫
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
Jim Shorter and his postdoc Miriam wrote a beautiful preview about our most recent paper on mRNAs preventing misfolding of IDR-containing proteins.
UTR-ly unexpected: RNA chaperones tame intrinsically disordered proteins: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
UTR-ly unexpected: RNA chaperones tame intrinsically disordered proteins: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
UTR-ly unexpected: RNA chaperones tame intrinsically disordered proteins
How do cells ensure that complex, multidomain proteins fold correctly? Luo et al.
reveal a self-contained solution. The 3′UTR of an mRNA co-translationally chaperones
the protein it encodes, preventin...
www.cell.com
July 28, 2026 at 1:44 PM
Jim Shorter and his postdoc Miriam wrote a beautiful preview about our most recent paper on mRNAs preventing misfolding of IDR-containing proteins.
UTR-ly unexpected: RNA chaperones tame intrinsically disordered proteins: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
UTR-ly unexpected: RNA chaperones tame intrinsically disordered proteins: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Nice thread by @fedeaballay.bsky.social on part of his PhD work on chloroplast alarmone (ppGpp) signalling and plant immunity. 🌱🦠 #PlantScience
The preprint of our work on ppGpp–immunity crossroads is out!
We delved deeper into the regulation of plant immunity by alarmone ((p)ppGpp) in Arabidopsis and found surprising stuff 😱.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We delved deeper into the regulation of plant immunity by alarmone ((p)ppGpp) in Arabidopsis and found surprising stuff 😱.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Alarmone ((p)ppGpp) signalling tunes Arabidopsis thaliana nuclear gene expression to shape the balance of plant immune outcomes
RSH enzymes (RelA/SpoT homologs) synthesize ppGpp (guanosine tetra-/pentaphosphate) in plastids, regulating organelle function. More importantly, whether ppGpp acts as a simple rheostat on immune outp...
www.biorxiv.org
July 21, 2026 at 6:35 AM
Nice thread by @fedeaballay.bsky.social on part of his PhD work on chloroplast alarmone (ppGpp) signalling and plant immunity. 🌱🦠 #PlantScience
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
The preprint of our work on ppGpp–immunity crossroads is out!
We delved deeper into the regulation of plant immunity by alarmone ((p)ppGpp) in Arabidopsis and found surprising stuff 😱.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We delved deeper into the regulation of plant immunity by alarmone ((p)ppGpp) in Arabidopsis and found surprising stuff 😱.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Alarmone ((p)ppGpp) signalling tunes Arabidopsis thaliana nuclear gene expression to shape the balance of plant immune outcomes
RSH enzymes (RelA/SpoT homologs) synthesize ppGpp (guanosine tetra-/pentaphosphate) in plastids, regulating organelle function. More importantly, whether ppGpp acts as a simple rheostat on immune outp...
www.biorxiv.org
July 21, 2026 at 1:04 AM
The preprint of our work on ppGpp–immunity crossroads is out!
We delved deeper into the regulation of plant immunity by alarmone ((p)ppGpp) in Arabidopsis and found surprising stuff 😱.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We delved deeper into the regulation of plant immunity by alarmone ((p)ppGpp) in Arabidopsis and found surprising stuff 😱.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
Excited to share our latest preprint on #PhycologyFriday.
We map out the carbon fixation pathway for the first time in a multicellular alga, the green seaweed Ulva, and reveal a unique Rubisco-Linker interaction in the pyrenoid, a chloroplast condensate.
Below I summarize some key points. #seaweeds
We map out the carbon fixation pathway for the first time in a multicellular alga, the green seaweed Ulva, and reveal a unique Rubisco-Linker interaction in the pyrenoid, a chloroplast condensate.
Below I summarize some key points. #seaweeds
July 17, 2026 at 8:25 AM
Excited to share our latest preprint on #PhycologyFriday.
We map out the carbon fixation pathway for the first time in a multicellular alga, the green seaweed Ulva, and reveal a unique Rubisco-Linker interaction in the pyrenoid, a chloroplast condensate.
Below I summarize some key points. #seaweeds
We map out the carbon fixation pathway for the first time in a multicellular alga, the green seaweed Ulva, and reveal a unique Rubisco-Linker interaction in the pyrenoid, a chloroplast condensate.
Below I summarize some key points. #seaweeds
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
Great work by Tian et al. (2026) on how #PlantTOR regulates the protein abundance of EBS, a bivalent #histone reader, by phosphorylating it at Ser195/Ser196 to modulate the floral transition of #Arabidopsis in response to nitrogen availability 🌱💮.
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
July 8, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Great work by Tian et al. (2026) on how #PlantTOR regulates the protein abundance of EBS, a bivalent #histone reader, by phosphorylating it at Ser195/Ser196 to modulate the floral transition of #Arabidopsis in response to nitrogen availability 🌱💮.
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
I've got something to "TORC" about! 😅
After 4 years building this project at @biologyunifreiburg.bsky.social, I'm so excited to share that my first independent preprint is now online! ✨
I hope you like it:
doi.org/10.64898/202...
A short thread... 🧵
#PlantSci #PlantScience
After 4 years building this project at @biologyunifreiburg.bsky.social, I'm so excited to share that my first independent preprint is now online! ✨
I hope you like it:
doi.org/10.64898/202...
A short thread... 🧵
#PlantSci #PlantScience
The TARGET OF RAPAMYCIN (TOR) kinase controls shade-mediated hypocotyl elongation responses in Arabidopsis.
Plants perceive neighboring vegetation through an enrichment of far-red light (shade) in the environment. These changes in light quality trigger molecular and physiological responses aimed at outgrowi...
doi.org
June 29, 2026 at 7:51 AM
I've got something to "TORC" about! 😅
After 4 years building this project at @biologyunifreiburg.bsky.social, I'm so excited to share that my first independent preprint is now online! ✨
I hope you like it:
doi.org/10.64898/202...
A short thread... 🧵
#PlantSci #PlantScience
After 4 years building this project at @biologyunifreiburg.bsky.social, I'm so excited to share that my first independent preprint is now online! ✨
I hope you like it:
doi.org/10.64898/202...
A short thread... 🧵
#PlantSci #PlantScience
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
1/7 New preprint: we found that Chlamydomonas carries a giant and unexpectedly elaborate chloroplast RNA polymerase with 12 previously unknown subunits, overturning the idea that the complexity of this organellar enzyme emerged during plant terrestrialization! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
The structure of a 2-MDa chloroplast RNA polymerase reveals unexpected evolutionary complexity
Transcription in chloroplasts depends on the Plastid-Encoded RNA polymerase (PEP), a bacterial-derived enzyme whose catalytic core remains encoded by the highly reduced genome inherited from the cyano...
www.biorxiv.org
June 24, 2026 at 9:47 AM
1/7 New preprint: we found that Chlamydomonas carries a giant and unexpectedly elaborate chloroplast RNA polymerase with 12 previously unknown subunits, overturning the idea that the complexity of this organellar enzyme emerged during plant terrestrialization! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
Super exciting work after many conference talks finally seeing the light. Congrats and kudos to all authors: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
June 20, 2026 at 8:46 AM
Super exciting work after many conference talks finally seeing the light. Congrats and kudos to all authors: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
Chloroplast sunscreening by protein condensates confers high-light tolerance: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... @cellcellpress.bsky.social
Chloroplast sunscreening by protein condensates confers high-light tolerance
The conserved MBS1 protein assembles into chloroplast-associated condensates to sense
singlet oxygen and shield chloroplasts against excess light penetration.
www.cell.com
June 17, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Chloroplast sunscreening by protein condensates confers high-light tolerance: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... @cellcellpress.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
Heat stress induces the formation of unreduced male gametes by targeting translation in Arabidopsis meiocytes (Cédric Schindfessel , Albert Cairo , Pavlína Mikulková , Chunlian Jin , Laura Lamelas , Philip A Wigge , Karel Říha , Danny Geelen) doi.org/10.1093/plce... #PlantScience @aspbofficial
Heat stress induces the formation of unreduced male gametes by targeting translation in Arabidopsis meiocytes
TAM regulates the translation of meiotic cell cycle genes under heat stress to prevent premature meiotic exit and ensure ploidy consistency in the natural
doi.org
June 16, 2026 at 11:31 PM
Heat stress induces the formation of unreduced male gametes by targeting translation in Arabidopsis meiocytes (Cédric Schindfessel , Albert Cairo , Pavlína Mikulková , Chunlian Jin , Laura Lamelas , Philip A Wigge , Karel Říha , Danny Geelen) doi.org/10.1093/plce... #PlantScience @aspbofficial
Chloroplastic plastoglobules compartmentalize nitrogen assimilation in maize #plantscience www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Plastoglobules compartmentalize nitrogen assimilation in maize - Nature
Chloroplast plastoglobules act as nitrogen-assimilation hubs in maize, with key enzymes enhancing nitrogen-use efficiency and offering new strategies for developing high-yield, sustainable crops.
www.nature.com
June 13, 2026 at 7:07 AM
Chloroplastic plastoglobules compartmentalize nitrogen assimilation in maize #plantscience www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
New preprint out 🌱
We present a new T-DNA vector system for Arabidopsis that supports clean, genomically mapped, single-copy T-DNA insertion with predictable cell-type/conditional gene expression.
@mokhalil.bsky.social + Gehring labs
biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵1/16
We present a new T-DNA vector system for Arabidopsis that supports clean, genomically mapped, single-copy T-DNA insertion with predictable cell-type/conditional gene expression.
@mokhalil.bsky.social + Gehring labs
biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵1/16
Rational design of T-DNA vectors enables predictable, single-copy integration in Arabidopsis thaliana
Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is the dominant method for plant transgenesis, yet it frequently produces multi-copy, structurally complex T-DNA insertions associated with transgene silencing, u...
biorxiv.org
June 11, 2026 at 12:59 PM
New preprint out 🌱
We present a new T-DNA vector system for Arabidopsis that supports clean, genomically mapped, single-copy T-DNA insertion with predictable cell-type/conditional gene expression.
@mokhalil.bsky.social + Gehring labs
biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵1/16
We present a new T-DNA vector system for Arabidopsis that supports clean, genomically mapped, single-copy T-DNA insertion with predictable cell-type/conditional gene expression.
@mokhalil.bsky.social + Gehring labs
biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🧵1/16
Reposted by Ben Field 🌿
Plants tolerate substantial rates of plastid mistranslation via regulated proteostasis | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... @pnas.org
Plants tolerate substantial rates of plastid mistranslation via regulated proteostasis | PNAS
In bacteria, protein mistranslation can improve stress tolerance. Mitochondria and
plastids evolved from bacteria and use a prokaryotic-type expres...
www.pnas.org
May 27, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Plants tolerate substantial rates of plastid mistranslation via regulated proteostasis | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... @pnas.org