Matias Daniel Zurbriggen

Thermosensory pathway makes a U-turn to respond to heat

The paper shows that heat stress reverses the growth-promoting thermomorphogenesis pathway in Arabidopsis by suppressing auxin and PIF4 in cotyledons, revealing an active molecular mechanism.

A step toward synthetic endosymbiosis: introducing Escherichia coli and the trypanosomatid endosymbiont Candidatus Kinetoplastibacterium crithidii into mammalian cells using a polyethylene glycol-based fusion protocol

This paper introduces a PEG-based protocol to deliver Escherichia coli and Candidatus Kinetoplastibacterium crithidii into mammalian cells without genetic modification or specialized equipment.

LUstiGE, Light responsive Ustilago maydis Gene Expression: Optogenetic control of morphogenesis and pathogenesis in the corn fungal pathogen Ustilago maydis

This study develops blue-light inducible gene expression switches to control morphogenesis and pathogenesis in Ustilago maydis, demonstrating their utility in regulating fungal invasion and tumor formation.

Red-light-only control of protein-protein interactions using a cyanobacteriochrome (UNICYCL)

This paper introduces a small red-light-responsive system for controlling protein-protein interactions using a cyanobacteriochrome, showing a >25-fold decrease in binding affinity under red light.

Integration of auxin and cytokinin signalling in Arabidopsis root meristem maintenance through the secreted peptide CLE40

The paper shows that CLE40 maintains the proximal root meristem by regulating cytokinin and auxin signaling in Arabidopsis.

Gearing up Golden Braid assembly for plant synthetic genomics with RepTiles

The paper introduces RepTiles, a system for generating random DNA segments for synthetic genomics, enabling the construction of ultra-long synthetic DNA in Physcomitrium patens.

Green, orange, red, and far-red optogenetic tools derived from cyanobacteriochromes

The paper develops optogenetic tools that control protein-protein interactions using light in multiple colors by engineering binders for different states of cyanobacteriochromes.

bHLH heterodimer complex variations shape meristems in Arabidopsis thaliana by affecting target gene specificity

The paper shows that variations in bHLH heterodimer complexes regulate cell proliferation in different plant meristems by affecting target gene specificity.