EpiSeedLink Outreach

Meet Our PhD Fellows: Sharing Their Passion for Science

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EpiSeedLink – Marie Curie Voices: Podcast Series

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Sixth EpiSeedLink Newsletter

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Meet Our PhD Fellows: Sharing Their Passion for Science

Our EpiSeedLink PhD students are stepping in front of the camera to share their passion for science and give you a glimpse into their research within the project

Training in Science Communication
As part of their training in science communication and public engagement, our EpiSeedLink PhD students are creating short videos to present their research and key scientific topics from the project.

Video Series
These videos will be posted every two weeks on EpiSeedLink’s social media channels, giving the public a front-row view of the research questions and discoveries of the next generation of scientists.

First Video Spotlight
The first video features Maira Marins Dourado, PhD student at the University of Amsterdam, who explores:
“Identifying cis-regulatory elements associated with drought stress in canola"

• Watch the video in English at this link
• For hearing in Portuguese, click this link

Frontal Image designed Freepik

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EpiSeedLink PhD Students Interview on ARTE TV

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EpiSeedLink Seed Germination Kit

EpiSeedLink Seed Germination Kit – Inspiring the Next Generation of Scientists!

EpiSeedLink Fellows have developed a Seed Germination Kit as part of the Public Engagement training delivered by Cell EXPLORERS. Moreover, Dr. Sara Farrona, an EpiSeedLink supervisor, has guided and supported them throughout the process.

On June 27th, 2025, some of the EpiSeedlink members (Dr. Ulf Feuerstein and Kingsley Onyinye Ibeabuchi), who belonged to Deutsche Saatveredelung AG (DSV) in Asendorf (Germany), had the pleasure of welcoming around 32 enthusiastic 10–11-year-old students for an EpiSeedLink Seed Germination kit demonstration. The event was a fantastic opportunity to introduce young minds to plant science in a hands-on and engaging way.

The sessions were held in German, and we were very grateful to have Dr. Ulf Feuerstein (EpiSeedLink supervisor) supporting with translations from English, as well as Katharina, who is currently doing her master’s thesis at DSV, helping to guide the children through the content in German.

The highlight? The children were fascinated by the visible effects of salt stress and seed priming, demonstrated using carefully prepared sample plates. Even more exciting: each child prepared their own plates to take home, so they could continue observing and measuring changes themselves!

They ran three 45-minute sessions with small groups (10–12 kids each). After a tight first round, the format was adjusted for smoother flow in the later sessions. While some concepts, especially data analysis and seed priming, were a bit complex for this age group, the curiosity and excitement from the children made it all worthwhile.

A big thank you to everyone who made this outreach activity possible! ✨

Let’s keep sparking scientific curiosity, one seed at a time.

Fronted image by <a href="https://www.freepik.es/foto-gratis/vista-frontal-nina-midiendo-brotes-que-crecen-casa_12246951.htm">Imagen de freepik</a>

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Agrobacterium tumefaciens: a bacteria for genetic transformation plants

The phytopathogenic gram negative bacterial species Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a causal agent of crown-gall disease in plants, which is accompanied by tumor formation on plant roots.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens infects the plant through its Ti plasmid. The Ti plasmid integrates a segment of its DNA, known as T-DNA, into the chromosomal DNA of its host plant cells.

The vir region of Ti plasmid is not transferred to the host cell. This contains seven loci encoding for most of the virulence proteins (Vir proteins) required for T-DNA transport and integration into host genome.

T-DNA regions are delineated by two repeats (⁓25 bp), designated as left and right borders. These regions contain genes which encode for proteins involved in biosynthesis of plant-type hormones and opine.

Immediately upon its discovery, the unique virulence strategy of Agrobacterium attracted attention of plant biotechnologists leading to the adaptation of Agrobacterium as an unprecedented tool for genetic transformation of plants.

Since the T-DNA region is determined only by delineating the left and right borders and not by any other DNA sequence, virtually any type of DNA can be placed between the borders and utilized for plant transformation.

Text by Stefania Paltrinieri, PhD students EpiSeedLink Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

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Did you know that there are various methods to create transgenic plants?

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Studying genes and transformation plants

When we want to study the role of a gene, we can alter its expression; for example: silencing or suppressing the gene or improving its expression using a strong and constitutively expressed promoter.

Genetic engineering is a powerful research tool, and it also has the potential to improve the agronomic performance of crops, for these reasons, it has been largely studied and a lot of different techniques have been developed in recent years.

So how do we transform plants?

Transformation is a complex process, it may be transient or stable, depending on the biological question and purpose.

Generally, transformation involves:

• the preparation of explants,
• delivery of genes of interest into plant cells mainly via:
• Agrobacterium or
• biolistic-mediated methods,
• the selection and regeneration of transgenic or gene-edited plants.

Text by Stefania Paltrinieri, PhD Student EpiSeedLink Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Frontal image by <a href="https://www.freepik.es/vector-gratis/concepto-biotecnologia-gradiente-investigador_13176503.htm#fromView=search&page=1&position=8&uuid=dd08f069-784b-4102-a785-4cd12126319a">Imagen de freepik</a>

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How do plants tell time?

Continuing thinking about plant curiosities, another question is: How do plants tell time?

1- We must be on time

Some flowers open their petals at specific times of the day. Some plants move their leaves up during the day, and move their leaves down during the night. These and other plants' events happen at specific times of the day and follow the internal clock of the plants.

2- The clock works on its own

The internal clock of plants is called the circadian clock. This is a molecular mechanism independent of environmental cues. Then, even if the plant is in constant light or darkness, the plant will still move its leaves up during the period of the day, and down during the period of the night, for example.

3- YOU ARE LATE!!!!!!

The main function of the circadian clock in plants is to anticipate the day and night and the cycles of temperature during one day. So everything happens at the right time. When the plants anticipate wrong… well, they may have a decrease in productivity, survival, and fitness.

The main references are:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6466001/

https://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/plantmotion/movements/leafmovements/bean/beansleep.html

Text and video by Maira Marins Dourado, PhD Student EpiSeedLink Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Frontal image by <a href="https://www.freepik.es/vector-gratis/ilustracion-concepto-resorte-adelante_137950301.htm#fromView=search&page=3&position=26&uuid=dbed3ed9-1c24-4a59-85d1-919eeef55494">Imagen de storyset en Freepik</a>

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