Nick Talbot

Interested in plant pathology, fungal development, cell biology. I study a disease called rice blast. Executive Director, The Sainsbury Laboratory- Views my own

[Nick Talbot @talbotlabTSL]

See thread by @metalichen on Tangerine - A Starship in the genomes of lichen-forming fungi - the peer-reviewed version is now online. Thanks to all co-authors. It's been a fun collaboration and there's lots more to discover!👇

[Gulnara Tagirdzhanova @metalichen]

Our study on giant transposons Starship 🚀🧬 in the genome of the lichen fungus Xanthoria is now out in @PNASNews! What did we find out about Starships in #lichen fungi? 👇Updated thread below

[Gulnara Tagirdzhanova @metalichen]

Huge thanks to all coauthors: @talbotlabtsl, @ahbucknell, @ellenscameron, Mark Blaxter, @robdfinn, and @McdonaldMeganc, with extra special thanks to @mycomile and Noah Brown!

[Gulnara Tagirdzhanova @metalichen]

Now, many Starship transposons are named after spacecrafts, so naturally we followed suit. After being up till 2 one night, I settled on Tangerine star buggy, which made a brief appearance in D. Adams’ works. Given the color of Xanthoria, it was perfect. 5/6

[Gulnara Tagirdzhanova @metalichen]

Coolest part: Tangerine might have mediated HGT between fungi present within a lichen, as genes from Tangerine seem to be horizontally transferred from Chaetothyriales, a group of black fungi often found in lichens, including Xanthoria. We found other potential HGT events too 4/6

[Gulnara Tagirdzhanova @metalichen]

Tangerine’s captain didn’t fit into any existing family, but in the tree it grouped together with several genes from other lichen fungi. After expanding our analyses to many more genomes, we were able to describe the clade as the new family, unique to Lecanoromycetes. 3/6

[Gulnara Tagirdzhanova @metalichen]

Here we present the Tangerine element from X. parietina, common sunburst lichen. It has all hallmark features of a Starship: 100 kb in length, the captain gene responsible for transposition, as well as accessory genes and ‘cargo’. 2/6

[Gulnara Tagirdzhanova @metalichen]

Our study on giant transposons Starship 🚀🧬 in the genome of the lichen fungus Xanthoria is now out in @PNASNews! What did we find out about Starships in #lichen fungi? 👇Updated thread below

[Tatsuya Nobori @nobolly]

We're hiring 🔬🌱🦠 We're looking for someone with confocal microscopy expertise to join our work on plant–microbe interactions @TheSainsburyLab.

A whole new suite of genetically encoded reporters + 3D spatial gene expression tools like PHYTOMap and more.

Please share!

[The Sainsbury Laboratory @TheSainsburyLab]

One-year taught MSc in Global Plant Health with five-month research project. David Sainsbury 50% Fee Scholarships available for home students. Apply now for 21 September entry. Deadline 28/8/26 for home students. https://t.co/2lONT0tFnn

[Hiroaki Adachi @HiroakiAdachi3]

A huge thanks to all our collaborators and hosts for making these events possible. We hope these connections will lead to future collaborations and long-term international partnerships for the next generation of plant scientists! (7/7)

[Hiroaki Adachi @HiroakiAdachi3]

On 5 August, we visited the University of Cambridge to present their research, and exchange ideas with members of @dromius group. Great discussions on plant immunity and symbiosis! (5/7)

[Hiroaki Adachi @HiroakiAdachi3]

Next, UK Lab Tour started with a joint symposium, where Japanese students and postdocs introduced their research before exploring research groups (@KamounLab, @talbotlabTSL, @nobolly, @mjbanfield, @Saunders_Lab) at TSL and JIC (3–4 August). (4/7)

[Nick Talbot @talbotlabTSL]

King’s College Cambridge today looking as amazing as ever.

[Hiroaki Adachi @HiroakiAdachi3]

Finally, our team visited Imperial College London to discuss plant immunity research and cutting-edge biotechnology with @Tolga_Bzkrt and @JiorgosKourelis groups. Wrapped up the visit with a wonderful networking event over delicious gelato! (6/7)

[Sophien Kamoun @KamounLab]

#TSLSummer2026 extended for a couple of days. Great visit by @HiroakiAdachi3 and Team 🇯🇵🇬🇧😎

[Sophien Kamoun @KamounLab]

Aki is such a community person. Way to go! This is network science in action. 🔥

[Nick Talbot @talbotlabTSL]

Congratulations to @metalichen on winning the Aino Henssen Award! Fantastic recognition! Proud that she's an alumnus of @TheSainsburyLab

[ial-lichenology @IAL_Lichenology]

2/2)

Aino Henssen Award:
Gulnara Tagirdzhanova

Dharani Awasthi Award :
Vishal Kumar (award received by Pradeep K. Divakar)

Sylvia Sharnoff Education Award:
Silvana Munzi

Congrtulations!

(Photos by Robert Lücking)
#ial10 #IAL2026 #ial10trieste #ialichenology

[The Sainsbury Laboratory @TheSainsburyLab]

New Publication: Decoding plants cell by cell: opportunities and challenges in single-cell and spatial biology (2026)

https://t.co/UmuLp4XvcB

[Tatsuya Nobori @nobolly]

Great to have Aki & Mina back in Norwich, with talented students and postdocs from partner labs in Japan. We enjoyed great talks and follow-up discussions this morning.

[Sophien Kamoun @KamounLab]

From #TSLSummer2015 @TheSainsburyLab to leading a delegation of Early Career Scientists from Japan 🇯🇵

Welcome back Aki @HiroakiAdachi3 and thank you for your dedication to mentorship 🙏