@mjonikas.bsky.social I'm a scientist studying enhanced photosynthetic CO2 assimilation! Opinions are my own and do not reflect those of my employer.
Princeton, NJ
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A starch sheath surrounds many pyrenoids to enhance CO2 fixation, but how the sheath is shaped was unknown. We discovered that the starch-branching enzyme SBE1 promotes lateral growth of starch to shape the sheath! biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…
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Congratulations to @isoamylase, Haoyu Wu, @LianyongW, and Jessi Hennacy! Grateful for support from @gatesfoundation, @FCDOGovUK, @NIH, @NSF, @hhmi_science, and @PrincetonMolBio.
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Engineering a pyrenoid into crops could boost yields, but testing components in plants takes months. To accelerate engineering, we made Nicotiana benthamiana with hybrid algal Rubisco, enabling the reconstitution of pyrenoid number regulation in a plant! biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…
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Congratulations to @YanaKazachkova, @JasonPunskovsky, @Ashwani_Rai1, and @heyit_sfranklin! Grateful for support from @gatesfoundation, @FCDOGovUK, @NIH, @NSF, @ENERGY, @hhmi_science, CTRF, and @PrincetonMolBio.
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The algal pyrenoid turbocharges global CO2 fixation. Central to its function are specialized membranes that deliver CO2. We discovered that the protein RBMP2 makes these membranes—and found that the mysterious minitubules appear to enhance CO₂ delivery!
biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…
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Congratulations to Haoyu Wu, Aastha Garde, Philippe van der Stappen, @Shan_He_lab, Jessica Hennacy, Shixin Yang, Zhiheng Yu, and @bengeliscious! Grateful for support from @gatesfoundation, @FCDOGovUK,
@NIH, @NSF, @hhmi_science, and @PrincetonMolBio.
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Pyrenoid tubules are essential for supercharging CO₂ fixation, but they're hard to resolve by microscopy. So, we physically expanded cells to see where different proteins go (3 examples below). The central region appears specialized for CO₂ delivery!
biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…
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Congratulations to Aastha Garde and Haoyu Wu! Grateful for support from @gatesfoundation, @FCDOGovUK, @NIH, @NSF, @hhmi_science, and @PrincetonMolBio.
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The algal pyrenoid fixes ~1/3 of global carbon, relying on a unique membrane-within-condensate architecture. How is this architecture built? We discovered that the protein MITH1 draws membranes into the pyrenoid condensate by promoting wetting! 🌿💧biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…
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Congratulations to Sabrina Ergun, Claire Dignazio, Jonathan Bouvette, Haoyu Wu, Eric Franklin, and Claire McWhite!
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The US National Science Foundation (NSF) — a major funder of basic research — has restricted the flow of new research grants to a group of elite universities, Nature has learnt.
go.nature.com/4uMeoxS
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Now published @PNASNews!
SAGA1 and SAGA2 localize the starch sheath to the pyrenoid in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.25…
We genetically disconnected starch from the matrix in the algal pyrenoid!
A saga1;saga2 double mutant lacks a pyrenoid starch sheath!
Our model: SAGA1 & SAGA2 locally initiate starch on the pyrenoid surface by enriching starch precursors.
🌞🦠🔬🔌👀
biorxiv.org/content/10.6...b…
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Martin Jonikas retweeted
To all scientists immigrants: This is an amazing opportunity. The Vilcek family is super generous and has rewarded many immigrant scientists including Nobel Laureate @kkariko. Hope everyone eligible applies !
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Congrats, Alex!! Well deserved!
Alexander Ploss, Princeton’s Harry C. Wiess Professor of Life Sciences and Molecular Biology, and the co-director of the Global Health Program, was awarded a 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship in the field of medicine and health. 🥂 princeton.edu/news/2026/04/2…
ALT Alexander Ploss, Harry C. Wiess Professor of Life Sciences and Molecular Biology, Princeton University. Photo by C. Todd Reichart.
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Congrats, @Shan_He_lab and Linnea Lemma!
Today in Nature Cell Biology, a collaborative effort across labs (Jonikas, Wingreen, Brangwynne) at Princeton discovers the key to regulating a biomolecular condensate. Congrats to first authors Shan He and Linnea Lemma! molbio.princeton.edu/news/20…
ALT First authors Shan He, former postdoctoral research scholar in the Martin Jonikas lab, now Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Linnea Lemma, current postdoctoral research scholar jointly advised by Martin Jonikas (MOL) and Clifford Brangwynne (CBE). Photo of He courtesy of the author. Photo of Lemma by Sameer A. Khan/Fotobuddy.
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Now published @NatureCellBio!
Kinase KEY1 controls pyrenoid condensate size throughout the cell cycle by disrupting phase separation interactions
nature.com/articles/s41556-0…
Algal pyrenoids—condensates that mediate ~1/3 of Earth’s CO2 fixation—change size and number as cells divide. Our data suggest a simple control mechanism: a kinase that continuously ejects material from the condensate! ☀️🌍🔬💧 #Biophysics #Photosynthesis
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…
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Congrats to Tori, Micah, Aastha, and @LianyongW!
Grateful to @hhmi_science, @NIH, @NSF, @gatesfoundation, and @FCDOGovUK for supporting the work.
We genetically disconnected starch from the matrix in the algal pyrenoid!
A saga1;saga2 double mutant lacks a pyrenoid starch sheath!
Our model: SAGA1 & SAGA2 locally initiate starch on the pyrenoid surface by enriching starch precursors.
🌞🦠🔬🔌👀
biorxiv.org/content/10.6...b…
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We genetically disconnected starch from the matrix in the algal pyrenoid!
A saga1;saga2 double mutant lacks a pyrenoid starch sheath!
Our model: SAGA1 & SAGA2 locally initiate starch on the pyrenoid surface by enriching starch precursors.
🌞🦠🔬🔌👀
biorxiv.org/content/10.6...b…
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