How does a fungal pathogen know it’s inside the host?

Our article is finally published in Nature Communications—and also got a lovely HHU news story! Led by Gabriel and Philip, this work reveals how the Gpe1–Pit2 system allows the maize pathogen Ustilago maydis to sense host protease activity and trigger infection-related responses. Congratulations to both and thanks to everyone involved!

 Read the paper
 Read the HHU news story

We are hiring: Two PhD positions available within nEXt-RNA:

DC1: Live-cell imaging of RNA transfer and function
DC10: Mechanisms and applications of RNA delivery

RNA biology, fungi, extracellular vesicles and advanced imaging. More details here.

On the frontpage!

How do RNA-binding proteins distinguish functional targets from the vast pool of cellular RNAs?

We’re excited to share our latest publication in Nucleic Acids Research (featured as breakthrough article), where we dissect how modular RNA-binding domains shape transcriptome-wide interactions. Focusing on the endosomal mRNA transporter Rrm4 in Ustilago maydis, we used a comparative iCLIP2 approach to resolve the contributions of its three RNA recognition motifs (RRMs) at unprecedented resolution.

Our results reveal a surprising division of labor: while the third RRM dominates global RNA binding, it is largely dispensable for function. In contrast, the essential regulatory interactions depend on a coordinated interplay between RRM1 and RRM2. By integrating RNA-binding and transcriptomic data, we show that these sites act as regulatory elements controlling mRNA abundance, thereby linking endosomal transport to mRNA stability.

This work uncovers how modular RNA-binding defines distinct RNA regulons governing mitochondrial activity, polarity, and cell wall remodeling—key processes underlying polar growth—and provides a broader framework for understanding how RBPs encode functional specificity within complex RNA networks.

Read the article here 

Vesicles as mRNA Couriers in the Cell

In a recent EMBO Reports article, Melissa and colleagues highlight vesicle-coupled mRNA transport as a key mechanism of intracellular communication. They describe how mRNAs associate with membrane-bound organelles and are locally translated, enabling precise spatial control of gene expression. This emerging concept reshapes our understanding of how organelles coordinate their functions to maintain cellular homeostasis.

Read more here.