Italy

Saffron,derived from the stigma of theCrocus sativusflower, is a highly valued culinary and medicinal product. Its productivity is closely linked to flower formation, which is regulated by temperature. Suboptimal temperatures can lead to flower atrophy, resulting in reduced or absent flowering. To investigate the influence of temperature on saffron flowering, we conducted morphological, transcriptomic, and metabolic analyses on meristem-enriched tissues from corms grown under non-inductive (8 °C) and inductive (25 °C) conditions during the flowering stage. Morphological and histochemical observations indicated that higher temperatures promote floral induction, whereas lower temperatures suppress it. Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses revealed a key role for sugar metabolism in temperature-mediated floral regulation. Genes and metabolites associated with starch, sucrose, trehalose and raffinose metabolism were differentially regulated between the two temperature regimes. At the inductive(25 °C) temperature, increased starch degradation and accumulation of soluble sugars—particularly sucrose and trehalose-6-phosphate—were observed. In contrast, raffinose levels were elevated under non-inductive (8 °C) conditions. These findings suggest that sucrose and trehalose-6-phosphate act as positive regulators of floral induction, whereas raffinose functions as a repressor. Exogenous application of sugars further supported these observations: sucrose enhanced, while raffinose inhibited, floral induction in saffron. Functional validation through ectopic expression and complementation studies in Arabidopsis, along with Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) in saffron, demonstrated that CsatTPS2 and NAC14 positively regulates, while CsatTPP3 and CsGLOS1 and LHY negatively regulates flowering. Together, this study uncovers a temperature-dependent regulatory mechanism in saffron, in which the balance of sugar metabolites and their signalling pathways governs floral induction.

SEB Conference 2026

Sugar Signalling Mediates Temperature-Dependent Flowering in Saffron by Modulating the Balance Between Sucrose, Trehalose, and Raffinose

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SEB Conference 2025

SEB’s Annual Conference is celebrated for creating the perfect composition of research, new discoveries and collaborative connections. Be creative and innovative by exchanging ideas and knowledge with masters of biology from all over the world.

SEB’s Annual Conference is celebrated for creating the perfect composition of research, new discoveries, and collaborative connections. Be creative and innovative by exchanging ideas and knowledge with masters of biology from all over the world.

**This year’s theme was “Resilience.”**

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SEB’s Annual Conference is celebrated for creating the perfect composition of research, new discoveries and collaborative connections. Be creative and innovative by exchanging ideas and knowledge with masters of biology from all over the world. 

Selective fishing is increasingly required to mitigate bycatch and overfishing. Many studies have developed selective fishing gears, and some have been implemented at sea. In addition to gear design, fish behaviour plays a critical role in selectivity because fish behaviour and fishing gear dynamics are closely interrelated during operation. While most previous light-based approaches have simply focused on attractive or evasive responses, our longer-term goal is to construct desired three-dimensional swimming paths by leveraging light-evoked behavioural responses as a basis for practical trajectory steering. Here, as a first step, we quantify and parameterise these responses and estimate governing parameters using experiments, 3D modelling and data assimilation. We extend this line of work by embedding quantified responses into predictive three-dimensional schooling models. First, we conducted tank experiments under several light conditions to quantify behavioural responses to light stimuli and to collect trajectory data for parameter estimation via data assimilation. The observations suggested that the effectiveness of light-induced responses may depend on species and behavioural characteristics. Second, we developed a three-dimensional simulation model of schooling that explicitly incorporates behavioural responses to light stimuli. Third, we estimated unknown parameters governing individual behaviour by assimilating observed trajectories into the model. Non-light-related parameters were first estimated using trajectories obtained under non-light conditions to validate the model; subsequently, parameter describing responses to light stimuli was estimated using trajectories recorded under illuminated conditions. This model framework and the estimated results provide insights into feasibility and strategies for controlling collective fish behaviour towards selective fishing.

Towards controlling collective fish behaviour using light stimuli:Experiments and 3D modelling with data assimilation for parameter estimation

Due to continuous pharmaceutical contamination of the aquatic ecosystem, there has been growing evidence that pollutants such as the antidepressant fluoxetine can increase fish offspring production. However, such an increase may happen at a hidden cost, for instance, if pharmaceuticals also disrupt key reproductive behaviours, like where and how fish choose to spawn, that can determine whether those offspring will ultimately survive.
To assess this possibility, we exposed turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) to a field-realistic concentration of fluoxetine (317 ng/L) in a controlled laboratory experiment. Fish were given a choice of white, orange, or black sand as a spawning substrate, both in single pairs and in groups. The fluoxetine-exposed group produced about 50% more eggs in single pairs, but this effect was not observed in groups. Despite the social context, fish deposited roughly four times more eggs on black sand than on orange or white sand, and fluoxetine did not alter this habitat preference.
These results show that environmentally relevant fluoxetine concentrations can boost reproductive output without necessarily affecting spawning-site selection. The broader ecological implications of such changes will depend on how pharmaceutical-induced shifts in reproduction interact with natural social and habitat dynamics in the wild.

Reproductive and behavioural responses of African turquoise killifish exposed to fluoxetine

With growing urbanization around the world, human activities are increasingly shaping the way animals’ function and behave. Amongst many factors, human food subsidies accessible on landfills are altering the foraging strategies of wildlife. While landfills may provide animals with predictable food resources, they may also affect growth and energy balance through exposure to toxins and low-nutrient diets with possible long-term impacts on health and fitness. Migratory birds may be especially affected by this emerging shift due to their wandering lifestyles, which allow them to exploit novel food sources such as waste disposal sites around the globe. Using the charismatic white stork (Ciconia ciconia) as our study species, we have been investigating the physiological consequences of landfill foraging in nestlings of a well-monitored population breeding in western Poland. In this population, landfill use is a relatively novel foraging strategy with some individuals relying on natural prey and others on landfills. This variation provides a well-suited set up to examine how differential foraging strategies may translate into contrasting phenotypic outcomes. We present data on growth and markers of energy balance, including corticosterone incorporated into growing feathers and indicators of oxidative stress, and discuss these in relation to foraging strategies and potential fitness consequences.

Does foraging on landfills alter biomarkers of energy balance? A study case in the white stork

The physiological resilience of the Arctic keystone species Polar cod (Boreogadus saida) is challenged by warming-driven changes in Svalbard’s fjords, where rising temperatures, glacier retreat, and sea-ice loss alter both the seasonal hydrography and food availability. As part of a large-scale physiological integration project involving seasonal monitoring of swimming performance and aerobic scope, this study establishes the metabolic framework underlying seasonal performance limits by providing a comprehensive analysis of the hepatic metabolome. Using 1 H-NMR spectroscopy, we investigated metabolomic profiles over a full seasonal cycle, capturing responses across natural light and food regimes. The fish were exposed either to ambient fjord temperatures or a +3°C warming treatment, approaching their upper thermal limit. Metabolomic analyses revealed a coordinated seasonal reprogramming that remained largely conserved under warming, suggesting a high degree of resilience in hepatic metabolic processes. However, this apparent resilience did not prevent increased mortality during dark-season swimming trials across both temperature treatments, indicating that physiological limits are exceeded during Polar Night, independent of thermal stress. This vulnerability was reflected metabolically by a reduced availability of high-energy nucleotides and phosphagens, consistent with a general reduction of metabolic activity in the dark. Conversely, stress-protective osmolytes and antioxidants (e.g., ascorbate, taurine, TMAO) peaked during spring and summer, aligned with elevated feeding and activity. Our findings highlight the strong influence of the Arctic annual light cycle on metabolic plasticity in Polar cod and reveal that, although hepatic metabolism shows robustness to moderate warming, extreme seasonal constraints during the Polar Night impose limits on whole-organism performance.

Living through the darkness and beyond: seasonal metabolomic acclimatization of Boreogadus saida across the Arctic year

Vertebrates cope with rapid fluctuation in temperature by adjusting their behaviour and physiology. This phenotypic plasticity is mainly mediated by changes in glucocorticoid levels in the bloodstream. Thus, individual variation in such glucocorticoid plasticity has potential fitness implications, although this has not yet been investigated. Here, we examined the relationship between individual differences in glucocorticoid plasticity to temperature and reproductive success. For 9 years, we collected data in a wild population of great tits (Parus major) including repeated measurements of individual baseline and stress-induced glucocorticoid levels and reproductive success (fledgling number). We applied random regressions to estimate glucocorticoid reaction norms to air temperature at capture and selection on the reaction norm components. Results show that both baseline and stress-induced glucocorticoid levels increased at lower temperature at the population and individual levels. In addition, individuals differed not only in their average hormone levels (intercepts) but also in the strength of their plastic responses to temperature (slopes). While we found this clear evidence of individual variation in the reaction norm components, there was no evidence of selection acting on them, that is no clear covariation between the intercepts or the slopes and reproductive success. Although glucocorticoid plasticity may be considered an adaptive mechanism for coping with temperature changes, our findings suggest that plasticity in this population is not under selection, at least within the context of moderate environmental fluctuations that the birds experienced. Future work across broader environmental gradients will be essential to clarify when and how glucocorticoid plasticity shapes fitness outcomes.

Individual variation in glucocorticoid plasticity to temperature and fitness in a wild passerine

Mitochondrial diseases represent a heterogeneous group of genetic disorders caused by defects in oxidative phosphorylation. Mutations affecting either nuclear or mitochondrial DNA lead to impaired mitochondrial function and energy failure, resulting in a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations. At present, effective therapies remain elusive, and current treatments are mainly supportive. Recent studies have highlighted the potential of modulating mitophagy as a therapeutic strategy. Mitophagy relies on the coordinated activity of the UPS and autophagy pathway, which together ensure the removal of damaged organelles. Among the molecular regulators linking these systems, the proteasome-associated deubiquitinating enzyme USP14 plays a central role. Our previous work demonstrated that pharmacological inhibition of USP14 exerts a protective effect in models of mitochondrial dysfunction by restoring mitochondrial morphology and function through enhanced mitophagy. More recently, we found that USP14 inhibition enhances mitochondrial biogenesis and promotes mitophagy in iNeurons, restoring mitochondrial respiration and membrane potential of Parkin KO iNeurons. We want now to investigate whether targeting USP14 with an optimized derivative of IU1 could ameliorate the pathological phenotype of a muscle-specific Cox15 KO mouse model characterized by defective cytochrome c oxidase and severe myopathy. To this aim, we treated the mice with IU1-366 to inhibit USP14, and, at the end of the treatment period, quadriceps and gastrocnemius muscles were rapidly dissected for subsequent morphological and molecular analyses. Muscle analysis indicates that USP14 inhibition ameliorates skeletal muscle morphology inCox15 KO mice, accompanied by a stabilization of cytochrome c oxidase, suggesting a beneficial effect on mitochondrial structure and function.

Protective effect of enhanced mitochondrial turnover by potent small molecule inhibitor of USP14

Scientific careers rarely follow a straight line, and the experiences of many PhD graduates highlight the value of flexibility, resilience, and interdisciplinary curiosity. This talk explores an unconventional career path that spans plant metabolic research, science and health policy, public health and advocacy work in Canada, and over a decade in scholarly publishing — culminating in a leadership role as Chief Editor of a Nature Reviews journal in the UK. Using this trajectory as a case study, the session illustrates how research training equips scientists for diverse roles across sectors, how international moves can catalyse career shifts, and how non??'linear paths can lead to influential and fulfilling work. Attendees will gain insights into identifying transferable skills, navigating transitions, and redefining success by “running their own race” in science.

Creating opportunity in the unexpected

Climate change intensifies abiotic and biotic stresses on crops worldwide. Combined stresses affect plant growth, yield, and resilience, posing major threats to global food security. Understanding how plants respond to simultaneous stresses is crucial for breeding climate-resilient crops. However, most studies focus on single stresses, leaving the combined responses poorly understood. Therefore, systems biology models integrate omics data to elucidate complex biological processes. Yet, the vast amount and heterogeneity make their integration and interpretation challenging. Moreover, our knowledge of agronomical species remains elusive due to the bias of studies conducted towards model plants.
Here, we collected 1378 transcriptomics samples of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) under 43 stressors from publicly available studies. Data were uniformly processed using the novel FORMICA pipeline, ensuring strict quality control and normalisation. Processed data and meta-data are linked in POMOdOROO, a curated database for dissecting tomato resilience to multi-stresses. We combined the deep-learning tool HIVE to integratively analyse multi-transcriptomics data and a game theory approach to identify the core stress genes involved in multi-stress response. We found that bacteria, oomycetes and viruses trigger the highest number of common response genes, while insects the lowest. Key regulators of abscisic, cytokines and signalling-peptides pathways were found in the core, while jasmonic and auxin pathways are involved in specific responses. Our analysis provided an unprecedent catalogue of key genes and signalling pathways which can drive further research on multi-factorial stress in tomato. Overall, this work fills a major gap yielding an integrative, systems-level understanding of regulatory mechanisms governing multi-stress resilience.

Compiling a comprehensive atlas of multi-stress and stress-specific molecular mechanisms in tomato with deep-learning and multi-transcriptomics integration

Volatile plant secondary metabolites have range of biological functions, including insect attraction and repellence. The volatile iridoid monoterpene nepetalactone is primarily found in the essential oil of catnip (Lamiaceae; Nepeta cataria). Nepetalactone acts as a natural insect repellent and is highly effective at repelling mosquitoes, which are responsible for the transmission of malaria and other vector-borne diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa. Mosquito repellents represent one of the primary measures used to reduce the risk of malaria by reducing mosquito landing and biting events. However, nepetalactone has not been widely exploited as a mosquito repellent in malaria-endemic regions such as Uganda. In our recent work, we evaluated the potential of a lotion containing catnip essential oil (comprising >92% nepetalactone), locally produced using a community enterprise model, for use as a mosquito repellent in Eastern Uganda. Using the human landing catch method in field trials together with laboratory experiments, we found that our repellent lotion was highly effective at preventing mosquito landing, with performance equivalent to DEET. Our findings suggest that nepetalactone could be used as a natural, locally sourced and effective alternative to synthetic commercial mosquito repellents, thereby representing a viable import substitution option for protection against mosquito-borne diseases in malaria-endemic regions.

Developing a nepetalactone-based mosquito repellent to reduce the incidence of malaria in Uganda: a community enterprise model

Plants and other photosynthetic organisms continuously interact with their environment and surrounding microbiota through specialized associations. Recent studies have shown that photosynthetic hosts, from algae to land plants, share core bacterial and fungal groups at high taxonomic levels. This suggests that these microbes are adapted to niches created by photosynthetic hosts and to coexisting with one another. However, it remains unclear whether these core microbiotas vary at the species level and whether such variation is shaped by environmental factors.

To address this question, we surveyed soil algal populations and their associated microbiota across 149 natural sites in southwest France. By profiling algal (18S), bacterial (16S), and fungal (ITS) communities, we first identified environmental variables structuring algal populations and their associated microbiota. We then constructed interaction networks among core members, revealing that species-level associations vary with environmental conditions, whereas high-level taxonomic structure remains consistent across habitats.

We hypothesized that genomic functions rather than taxonomy drive the stability of core communities. Using cultivation experiments combined with shotgun metagenomics, we showed that a subset of genomic functions is consistently enriched in core microbiota members regardless of host or habitat, highlighting functional convergence within core microbiomes.

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Towards controlling collective fish behaviour using light stimuli:Experiments and 3D modelling with data assimilation for parameter estimation

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