Andrew Penney

Finally published! 💚 This paper brings nearly ten years of persistence full circle: 'Candidatus Phytoplasma zeae', the phytoplasma associated with maize bushy stunt, now has a species name. The story began during my PhD, working with native maize varieties in communities in Mexico. Studying this pathogen, I became convinced that it deserved recognition as a distinct species. Its sequence similarity to another species exceeded the usual threshold, but the guidelines at the time allowed ecological differences to support species delineation. We submitted the manuscript, went through peer review and revisions, and were ultimately rejected during the second round. That was a major disappointment. But the idea never left me. 🌽 Our work in Mexico: doi.org/10.1007/s10658-016-0… 🌽 Impact of MBS on communities: doi.org/10.1007/s10668-017-9… In 2025, finding Dalbulus maidis in Québec brought the question back with renewed urgency. By then, we were firmly in the genomic era, and the rules had changed. Revisiting the same biological question under different criteria was frustrating, and at times felt arbitrary. Still, we kept going. 🍃 Our discovery of Dalbulus in Québec: cell.com/cell-reports-sustai… After almost a year of discussion and revision following the preprint, we finally got there! For me, this is about much more than a name. Recognizing this pathogen as a distinct species will help us communicate more clearly with growers and decision-makers, connect research across countries, and draw attention to a disease becoming an increasing concern as its vector reaches new areas, both north and south in the Americas. What might happen beyond our continent remains an open question, although its known Dalbulus vectors are native to the Americas. Along the way, we have also been exploring the Dalbulus microbiome—and there is so much more to discover, including new microbial species that we look forward to describing! 🧫 Microbiome: doi.org/10.1093/ismehm/aazag… Bravo, @TPellegrinetti, for leading this work and helping bring a long-standing idea to fruition! 👏 And a heartfelt thank-you to all the amazing colleagues who contributed, both here on twotter and beyond: Joshua Molligan, Abraao Almeida Santos, @canale_cristina , @AOV_OlmedoVelar , Jordanne Jacques, @MahDuffeck , Ashleigh Faris, Paola Reyes Caldas, Jairo Rodriguez Chalarca, @DumonceauxTim 🌽 Some ideas stay with you for years. I’m very happy we stayed with this one. 📄 Read the paper: doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.0073…