LeafHope

The @LeafHopeCan Project HQP shined at the @CanEntomologist-@EntSocAlberta joint annual meeting ! 🪲 Between my lab members and project students from @usask and @DalhousieU, we delivered 5 oral presentations and 4 posters 👏 Writing and leading a project like this is challenging, but seeing the next generation of scientists thrive makes it all worth it 💚 #LeafHope #Entomology #ProudPI

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…

Join us this November! 🏳️‍🌈🧫 We’re happy to sponsor one of the presentation awards through our @LeafHopeCan project 👏 A great opportunity to share your research, connect with the community, and celebrate LGBTQIA+ people in STEM. Submit your abstract and join us on November 18!

🚨 We are recruiting three PhD students to join EdeLab at Université Laval in summer 2027! The projects will explore: 🧬 Evolution of ankyrin-repeat effectors in gall-forming plasmodiophorids 🦠 Microbiome-mediated insect adaptation to extreme environments 🍃 Leafhopper effectors at the plant–insect interface Applications are welcome in English or French until September 15, 2026. Full details are available in the attached PDF. Please share! 🔁 1/2

🚨 New study out! We are very happy to see this work published in the Annals of the @EntsocAmerica ! 🪲 🔗 : academic.oup.com/aesa/advanc… What began with Abraão’s curiosity became a beautiful piece of scientific detective work. By combining museum collections, historical records dating back to 1868, scientific literature, and Québec’s Réseau d’avertissements phytosanitaires (RAP), we reconstructed how the pest status of leafhoppers has changed across the province, highlighting Léon Provancher’s first formal records from 1886. We are also especially proud that the article’s title includes French: « Loin des yeux, loin du cœur ». French is a North American language, spoken not only in Québec and elsewhere in Canada, but also in parts of the United States. Merci aux éditeurs et aux évaluateurs pour l’accueil si positif réservé à notre article! This historical perspective will help us better understand the results our laboratory has generated since we began systematically sampling leafhoppers across Québec in 2021, all toward more sustainable agriculture. Merci, Abraão, pour ce remarquable travail de détective! 💚 Merci @RqradQc, @NSERC_CRSNG , @mapaquebec 👏

🚨🪲🏆 The news is officially out! Our study has won the 2026 @EntsocAmerica Environmental Entomology People’s Choice Award! 🎉 A huge bravo to Abraão and all our wonderful co-authors! 💚 Thank you to everyone who voted for and supported this beautiful work. We are incredibly grateful! 🪲🌿 See other winners here: academic.oup.com/insect-scie…

🚨 Leafhoppers on the cover! This stunning photo by our close collaborator Joseph Moisan-De Serres has made it onto the cover of the @EntsocAmerica ’s Journal of Economic Entomology, representing our recent review led by @TPellegrinetti! 🪲👏 Very happy to keep putting these gorgeous bugs in the spotlight! If you want to learn more about their microbiomes and how they could inspire new pest-management strategies, check out our work here: academic.oup.com/jee/advance…

📸 [Ravageur au repos] Florent Sylvestre et Nicolas Plante, @universitelaval Voici l’une des 20 images de recherche finalistes au concours La preuve par l’image #LPPI @_Acfas de cette année. Votez pour le Prix du public Découverte @iciradiocanada 2026 : tinyurl.com/3z4chhjx