Gal Ofir
@galofir.bsky.social
Departmental Group Leader - Plant Immunogenomics 🌱🧬🦠
Max Planck Institute for Biology - Tübingen 🇩🇪. Plant immunity and other small things
Max Planck Institute for Biology - Tübingen 🇩🇪. Plant immunity and other small things
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Congratulations to Sorek lab alumnus Nitzan Tal, who won the prestigious 2025 Science & SciLifeLab prize for the best PhD thesis in Systems Biology! 💫
Read her Prize Assay, published in the journal Science today
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@nitzantal.bsky.social
Read her Prize Assay, published in the journal Science today
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@nitzantal.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Congratulations to Sorek lab alumnus Nitzan Tal, who won the prestigious 2025 Science & SciLifeLab prize for the best PhD thesis in Systems Biology! 💫
Read her Prize Assay, published in the journal Science today
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@nitzantal.bsky.social
Read her Prize Assay, published in the journal Science today
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@nitzantal.bsky.social
Thanks so much for the invitation and hospitality @somssich.bsky.social and Viktor! Super impressed by the work you do at @kwsgroup.bsky.social! I have now a whole new appreciation for sugar beet 🧬🤯
This week we welcomed @galofir.bsky.social from @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social at @kwsgroup.bsky.social for our #PlantScience R&D Lecture.
It was a pleasure to finally meet, learn about his #PlantImmunity & #ImmunoGenomics work to uncover evolutionary conserved defense mechanisms, & talk plant science. 👍🤓
It was a pleasure to finally meet, learn about his #PlantImmunity & #ImmunoGenomics work to uncover evolutionary conserved defense mechanisms, & talk plant science. 👍🤓
November 14, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Thanks so much for the invitation and hospitality @somssich.bsky.social and Viktor! Super impressed by the work you do at @kwsgroup.bsky.social! I have now a whole new appreciation for sugar beet 🧬🤯
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Brasó-Vives et al. publish a new Perspective in GBE, highlighting underexplored dimensions of genomic variation that contribute to phenotypic diversity beyond the DNA sequence, contributing to our understanding of genome evolution.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf204
#genome #evolution
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf204
#genome #evolution
November 14, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Brasó-Vives et al. publish a new Perspective in GBE, highlighting underexplored dimensions of genomic variation that contribute to phenotypic diversity beyond the DNA sequence, contributing to our understanding of genome evolution.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf204
#genome #evolution
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf204
#genome #evolution
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Interested in #sustainability? 🧪 Read the interview "Science for a Sustainable Future" with Ron Milo, Professor and Dean of Education at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and EMBO Member: https://www.embo.org/people/science-for-a-sustainable-future-ron-milo-on-biology-and-scientific-storytelling/
November 14, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Interested in #sustainability? 🧪 Read the interview "Science for a Sustainable Future" with Ron Milo, Professor and Dean of Education at the Weizmann Institute of Science, and EMBO Member: https://www.embo.org/people/science-for-a-sustainable-future-ron-milo-on-biology-and-scientific-storytelling/
Reposted by Gal Ofir
This is a remarkable study describing a new fungal species in a 407 million year old plant - Rugososporomyces lavoisierae Strullu-Derrien and Schornack sp. nov - using some amazing technology. Worth a read 👇
Confocal scanning laser microscopy, fluorescence lifetime imaging & Raman analyses allowed @nhm-london.bsky.social, @slcuplants.bsky.social & @cambridge-ee.bsky.social researchers to resolve plant & fungal structures fossil
Read in @newphyt.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
@dromius.bsky.social
Read in @newphyt.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/nph....
@dromius.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 9:37 AM
This is a remarkable study describing a new fungal species in a 407 million year old plant - Rugososporomyces lavoisierae Strullu-Derrien and Schornack sp. nov - using some amazing technology. Worth a read 👇
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Happy to see this paper from my time with @spicybotrytis.bsky.social out in @theplantcell.bsky.social!
Amanda, a fantastic PhD student with Dan, led this "phylo-functional" work & uncovered complex duplication & loss of a glucosinolate gene across the Brassicaceae affecting enantiomeric specificity
Amanda, a fantastic PhD student with Dan, led this "phylo-functional" work & uncovered complex duplication & loss of a glucosinolate gene across the Brassicaceae affecting enantiomeric specificity
Convergence and constraint in glucosinolate evolution across the Brassicaceae
Studying a glucosinolate enzyme across the Brassicaceae shows evolution of plant specialized metabolism involves independent gene losses, distal duplicatio
academic.oup.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Happy to see this paper from my time with @spicybotrytis.bsky.social out in @theplantcell.bsky.social!
Amanda, a fantastic PhD student with Dan, led this "phylo-functional" work & uncovered complex duplication & loss of a glucosinolate gene across the Brassicaceae affecting enantiomeric specificity
Amanda, a fantastic PhD student with Dan, led this "phylo-functional" work & uncovered complex duplication & loss of a glucosinolate gene across the Brassicaceae affecting enantiomeric specificity
Reposted by Gal Ofir
📖Latest from the lab:
Evo. characterization #antiviral #SAMD9/9L across #kingdoms🚶♀️🦍🦠🧫🖥️: ancient #convergence + #adaptations @natecoevo.nature.com
Led by amazing Alexandre Legrand +major contributions by Rémi Demeure & Amandine Chantharath @ciri-lyon.bsky.social 1/n
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Evo. characterization #antiviral #SAMD9/9L across #kingdoms🚶♀️🦍🦠🧫🖥️: ancient #convergence + #adaptations @natecoevo.nature.com
Led by amazing Alexandre Legrand +major contributions by Rémi Demeure & Amandine Chantharath @ciri-lyon.bsky.social 1/n
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Evolutionary characterization of antiviral SAMD9/9L across kingdoms supports ancient convergence and lineage-specific adaptations - Nature Ecology & Evolution
A search for analogues of the human SAMD9/9L antiviral genes identifies convergent evolution of this gene family in the bacterial and animal kingdoms, with species-specific and recent genomic signatur...
www.nature.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:55 PM
📖Latest from the lab:
Evo. characterization #antiviral #SAMD9/9L across #kingdoms🚶♀️🦍🦠🧫🖥️: ancient #convergence + #adaptations @natecoevo.nature.com
Led by amazing Alexandre Legrand +major contributions by Rémi Demeure & Amandine Chantharath @ciri-lyon.bsky.social 1/n
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Evo. characterization #antiviral #SAMD9/9L across #kingdoms🚶♀️🦍🦠🧫🖥️: ancient #convergence + #adaptations @natecoevo.nature.com
Led by amazing Alexandre Legrand +major contributions by Rémi Demeure & Amandine Chantharath @ciri-lyon.bsky.social 1/n
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Now online in its final version. Plz surf to doi.org/10.1111/tpj....
November 12, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Now online in its final version. Plz surf to doi.org/10.1111/tpj....
Reposted by Gal Ofir
The Pea Aphid's Secret Weapon Uncovered! 🤫 Our Commentary highlights the discovery of aphid effector Ap4—a single salivary protein—that manipulates the plant's defense system to boost pest's reproductive success.
apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/...
@msr20.bsky.social
@mpmijournal.bsky.social
apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/...
@msr20.bsky.social
@mpmijournal.bsky.social
October 27, 2025 at 10:00 PM
The Pea Aphid's Secret Weapon Uncovered! 🤫 Our Commentary highlights the discovery of aphid effector Ap4—a single salivary protein—that manipulates the plant's defense system to boost pest's reproductive success.
apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/...
@msr20.bsky.social
@mpmijournal.bsky.social
apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/...
@msr20.bsky.social
@mpmijournal.bsky.social
Reposted by Gal Ofir
There's still time to RSVP and receive the Zoom link for the Philip N. Benfey Arabidopsis Community Lifetime Achievement Awards webinar featuring Detlef Weigel, Mark Estelle, and Maarten Koornneef!
RSVP---> bit.ly/naascawards
@plantevolution.bsky.social
RSVP---> bit.ly/naascawards
@plantevolution.bsky.social
November 7, 2025 at 7:22 PM
There's still time to RSVP and receive the Zoom link for the Philip N. Benfey Arabidopsis Community Lifetime Achievement Awards webinar featuring Detlef Weigel, Mark Estelle, and Maarten Koornneef!
RSVP---> bit.ly/naascawards
@plantevolution.bsky.social
RSVP---> bit.ly/naascawards
@plantevolution.bsky.social
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Prophage induction drives soybean rhizobacterial community differentiation and nutrient cycling benefiting root development
-in #ISMEComms
with @bedutilh.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
-in #ISMEComms
with @bedutilh.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
Prophage induction drives soybean rhizobacterial community differentiation and nutrient cycling benefiting root development
Abstract. Bacteriophages, lytic or lysogenic, play critical roles in structuring different soil bacteriomes and driving their functionality. Lysogeny is fa
academic.oup.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Prophage induction drives soybean rhizobacterial community differentiation and nutrient cycling benefiting root development
-in #ISMEComms
with @bedutilh.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
-in #ISMEComms
with @bedutilh.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a...
Reposted by Gal Ofir
I recently moved my lab to Purdue University and am looking for graduate students. We are working at the interface of population genomics, quantitative genetics and functional genomics to understand how plants adapt to extreme environments. Reach out if you would like to discuss potential projects.
November 8, 2025 at 3:42 PM
I recently moved my lab to Purdue University and am looking for graduate students. We are working at the interface of population genomics, quantitative genetics and functional genomics to understand how plants adapt to extreme environments. Reach out if you would like to discuss potential projects.
Reposted by Gal Ofir
@sheilaroitman.bsky.social from Detlef Weigel's lab @plantevolution.bsky.social presents a cool and innovative talk on the uncharacterized members of the plant microbiome: phages!!
So many bacterial 16S studies but very few people study the plant phagome
#PMS2025
So many bacterial 16S studies but very few people study the plant phagome
#PMS2025
November 7, 2025 at 11:13 AM
@sheilaroitman.bsky.social from Detlef Weigel's lab @plantevolution.bsky.social presents a cool and innovative talk on the uncharacterized members of the plant microbiome: phages!!
So many bacterial 16S studies but very few people study the plant phagome
#PMS2025
So many bacterial 16S studies but very few people study the plant phagome
#PMS2025
Reposted by Gal Ofir
New Pre-print!
Pseudomonas virulence factor SaxA detoxifies plant glucosinolate hydrolysis products, rescuing a commensal that suppresses virulence gene expression
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Driven by Kerstin Unger, we find that a "virulence factor" has cool roles in microbe-microbe interactions
Pseudomonas virulence factor SaxA detoxifies plant glucosinolate hydrolysis products, rescuing a commensal that suppresses virulence gene expression
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Driven by Kerstin Unger, we find that a "virulence factor" has cool roles in microbe-microbe interactions
Pseudomonas virulence factor SaxA detoxifies plant glucosinolate hydrolysis products, rescuing a commensal that suppresses virulence gene expression
Plants produce a plethora of specialised metabolites that often play important roles in their defence against pathogenic microbes or herbivorous insects. Exposure of leaf colonising microbes to these ...
doi.org
April 29, 2025 at 2:48 PM
New Pre-print!
Pseudomonas virulence factor SaxA detoxifies plant glucosinolate hydrolysis products, rescuing a commensal that suppresses virulence gene expression
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Driven by Kerstin Unger, we find that a "virulence factor" has cool roles in microbe-microbe interactions
Pseudomonas virulence factor SaxA detoxifies plant glucosinolate hydrolysis products, rescuing a commensal that suppresses virulence gene expression
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Driven by Kerstin Unger, we find that a "virulence factor" has cool roles in microbe-microbe interactions
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Friday Flower 009: Nigella arvensis ✨
Nigella’s flowers form a morphologically complex display with ornate bracts and blue sepals.
The true petals have diverse patterning with intricate, nectar-bearing structures that look alien.
Nigella’s flowers form a morphologically complex display with ornate bracts and blue sepals.
The true petals have diverse patterning with intricate, nectar-bearing structures that look alien.
November 7, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Friday Flower 009: Nigella arvensis ✨
Nigella’s flowers form a morphologically complex display with ornate bracts and blue sepals.
The true petals have diverse patterning with intricate, nectar-bearing structures that look alien.
Nigella’s flowers form a morphologically complex display with ornate bracts and blue sepals.
The true petals have diverse patterning with intricate, nectar-bearing structures that look alien.
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Magnus Nordborg of the GMI from the @oeaw.bsky.social has received a Synergy Grant from the @erc.europa.eu. With Richard Durbin and @felipekteixeira.bsky.social, they will investigate how transposable elements shape genome evolution in eukaryotes.
Read more: www.oeaw.ac.at/gmi/news-eve...
Read more: www.oeaw.ac.at/gmi/news-eve...
November 6, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Magnus Nordborg of the GMI from the @oeaw.bsky.social has received a Synergy Grant from the @erc.europa.eu. With Richard Durbin and @felipekteixeira.bsky.social, they will investigate how transposable elements shape genome evolution in eukaryotes.
Read more: www.oeaw.ac.at/gmi/news-eve...
Read more: www.oeaw.ac.at/gmi/news-eve...
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Bacteria can sense when a virus starts shredding their genome — by detecting methylated mononucleotides.
Here’s the story of how we discovered the Metis defense system 👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Here’s the story of how we discovered the Metis defense system 👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 6, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Bacteria can sense when a virus starts shredding their genome — by detecting methylated mononucleotides.
Here’s the story of how we discovered the Metis defense system 👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Here’s the story of how we discovered the Metis defense system 👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Gal Ofir
November 6, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Nicolas Rojas Preciado, The Sugar Beet Leaf Microbiome Harbors Aphid-Killing Bacteria Whose Composition Shifts in Response to Aphid Infestation
#PMS2025
#PMS2025
November 6, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Nicolas Rojas Preciado, The Sugar Beet Leaf Microbiome Harbors Aphid-Killing Bacteria Whose Composition Shifts in Response to Aphid Infestation
#PMS2025
#PMS2025
Reposted by Gal Ofir
📢 Open Call! The Max Perutz Labs invite applications for a Tenure-Track Professorship in Genome Biology. We are particularly interested in researchers investigating the molecular and biophysical mechanisms underlying genome function and regulation. More details ➡️ tinyurl.com/3t7vvdct
November 5, 2025 at 10:59 AM
📢 Open Call! The Max Perutz Labs invite applications for a Tenure-Track Professorship in Genome Biology. We are particularly interested in researchers investigating the molecular and biophysical mechanisms underlying genome function and regulation. More details ➡️ tinyurl.com/3t7vvdct
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Arabidopsis thaliana was always an unlikely candidate for the limelight. But 25 years ago, the diminutive thale cress launched the botanical world into the molecular era.
✍️ Rachel Ehrenberg
knowmag.org/4hImL8e
✍️ Rachel Ehrenberg
knowmag.org/4hImL8e
How a humble weed became a superstar of biology
Arabidopsis thaliana was always an unlikely candidate for the limelight. But 25 years ago, the diminutive thale cress launched the botanical world into the molecular era.
knowmag.org
November 4, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Arabidopsis thaliana was always an unlikely candidate for the limelight. But 25 years ago, the diminutive thale cress launched the botanical world into the molecular era.
✍️ Rachel Ehrenberg
knowmag.org/4hImL8e
✍️ Rachel Ehrenberg
knowmag.org/4hImL8e
Reposted by Gal Ofir
1/ It is my pleasure to share the latest preprint of the team: "Symbiotic diversification relies on an ancestral gene network in plants"
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Here, we identified and functionally validated a novel master regulator of intracellular symbioses!
A thread ...
#PlantScience
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Here, we identified and functionally validated a novel master regulator of intracellular symbioses!
A thread ...
#PlantScience
Symbiotic diversification relies on an ancestral gene network in plants
Symbioses have been fundamental to colonization of terrestrial ecosystems by plants and their evolution. Emergence of the ancient arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis was followed by the diversification o...
doi.org
November 4, 2025 at 8:06 AM
1/ It is my pleasure to share the latest preprint of the team: "Symbiotic diversification relies on an ancestral gene network in plants"
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Here, we identified and functionally validated a novel master regulator of intracellular symbioses!
A thread ...
#PlantScience
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Here, we identified and functionally validated a novel master regulator of intracellular symbioses!
A thread ...
#PlantScience
Reposted by Gal Ofir
Can plants actively recruit specific microbes with beneficial functions? @harrobouwmeester.bsky.social tries to answer this question with “YES!” #PMS2025
November 4, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Can plants actively recruit specific microbes with beneficial functions? @harrobouwmeester.bsky.social tries to answer this question with “YES!” #PMS2025
Reposted by Gal Ofir
My new Emmy Noether Group is recruiting!
🔬 Two PhD positions in plant pathogen evolution
🧬 Start: April 2026 (flexible)
📍 Dept. of Phytopathology & Plant Protection @rstam.bsky.social @uni-kiel.de
⏰ Apply by 15 Dec 2025
🔗 More info: www.uni-kiel.de/personal/de/...
Do get in touch or share 😊
🔬 Two PhD positions in plant pathogen evolution
🧬 Start: April 2026 (flexible)
📍 Dept. of Phytopathology & Plant Protection @rstam.bsky.social @uni-kiel.de
⏰ Apply by 15 Dec 2025
🔗 More info: www.uni-kiel.de/personal/de/...
Do get in touch or share 😊
Aktuelle Ausschreibungen
Aktuelle Ausschreibungen
www.uni-kiel.de
November 3, 2025 at 9:03 AM
My new Emmy Noether Group is recruiting!
🔬 Two PhD positions in plant pathogen evolution
🧬 Start: April 2026 (flexible)
📍 Dept. of Phytopathology & Plant Protection @rstam.bsky.social @uni-kiel.de
⏰ Apply by 15 Dec 2025
🔗 More info: www.uni-kiel.de/personal/de/...
Do get in touch or share 😊
🔬 Two PhD positions in plant pathogen evolution
🧬 Start: April 2026 (flexible)
📍 Dept. of Phytopathology & Plant Protection @rstam.bsky.social @uni-kiel.de
⏰ Apply by 15 Dec 2025
🔗 More info: www.uni-kiel.de/personal/de/...
Do get in touch or share 😊
Reposted by Gal Ofir
A wheat NLR conferring broad-spectrum resistance against powdery mildew by recognizing two structurally diverse AVR effectors. Interested? Check out our newest preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Dual recognition of structurally unrelated mildew effectors underlies the broad-spectrum resistance of Pm3e in wheat
Broad-spectrum resistance genes are highly valuable for sustainable crop protection, yet the molecular basis of their activity is often unknown. The Pm3 allelic series in wheat encodes NLR receptors t...
www.biorxiv.org
November 2, 2025 at 1:29 PM
A wheat NLR conferring broad-spectrum resistance against powdery mildew by recognizing two structurally diverse AVR effectors. Interested? Check out our newest preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...