Gal Ofir
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galofir.bsky.social
Gal Ofir
@galofir.bsky.social
620 followers 1K following 19 posts
Departmental Group Leader - Plant Immunogenomics 🌱🧬🦠
Max Planck Institute for Biology - Tübingen 🇩🇪. Plant immunity and other small things
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Gal Ofir
thorstenlangner.bsky.social
Great news for new plant breeding technologies in Europe! 🥳 EU reaches preliminary deal on gene editing!
www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/...
New genomic techniques for plant breeding
New genomic techniques can increase food security and mitigate climate change effects. EU rules aim to regulate these plant breeding methods.
www.consilium.europa.eu
December 4, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
evanowack.bsky.social
📢Postdoc position available!🧪🧫🧬
Our group is seeking a motivated researcher to investigate the molecular mechanisms driving host–endosymbiont interactions.
Full details & application: karriere.hhu.de//index.php?a....
Please help us get the word out!
Postdoc (m/f/d) in Endosymbiosis Research
karriere.hhu.de
November 25, 2025 at 11:21 AM
galofir.bsky.social
Thoeris - the gift that keeps on giving 🦠🎁! Congrats Erez, Azita et al.!
erezyirmiya.bsky.social Erez Yirmiya @erezyirmiya.bsky.social · 1d
I’m happy to share our new preprint! We uncovered the full diversity of bacterial TIR-based antiviral immune signaling, massively expanded the known diversity of Thoeris systems, and revealed conservation of TIR-derived immune signals across the tree of life.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Systematic discovery of TIR-based immune signaling systems in bacteria
Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domains are important for immune signaling across humans, plants and bacteria. These domains were recently found to produce immune signaling molecules in plant immuni...
www.biorxiv.org
December 4, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
erezyirmiya.bsky.social
I’m happy to share our new preprint! We uncovered the full diversity of bacterial TIR-based antiviral immune signaling, massively expanded the known diversity of Thoeris systems, and revealed conservation of TIR-derived immune signals across the tree of life.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Systematic discovery of TIR-based immune signaling systems in bacteria
Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domains are important for immune signaling across humans, plants and bacteria. These domains were recently found to produce immune signaling molecules in plant immuni...
www.biorxiv.org
December 4, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
plantepigenetics.ch
Finally! The European Union allows the use of genome editing! 🌱🌾🫛🇪🇺🧬

www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/v...
EU einigt sich auf Lockerungen für gentechnisch veränderte Lebensmittel
Für viele gentechnisch veränderte Lebensmittel soll es künftig keine Hinweispflicht mehr in Supermärkten geben. Darauf einigten sich Vertreter aus dem Europaparlament und dem Rat der EU-Länder.
www.tagesschau.de
December 4, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
kamounlab.bsky.social
I just published: ERC-Plus: jackpot science or missed chance to fix academia?

My reflections on ERC-Plus, Europe’s newest ultra-competitive research grant and what it tells us about the academic culture we’re building.

medium.com/p/erc-plus-j...
ERC-Plus: jackpot science or missed chance to fix academia?
My reflections on ERC-Plus, Europe’s newest ultra-competitive research grant and what it tells us about the academic culture we’re…
medium.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
clemmar.bsky.social
Excited to share our latest work on plant immune receptor biochemistry! @kamounlab.bsky.social @hsuanpai.bsky.social @mpcontreras.bsky.social Jose Salguero Linares @danielluedke.bsky.social @adnroide.bsky.social @jiorgoskourelis.bsky.social

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
CC-NLRs exhibit diverse conformations in the resting state. Figure depicts different NLR resting and activated states. While ZAR1 exists as a monomer bound to its guardees in its resting state, several forms have been observed for the NRC2 helper, including dimers, tetramers, and filaments. While filament-like structures were observed via confocal microscopy for NRC2 upon overexpression in planta, these structures were not detected for its paralog NRC4, suggesting a potentially different resting state configuration for NRC4. Our work suggests that the Pik CC-NLR pair forms a hetero-complex bound to the plasma membrane in its resting state. How effector binding to the integrated domain (ID) of the Pik-1 sensor leads to the activation of the complex remains to be determined.
December 3, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
somssich.bsky.social
I like the idea of "resurrecting" forgotten crops using modern technology. Pádraic Flood's new startup Aardaia does this.

"The aardaker is a forgotten food, [...] ‘It was cultivated in Zeeland in the 18th century! And it has a lot of potential. [...], it contains a lot of protein"

#PlantScience
Alumnus Pádraic Flood, founder of Aardaia: ‘Aardaker has the potential to become a protein potato’
In 2009, botanist Pádraic Flood moved from Ireland to the Netherlands to pursue a PhD. In Wageningen, he learned all about genetic variation in plant photosynthesis. To contribute to a more sustainabl...
www.wur.nl
December 2, 2025 at 6:02 AM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
gesahoffmann.bsky.social
Have you ever wondered how it is possible that systemically infected plants produce (a certain percentage of) healthy progeny? 💚

Check out the first preprint of the @incavirus.bsky.social lab and first preprint of my postdoc! 🍀

We'd be very happy about feedback and discussions!
December 2, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
aaronquinlan.bsky.social
We are thrilled to announce the first official release (v0.1.8) of #𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗿, the successor to one of our flagship tool, #𝗯𝗲𝗱𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀! Based on ideas we conceived of long ago (!), this was achieved thanks to the dedication of Brent Pedersen.

1/n
Intro to Bedder – The Quinlan Lab
quinlanlab.org
December 2, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
katherinedenby.bsky.social
Very excited to advertise 15 plant engineering biology PhD projects @biologyatyork.bsky.social @camplantsci.bsky.social @slcuplants.bsky.social @johninnescentre.bsky.social & University of Bristol. 🪴 🥬 🔧 🧬 Come join this new Plant BioDesign community!

www.findaphd.com/phds/?Keywor...
November 27, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
somssich.bsky.social
We are looking for a Head of Cell Biology here at @kwsgroup.bsky.social Vegetables.

This is a permanent, full-time position located in Wageningen, Netherlands.

jobs.kws.com/job/Wagening...

#PlantScience #PlantSciJobs #PlantScienceJobs #PlantCellBiology #PlantBreeding #PlantSciJob #PlantScienceJob
Head of Cell Biology KWS Vegetables
Head of Cell Biology KWS Vegetables
jobs.kws.com
December 1, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
sramundo.bsky.social
There are a couple of empty chairs at our table — want to sit with us?
Reach out to me or any lab member www.oeaw.ac.at/gmi/research... We’ll be hiring two postdocs in 2026.
We’re excited about ambitious and creative ideas and are committed to supporting future group leaders 1/2
November 29, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
somssich.bsky.social
"Leaf It to Science: Uncovering Plant Immune Systems Through Technological Advances Open Access"

Reflections on Career, #PlantScience and #PlantImmunity by Xinnian Dong

academic.oup.com/plphys/advan...
Abstract For the past two years, I have been contemplating how best to write this review that not only reflects on a few significant and nostalgic moments in my more than three decades of professional career in the molecular plant-microbe interaction (MPMI) field, but also offers my personal outlook on the future aimed at inspiring young scientists to join this exciting discipline. Rather than a comprehensive overview, I would like to place greater emphasis on the “whys” and the “hows” than the “whats”. I finally decided to use technological advancements critical for the development of our field as a thread to connect the past with the future. Founder's Review
November 29, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
mpi-mp-potsdam.bsky.social
Looking for a #PhDposition in #PlantScience ?
Our #IMPRS @mpi-mp-potsdam.bsky.social and @unipotsdam.bsky.social is #hiring !

📅 Apply by 10 January 2026

More info:
👉 www.mpimp-golm.mpg.de/IMPRS-PhD

Please share this post to plant it in the right feed 🌱 #PlantSciJobs
Graphic with Arabidopsis thaliana plant. It says in the text: We're hiring: 5 PhD positions, apply by 10 January, 2026. Over the caption, there are keywords: Plant Physiology, Epigenetics, Biotechnology, Cell Biology, Bioinformatics. At the bottom there are logos of IMPRS, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, University of Potsdam and the Max Planck Society.
November 28, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
mgstetter.bsky.social
TWO positions open in our group. 1 postdoc and 1 PhD position. Join us for some exciting evolutionary plant biology! #PlantSciJobs #PlantSciJob
November 28, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
mpi-mp-potsdam.bsky.social
Great talk by @delphinem-p.bsky.social from @geminiteamlab.bsky.social yesterday: “Hijacking the Plant #Spliceosome” on how alternative splicing drives #viral infection and #tomato fruit development 🍅

Thanks to our host @incavirus.bsky.social for organizing this insightful seminar! 👏
Delphine Pott (left) and Marco Incarbone (right) standing in front of a yellow wall and next to a window facade in an office building. Both are smiling.
November 27, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
wvschaik.bsky.social
An amazing article. Highly recommended!
kevinsblake.bsky.social Kevin Blake PhD @kevinsblake.bsky.social · 11d
Every biologist knows the story of Fleming's chance discovery of penicillin. But is it true?

Here, with @asimovpress.bsky.social, I write about inconsistencies in the canonical story, and explore a few alternative theories about what really happened in that St. Mary's lab in the summer of 1928.
The Penicillin Myth
Competing theories seek to explain inconsistencies surrounding Alexander Fleming’s famed discovery.
press.asimov.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
pnas.org
Medieval agricultural and trade practices in southwestern Germany boosted plant diversity for centuries, with biodiversity peaking around 1000 CE and declining only when human activity contracted during the Black Death. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/Q6ca50XxIvC
Woodcut illustration to Michael Beuther’s Calendarium Historicum, published in Frankfurt by David Zephelius in 1557. Image shows a person pollarding a tree and another person sowing seeds. CREDIT: The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license.
November 25, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
yehumoran.bsky.social
1/5
🚨🚨 preprint alert! 🚨🚨
I wish to introduce CARDIB, not the singer, but the protein.
CARDIB=CARD Inhibitory Binding protein.
In our new work we discover this antiviral protein that is found in all Anthozoa (sea anemones and corals 🪸) but not in other animals.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
An ancient anthozoan protein reveals an alternative evolutionary path of antiviral signaling
How antiviral immunity first arose in animals is a central question in evolutionary biology. Using the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, we identify CARDIB, a previously uncharacterized gene located...
www.biorxiv.org
November 25, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
sverwimp.bsky.social
Protein domains have no single definition, so why stick to one segmentation? 🧩

Instead of forcing structures into rigid classifications, we built AFragmenter. It uses AlphaFold PAE networks for a tuneable approach to domain parsing.

You control the granularity. 👇
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/bioi...
November 24, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
hassansalem.bsky.social
Some news 🎉
After five incredible years in Tübingen, it’s time to say goodbye.

Starting February, the Mutualisms Lab will relocate to the John Innes Centre, right next door to @berasymbionts.bsky.social and her group at The Sainsbury Laboratory 🪲🦠
Hassan, Aileen, and a local resident by the Norwich Cathedral.
November 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
johninnescentre.bsky.social
PRESS RELEASE – Dr Hassan Salem to lead independent research group on plant-insect interactions

Following an international search, we are delighted to announce that Dr Hassan Salem @hassansalem.bsky.social will be joining us in early 2026: www.jic.ac.uk/press-releas...
Dr Hassan Salem
November 24, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
vbcscitraining.bsky.social
The Vienna BioCenter Summer School 2026 call is now open for talented undergrads, it's a great opportunity for students who are interested in graduate study in the life sciences. Georg Busslinger from CeMM is recruiting! Please share
https://training.vbc.ac.at/summer-school/
November 24, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Reposted by Gal Ofir
plantaeofficial.bsky.social
Plant Science Research Weekly -- Cracking the oat code: a comprehensive pangenome and pantranscriptome resource (Nature) @howarthoats.bsky.social (Summary by Ching Chan) buff.ly/tJW1bEw

#PlantaePSRW
Cracking the oat code: A comprehensive pangenome and pantranscriptome resource | Plantae
Oat (Avena sativa) is a globally cultivated cereal for its rich dietary fiber and health-promoting benefits. Yet, despite its nutritional importance, oat genomics has long lagged behind other cereals…
buff.ly
November 24, 2025 at 3:15 PM