BejaLab
@bejalab.bsky.social
the unculturables: exploratory research & beyond. EMBO-YIP 2003, EAM 2012, adERC 2013, EMBO 2024. https://beja.net.technion.ac.il/
Pinned
BejaLab
@bejalab.bsky.social
· Nov 12
the sun is shining through the clouds in the sky above the ocean
ALT: the sun is shining through the clouds in the sky above the ocean
media.tenor.com
Viral NblA proteins negatively affect oceanic cyanobacterial photosynthesis www.nature.com/articles/s41...
this project was led by @omernadel.bsky.social and is a joint work between the labs of @bejalab.bsky.social, Debbie Lindell and Oded Kleifeld from @biologytechnion.bsky.social
this project was led by @omernadel.bsky.social and is a joint work between the labs of @bejalab.bsky.social, Debbie Lindell and Oded Kleifeld from @biologytechnion.bsky.social
Comparison of Spatio-Temporal Dynamics and Composition in Size-Fractionated and Unfractionated Northwestern Atlantic Microbial Communities enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Comparison of Spatio‐Temporal Dynamics and Composition in Size‐Fractionated and Unfractionated Northwestern Atlantic Microbial Communities
Size fractionation differentiates large, particle-associated microbes from small, free-living ones. We show that pooling size-fractionated marine samples, normalised by their DNA concentration, eithe...
enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 8, 2026 at 7:07 AM
Comparison of Spatio-Temporal Dynamics and Composition in Size-Fractionated and Unfractionated Northwestern Atlantic Microbial Communities enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by BejaLab
The photolyase/cryptochrome of Aspergillus nidulans senses oxidative stress and shuttles from nuclei to mitochondria | Nature Communications https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-69403-2
February 8, 2026 at 6:40 AM
The photolyase/cryptochrome of Aspergillus nidulans senses oxidative stress and shuttles from nuclei to mitochondria | Nature Communications https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-69403-2
Reposted by BejaLab
Our eLetter github.com/caseywdunn/s... responding to a recent Science paper was just posted. The paper found more genes with consistent support for sponge-sister than ctenophore-sister. We found several technical issues that, when corrected, reverse the conclusions and recover ctenophore-sister.
January 9, 2026 at 11:44 AM
Our eLetter github.com/caseywdunn/s... responding to a recent Science paper was just posted. The paper found more genes with consistent support for sponge-sister than ctenophore-sister. We found several technical issues that, when corrected, reverse the conclusions and recover ctenophore-sister.
Reposted by BejaLab
The re-analysis of this #sponge #ctenophore study made me realize how important it is to really *look* at your data.
Their filtering pipeline was meant to retain "strong" genes, but many of them had NO ctenophores and most had polyphyletic sponges.
Time to put down the pitchforks for a while.
Their filtering pipeline was meant to retain "strong" genes, but many of them had NO ctenophores and most had polyphyletic sponges.
Time to put down the pitchforks for a while.
Our eLetter github.com/caseywdunn/s... responding to a recent Science paper was just posted. The paper found more genes with consistent support for sponge-sister than ctenophore-sister. We found several technical issues that, when corrected, reverse the conclusions and recover ctenophore-sister.
January 9, 2026 at 4:52 PM
The re-analysis of this #sponge #ctenophore study made me realize how important it is to really *look* at your data.
Their filtering pipeline was meant to retain "strong" genes, but many of them had NO ctenophores and most had polyphyletic sponges.
Time to put down the pitchforks for a while.
Their filtering pipeline was meant to retain "strong" genes, but many of them had NO ctenophores and most had polyphyletic sponges.
Time to put down the pitchforks for a while.
WOW! Retraction of Research Article “Integrative phylogenomics positions sponges at the root of the animal tree” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
February 8, 2026 at 4:55 AM
WOW! Retraction of Research Article “Integrative phylogenomics positions sponges at the root of the animal tree” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by BejaLab
Molecular basis for anti-jumbo phage #immunity by AVAST type 5.
Avs5 detects an early jumbo‑phage activator and halts infection by rapidly hydrolyzing NAD+.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #phage #bacteriophage #MicroSky
Avs5 detects an early jumbo‑phage activator and halts infection by rapidly hydrolyzing NAD+.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #phage #bacteriophage #MicroSky
February 7, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Molecular basis for anti-jumbo phage #immunity by AVAST type 5.
Avs5 detects an early jumbo‑phage activator and halts infection by rapidly hydrolyzing NAD+.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #phage #bacteriophage #MicroSky
Avs5 detects an early jumbo‑phage activator and halts infection by rapidly hydrolyzing NAD+.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #phage #bacteriophage #MicroSky
Reposted by BejaLab
The immune systems paradox
Some widespread prokaryotic immune systems are absent in eukaryotes, whereas relatively rare ones became central to eukaryotic innate immunity
@audeber.bsky.social & E. Koonin hypothesize the answer is #HGT
shareable link: rdcu.be/e2EmD
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Some widespread prokaryotic immune systems are absent in eukaryotes, whereas relatively rare ones became central to eukaryotic innate immunity
@audeber.bsky.social & E. Koonin hypothesize the answer is #HGT
shareable link: rdcu.be/e2EmD
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The paradox of immune systems conservation between prokaryotes and eukaryotes - Nature Reviews Microbiology
The widespread prokaryotic immune systems, in particular restriction–modification, CRISPR–Cas and defensive toxin–antitoxin systems, are absent in eukaryotes, whereas relatively rare ones, such as Arg...
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 10:22 AM
The immune systems paradox
Some widespread prokaryotic immune systems are absent in eukaryotes, whereas relatively rare ones became central to eukaryotic innate immunity
@audeber.bsky.social & E. Koonin hypothesize the answer is #HGT
shareable link: rdcu.be/e2EmD
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Some widespread prokaryotic immune systems are absent in eukaryotes, whereas relatively rare ones became central to eukaryotic innate immunity
@audeber.bsky.social & E. Koonin hypothesize the answer is #HGT
shareable link: rdcu.be/e2EmD
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by BejaLab
🌊Paper announcement! 📣
Viral infections rewire the metabolic makeup of their host and thereby create distinct chemical signatures. Can we use metabolic biomarkers to diagnose infections of algal blooms in the ocean?
Well, take a look at our new article led by Conny Kuhlisch in @pnas.org
>>
Viral infections rewire the metabolic makeup of their host and thereby create distinct chemical signatures. Can we use metabolic biomarkers to diagnose infections of algal blooms in the ocean?
Well, take a look at our new article led by Conny Kuhlisch in @pnas.org
>>
Mapping of the viral shunt across widespread coccolithophore blooms using metabolic biomarkers | PNAS
The viral shunt is a fundamental ecosystem process which diverts the flux of organic
carbon fixed through photosynthesis during algal bloom events ...
doi.org
February 5, 2026 at 5:22 PM
🌊Paper announcement! 📣
Viral infections rewire the metabolic makeup of their host and thereby create distinct chemical signatures. Can we use metabolic biomarkers to diagnose infections of algal blooms in the ocean?
Well, take a look at our new article led by Conny Kuhlisch in @pnas.org
>>
Viral infections rewire the metabolic makeup of their host and thereby create distinct chemical signatures. Can we use metabolic biomarkers to diagnose infections of algal blooms in the ocean?
Well, take a look at our new article led by Conny Kuhlisch in @pnas.org
>>
Reposted by BejaLab
Extremophile alert!
Registration is OPEN for the 2026 EMBO Archaeal workshop in Cambridge.
Spaces are limited, so register soon with an abstract if you’d like to give a talk.
If you can’t come in person, we are welcoming virtual attendees. So join us online where all talks will be screened!
Registration is OPEN for the 2026 EMBO Archaeal workshop in Cambridge.
Spaces are limited, so register soon with an abstract if you’d like to give a talk.
If you can’t come in person, we are welcoming virtual attendees. So join us online where all talks will be screened!
Sign up now for the EMBO Workshop "#MolecularBiology of #Archaea: Life Through the Prism of Archaea" in Cambridge, UK, 6–10 July 2026.
Deadline: 15 April
https://meetings.embo.org/event/26-archaea
#EMBOArchaeaBiology #EMBOevents #CellBiology #StructuralBiology #ecology #evolution #biophysics 🧪
Deadline: 15 April
https://meetings.embo.org/event/26-archaea
#EMBOArchaeaBiology #EMBOevents #CellBiology #StructuralBiology #ecology #evolution #biophysics 🧪
February 5, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Extremophile alert!
Registration is OPEN for the 2026 EMBO Archaeal workshop in Cambridge.
Spaces are limited, so register soon with an abstract if you’d like to give a talk.
If you can’t come in person, we are welcoming virtual attendees. So join us online where all talks will be screened!
Registration is OPEN for the 2026 EMBO Archaeal workshop in Cambridge.
Spaces are limited, so register soon with an abstract if you’d like to give a talk.
If you can’t come in person, we are welcoming virtual attendees. So join us online where all talks will be screened!
from 2019. A novel uncultured marine cyanophage lineage with lysogenic potential linked to a putative marine Synechococcus ‘relic’ prophage enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
February 5, 2026 at 9:00 AM
from 2019. A novel uncultured marine cyanophage lineage with lysogenic potential linked to a putative marine Synechococcus ‘relic’ prophage enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by BejaLab
"Saw her in the Amazon
With the voltage runnin' through her skin
Standin' there with nothin' on
She gonna teach me how to swim"
for more about the electric (f)eel, check this primer by Ken Catania ⚡ www.cell.com/current-biol...
(and yes, finally some current biology in Current Biology)
With the voltage runnin' through her skin
Standin' there with nothin' on
She gonna teach me how to swim"
for more about the electric (f)eel, check this primer by Ken Catania ⚡ www.cell.com/current-biol...
(and yes, finally some current biology in Current Biology)
February 5, 2026 at 8:10 AM
"Saw her in the Amazon
With the voltage runnin' through her skin
Standin' there with nothin' on
She gonna teach me how to swim"
for more about the electric (f)eel, check this primer by Ken Catania ⚡ www.cell.com/current-biol...
(and yes, finally some current biology in Current Biology)
With the voltage runnin' through her skin
Standin' there with nothin' on
She gonna teach me how to swim"
for more about the electric (f)eel, check this primer by Ken Catania ⚡ www.cell.com/current-biol...
(and yes, finally some current biology in Current Biology)
Reposted by BejaLab
🌀 How do spirochete bacteria swim through thick fluids like champions?
We solved T. denticola flagella structure - asymmetric proteins expand one side, compress the other for perfect corkscrew motion!
@debnathghosal.bsky.social
🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202...
#StructuralBiology #CryoEM #Microbiology
We solved T. denticola flagella structure - asymmetric proteins expand one side, compress the other for perfect corkscrew motion!
@debnathghosal.bsky.social
🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202...
#StructuralBiology #CryoEM #Microbiology
February 5, 2026 at 6:37 AM
🌀 How do spirochete bacteria swim through thick fluids like champions?
We solved T. denticola flagella structure - asymmetric proteins expand one side, compress the other for perfect corkscrew motion!
@debnathghosal.bsky.social
🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202...
#StructuralBiology #CryoEM #Microbiology
We solved T. denticola flagella structure - asymmetric proteins expand one side, compress the other for perfect corkscrew motion!
@debnathghosal.bsky.social
🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202...
#StructuralBiology #CryoEM #Microbiology
Reposted by BejaLab
In addition to the 2 postdoc jobs posted yesterday, we’re recruiting 2 PhD students (environmental microbiology/ molecular ecology) to join us from April. The projects will map microbial populations across niches in bioelectrochemical systems relevant to biomethanation & link them to performance.
Two fully funded PhD candidate positions in Electromicrobiology (3 years)
Application deadline: 4 March 2026 at 23:59 hours local Danish time
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:17 PM
In addition to the 2 postdoc jobs posted yesterday, we’re recruiting 2 PhD students (environmental microbiology/ molecular ecology) to join us from April. The projects will map microbial populations across niches in bioelectrochemical systems relevant to biomethanation & link them to performance.
Reposted by BejaLab
I’m looking for two postdoctoral scientists in experimental evolution to join my team from April 2026 (or soon after). Please share! fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
Two postdoctoral positions (3-year) in Experimental Evolution of Methanogenic Microbiomes in Bioelectrochemical Systems
Application deadline: 4 March 2026 at 23:59 hours local Danish time
fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:34 AM
I’m looking for two postdoctoral scientists in experimental evolution to join my team from April 2026 (or soon after). Please share! fa-eosd-saasfaprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
Crystallized colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor inhibitor protects immunoisolated allo but not xeno transplants in primates www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Crystallized colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor inhibitor protects immunoisolated allo but not xeno transplants in primates
CSF1R-targeted crystals preserve xenogeneic cell function in mice and allogeneic cell function in NHPs but fail to maintain xenogeneic cells in NHPs.
www.science.org
February 5, 2026 at 4:56 AM
Crystallized colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor inhibitor protects immunoisolated allo but not xeno transplants in primates www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by BejaLab
Faculty Retreat 2026......
February 5, 2026 at 4:53 AM
Faculty Retreat 2026......
Reposted by BejaLab
Dragon in the deep. 🐉
Dragonfish (family Stomiidae) are cunning predators. Although they are strong swimmers, they prefer to lie in wait and ambush unsuspecting fishes and crustaceans. This black dragonfish (Idiacanthus sp.) was spotted at 527 meters (1,729 feet) in Monterey Bay.
Dragonfish (family Stomiidae) are cunning predators. Although they are strong swimmers, they prefer to lie in wait and ambush unsuspecting fishes and crustaceans. This black dragonfish (Idiacanthus sp.) was spotted at 527 meters (1,729 feet) in Monterey Bay.
February 4, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Dragon in the deep. 🐉
Dragonfish (family Stomiidae) are cunning predators. Although they are strong swimmers, they prefer to lie in wait and ambush unsuspecting fishes and crustaceans. This black dragonfish (Idiacanthus sp.) was spotted at 527 meters (1,729 feet) in Monterey Bay.
Dragonfish (family Stomiidae) are cunning predators. Although they are strong swimmers, they prefer to lie in wait and ambush unsuspecting fishes and crustaceans. This black dragonfish (Idiacanthus sp.) was spotted at 527 meters (1,729 feet) in Monterey Bay.
Reposted by BejaLab
Had a blast nerding out about beetles (& The Beatles) on Switzerland’s daily news program/Tagesschau 🪲
Thankful for the chance to wax lyrical about our favorite bugs at the Aha Festival, and with the wonderful folks of Lucerne 🇨🇭
Thankful for the chance to wax lyrical about our favorite bugs at the Aha Festival, and with the wonderful folks of Lucerne 🇨🇭
February 4, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Had a blast nerding out about beetles (& The Beatles) on Switzerland’s daily news program/Tagesschau 🪲
Thankful for the chance to wax lyrical about our favorite bugs at the Aha Festival, and with the wonderful folks of Lucerne 🇨🇭
Thankful for the chance to wax lyrical about our favorite bugs at the Aha Festival, and with the wonderful folks of Lucerne 🇨🇭
Reposted by BejaLab
A nuclear CobW/WW-domain factor represses the CO2-concentrating mechanism in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii | PNAS https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2518136123
A nuclear CobW/WW-domain factor represses the CO2-concentrating mechanism in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii | PNAS
Microalgae induce a CO2-concentrating mechanism (CCM) to maintain photosynthesis when CO2 is limited. Because this system consumes a substantial po...
www.pnas.org
February 5, 2026 at 3:54 AM
A nuclear CobW/WW-domain factor represses the CO2-concentrating mechanism in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii | PNAS https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2518136123
Reposted by BejaLab
Amazing findings in geometry-based immune activation! Two bacterial defence systems detect phage-encoded ring oligomers, assemble high-order molecular complexes, and trigger abortive infection.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
February 4, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Amazing findings in geometry-based immune activation! Two bacterial defence systems detect phage-encoded ring oligomers, assemble high-order molecular complexes, and trigger abortive infection.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by BejaLab
Thx for @mollyherring.bsky.social for featuring our recent work with @centriolelab.bsky.social and our quest with @gautamdey.bsky.social & the support of the @moorefound.bsky.social to look for the beauty in every #eukaryote out there using #Expansion #Microscopy #UExM
Even with the largest zoom on a classic compound optical system, scientists struggle to make sense of finer details. Microbiologists are turning to an unexpected source to clear things up: a moisture-absorbing material found in diapers. www.quantamagazine.org/expansion-mi...
Expansion Microscopy Has Transformed How We See the Cellular World | Quanta Magazine
How physically magnifying objects using a key ingredient in diapers has opened an unprecedented view of the microbial world.
www.quantamagazine.org
February 4, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Thx for @mollyherring.bsky.social for featuring our recent work with @centriolelab.bsky.social and our quest with @gautamdey.bsky.social & the support of the @moorefound.bsky.social to look for the beauty in every #eukaryote out there using #Expansion #Microscopy #UExM
A pore-forming antiphage defence is activated by oligomeric phage proteins www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A pore-forming antiphage defence is activated by oligomeric phage proteins - Nature
Bacteria use diverse defence systems against phages, including a 164-residue prophage-encoded protein, Rip1, which senses conserved phage assembly rings to form membrane pores that block virion matura...
www.nature.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:38 PM
A pore-forming antiphage defence is activated by oligomeric phage proteins www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Bacterial immune activation via supramolecular assembly with phage triggers www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Bacterial immune activation via supramolecular assembly with phage triggers - Nature
An antiphage defence system has an activation mechanism that relies on the sensing of phage-encoded proteins that enforce geometry crucial to activation and are not typically present in non-infec...
www.nature.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Bacterial immune activation via supramolecular assembly with phage triggers www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by BejaLab
New paper out! Here's a puzzle: phototrophy, the ability to use light for energy, is one of life's great innovations. It evolved early and transformed the biosphere. But it evolved 2x. Why not just once, why not more? Our work suggests the answer is priority effects.
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Priority effects inhibit the repeated evolution of phototrophy - npj Complexity
npj Complexity - Priority effects inhibit the repeated evolution of phototrophy
www.nature.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:37 PM
New paper out! Here's a puzzle: phototrophy, the ability to use light for energy, is one of life's great innovations. It evolved early and transformed the biosphere. But it evolved 2x. Why not just once, why not more? Our work suggests the answer is priority effects.
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Reposted by BejaLab
New @kaggle.com competition, which I am happy to co-host Can you extract the metadata of mass-spec experiments from scientific papers? Thanks to the NSF National Synthesis Center for Emergence in the Molecular and Cellular Sciences (NCEMS) for sponsoring. www.kaggle.com/competitions...
Harmonizing the Data of your Data
Extract crucial experimental metadata from scientific publications into sample data relation format files.
www.kaggle.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:58 AM
New @kaggle.com competition, which I am happy to co-host Can you extract the metadata of mass-spec experiments from scientific papers? Thanks to the NSF National Synthesis Center for Emergence in the Molecular and Cellular Sciences (NCEMS) for sponsoring. www.kaggle.com/competitions...