March 2021: Wagner and colleagues in Science: understanding how bacteria attack
Naama Wagner, Edmond J. Safra PhD student fellow, is among authors of a study published in Science.
Naama Wagner, Edmond J. Safra PhD student fellow (Pupko Lab, Life Sciences) is among the authors of a new study published in the prestigious journal Science.
Many disease-causing bacteria use a molecular syringe to inject dozens of their proteins, called effectors, into intestinal cells, blocking key immune responses. In this study, the researchers used a mouse pathogen to model effectors function in vivo. They found that effectors work together as a network, allowing the microbe great flexibility in maintaining pathogenicity. This is the first study that describes the effectors network in a specific pathogen.
The study was led by Prof. Gad Frankel, Imperial College, London. Naama used machine-learning algorithms to identify uncharacterized effectors in this pathogen. Two novel effectors were identified and experimentally validated using her predictions.
See more at the demo here.
See an interview with Prof. Tal Pupko in Israel TV Channel, Kan 11.