Tamar Av-Shalom

This is sad news, but what a long and rich life Julian has had.

A towering and inspiring figure in microbiology and antimicrobial resistance.

Tandem kinase proteins across the plant kingdom Nature Genetics - This genomic analysis of tandem kinase proteins across 104 plant species highlights their mechanisms of convergent molecular evolution and potential roles in plant immunity.

First paper of the year is out! A collaboration with Tzion Fahima @University of Haifa with heavy lifting by Tamara Reveguk, who was a pleasure to co-supervise. We generated an atlas of tandem kinase proteins (TKPs). TKPs are known to confer disease resistance in monocots. 🧵(1/4)
rdcu.be/d5ADS

Starship giant transposons dominate plastic genomic regions in a fungal plant pathogen and drive virulence evolution Starships form a recently discovered superfamily of giant transposons in Pezizomycotina fungi, implicated in mediating horizontal transfer of diverse cargo genes between fungal genomes. Their elusive nature has long obscured their significance, and their impact on genome evolution remains poorly understood. Here, we reveal a surprising abundance and diversity of Starships in the phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae. Remarkably, Starships dominate the plastic genomic compartments involved in host colonization, are enriched in virulence-associated genes, and exhibit genetic and epigenetic characteristics associated with adaptive genome evolution. We further uncover extensive horizontal transfer of Starships between Verticillium species and, strikingly, from distantly related Fusarium fungi. Finally, we demonstrate how Starship activity facilitated the de novo formation of a novel virulence gene. Our findings illuminate the profound influence of Starship dynamics on fungal genome evolution and the development of virulence. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

📣New year, new preprint @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social 🎉! A study led by the brilliant @yukiyosato.bsky.social showing that Starship giant transposons dominate plastic genomic regions in the fungal plant pathogen Verticillium dahliae and drive virulence evolution. 🧵[1/12] doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Quick plug for preview article Brian Kvitko and I wrote for Cell Host and Microbe (setting up an interesting paper from Grenz et al. in same issue) and waxing philosophical about subjectivity of host range in bacterial phytopathogens like Pseudomonas syringae

authors.elsevier.com/a/1kPEb6t8JE...

New Preprint! We identified Pseudomonas in wild liverworts and explored what makes them virulent. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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