Romi Hadary
@HadaryRomi
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PhD student @sorekLab @weizmannScience. Studying phage-bacteria arms race 🦠🛡️🧽
Joined July 2025
9/ It was such a fun and inspiring journey 🎉 Huge thanks to @reneechang — it was a pleasure working on this together! Special thanks to all amazing contributors: @nath_bechon , @Nitzan_T , @IlyaOsterman , @ErezTzvi , @GarbJeremy , @GilAmitai
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8/ Remarkably, 65 sponges inhibit ≥1 immune system, and 25 block multiple. They evolved specificity & diversity, a striking example of the phage–bacteria arms race. Sponges appear key for phages, shaping many bacteria–virus interactions, and new families keep being discovered.
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7/ Tad2 homologs that bind N7-cADPR 🧽, neutralizing Type IV Thoeris. The first anti-defense protein discovered for this system! Evidence for this novel function was collected both in vivo using multiple infection assays and in vitro with biochemical experiments.
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6/ We found the first Pycsar-targeting sponges, from the Tad2 family! Using mutation analysis, we showed that MoTad2 binds Pycsar molecules in a pocket distinct from its Type II Thoeris target 🧽.
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5/ We discovered 10 Acb2 homologs that inhibit Type I Thoeris! A new function for this family 🌟 One was crystallized bound to its target molecule 3′cADPR, thanks to the expertise of @reneechang — revealing how this sponge works.
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4/ 84 homologs were screened experimentally against 7 immune systems, including different types of Thoeris, CBASS & Pycsar — using a high-throughput 96-well infection assay 🧪 (developed with @Nitzan_T & @GarbJeremy ).
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3/ A few homologs from each family already showed intriguing diversity in specificity, which made us excited to systematically explore the full range of sponge diversity. We collected thousands of Tad1, Tad2 & Acb2 homologs, built phylogenetic trees, and tested representatives.
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2/ Phages must fight back! ⚔️ Sponges 🧽 are viral proteins that bind signaling molecules, preventing activation of defenses. The first families discovered were Tad1 & Tad2 (anti-Thoeris & CBASS) and Acb2 (anti-CBASS).
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1/ Defense systems using small molecule signaling exist in >20% of bacteria 🦠 some are ancestors of central immune pathways in animals & plants.
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📢 Preprint out! Together with @reneechang and the amazing @SorekLab , we explored viral sponges to map their diversity and function. Discovered huge diversity, including sponges that inhibit Pycsar & Type IV Thoeris! https://t.co/ZhHMK7KB6O
biorxiv.org
Multiple bacterial immune systems, including CBASS, Thoeris, and Pycsar, employ signaling molecules that activate the immune response following phage infection. Phages counteract bacterial immune...
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A beautiful and much-needed review on the role of nucleotides in immunity 💫🧬@dinahoch
It’s out! Read my review with @SorekLab on the nucleotide pool as a central playground in antiviral immunity across humans, bacteria and plants! 🧍♀️🦠🌿 & the diverse ways in which viruses overcome these nucleotide-based immune mechanisms 🗡️ https://t.co/wipXYcBHRS
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Amazing work led by @Nitzan_T – so happy to see it out! 🧬💫
📢Preprint out! Excited to share my final work from the @Soreklab! We mined phage dark matter using structural features shared by anti-defense proteins (viral tools that help phages bypass bacterial immunity) to guide discovery. Found 3 new families targeting immune signaling!
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