Rotem Sorek: The immune system of bacteria

Over the past few years, research from our lab pioneered the discovery of the bacterial pan-immune system. We now understand that beyond restriction-modification and CRISPR-Cas, bacteria encode over 150 distinct anti-phage immune systems. Our studies surprisingly revealed that important components of the plant and human innate immune system originated in bacterial systems that defend from phages. The talk will summarize our understanding of the bacterial immune system, and will highlight how bacterial defense from phage gave rise to key mechanisms in plant and human innate immunity.