New preprint! In collaboration with the Steinmetz Lab at PSI we report cryo-EM structures of microtubules at up to 1.9 Å (!) resolution & in different nucleotide state mimics, suggesting a mechanism for lattice-induced GTP hydrolysis and why it leads to catastrophe: tinyurl.com/7cjrf863
Ron Orbach
@orbachron.bsky.social
Group Leader at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University. Enthusiast of cilia, microtubules, motor proteins, and more. https://www.orbachlab.com/
🚨 I am very happy to share the first preprint from our lab! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
SPACA9 Acts as a Molecular Staple Modulating Microtubule Dynamic Instability
Motile cilia rely on highly stable axonemal microtubules reinforced by microtubule inner proteins (MIPs) that form a network within their lumen, yet the functions of individual MIPs remain poorly unde...
biorxiv.org
🎆 Join us for an unmissable finale to 2025! 🎆 We're thrilled to bring our #cilia & #centrosome community together 25/11/2025 15:00-17:45 GMT! Our 53rd @bscb-official.bsky.social @gensocuk.bsky.social @ukcilianetwork.bsky.social e-symposium schedule is live: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bscb-genso... /1
Miao Gui and @orbachron.bsky.social summarise current structural and functional insights into conserved and lineage-specific MIPs, their roles in shaping ciliary architecture, and the consequences of their disruption on ciliary motility. #JCSciliaSI journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
Our special issue on ‘Cilia and Flagella’ is now out! Huge thanks to all (authors + reviewers) who contributed, and to our wonderful Guest Editors (@cilialab.bsky.social + @lottepedersen.bsky.social) for pulling it together. Happy reading! #cilia #flagella journals.biologists.com/jcs/issue/13...
Volume 138 Issue 20 | Journal of Cell Science | The Company of Biologists
Journal of Cell Science publishes cutting-edge science encompassing all aspects of cell biology. It is published by The Company of Biologists, a not-for-profit organisation.
journals.biologists.com
Ever wondered what microtubule inner proteins (MIPs) are and what they actually do? Or perhaps you already know about them, but find it hard to keep track of which ones are conserved across species and how they support ciliary structure and function? journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
Microtubule inner proteins – bridging structure and function in ciliary biology
Summary: Microtubule inner proteins (MIPs) have been brought into focus by the cryo-EM revolution. This Review outlines current knowledge, emerging functions, links to ciliopathies and outstanding que...
journals.biologists.com
Congratulations to our ISF 2025–2026 grant recipients from Bar Ilan’s Azrieli Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee: Dr. Liron Rosenkrantz, Prof. David Karasik, and Prof. Chaim Putterman.
Daniel's paper is now published in @jcellsci.bsky.social, great experience with @reviewcommons.org 😀 Want to know everything tubulin assembly in trypanosome flagella and other microtubules? Here is the link: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
✨Thanks to amazing students @tobiaskletter.bsky.social, postdocs @biswashere.bsky.social & collaborators @vasilyzaburdaev.bsky.social & ALMF @embl.org ✨ 👉Cytoplasmic material properties control spindle architecture and scaling 👉 out today @natcellbio.nature.com rdcu.be/eqPr8
Cell state-specific cytoplasmic density controls spindle architecture and scaling
Nature Cell Biology - Kletter et al. show that cell state-specific cytoplasmic density controls spindle architecture and scaling in neural differentiation, suggesting that the physical properties...
rdcu.be
📣 Happy to share our review on host-microbiome genomics! We synthesize the growing field exploring interactions between human genetics and the microbiome, building a roadmap for mapping the dialogue between our genes and microbes Out now in Nature Reviews Genetics👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Can we break past the usual limits of #SuperResolution #Microscopy—achieving deep-imaging, high-res, large FOV imaging without the trade-offs? 🧬🔬 YES: with #DNA_PAINT + Spinning Disk Confocal + Optical Photon Reassignment (#SDC-OPR)! 📄 www.nature.com/articles/s41... @natcomms.nature.com! 🧵👇
Super-resolution imaging in whole cells and tissues via DNA-PAINT on a spinning disk confocal with optical photon reassignment - Nature Communications
Zaza and colleagues demonstrate that DNA-PAINT on a spinning disk confocal microscope with optical photon reassignment enables high-resolution imaging across large fields and imaging depths, resolving...
nature.com
Muñoz-Hernández, Xu, et al. @mike-wieczorek.bsky.social @ethz.ch report #cryoEM structures revealing how NEDD1’s C terminus forms an α-helical tetramer that docks onto the γ-TuRC without inducing major conformational changes in the complex during its recruitment to MTOCs rupress.org/jcb/article/...
What a treat! After far too long, the lab finally took a break for some well-earned fun. We spent the morning biking through Agamon Hula, surrounded by beautiful scenery and nesting birds, and wrapped up with a delicious lunch. Here's to more outings like this in the future! 🚲
The Orbach Lab had a great time at the Annual Meeting of the Israel Society for Microscopy at Expo Tel Aviv. Mohammed presented a poster full of exciting microscopy data and got some great feedback from the community. Big thanks to the organizers and everyone who stopped by!
🚨🚨 Dear friends in North America: I will be taking a 1-year sabbatical at @uwmadisonmmi.bsky.social with the wonderful @markjmandel.bsky.social (bringing the #mucus back to the marine world) from August 2025. If you want to meet up, let me know! Please share
a purple octopus with big eyes is crawling on the ground in the ocean .
ALT: a purple octopus with big eyes is crawling on the ground in the ocean .
media.tenor.com
It was a real pleasure to present our work at The Biophysics of Motile Cilia – from Structure to Function meeting at the Physikzentrum Bad Honnef. Grateful for the fruitful discussions with both biologists and physicists, and for the opportunity to meet so many inspiring new colleagues.
We're on the cover of @science.org this week. Awesome work by @florentwaltz.bsky.social. #CryoET is reaching crazy resolutions inside cells, and this is just the beginning. Fantastic interpretation of the proton motive force by @verenaresch.bsky.social. Always a pleasure making #SciArt with you!🧪🧶🧬🌾
In a new Science study, cryo–electron tomography captures the in-cell architecture of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, illuminating how the coordinated action of molecular machines drives life’s fundamental energy conversion. Learn more in this week's issue: scim.ag/3FA3Ygq
I am super excited to share our latest work on the structures of doublet microtubules from trypanosomatid parasites, the causative agents of leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and African sleeping sickness. tinyurl.com/48sh3xn5
Evolutionary adaptations of doublet microtubules in trypanosomatid parasites
The movement and pathogenicity of trypanosomatid species, the causative agents of trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis, are dependent on a flagellum that contains an axoneme of dynein-bound doublet micro...
tinyurl.com
Lab's first published paper!! 🚨 We introduce Perceived Immunity (PI) - a new construct capturing perceived immune efficacy. Using a novel scale, we show that PI prospectively predicts physical symptoms up to 14 months later, beyond baseline symptoms. Why is this important? Read on… 🧵
🎉New open access article by Nofar Mizrachi supervised by @lironrozenkrantz.bsky.social, to which I was happy to contribute: bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/.... Across 3 studies, we show that people's beliefs about their immune system predicted the course of somatic symptoms over 1 y.
The world is full of crazy and sad news, but here is a protein that localizes to only one of the two flagella
Dr. Moran Yadid is leading a groundbreaking international consortium with experts from Finland & Germany to develop an innovative personally tailored approach for treating heart muscle enlargement caused by a genetic mutation. The consortium operates under grant from the European Union.
How Do We Teach Doctors to Teach? We concluded a new & unique year-long course in medical education aimed to develop the teaching methods of clinical faculty. The course focused on teaching and assessment, emphasizing active learning, integrating theoretical knowledge, and working in small groups
Introducing the Tzafon Data and Bio-Bank - Israel’s first-ever bio-bank integrating biological samples and bacteria! this transformative bio-bank fueling both research and industry, is a collaboration with Tzafon Medical Center,To be led by Prof. Avi Peretz, Dr. Hagar Tadmor, and Dr. Maya Azrad.
1/3 Our paper about miRNA target complementarity in Cnidaria is finally published in @emboreports.bsky.social This work was led by the talented Yael Admoni with help from Arie and Rubi in collaboration with the labs of @thecocodium.bsky.social and Michal Rabani www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
miRNA-target complementarity in cnidarians resembles its counterpart in plants | EMBO reports
imageimagemiRNAs in plants and cnidarian animals operate similarly by binding their targets with nearly-full complementarity, in contrast to miRNAs in bilaterian animals that bind via a short seed-mat...
embopress.org
Dr. Sivan Spitzer has achieved an extraordinary achievement: securing Bar-Ilan University's first-ever prestigious €22M EU-IHI grant from the European Union. The grant is for developing an innovative platform to improve medication adherence among patients with cardio-metabolic conditions
Join us for the fantastic annual @cshlnews.bsky.social #Xenopus cell & developmental Biology course. Deadline for application is Jan 31st. meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...
💥Finally out! Answering a two-centuries old question about a membraneless organelle that forms in #oocytes from insects to humans: the Balbiani body (Bb). Now in @currentbiology.bsky.social : cell.com/current-biol... >
The Balbiani body is formed by microtubule-controlled molecular condensation of Buc in early oogenesis
Kar et al. demonstrate that Balbiani body (Bb) formation is achieved via developmental condensation in zebrafish oogenesis, driven by Buc phase separation and evolving from a dynamic liquid-like state into a solid-like stable compartment. Multistep regulation by microtubules controls condensation, ensuring proper Bb formation and oocyte polarity.
cell.com
Towards community-driven visual proteomics! Excited to finally share this large-scale curated & annotated dataset of 1829 high-quality #cryoET tomograms of the little green alga that just keeps giving— Chlamydomonas! 🧪🧶🧬🌾🌊🌍 Preprint📜: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... A short thread🧵👇