Asst. Prof, Dept. of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University.
Alexandra Weisberg
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There are few researchers for whom an entire field is so clearly distinct before and after their work. The gap between evolutionary biology "before Joe" and "after Joe" is just awesome. It is a measurably different enterprise, and the reach of his influence doesn't end at the phylogeny. Hats off!
Weisberg Lab PhD student Boluwatife Giwa presented her research on Botrytis genomics at the 2026 APS Pacific Division Meeting and was awarded the 1st place poster award and a travel award. Congrats!
Sean A. S. Anderson 🍉
Samples returned from the asteroid Ryugu contain all five canonical nucleobases (A, G, C, T, U). Their presence in Ryugu and Bennu supports the hypothesis that carbonaceous asteroids contributed to the prebiotic chemical inventory of early Earth. http://dlvr.it/TRWtVp ☄️
Now out!
We show that TEs can be horizontally transferred between fungal species via Starships. Once transferred, these TEs can become active, changing the genome organization and affecting the lifestyle of the recipient fungus.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@oggenfussursula.bsky.social #TEsky
Professor Joe Felsenstein FRS is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. After initially working on population genetics theory of recombination, of migration, and of speciation, his main focus has been on phylogenetic inference. #RSFellows https://royalsociety.org/people/joseph-felsenstein-38106/
Alexandra Weisberg
Molecular mimicry of a pathogen virulence target by a plant immune receptor | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The two papers: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
and
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Samples returned from the asteroid Ryugu contain all five canonical nucleobases (A, G, C, T and U). Their presence in Ryugu and Bennu supports the hypothesis that carbonaceous asteroids contributed to the prebiotic chemical inventory of early Earth.
Large mobile genetic elements known as Starships act as vehicles for transferring transposable elements (TEs) between fungi. Here, Griem-Krey et al. show that these ‘hitchhiking’ TEs can drive rapid e...
Plants and animals respond to pathogen attack by mounting innate immune responses that require intracellular nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) proteins. These immune receptors detect pathog...
I’m starting at Oregon State University this September as Herbarium Director and Assistant Professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. An absolute dream job and I am so grateful!
Looking to grow the lab soon and will update here. In the meantime please don’t hesitate to reach out!
In Preparation
Hi all. I am very excited that after 6 years I finally got my phylogenetic comparative methods book and online exercises online. Feel free to use and share. The book is here: nhcooper123.github.io/pcm-primer/. Note that it is not finished, we had to abandon it before the sunk costs fallacy broke us
Here is it! Super new science from us on horizontal gene transfer & bact defense systems! Liyana OW YONG discovered the first-of-its-kind defense factor AbjA that triggers 'abortive conjugation' as a defense mechanism, by targeting the T4SS! How neat?! #MicroSky 1/7
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Antiphage defense systems protect bacteria from viral infection and have inspired important biotechnologies such as CRISPR-Cas9 while also revealing the evolutionary roots of eukaryotic innate immunit...
www.science.org
MADISON, WI—Expressing a wistfulness he could not fully articulate, professor of biochemistry Dr.
Bacteria have been fighting off viruses using a huge arsenal of molecular weaponry that scientists did not know about — until now. Researchers have identified proteins that could lead to virus-fighting drugs and technologies.
go.nature.com/4dqQnXI
Two research teams mined genomic data from bacteria to create databases containing thousands of antiviral defence proteins that could inspire powerful biotechnologies.
