"Lateral transfer of DNA among archaea can indicate a period of rapid evolution"

This is what Edith Naor from Tel Aviv University - one of the two winners of this year's local UNESCO-L'Oréal prize for women in science - says in an interview with the "Hidan" website.

"Lateral transfer of DNA among archaea can indicate a period of rapid evolution," says Edith Naor from Tel Aviv University - one of the two winners of this year's local UNESCO-L'Oreal prize for women in science - in an interview with the "Hidan" website. She and her colleague Dr. Nathalie Zithoni from the University Ben-Gurion, won the prize this year, and will represent Israel in the world competition. Each of them will receive a scholarship in the amount of NIS 50 intended to help them move to the universities where they will complete their post-doctorate.

Edith Naor worked in a laboratory for molecular microbiology and biotechnology headed by Prof. Uri Gofna who has previously discussed with us the lateral transfer of genes in archaea.

Noor won the prize for her research in the field of Toxoplasma parasites - the most effective parasite in the world, capable of infecting any warm-blooded creature, regardless of its type or stage of development. The research will be carried out by Edith at Stanford University in the USA.

"Archaea are micro-organisms that are morphologically similar to bacteria but differ from them in essence. The archaea I am working on come from the Dead Sea. A significant part of the archaea live in extreme conditions such as high salt concentration and high temperature. I am investigating the ability of the archaea living in the Dead Sea to transfer DNA between them. They have the ability to share all their cell contents with each other and thus transfer the genetic information."

"In my research, I tested the ability of one type of archaea to meet slightly different archaea. I tested whether there is a barrier regarding the ability to transfer DNA. I saw that the barriers are very low, and this actually raises questions about the evolution of these creatures. During evolution, the creature preserves its DNA and gives it Evolve. If a certain creature has the ability to receive DNA and give it to others, it affects the type of evolution you will undergo. It changes the evolution process entirely With your DNA and can receive whole traits from others, this greatly speeds up evolution. We call this LATERAL GENE TRANSFER - lateral transfer of DNA."

What will you study at Stanford?

"In my post-doctorate at Stanford, I'm going to switch to a completely different subject: intracellular parasites that live inside our cells - Toxoplasma, one of the most effective parasites that exist today. Genetically, it's more similar to us than to bacteria because it's a eukaryotic creature - a protozoa, but it can't exist on its own , he must exist inside someone else's cell."

"Toxoplasma must have its host cells be warm-blooded animals, and what's amazing is that it can infect all warm-blooded creatures. This makes it one of the most effective parasites in the world. 30% of humans are infected with Toxoplasma, but mostly it is dormant (although it may cause miscarriages in pregnant women affected by it)."

"I will try to understand how one creature can infect so many different creatures and deal with different immune systems and what happens to Toxoplasma when it enters the cells of a person, against the cells of a cat or the cells of a bird. In the laboratory I will of course work with cell cultures."

"The thought that there is a creature that is so effective that it doesn't care which cell it infects amazed me, so I went looking for the expert in the field of toxoplasma, Prof. John Boothroyd and asked to conduct the research with him."

What can you say to the awardees?

"It's a very generous award and it's a great feeling that they're choosing women who want to go to post-doctorate and they want to encourage them to increase the number of women in the academy. It's a noble goal and I'm very excited to win when I see the list of winners in previous years - female scientists from their ranks and above."

to announce the award