Rotem Sorek

New Capabilities

As of May 2026: Leading figure in the bacterial defense system discovery boom

For billions of years bacteria have fought viruses, but until 2018, scientists could name only a handful of the tools they use—mostly restriction enzymes and CRISPR. The catalog has since grown to more than 150 defense systems, and on April 23 Nature added another: Clover, a bacterial system that starves invading viruses of DNA building blocks without poisoning the bacterium itself.

Updated May 31

New Capabilities

As of May 2026: Won the 2025 Gruber Genetics Prize ($500,000) for bacterial immunity discoveries

Every major tool in genetic engineering — from the enzymes that cut DNA in the 1970s to CRISPR gene editing — started as a defense weapon bacteria use against viruses. Two teams revealed bacteria carry three times more weapons than anyone realized, identifying millions of antiviral proteins from tens of thousands of genomes using machine-learning models that flag a new defense system in five minutes.

Updated May 31