Publications
Research Papers
Key: *equal contribution; #corresponding author(s)
46. Surm JM#, Birch S, Macrander J, Jaimes-Becerra A, Fridrich A, Aharo*ni R, Rozenblat R, Sharabany J, Appelbaum L, Reitzel AM, Moran Y# (2024) Venom trade-off shapes interspecific interactions, physiology, and reproduction. Sci. Adv. 10: eadk3870 link
45. Zimmermann B*, Montenegro JD*, Robb SMC, Fropf WJ, Weilguny L, He S, Chen S, Lovegrove-Walsh J, Hill EM, Chen CY, Ragkousi K, Praher D, Fredman D, Schultz D, Moran Y, Simakov O, Genikhovich G, Gibson MC#, Technau U# (2023) Topological structures and syntenic conservation in sea anemone genomes. Nat. Commun. 14: 8270 link
44. Fridrich A#, Salinas-Saaverda M, Kozlolvski I, Surm JM, Chrysostomou E, Tripathi AM, Frank U, Moran Y# (2023) An ancient pan-cnidarian microRNA regulates stinging capsule biogenesis in Nematostella vectensis. Cell Rep. 42: 113072 link
43. Gert KRB, Panser K, Surm J, Steinmetz BS, Schleiffer A, Jovine L, Moran Y, Kondrashov F, Pauli A# (2023) Divergent molecular signatures in fish Bouncer proteins define cross-fertilization boundaries. Nat. Commun. 14: 3506 link
42. Smith EG*#, Surm JM*#, Macrander J, Simhi A, Amir G, Sachkova MY, Lewandowska M, Reitzel AM, Moran Y# (2023) Micro and macroevolution of sea anemone venom phenotype. Nat. Commun. 14: 249 link
41. Aguilar-Camacho JM*, Foreman K*, Jaimes-Becerra A, Aharoni R, Gründer S#, Moran Y# (2023) Functional analysis in a model sea anemone reveals phylogenetic complexity and a role in cnidocyte discharge of DEG/ENaC ion channels. Commun. Biol. 6: 17 link
40. Eliachar S, Snyder GA, Barkan SK, Talice S, Otolenghi A, Jaimes-Becerra A, Sharoni T, Sultan E, Hadad U, Levy O, Moran Y, Gershoni-Yahalom O, Traylor-Knowles N#, Rosental B#. (2022) Heat stress increases immune cell function in Hexacorallia. Front. Immunol. 13: 1016097 link
39. Senji Laxme RR, Khochare S, Attarde S, Kaur N, Jaikumar P, Shaikh NY, Aharoni R, Primor N, Hawlena D, Moran Y#, Sunagar K# (2022) The Middle Eastern Cousin: Comparative Venomics of Daboia palaestinae and Daboia russelii. Toxins 14: 725. link
38. Taiber S, Gozlan O, Cohen R, Andrade LR, Gregory EF, Starr DA, Moran Y, Hipp R, Kelley MW, Manor U, Sprinzak D#, Avraham KB# (2022) A Nesprin-4/kinesin-1 cargo model for nuclear positioning in cochlear outer hair cells Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 10: 974168 link
37. Tripathi AM*, Admoni Y*, Fridrich A, Lewandowska M, Surm JM, Aharoni R, Moran Y# (2022) Functional characterization of a “plant-like” HYL1 homolog in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis indicates a conserved involvement in microRNA biogenesis. eLife 11: e69464 link
36. Lewandowska M#, Sharoni T, Admoni Y, Aharoni R, Moran Y# (2021) Functional characterization of the cnidarian antiviral immune response reveals ancestral complexity. Mol. Biol. Evol. 38: 4546-4561 link
35. Praher D, Zimmermann B, Dnyansagar R, Miller DJ, Moya A, Modepalli V, Fridrich A, Sher D, Friis-Møller L, Sundberg P, Fôret S, Ashby R, Moran Y#, Technau U# (2021) Conservation and turnover of miRNAs and their highly complementary targets in early branching animals. Proc. R. Soc. B 288: 20203169. link
34. Fridrich A*, Modepalli V*, Lewandowska M, Aharoni R, Moran Y# (2020) Unravelling the developmental and functional significance of an ancient Argonaute duplication. Nat. Commun. 11: 6187. *equal contribution link
33. Sachkova MY#, Landau M*, Surm JM*, Macrander J, Singer SA, Reitzel AM, Moran Y# (2020) Toxin-like neuropeptides in the sea anemone Nematostella unravel recruitment from the nervous system to venom. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A 117: 27481-27492. *equal contribution pubmed link
32. Admoni Y*, Kozlovski I*, Lewandowska M, Moran Y# (2020) TATA Binding Protein (TBP) Promoter Drives Ubiquitous Expression of Marker Transgene in the Adult Sea Anemone Nematostella vectensis. Genes (Basel) 11: E1081. *equal contribution pubmed link
31. Sachkova MY#, Macrander J, Surm JM, Aharoni R, Menard-Harvey SS, Klock A, Leach WB, Reitzel AM#, Moran Y# (2020) Some like it hot: population-specific adaptations in venom production to abiotic stressors in a widely distributed cnidarian. BMC Biol. 18: 121 pubmed link
30. Tournière O, Dolan D, Richards GS, Sunagar K, Columbus-Shenkar YY, Moran Y, Rentzsch F# (2020) NvPOU4/Brain3 Functions as a Terminal Selector Gene in the Nervous System of the Cnidarian Nematostella Vectensis. Cell Rep. 30: 4473-4489. pubmed link
29. Lewandowska M#, Hazan Y, Moran Y# (2020) Initial Virome Characterization of the Common Cnidarian Lab Model Nematostella vectensis. Viruses 12: 218. pubmed link
28. Sachkova MY*#, Singer SA*, Macrander J, Reitzel AM, Peigneur S, Tytgat J, Moran Y# (2019) The birth and death of toxins with distinct functions: a case study in the sea anemone Nematostella. Mol. Biol. Evol. 36: 2001-2012. pubmed link
27. Sunagar K*#, Columbus-Shenkar YY*, Fridrich A, Gutkovitch N, Aharoni R, Moran Y# (2018) Cell type-specific expression profiling unravels the development and evolution of stinging cells in sea anemone. BMC Biol. 16: 108. pubmed link
26. Modepalli V*#, Fridrich A*, Agron M*, Moran Y# (2018) The methyltransferase HEN1 is required in Nematostella vectensis for microRNA and piRNA stability as well as larval metamorphosis. PLOS Genet. 14: e1007590. *equal contribution. pubmed link
25. Dnyansagar R, Zimmermann B, Moran Y, Praher D, Sundberg P, Møller LF, Technau U# (2018) Dispersal and speciation: The cross Atlantic relationship of two parasitic cnidarians. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 126: 346-355. pubmed link
24. Columbus-Shenkar YY*, Sachkova MY*, Macrander J, Fridrich A, Modepalli V, Reitzel AM, Sunagar K, Moran Y# (2018) Dynamics of venom composition across a complex life cycle. eLife 7: e35014. pubmed link
23. Praher D, Zimmermann B, Genikhovich G, Columbus-Shenkar Y, Modepalli V, Aharoni R, Moran Y#, Technau U# (2017) Characterization of the piRNA pathway during development of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. RNA Biol. 14: 1727-1741. pubmed link
22. Modepalli V#, Moran Y# (2017) Evolution of miRNA Tailing by 3' Terminal Uridylyl Transferases in Metazoa. Genome Biol. Evol. 9: 1547-1560. pubmed link
21. Mauri M, Kirchner M, Aharoni R, Ciolli Mattioli C, van den Bruck D, Gutkovitch N, Modepalli V, Selbach M, Moran Y, Chekulaeva M# (2017) Conservation of miRNA-mediated silencing mechanisms across 600 million years of animal evolution. Nucleic Acids Res. 45: 938-950 pubmed link
20. Sunagar K#, Moran Y# (2015) The Rise and Fall of an Evolutionary Innovation: Contrasting Strategies of Venom Evolution in Ancient and Young Animals. PLOS Genet. 11: e1005596. Link.
19. Jouiaei M*, Sunagar K*, Gross AF, Scheib H, Alewood PF, Moran Y#, Fry BG# (2015) Evolution of an ancient venom: recognition of a novel family of cnidarian toxins and the common evolutionary origin of sodium and potassium neurotoxins in sea anemone. Mol. Biol. Evol. 32:1598-610. pubmed link
18. Moran Y#, Zakon HH# (2014) The evolution of the four subunits of voltage-gated calcium channels: ancient roots, increasing complexity and multiple losses. Genome Biol. Evol. 6: 2210-7. pubmed link
17. Gur Barzilai M, Kahn R, Regev N, Gordon D, Moran Y, Gurevitz M# (2014) The specificity of Av3 sea anemone toxin for arthropods is determined at linker DI/SS2-S6 in the pore module of target sodium channels. Biochem. J. 463: 271-7. pubmed link
16. Moran Y, Fredman D, Praher D, Li XZ, Wee LM, Rentzsch F, Zamore PD#, Technau U#, Seitz H# (2014) Cnidarian microRNAs frequently regulate targets by cleavage. Genome Res. 24: 651-63. pubmed link
15. Moran Y#, Praher D, Fredman D, Technau U (2013) The evolution of microRNA pathway protein components in Cnidaria. Mol. Biol. Evol. 30: 2541-52. pubmed link
14. Orts DJ, Moran Y, Cologna CT, Peigneur S, Madio B, Praher D, Quinton L, De Pauw E, Bicudo JE, Tytgat J, de Freitas JC# (2013) BcsTx3 is a founder of a novel sea anemone toxin family of potassium channel blockers. FEBS J. 280: 4839-52. pubmed link
13. Nesher N#, Shapira E, Sher D, Moran Y, Tsveyer L, Turchetti-Maia AL, Horowitz M, Hochner B, Zlotkin E (2013) AdE-1, a new inotropic Na+ channel toxin from Aiptasia diaphana, is similar to, yet distinct from, known anemone Na+ channel toxins. Biochem. J. 451: 81-90. pubmed link
12. Moran Y#, Praher D, Schlesinger A, Ayalon A, Tal Y, Technau U (2013) Analysis of soluble protein contents from the nematocysts of a model sea anemone sheds light on venom evolution. Mar. Biotechnol. (NY). 15: 329-39. pubmed link
11. Gur Barzilai M, Reitzel AM, Kraus JEM, Gordon D, Technau U, Gurevitz M, Moran Y# (2012) Convergent evolution of sodium ion selectivity in metazoan neuronal signaling. Cell Rep. 2: 242-248. pubmed link
10. Moran Y*#, Fredman D*, Szczesny P, Grynberg M, Technau U# (2012) Recurrent horizontal transfer of bacterial toxin genes to eukaryotes. Mol. Biol. Evol. 29: 2223-2230. *equal contribution. pubmed link
9. Moran Y#, Genikhovich G, Gordon D, Wienkoop S, Zenkert C, Özbek S, Technau U, Gurevitz M (2012) Neurotoxin localization to ectodermal gland cells uncovers an alternative mechanism of venom delivery in sea anemones. Proc. R. Soc. B 279: 1351-1358. pubmed link
8. Weinberger H*, Moran Y*,Gordon D, Turkov M, Kahn R, Gurevitz M (2010) Positions under positive selection – key for selectivity and potency of scorpion alpha-toxins. Mol. Biol. Evol. 27: 1025-34. *these authors contributed equally to this work. pubmed link
7. Moran Y, Weinberger H, Lazarus N, Gur M, Kahn R, Gordon D, Gurevitz M (2009) Fusion and retrotransposition events in the evolution of sea anemone neurotoxin genes. J. Mol. Evol. 69: 115-24. pubmed link
6. Cohen L*, Moran Y*, Sharon A, Segal D, Gordon D, Gurevitz M (2009) An innate immunity peptide of Drosophila melanogaster, interacts with the fly voltage-gated sodium channel. J. Biol. Chem. 284: 23558-63. *these authors contributed equally to this work. pubmed link
5. Moran Y, Weinberger H, Reitzel AM, Sullivan JC, Kahn R, Gordon D, Finnerty JR, Gurevitz, M (2008) Intron retention as a post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism of neurotoxin expression at early life stages of the starlet anemone Nematostella vectensis. J. Mol. Biol. 380: 437-43. pubmed link
4. Moran Y, Weinberger H, Sullivan JC, Reitzel AM, Finnerty JR, Gurevitz M (2008) Concerted Evolution of sea anemone neurotoxin genes is revealed through analysis of the Nematostella vectensis genome. Mol. Biol. Evol. 25: 737-47. pubmed link
3. Moran Y, Kahn R, Cohen L, Gur M, Karbat I, Gordon D, Gurevitz M (2007) Molecular analysis of the sea anemone toxin Av3 reveals selectivity to insects and demonstrates the heterogeneity of receptor site-3 on voltage-gated Na-channels. Biochem. J. 406: 41-48. pubmed link
2. Moran Y, Gurevitz M (2006) When positive selection of neurotoxin genes is missing: The riddle of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. FEBS J. 273: 3886-92. pubmed link
1. Moran Y, Cohen L, Kahn R, Karbat I, Gordon D, Gurevitz M (2006) Mutagenesis of the sea anemone toxin Av2 reveals key amino acid residues important for activity on insect voltage-gated sodium channels. Biochemistry 45: 8864-73. pubmed link
REVIEW, Opinion and Re-Analysis ARTICLES (all peer reviewed)
13. Fridrich A, Moran Y (2023) Some flies do not play ping-pong. PLOS Biol. 21: e3002152. link
12. Iwama RE, Moran Y (2023) Origins and diversification of animal innate immune responses against viral infections Nat. Eco. Evol. 7: 182-193 link
11. von Reumont BM, Anderluh G, Antunes A, Ayvazyan N, Beis D, Caliskan F, Crnković A, Damm M, Dutertre S, Ellgaard L, Gajski G, German H, Halassy B, Hempel BF, Hucho T, Igci N, Ikonomopoulou MP, Karbat I, Klapa MI, Koludarov I, Kool J, Lüddecke T, Ben Mansour R, Vittoria Modica M, Moran Y, Nalbantsoy A, Ibáñez MEP, Panagiotopoulos A, Reuveny E, Céspedes JS, Sombke A, Surm JM, Undheim EAB, Verdes A, Zancolli G (2022) Modern venomics-Current insights, novel methods, and future perspectives in biological and applied animal venom research. Gigascience 11: giac048 link
10. Surm JM, Moran Y (2021) Transposons Increase Transcriptional Complexity: The Good Parasite? Trends Genet 37: 606-607. pubmed link
9. Modica MV, Ahmad R, Ainsworth S, Anderluh G, Antunes A, Beis D, Caliskan F, Serra MD, Dutertre S, Moran Y, Nalbantsoy A, Oukkache N, Pekar S, Remm M, von Reumont BM, Sarigiannis Y, Tarallo A, Tytgat J, Undheim EAB, Utkin Y, Verdes A, Violette A, Zancolli G (2021) The new COST Action European Venom Network (EUVEN)-synergy and future perspectives of modern venomics. GigaScience 10: giab019. link
8. Surm JM, Moran Y (2021) Insights into how development and life-history dynamics shape the evolution of venom. EvoDevo 12: 1. link
7. Ul-Hasan S, Rodríguez-Román E, Reitzel AM, Adams RM, Herzig V, Trim SA, Saviola AJ, Nobile CJ, Stiers EE, Moschos SA, Keiser CN, Petras D, Moran Y, Colston TJ (2019) The emerging field of venom-microbiomics for exploring venom as a microenvironment, and the corresponding Initiative for Venom Associated Microbes and Parasites (iVAMP). Toxicon: X 10016. link
6. Fridrich A, Hazan Y, Moran Y (2019) Too Many False Targets for MicroRNAs: Challenges and Pitfalls in Prediction of miRNA Targets and Their Gene Ontology in Model and Non-model Organisms. Bioessays 41: e1800169. pubmed link
5. Moran Y, Agron M, Praher D, Technau U (2017) The evolutionary Origin of plant and animal microRNAs. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 1: 0027. pubmed link
4. Sunagar K, Morgenstern D, Reitzel AM, Moran Y (2015) Ecological venomics: How genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics can shed new light on the ecology and evolution of venom. J. Proteomics S1874-3919: 30131-7. pubmed link
3. Moran Y, Gur Barzilai M, Liebeskind BJ, Zakon HH (2015) Evolution of voltage-gated ion channels at the emergence of Metazoa. J. Exp. Biol. 218: 515-525. pubmed link
2. Qiu X, Brown, KV, Moran Y, Chen D (2010) Sirtuin regulation in calorie restriction. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1804: 1576-83. pubmed link
1. Moran Y, Gordon D, Gurevitz M (2009) Sea anemone toxins affecting voltage-gated sodium channels - molecular and evolutionary features. Toxicon, 54: 1089-1101. pubmed link
Preprints (currently under review or revision)
3. Kozlovski I*#, Jaimes-Becerra A*, Sharoni T, Lewandowska M, Karmi O, Moran Y# (2023) Induction of apoptosis by double-stranded RNA was present in the last common ancestor of cnidarian and bilaterian animals. bioRxiv link
2. Surm JM#, Landau M, Columbus-Shenkar YY, Moran Y# (2023) Sea anemone MACPF proteins demonstrate an evolutionary transitional state between venomous and developmental functions. bioRxiv link
1. Admoni Y, Fridrich A, Moran Y# (2023) Target complementarity in cnidarians supports a common origin for animal and plant microRNAs. bioRxiv link
