Department of Plant Sciences 

Gad Galili, Head

Plants offer the world its only renewable resource of foods, building material and energy. Plants have highly sophisticated short and long-term adaptive mechanisms to the environment as a result of the simple fact that they cannot alter their location during environmental change. Basic understanding of how plants react to the environment and why they grow the way they do are central to devising a rational approach to secure more food, and food of better quality. Research activities in the Department range from studies on the function and regulation of isolated genes to their interactive behavior in the context of the whole plant. We have developed extensive in-house genomic, bioinformatic and transgenic infrastructure that enables us to isolate novel genes by gene trapping, knockout or map-based cloning. Cloned genes are manipulated and studied by transgenic analysis to establish their potential in the whole plant. Our research as listed below integrates methodologies of molecular biology, protein modeling, genetics, biochemistry, and physiology.

Harnessing light energy and energy transduction in the plant cell. Research is carried out on the basic biophysical phenomenon of photon absorption by chlorophyll through transduction of this energy to ATP and the regulation of energy flux by the plant redox state.

Adaptive response in the plant to the biotic and abiotic environment. Molecular mechanisms that drive the cellular response are investigated under environmental perturbation. Research is directed in understanding the elements that play a role in the recognition of pathogens and the subsequent mounting of plant defense responses.

Plant metabolism and growth. Research is centered around elucidating the pathways for essential amino acids production regulation and storage in the seed and understanding what controls cycles of differentiation and dedifferentiation in plant cells.

Plant genome organization. Molecular tools have been developed to examine the fluidity of the plant genome as described by transposon elements and the concerted evolution of gene families and plant genomes.

A. Danon
avihai.danon@weizmann.ac.il

Mode of action of redox-signal transduction factors.

Pathway of redox-signaling responsible for light- regulated translation.

RNA-binding proteins controling light-regulated translation.

M. Edelman
marvin.edelman@weizmann.ac.il

Modeling ligand-protein interactions.

Consensus structures for ATP binding sites.

Computer tools for analyzing molecular structures.

Tentoxin: structural mechanism of action.

Genetic engineering of aquatic plants.

National Center for Bioinformatic-Genetic Infrastructure.

R. Fluhr
robert.fluhr@weizmann.ac.il

Response of plants to biotic and biotic stress by kinase cascade signalling.

Plant resistance genes and their role as receptor-like proteins for pathogen generated factors. Their role in innate resistance, their architecture, structure-function relationships and evolution.

Role of reactive oxygen species in pathogen defense and signal transduction.

National Center for Plant Genome Research.
R. Fluhr, O. Davydov

Map-based cloning technologies and application of microarray technology to problems in plant growth and environmental response.
R. Fluhr, O. Davydov

G. Galili
gad.galili@weizmann.ac.il

Molecular genetic dissection of plant metabolism.

1.  Developmental, physiological and environmental signals regulating lysine metabolism.

2.  Genetic engineering of lysine and threonine-overproducing plants.

3.  Metabolic regulation of thiol compounds.

G. Grafi
gideon.grafi@weizmann.ac.il

How Do Differentiated Plant Cells Acquire Competence for Fate Switch?

1.  We study this issue from the perspective of chromatin structure focusing on:

2.  DNA methylation and methyl-CpG-binding proteins

3.  Histone modifications

4.  Applying DNA chip technology and other methods to identify genes that are upregulated or downregulated during acquisition of competence for cell fate switch

J. Gressel
jonathan.gressel@weizmann.ac.il

Analysis of risk of transgene introgression from wheat to grass weeds.

Tandem constructs to mitigate gene flow from transgenic crops to weeds and from mycoherbicidal agents to pathogens.

Elucidation of biochemical pathways common to crops and non-photosynthetic parasitic weeds.

Ascertaining biochemical limitations of parasitic plants, and their defenses to fungal attack.

Transgenically enhancing the virulence of fungi.

Determine the role of modified oxidant detoxifying enzymes in conferring transient drought tolerance and tolerance to zinc deficiencies in transgenic wheat.
J. Gressel, G. Galili

A. Levy
avi.levy@weizmann.ac.il

Functional genomics in tomato: linking between genes and functions through mutants analysis.

Genetic changes during wheat domestication
A. Levy, M. Feldman, S. Weiner

The impact of polyploidy on genome structure and expression
A. Levy, M. Feldman

DNA recombination and repair in plants:

1.  DNA mismatch repair and recombination between divergent sequences

2.  Chromatin remodelling and homologous recombination

A. Scherz
avigdor.scherz@weizmann.ac.il

Quantification of atoms, groups and molecules electronegati using metal substituted bacteriochlorophylls and application to chemical reactivity.

Resolving the forces which drive membrane protein assembly.

The mechenism behind generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by illuminating novel bacteriochlorophyll derivatives and their application in photodynamic therapy (PDT) of tumors.