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, genomics, bioinformatics, 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 production regulation of essential amino acids and secondary metabolites as well as 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.


A. Aharoni

Genetic Regulation of Metabolic Pathways and its Co-ordination with Developmental and Stress Response Programs in Plant Biology

  1.  Genetic regulation of secondary metabolism (e.g. flavors and pigments) in fruit

  2.  Metabolic pathways of fruit surface and their regulation

  3.  The role of RCC1-domain containing proteins in linking UV-B stress signaling cascades to the induction of secondary metabolism in plants

  4.  Functional analysis of a tandem array of six Cytochrome P450 genes associated with stress induced metabolism in Arabidopsis


A. Danon

Mode of action of redox-signal transduction factors.

Redox-signaling controling light-regulated translation. Mechanisms of disulfide bond formation and isomerization in the chloroplast.

RNA-binding proteins controling light-regulated translation.


M. Edelman

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

Role of reactive oxygen species in pathogen defense and signal transduction.
R. Fluhr, Cher Ashtamker and Moshe Sagi

Application of microarray technology to problems in plant growth and environmental response.
R. Fluhr, O. Davydov

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.
R. Fluhr, Ofra Hadrian and Yehudit Zohar

Dynamics of alternative splicing during stress and development
R. Fluhr, Hadas Ner-Gaon


G. Galili

Regulatory metabolic and physiological networks in plant development and response to stress
G. Galili, Zevulun Elazar, Aviah Zilberstein, Rachel Amir, Yoram Kapulnik, Rainer Hoefgen, Alisaider Fernie, Christoph Benning

  1.  Regulation of expression and functional role of lysine catabolism

  2.  Metabolic engineering of high-lysine plants

  3.  Genetic, genomic and bioinformatics approaches to elucidate metabolic networks in plants

  4.  Cellular and physiological roles of water channel aquaporins in plants

  5.  Cell biology and physiology of autophagy-associated processes in plants


A. Levy

DNA recombination and repair in plants

  1.  DNA mismatch repair and recombination between divergent sequences

  2.  Chromatin remodelling and homologous recombination

  3.  Gene targeting in plants

  4.  Meiotic recombination

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


A. Scherz

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.