The aim of the research is to optimize the composting process of several agricultural wastes as well as municipal solid waste to prepare container media for greenhouse agriculture from the compost. In addition, the suppressiveness of the composts to various soil-borne pathogens is elaborated. Conclusions from this research are that cattle manure, grape marc, green waste and bio-solids which are an ecological burden in many countries, can serve after adequate treatments as peat substitute for various horticultural crops. Currently we are studying the composting of municipal biosolids and agricultural wastes . In these studies we are also investigating the effect of compost on the ecology of the microbial population developed in the rhizosphere and on geminating seeds using state of the art molecular tools.
White rot fungi such as Pleurotus ostreatus are able to degrade lignin in a selective mode. The aim of our study is to increase the value of agricultural waste for agricultural application. The mechanism of lignin degradation by P. ostreatus is also investigated, with emphasis on expression of Laccase and Manganese peroxidase. Molecular tools for genetic manipulations are developed.
The ability of Pleurotus to oxidize lignin is also studied in the context for bioremediation in the study of aromatic pharmaceuticals metabolism, decolorization of dyes and degradation of humic substances. We use Pleurotus for utilization of agricultural by products, currently focusing on olive mill solid waste.
Recent Publications:
Lavi I, Friesem D, Geresh S, Hadar Y, and Schwartz B. 2006. An aqueous polysaccharide extract from the edible mushroom pleurotus ostreatus induces anti proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on HT-29 colon cancer cells. Cancer Letters 244:61-70.
Green, S. J., E. Inbar, F. C. Michel, Y. Hadar, and D. Minz. 2006. Succession of bacterial communities during early plant development: transition from seed to root and effect of compost amendment. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72:3975-3983.
Yogev, A., Raviv, M., Hadar, Y,. Cohen, R. and Katan, J. 2006. Characterization of composts suppressive towards Fusarium pathogens and diseases. European J. of Plant Pathology. 116 4: 267-278
Granit T, Y. Chen and Y. Hadar, 2007. Humic acid bleaching by white-rot fungi isolated from biosolids compost. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 39: 1040-1046.
Zmora-Nahum, S., Y. Hadar and Y. Chen. 2007. Physico-chemical properties of commercial composts varying in their source materials and country of origin. Soil Biol. Biochem. 39: 1263-1276
Danon, M., S. Zmora-Nahum, Y. Chen and Y. Hadar. 2007. Prolonged compost curing reduces suppression of Sclerotium rolfsii. Soil. Biol. Biochem 39, 1936-1946.
Danon, M., IH. Frank-Whitle, H. Insam, Y. Chen and Y. Hadar. 2008. Molecular analysis of bacterial community succession during prolonged compost curing. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 65: 133-144
Nahum-Zmora, S., M. Danon, Y. Chen, Y. Hadar. 2008 Chemical properties of compost extracts inhibitory to germination of Sclerotium rolfsii., Soil Biol. Biochem. 40: 2523-2529
Matityahu A., Hadar Y., Dosoretz C. G. and Belinky P.A. 2008. Gene silencing by RNA interference in the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 5359-5365.
Nahum-Zmora, S., M. Danon, Y. Hadar and Y. Chen. 2008. Compost Curing Reduces Suppression of Plant Diseases. Compost Science and Utilization. 16: 250-256.
Shabtay A, Hadar Y, Eitam H, Brosh A, Orlov A, Tadmor Y ,Izhaki I, and Kerem Z. 2009. The potential of Pleurotus-treated olive mill solid waste as cattle feed. Bioresource Technology 100: 6457-6464.
Aviani I., M., Raviv, Y., Hadar, I., Saadi and Y. Laor . 2009. Original and residual phytotoxicity of olive mill wastewater revealed by fractionations before and after incubation with Pleurotusostreatus. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 57: 11254 -11260
Danon M, Chen Y, Hadar Y. 2010. Ascomycete communities associated with suppression of Sclerotium rolfsii in compost. Fungal Ecology. 3: 2 0 - 3 0.
Ofek M., Hadar, Y. and Minz D. 2009. Comparison of effects of compost amendment and of single-strain inoculation on root Bacterial communities of young cucumber seedlings. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 75: 6441-6450.
Salame, T. M., Yarden, O. and Hadar Y. 2010. Pleurotus ostreatus manganese-dependent peroxidase silencing impairs decolourization of Orange. Microbial Biotechnology: 3: 93-106.
Lavi, I. Levinson, D. , Peri, I., Tekoa, Y., Hadar, Y. and Schwartz, B. 2010. Chemical characterization, antiproliferative and antiadhesive properties of polysaccharides extracted from Pleurotus pulmonarius mycelium and fruiting bodies. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 85 : 1977-1990
Lavi I., Levinson D., Peri I., Nimri, L., Hadar Y. and Schwartz B. 2010. Orally administered glucans from the edible mushroom Pleurotus pulmonarius reduce acute inflammation in dextran sulfate sodium-induced experimental colitis Brithish Journal of Nutrition 103:393-402
Grinhut, T., Lansky, D., Gaspar A., Hertkorn , N., Schmitt-Kopplin , P., Hadar , Y., and Chen, Y. 2010 Novel software for data-analysis of fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry applied to natural organic matter. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. 24:2831- 2837.
Matityahu A.,Hadar Y., and P.A. Belinky.2010. Involvement of protein kinase C in lignin peroxidase expression in oxygenated cultures of the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium. Enzyme and Microbial Technology. 47: 59-63
