The Institue of Plant Scienes and Genetics in Agriculture

Tel: 972-8-948-9098/9
Fax: 972-8-946-8263
Website: http://departments.agri.huji.ac.il/horticulture/

Staff

Professors Emeriti	Gazit, S., Ph.D. Goren, R., Ph.D. Gur, A., Ph.D. Halevy, A.H., Ph.D. Lavee, S., Ph.D. Zieslin, N., Ph.D.
Professors	Altman, A., Ph.D. Borochov, A., Ph.D. Bravdo, B., Ph.D. Goldschmidt, E.E., Ph.D. Mayak, S., Ph.D. (Head of Department and Center) Riov, J., Ph.D.
Volunteer Professor	Dumbroff, E.B., Ph.D.
Senior Lecturers	Shoseyov, O., Ph.D. Vainstein, A., Ph.D. Weiss, D., Ph.D.
Lecturer	Samach, A., Ph.D.
Senior Teacher	Biran, I., Ph.D.

Introduction

The Department of Horticulture was formally established in 1972, combining several previously independent units; in 1986, the Departments of Horticulture and Ornamental Horticulture joined to form the unified Department of Horticulture. In 1992, the joint department became the Kennedy-Leigh Center for Horticultural Research, now part of the Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture. Research at the center includes: growth substances and inhibitors in connection with citrus tree performance a nd fruit quality; quality and storage ability of citrus fruit as affected by hormonal treatments and growing conditions; auxin biosynthesis in different woody plants; polyamines, growth and senescence; biochemistry and regulation of chloroplast senescence ; carbohydrate metabolism in the developing citrus fruit; mode of action of hormones in controlling leaf and fruit abscission; effects of growth regulators on improving yield and on the control of peel splitting in easy peeling new citrus varieties; auxin metabolism and translocation related to ethylene effects and abscission; source-sink relationship and carbohydrate metabolism; modeling of citrus tree productivity; studies of biennial

ALTMAN, ARIE
Born 1937, Petah Tikva; Ph.D. 1970, Hebrew Univ.; Lect. 1970; Sen. Lect. 1977; Assoc. Prof. 1982; Prof. 1989; Chairperson, Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture. E-mail: altman@agri.huji.ac.il Tel: 972-8-948-9077; Fax: 972-8-947-5048

Research Interests:
Transformation and genetic modification of plant cells in culture. Molecular biology of drought and salinity stress tolerance in plants. Agricultural biotechnology. Hormonal and environmental control of embryogenesis, organogenesis and tissue development in culture. Polyamines, plant growth and senescence. Adventitious root formation and rooting of cuttings. Nursery production.

Research Projects:
1. Molecular and cellular biology of tree response to water stress: elucidation of the role of specific drought-induced proteins. Funding: GIF; GIARA; Jewish National Fund (ended).
2. In vitro procedures for clonal propagation of forest trees and several horticultural plants. Funding: GIARA; JNF.
3. Transformation of poplar cones and pine and generation of transgenic plants. Funding: GIARA; JNF; GIF.
4. Water and salinity stress in tomato: the role of polyamines and proteins. Funding: Ministry of Agriculture (1995-1997); Ministry of Science Israel-India.
5. Global genetic resources of forest drought tolerance in pine and cedars. Funding: European Union-INCO.

BOROCHOV, AMIHUD
Born 1946, Afula (Israel); Ph.D. 1979, Hebrew Univ.; Lect. 1980; Sen. Lect. 1984; Assoc. Prof. 1992; Prof. 1998. E-mail: borochov@agri.huji.ac.il Tel: 972-8-948-9328; Fax: 972-8-946-8263

Research Interests:
Plant responses to environmental stresses. Physical, chemical and functional properties of plant membranes in relation to senescence and environmental conditions. Physiology of dormancy, growth and flowering of ornamental geophytes. Post-harvest physiolog y and technology of flowers, ornamental plants, bulbs and tubers.

Research Projects:
1. Molecular and biochemical analysis of the gibberellin-induced gene expression in petunia flowers. Funding: EEC; BARD.
2. Growth and flowering control of new bulb and tuber crops. Funding: Ministry of Agriculture.

BRAVDO, BEN-AMI
Born 1933, Netanya; Ph.D. 1966, Hebrew Univ.; Lect. 1968; Sen. Lect. 1972; Assoc. Prof. 1978; Prof. 1984. E-mail: bravdo@agri.huji.ac.il Tel: 972-8-948-9094; Fax: 972-8-946-2817

Research Interests:
Irrigation, fertilization, water relations, mineral nutrition photosynthesis and productivity of fruit trees and horticultural crops. Viticulture and enology, aroma and flavor compounds of fruit juices and wines. Enzymatic hydrolysis of bound aroma compou nds.

Research Projects:
1. Efficiency of water and mineral application for table grapes under limiting water supply conditions. Funding: Chief Scientist's Office, Ministry of Agriculture.
2. Development of computerized irrigation systems based on continuous measurements of leaf turgor and soil water potential. Funding: R. Szold Foundation.
3. Effect of irrigation timing and rate of application on Cabernet sauvignon production and fruit quality in the Golan Heights. Funding: Ministry of Agriculture.
4. Effect of "Balerina" type canopy management on production and quality of the fruit in the Golan Heights. Funding: Ministry of Agriculture.
5. Effect of saline water irrigation on production and quality of fruit and wine in the Ramat Negev region. Funding: MERC; US AID (ended); Chief Scientist's Office, Ministry of Agriculture.
6. Effect of effluent irrigation on production and quality of fruit and wine. Funding: Ministry of Agriculture.
7. Irrigation and fertilization of apple orchards in the Golan Heights. Funding: Ministry of Agriculture.
8. Advanced technologies for improvement of grape and wine production. Funding: US-Israel AID-CDR.
9. Effect of environmental factors and cultural practices on olive production and quality. Funding: CRB Foundation.

DUMBROFF, ERWIN B. (DOV)
Born 1932, Newark, NJ (USA); Ph.D. 1964, Univ. of Georgia; (Prof., Univ. of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 1965-1994); Volunteer Prof. (HU) since 1994. E-mail: dumbroff@agri.huji.ac.il Tel: 972-8-948-9074, 936-3945 (Tel/Fax); Fax: 972-8-946-8263

Research Interests:
Biochemistry of natural products. Identification of the loci of subcellular resistance, damage and repair associated with stress response; interrelationships between stress and senescence; the roles of low molecular weight metabolites, proteins and hormon es in the stress adjustment process; the effects of stress on gene expression and on the dynamics of protein synthesis in the photosynthetic apparatus. Methods development in bioanalytical and separations chemistry.

Research Projects: 1. Examination of the mechanisms by which C3 and C4 plants adapt to heat stress and high light intensities, with particular emphasis on the changes induced in proteins of the chloroplast. Changes in RuBP and PEP carboxylase and thylakoid proteins are mo nitored and compared in species adapted to warm and cool climates.
2. Investigations of the roles of stress proteins in the adjustment of agronomic and forest-tree species to environmental assaults induced by high light, high temperatures and drought. Proteins are induced de novo in a range of plant species within time periods that are consistent with the stress adjustment process and, in particular, with the synthesis of putative stress-protecting metabolites including abscisic acid, specific amino acids, carbohydrates and proteins.
3. The use of specific regulators of plant metabolism to help identify the subcellular loci of the stress response.

GAZIT, SHMUEL
Born 1929, Tel Aviv; Ph.D. 1961, Hebrew Univ.; Sen. Lect. 1971; Assoc. Prof. 1978; Prof. 1992; Emeritus 1999. E-mail: gazit@agri.huji.ac.il Tel: 972-8-948-9090; Fax: 972-8-946-8263

Research Interests:
Reproductive biology (flowering, pollination, fertilization, fruit-set, fruit development) of avocado, mango litchi, and annona. Introduction and selection of litchi cultivars. Avocado and mango breeding.

Research Projects:
1. Litchi productivity. Funding: Ministry of Agriculture; Israel Fruit Board.
2. Mango pollination, pollinators, pollenizers, fruit-set and fruit drop. Funding: Ministry of Agriculture; Israel Fruit Board.
3. Introduction, selection, evaluation and dissemination of litchi cultivars (at the ARO). Funding: Ministry of Agriculture; Israel Fruit Board.
4. Avocado pollinators and pollination at its region of origin (Central America). Funding: Ministry of Agriculture; Israel Fruit Board.

GOLDSCHMIDT, ELIEZER E.
Born 1938, Jerusalem; Ph.D. 1968, Hebrew Univ.; Sen. Lect. 1972; Assoc. Prof. 1978; Prof. 1982. E-mail: goldsmit@agri.huji.ac.il Telephone: 972-8-948-1353; Fax: 972-8-946-8263

Research Interests:
Biochemistry and regulation of chloroplast senescence in fruits and leaves. Uptake and metabolism of gibberellins. Physiology of flower induction.

GOREN, RAPHAEL
Born 1931, Tel Aviv; Ph.D. 1963, Hebrew Univ.; Lect. 1966; Sen. Lect. 1969; Assoc. Prof. 1974; Prof. 1978; Emeritus 1999. E-mail: rgoren@agri.huji.ac.il Tel: 972-8-948-1098; Fax: 972-8-946-8263

Research Interests:
Mode of action of growth regulators in the control of citrus leaf and fruit abscission, with special emphasis on the role of auxin metabolism and translocation in relation to ethylene effects. Auxin catabolism in relation to ethylene effect and tissue sen sitivity. Ethylene biosynthesis in relation to abscission, senescence and fruit maturity, ethylene perception and signal transduction of the genome levels. Identification of ERS gene in citrus fruit. Flowering and fruiting as affected by exogenous hormone s. Carbohydrate metabolism in relation to fruit development and maturity. Molecular aspects of sucrose glycolysis and gluconeogenesis.

Research Projects:
1. Evaluation of the inconsistency of biological action of auxins used in citrus orchards to increase fruit size.
2. The effect of acid on sucrose level in juice sacs of citrus fruits.
3. Controlling ethylene responses in horticultural crops at the receptor level. Funding: BARD.
4. Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and citrate: their roles in the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism in citrus fruits and leaves. Funding: BARD.
5. Physiological and molecular characterization of the Auxin-Ethylene interaction in fruitlet abscission layers.
6. Effects of ethylene on mitogen activated protein kinase. (with J. Riov, D. Holland, and Guangyan Zhong).
7. A full-length cDNA encoding an ethylene receptor ERS homologue from citrus. (with D. Holland, Chunyao Li , D. Jacob-Wilk, and Guangyan Zhong).
8. Cloning and characterisation of ppi-phosphofructukinase: A key enzyme in sugar metabolism in citrus fruit. (with U. Zehavi, A. Zadka, M. Eisenstein and R. Kapri).
9. Characterization of Aspergillus niger B-1 RNase and its inhibitory effect on pollen tube growth in some fruit trees. (with O. Shoseyov and L. Roiz).
10. Effect of ethylene and 1-methylcyclopropene on the postharvest qualities of 'Shamouti' oranges. (with R. Porat and S. Droby).
11. Bacterial cellulose-binding domain modulates in vitro elongation of different plant cells. (with O. Shoseyov, L. Roiz and E. Shpigel).
12. Transport, metabolism and accumulation of sucrose and hexoses into the vacuole of citrus juice cells. (with U. Zehavi and E. Echeverria).

HALEVY, ABRAHAM H.
Born 1927, Tel Aviv; Ph.D. 1958, Hebrew Univ.; Lect. 1960; Sen. Lect. 1964; Assoc. Prof. 1967; Prof. 1970; Emeritus 1996. E-mail: ahalevy@agri.huji.ac.il Tel: 972-8-948-9357

Research Interests:
Regulation of growth and flowering, especially in flower crops. Physiology of flower senescence and post-harvest physiology of cut flowers. Introduction of new plants as potential flower crops for Israel. Applied aspects of flowering, post-harvest handlin g, propagation and growth in floriculture.

Research Projects:
1. Ethylene sensitivity in flowers, in relation to pollination-induced corolla senescence.
2. Introduction of new plants to Israel as possible cut flowers, foliage or pot plants. Funding: Ministry of Agriculture, Flower Growers Association.
3. Introduction of peonies and rice flowers as cut flower crops. Funding: Ministry of Agriculture, Flower Growers Association; The Pearlstein Fund.
4. Control of flowering by environmental and chemical means. Funding: The Pearlstein Fund.
5. Control of gravitropic bending of flowers. Funding: BARD; DIARP.

LAVEE, SHIMON
Born 1931, Berlin; Ph.D. 1960, Hebrew Univ.; Sen. Lect. 1965; Assoc. Prof. 1970; Prof. 1976; Emeritus 1999. E-mail: vholive@agri.gov.il Tel: 972-8-948-9075, -3-968-3360; Fax: 972-3-966-9583

Research Interests:
Developmental physiology of grapevines and olive trees. Olive fruit abscission. Alternate bearing and bud differentiation. Physiology of tree dormancy, genetic markers and breeding of olive cultivars.

MAYAK, SHIMON
Born 1937, Petah Tikva (Israel); Ph.D. 1972, Hebrew Univ.; Lect. 1975; Sen. Lect. 1978; Assoc. Prof. 1984; Prof. 1990. E-mail: mayaks@agri.huji.ac.il Tel: 972-8-948-9335; 972-8-946-8263

Research Interests:
Carbohydrate metabolism in flowers. Microbe-plant interactions. Post-harvest of cut flowers. Plant response to stress.

Research Projects:
1. Carbohydrate pool in flowers.
2. Effect of viral movement protein on carbohydrate distribution in rose flowers.
3. Plant growth promoting Rhizobacteria.

RIOV, JOSEPH
Born 1939, Petah Tikva (Israel); Ph.D. 1970, Hebrew Univ.; Sen. Lect. 1976; Assoc. Prof. 1982; Prof. 1992. E-mail: riov@agri.huji.ac.il Tel: 972-8-948-9258; Fax: 972-8-946-8263

Research Interests:
Plant growth and development. Forest ecology and silviculture.

SHOSEYOV ODED
Born 1956, Petah Tikva (Israel); Ph.D. 1987, Hebrew Univ.; Lect. 1990; Sen. Lect. 1995. E-mail: shoseyov@agri.huji.ac.il Tel: 972-8-948-9084; Fax: 972-8-946-2283

Research Interests:
Enzymes and proteins that modify and bind to polysaccharides. Plant cell wall synthesis. Plant biotechnology.

Research Projects:
1. Elongation specific endo-1,4-beta-glucanase.
2. Cellulose synthesis and plant growth in transgenic plants expressing bacterial cellulose binding domain (CBD).

VAINSTEIN, ALEXANDER
Born 1957, Tbilisi, Georgia; Ph.D. 1984, Hebrew Univ.; Lect. 1988; Sen. Lect. 1993. E-mail: vain@agri.huji.ac.il Tel.: 972-8-948-9082; Fax: 972-8-946-8263

Research Interests:
Flower breeding, with an emphasis on the use of molecular techniques. Genetic engineering of flowers; application of DNA fingerprinting methodology to the plant kingdom; basic mechanisms of tissue-specific gene expression and the intracellular targeting o f proteins.

Research Projects:
1. The genetic engineering of flower color and morphology. Funding: The Carnation Growers Fund; Chief Scientist's Office; BARD.
2. DNA fingerprinting of ornamentals. Funding: The Production and Marketing Board of Ornamental Plants.
3. Flower development, tissue-specific gene expression and the translocation of cytoplasmic proteins to organelles. Funding: Ministry of Science; Ministry of Agriculture.

WEISS, DAVID
Born 1957, Givat Hen (Israel); Ph.D. 1990, Hebrew Univ.; Lect. 1993; Sen. Lect. 1996. E-mail: weiss@agri.huji.ac.il Tel: 972-8-948-9006; Fax: 972-8-946-8263

Research Interests:
Hormonal regulation of gene expression. Signal transduction in plants

ZIESLIN, NAFTALY
Born 1930, Leningrad; Ph.D. 1974, Hebrew Univ.; Lect. 1976; Sen. Lect. 1978; Assoc. Prof. 1981; Prof. 1989; Emeritus 1999. E-mail:zieslin@agri.huji.ac.il Tel: 972-8-948-9958; Fax: 972-8-946-8263

Research Interests:
Environmental control of plant growth and development. Optimization of climatic conditions of greenhouse crops, especially roses. Involvement of correlative responses in plant productivity. Root/shoot interaction in plants. Post-harvest physiology of rose s. Environmental and genetic control of development and identity of reproductive organs in rose flowers. Flower malformation.

Research Projects:
1. The role of gibberellins in senescence of rose flowers.
2. Factors controlling summer development of rose flowers. Funding: Israeli Flower Growers Association.