Faculty:
Senior Lecturer
Office: 2-464 A
Tel. 972-2-5494023
Fax: 972-2-6584425
All organisms need energy in order to survive. Plants are fortunate since they are able to produce their own energy through photosynthesis. However, under stress conditions, in which photosynthesis cannot operate, and during the development of non-photosynthetic tissues, other resources must be found in order to meet the plant’s energy demands. This problem is further compounded by the plants inability to move, rendering the plant itself as the sole energy source.
We are interested in learning how plants degrade cellular components in order to supply the plant with nutrients during stress and development, using molecular and metabolic techniques.
Shimshon Belkin
Full Professor
Office: 3-482
Tel. 972-2-6584192
Fax. 972-2-6585559
Microbial ecology of extreme environments, with a focus on the microbial populations of salt-excreting plants; Microbial water quality; Genetically engineered microbial sensors for environmental monitoring, with an emphasis on toxicity and genotoxicity assessment and on the detection of specific classes of compounds, including trace pharmaceuticals and explosives.
Rachel Green
Associate Professor, Department Chair
Office: 3-468
Tel. 972-2-6585391
Fax. 972-2-6584425
Circadian rhythms in plants:
1. Interactions between the components of the circadian system.
2. Cell-specific circadian rhythms.
3. The adaptive advantages of circadian rhythms.
Nir Keren
Associate Professor
Office: 3-417
Tel. 972-2-6585233
Fax. 972-2-6584425
Metal transport, accumulation and homeostasis in photosynthetic organisms. Dynamics of the photosynthetic apparatus: adaptation of photosynthetic organisms to the ever changing environment.
Alexander Levine
Associate Professor
Office: 2-468
Tel. 972-2-6586543
Fax. 972-2-6584425
The signaling network that coordinates plant responses to environment.
Rachel Nechushtai
Full Professor
Office: 3-221
Tel. 972-2-6585242
Fax. 972-2-6584425
The structure-function relationships of membrane proteins mainly of the photosynthetic apparatus. Chloroplast development and light regulated expression of chlorophyll-protein complexes.
Aharon Oren
Full Professor
Office: 3-484
Tel. 972-2-6584951
Fax. 972-2-6584425
Microbial ecology of the Dead Sea; Microbial ecology of saltern ponds; Adaptation of microorganisms to life at high salt concentrations; UV-absorbing pigments in cyanobacteria; Prokaryote taxonomy.
Oren Ostersetzer-Biran
Associate Professor
Office: 3-428
Tel. 972-2-6586455
Fax. 972-2-6584425
The main aims of our research are designed to investigate the nature of nuclear-organellar interactions, which link mitochondrial genome status and expression and plant phenotypic response..