Current Projects

We are interested in salt-stress- and water-stress-regulated plant genes. We apply multidisciplinary approaches for the study of these genes, and their potential use to improve drought- and salt-tolerance in plants. Our studies involve molecular, biochemical, physiological and genetical techniques. This include gene cloning, expression of recombinant stress-regulated proteins in bacteria, and studying their activity, promoter and expression analyzes of stress-regulated genes, construction and study of transgenic plants over-expressing genes of interest, and construction and study of loss of action plants (obtained by gene silencing or gene knockout). Our experimental systems are Arabidopsis thaliana and tomato. We also have other plant molecular biology projects on-going in the lab.

Recent Publications

Shkolnik-Inbar, D. and Bar-Zvi, D. (2011) Expression of ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE4 (ABI4) in developing Arabidopsis seedlings. Plant Signaling & Behavior 6, 694-696;

Shkolnik-Inbar, D. and Bar-Zvi, D. ABI4 mediates abscisic acid and cytokinin inhibition of lateral root formation by reducing polar auxin transport in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell 22, 3560–3573.

Adler, G., Blumwald, E. and Bar-Zvi, D. (2010) The sugar beet gene encoding sodium/proton exchanger 1 (BvHNX1) is regulated by a MYB transcription factor Planta 232, 187-195.

Ben-Daniel, B., Bar-Zvi, D., Johnson, D., Harding, R., Hazanovsky, M. and Tsror (Lahkim), L. (2010) Vegetative compatibility groups in Colletotrichum coccodes subpopulations from Australia and genetic links with subpopulations from Europe/Israel and North America. Phytopathology 100, 271-278

Ben-Daniel, B., Bar-Zvi, D. and Tsror (Lahkim) L. (2009) An improved large-scale screening method for assessment of Colletotrichum coccodes aggressiveness using mature green tomatoes Plant Pathology 58, 497-503.

Ph.D. Ben Gurion University of the Negev, 1984