Background

Research at the flower lab mainly focuses on ornamental plants and the control of flowering time: Flowering plants undergo a transition from vegetative to reproductive development, whose timing is regulated by internal and external cues. Understanding the factors affecting this process at the physiological, morphological and molecular levels gives insight into the flowering strategies used by different plants and eventually enables manipulation of flowering time in ornamentals.

Current Projects

1. Lily growth and flowering: bulb activity before sprouting, floral induction, floral transition and flowering are studied at the physiological, morphological, molecular and metabolic levels.
2. The effect of glycerol on sprouting and germination is studied
3. Introduction of the wild Lilium candidum (Madonna lily) as a new flower crop with rich history and cultural significance
4. How do flowers affect people?
The impact of ornamental flowers on people is addressed from perceptual and cultural perspectives

Selected publications

1. Lazare S., BecharD., Fernie A.R., Brotman Y. and Zaccai M., 2019. The proof is in the bulb: glycerol influences key stages of lily development. The Plant Journal 97(2): 321-340. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tpj.14122

2. Mazor I, Weingarten-Kenan E, Zaccai M 2021. The developmental stage of the shoot apical meristem affects the response of Lilium candidum bulbs to low temperature. Scientia Horticulturae. 276:109766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2020.109766

3. Karalija E, Vergata C, Basso MF, Negussu M, Zaccai M, Grossi-de-Sa MF, Martinelli F. 2022 Chickpeas’ tolerance of drought and heat: current knowledge and next steps. Agronomy 12(10):2248 https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12102248

4. Urakami J, Huss E, Nagamine M, Czamanski-Cohen J, Zaccai M. 2022. The Emotional Experience of Flowers: Zoomed In, Zoomed Out and Painted. Horticulturae 8(7):668. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8070668

5. Pan W, Li J, Du Y, Zhao Y, Xin Y, Wang S, Liu C, Lin Z, Fang S, Yang Y, Zaccai M, Zhang X, Yi M, Gazzarrini S, Wu J. 2023. VERNALIZATION INSENSITIVE3-LIKE1 promotes intercellular communication by epigenetic silencing of callose synthase during bulb dormancy release in lily. Nature Plants 9:1451–1467
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-023-01492-z

Ph.D: Weizmann Institute of Sciences, 1996