We studied the problem of soil degradation caused by salinity. Irreversible degradation risk may increase to 68% (from negligible levels) if the rainy season shortens from 130 to 80 days, as some climatic models predict. This puts in question the long term sustainability of treated wastewater for irrigation (see PAPER). See more at YAIR MAU LAB

Single-cell transcriptomes of 2,000 cells from initiating root tomato root meristems showing the transition from cambium cells (1) to early root progenitors (4). See more at IDAN EFRONI LAB

As part of our efforts to investigate the effects of vegetation on photochemical air pollution, we develop updated chemical mechanisms to account for the interaction of the biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) from vegetation with anthropogenic air pollution. (GABAY AND TAS, 2019). 

See more at ERAN TAS LAB

Building a universal translator that allows computers to automatically translate animal behavior into human language (see paper). See more at Oren Forkosh Lab.

Modeling Plant Roots Spectral Induced Polarization Signature (see paper). See more at Nimrod Schwartz Lab Nimrod Schwartz Lab.

Exploring the effect of combined irrigation and fertilization regimes on sesame plants by spectra lsensing techniques. See more  at The Plant Sensing Lab (PSL)

Plants that have both male and female organs in the same flower have high risk of self-fertilization, which would produce less fit offspring. Hence, many plants have developed various mechanisms to avoid self-fertilization, called “self-incompatibility” (SI). In my lab we study a particular SI mechanism, which is based on molecular recognition between two sets of proteins expressed in female and male organs. This system has practical implications in agriculture, but also raises fundamental theoretical questions regarding its evolutionary emergence and maintenance. See more at  Tamar Friedlander lab.

The increase in nitrogen availability leads to biodiversity loss worldwide.  This pattern was attributed to alternation of competitive interactions but estimating the interaction matrices is a great challenge. We are developing a simulation model of competitive interactions based on data collected from ~10,000 plants from our unique experimental system. See more at Niv Demalach lab.

Bitter taste is one of the basic taste modalities and plays a key role in food and medicine acceptance. The Niv Lab  has established the BitterDB database of bitter ligands, and used a machine learning tool to predict intense bitterness of molecules prior to their synthesis (see more in this paper). Schematic figure illustrates the potential for expediting drug development.

The Levy lab used comparative and functional genomics approaches to systematically characterize the extracellular contractile injection system (eCIS), a microbial toxin delivery system. By analyzing 65,000 genomes we identified that eCIS is prevalent in environmental microbes from soil, water, plants, and invertebrates and is depleted from mammalian pathogens and commensal bacteria. We identified eCIS operons, discovered novel toxins, and created a comprehensive eCIS database (see paper). See more at Asaf Levy Lab.

Species that depend on each other are less likely to be able to adapt and survive environmental changes. Theoretical modeling and simulations show that interdependencies between species cut short the time they have to evolve and adapt in deteriorating environments before going extinct. (see our recent publication). See more at Jonathan Friedman Lab.

How does nutrition shape the brain epigenome and regulate 3D- chromatin organization, in both healthy and diseased states? See more at Asaf Marco's lab.

How do bacterial cells living on leaf surfaces survive the huge environmental fluctuations they face every day? To answer this question we use computer simulations to study bacterial decision making on leaves. We show that if cells make ‘smart’ decisions based on information they acquire on local cell densities, they can increase their survival rates (see paper). See more at Nadav Kashtan Lab.

Our lab uses transcriptomic and genomic tools to assay liver transcriptional networks and get insights into liver biology. We study changes in gene expression and chromatin dynamics during fasting and following metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes (see paper). See more at Ido Goldstein Lab.

Understanding transmission and control of zoonotic pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in the context of animal-human-environment interface at the Veterinary Public Health Lab. 

We study how to optimally manage harmful invasive species. We find strategies that minimize the costs, including the cost of treatment and damages due to the invasive species over time. We examine what is the optimal strategy to combine various treatment methods over time, and how to optimally allocate the treatment over space. See more at Adam Lampert Lab.

In our laboratory we study how metabolic functions evolve. For this we use comparative phylogenomic, ancestral sequence reconstruction and bioinformatics in general, in the context of evolutionary biology. Also, we implement evolutionary-based approaches to engineer synthetic proteins and cells to achieve bioremediation. See more at The Noda Lab.