Research | The Robert H. Smith

Plant lifecycle data predicts climate change impact, Study by Dr. Niv DeMalach

EurekAlert!, Nov 8th 2023

NEWS RELEASE 8-NOV-2023
Plant lifecycle insights: Big data can predict climate change impact
A new study published in Nature offers a paradigm shift regarding lifecycles in the plant world, and uses big data to predict the future impact of climate change

Peer-Reviewed Publication
THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM

The study is based on a new database created by the researchers which combines, for the first time, datasets on distribution and datasets on lifecycles, making it possible to establish the prevalence of different lifecycles around the globe. It uses empirical tools and big data to examine theoretical paradigms about the way in which human disturbance is affecting annual plants and their global distribution. Among other things, it was found that annuals are expected to benefit more with the rise in human population density and due to climate change, which could prove devastating for the ecosystem.

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Desert Regions May Predict Climate Change in Wetter Areas

16 August, 2022

(Jerusalem, August 16, 2022)—When it comes to the world’s climate, in the past decade, planet Earth keeps sending us its summer siren’s call. According to NASA, nineteen of the hottest years have occurred since 2000, with 2016 and 2020 tied for the hottest on record. This summer is already making worldwide headlines, with England scorching beyond 40 degrees Celsius.

Cannabis Strain with 20% More THC

31 May, 2022

A WORLD FIRST: Hebrew University Engineers Enhanced Cannabis Strain with 20% More THC

Findings will Help Develop New Strains for Medical Cannabis Users and Increase Crop Yields

(Jerusalem, May 31, 2022)—Throughout the world, the cannabis plant is gaining in popularity and legitimacy as a medical treatment for a broad range of illnesses. Now, researchers at the laboratory of Professor Alexander (Sasha) Vainstein at the Hebrew University of Jerusalerm (HU)’s Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, in partnership with and funding from Mariana Bioscience Ltd, have successfully engineered a cannabis plant with higher levels of medically-important substances, such as THC.

The researchers successfully increased the level of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the main psychoactive component in cannabis, by close to 17%, and the level of CBG (cannabigerol), often referred to as the mother of all cannabinoids, by close to 25%. Further, Vainstein and his team were able to increase the ratio of terpenes, which are responsible for maximizing the euphoric effects of cannabis, by 20–30%.

The stated goal of their study was to find a way to intervene in the biochemical pathways in the cannabis plant in order to increase or decrease the production of active substances. The researchers accomplished this by manipulating a plant-based virus, that had first been neutralized so that it could not harm the plant, and then manipulating it to express the genes that influence the production of active substances in the cannabis plant. “This represents an innovative use of these tools, which were constructed using synthetic biology tools,” explained Vainstein. “Next, we developed an innovative technology based on infection with an engineered virus to facilitate chemical reactions that increase the quantities of desired substances. In collaboration with Mariana Bioscience Ltd., we examined the infected plants and found that the levels of the substances in question had indeed risen.” This is the first time that researchers have succeeded in performing such a feat with cannabis plants.

Currently, there is a great deal of research activity aimed at identifying additional substances and medical treatments that can be derived from the cannabis plant, in addition to the more than 200 active ingredients that have already been identified. Until now, there had been no way to tailor strains to produce certain cannabis substances or to alter the ratio between them. According to Vainstein, “These study results will be valuable both to industry—to increase the yield of active substances, and to medical researcher—to cultivate and develop new strains for medical cannabis users.” Vainstein added that more extensive experiments with the engineered plant are currently underway and should be available to cannabis industry leaders and medical research in the next few months.

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Evolution of grain yield

Decoding the genetic basis of floret fertility in wheat - A high grain yield is undoubtedly a desirable trait in cereal crops. Floret fertility is a key factor which determines the number of grains per inflorescence of cereals such as bread wheat or barley. Nonetheless, until recently little was known about its genetic basis. Whilst investigating floret fertility, a group of researchers have now discovered the locus Grain Number Increase 1 (GNI1), an important contributor to floret fertility. A writeup from Science Daily of an international collaboration, including researchers from the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, to decode the genetic basis of floret fertility in wheat.

The research was published in PNAS:

Unleashing floret fertility in wheat through the mutation of a homeobox gene

wheat zvi

wheat wheat

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Faculty Team Wins at iGem

4 November, 2018

One year ago, to the week, a group of driven students came to us with a exciting idea- they wanted to represent the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at iGEM- the worlds biggest synthetic biology competition.

After a year of hard work the results are in. Of over 300 teams our students' work was nominated for best software tool, won second place in the environmental project category, and won the best plant synthetic biology award!!

Congratulations to our winners who's achievements have made us very proud.

Huji iGem Team Facebook Page

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Students show off latest food technology

Jerusalem Post covers Food Tech Nation Conference at the Faculty - The future of healthy eating drew crowds Thursday at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot. About 300 people came to an event celebrating the institution’s 75th anniversary and giving students the opportunity to showcase their work. It featured some of the latest developments in Israeli food technology ranging from 3D printed meals to protein powder made from fly larva.

Modern, nutritious manna printed in 3D

Faculty scientists Professors Ido Braslavsky and Oded Shoseyov develop technique to print food according to pre-defined criteria in a process that will serve a variety of special-needs populations.

https://www.afhu.org/2017/10/23/yissum-announces-new-platform-for-3d-printing-of-personalized-food/

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New tool predicts which compounds taste bitter

Journal club article in PNAS about BitterPredict, a machine learning tool that predicts whether a chemical tastes bitter. BitterPredict was developed by members of Prof Masha Niv's lab.

bitter

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Triwax Center reveals why honeybees are dying

Fewer wildflower choices thwart bees’ natural inclination to choose a balanced diet and they suffer cognitively from lack of omega-3 acids. Experiments performed at Israel’s Benjamin Triwaks Bee Research Center at Hebrew University’s Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot, revealed that, like humans, bees consuming an unhealthy ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids develop cognitive deficiencies.

They cannot simply choose pollen from flowers high in omega-3 because increasing urbanization has decimated many kinds of wildflowers. The resulting nutritional imbalance is a major reason why honeybees, responsible for the pollination of more than 90 commercial food crops across the world, are dying at an alarming rate.

bees

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Wild Emmer Wheat Sequenced

The genome sequence of wild emmer wheat was determined by an international group of scientists headed by Dr Assaf Distelfeld. Wild Emmer wheat is the original form of nearly all the domesticated wheat in the world, including durum (pasta) and bread wheat. Wild emmer is too low-yielding to be of use to farmers today, but it contains many attractive characteristics that are being used by plant breeders to improve wheat.

The study was led by Dr. Assaf Distelfeld of Tel Aviv University’s School of Plant Sciences and Food Security and Institute for Cereal Crops Improvement, in collaboration with several dozen scientists from institutions around the world and an Israel-based company, NRGene, which developed the bioinformatics technology that accelerated the research.

Dr Zvi Peleg of the Faculty's Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics took part in the research.

Dr Distelfeld and Dr Gil Ronen began their careers with studies at the Faculty. wheat

Our congratulations to all!

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Fighting Back Against Superbugs

A unique antibiotic that can kill bacteria that are resistant to conventional antibacterials without damaging the cells that store them has been developed by scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The pioneering study was carried out by Dr. Zvi Hayouka and colleagues.

Genetic treatment for day-blindness

Prof. Ron Ofri discovered natural day-blindness in sheep and together with colleagues developed a genetic treatment for a similar type of day-blindness in humans. Prof. Ofri recently received a prize for his research from the Hebrew University. Nature published a "Careers" feature on Prof. Ofri in the May 25th issue.

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New tool thwarts Palmer Amaranth weed

"In first-of-its-kind research, a 10-member international team of scientists, led by Maor Matzrafi of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Ittai Herrmann from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and UC Davis agricultural entomologist Christian Nansen, used hyperspectral technologies to successfully predict the viability of the weed seeds and herbicide response. The research, published in the current edition of Frontiers of Plant Science, (here) offers growers of cotton, soybean, corn, watermelon and other crops a new tool in their toolbox to thwart the growth of the herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth, a fast-growing and highly aggressive weed which cripples crop yields."

Glowing bacteria detect buried landmines

mines Hebrew University researchers remotely detect buried landmines, using fluorescent bacteria encased in polymeric beads, illuminated by a laser-based scanning system. Prof. Amos Nussinovitch of the Institute of Biochemistry created the polymeric beads encapsulating the baterial detectors.

How Israel Can Help Stem Over-Fishing

H fish ow Israel Can Help Stem Over-Fishing in the South China Sea using Professor Jaap Van Rijn's “zero-discharge” fish farming system.

OAR/National Undersea Research Program (NURP) wikimedia commons

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