In plants, dioecy characterizes species carrying male and female flowers on separate plants and o... more In plants, dioecy characterizes species carrying male and female flowers on separate plants and occurs in about 6% of angiosperms. To date, the molecular mechanism(s) underlying sexual dimorphism is essentially unknown. The ability of gender-reversal by hormone application suggests that epigenetics might play an important role in sexual dimorphism. Proteome analysis of nuclei derived from flower buds of females, males and feminized males of the dioecious plant Mercurialis annua revealed differentially expressed proteins related to nucleic acid binding proteins, hydrolases and transcription factors, including floral homeotic genes. Further analysis showed that class B genes are mainly expressed in male flowers, while class D genes, as well as SUPERMAN-like genes, were mainly expressed in female flowers. Cytokinin-induced feminization of male plants was associated with down-regulation of male-specific genes concomitantly with up-regulation of female-specific genes. No correlation coul...
... relationship between wine and civilization. Pistacia seed oil, leaves and resin have been use... more ... relationship between wine and civilization. Pistacia seed oil, leaves and resin have been used since ancient times for medicine (Majno, 1975 ... we have realized that there are partial germplasm collections of the genus Pistacia in a few Mediterranean countries (Golan-Goldhirsh ...
The global distribution of Pistacia is correlated to its adaptability to environmental conditions... more The global distribution of Pistacia is correlated to its adaptability to environmental conditions and mechanisms that had driven the genus to the current unique narrow latitudinal belt in between 10° North and 45° North. The current geostatisitcal distribution maps of the genus are shown and the derived probability maps over a period between 121 Kyr before present and the year 2100 were calculated. The tolerance of Pistacia trees to harsh climate conditions was related to leaf phenology, evergreeness vs deciduousness, which has led to geographic classification of the genus in two corresponding sections that corroborate recent molecular genetic studies. The deciduous trees are more tolerant to extreme climate conditions (−26°C to 46°C) than the evergreen species (−8°C to 41°C), except Pistacia lentiscus, which occurs at a max. temperature of 45°C. The close spatial distribution of the later species and the deciduous ones may have been conducive in further evolution of the genus. Base...
Journal of Environmental Science and Health . Part A: Environmental Science and Engineering and Toxicology, 1997
Abstract The concentrations of heavy metals (zinc, copper, iron, manganese, cadmium, lead and nic... more Abstract The concentrations of heavy metals (zinc, copper, iron, manganese, cadmium, lead and nickel) were measured in 51 desert plants, of which 42 are considered medicinal, three fodder and six common plant species. Accumulation of certain heavy metals in some plant species was 2‐260‐fold higher than the available heavy metal content of the soil of the Negev desert. The highest levels of heavy metal (mg kg− 1 dry weight) were: Fe: 3020 in Gundelia tournefortii and 2485 in Anchusa strigosa; Cu: 27 and 21 in Nicotiana glauca ...
Plant Nutrition — Physiology and Applications, 1990
Limited availability of K+by hydroponically-grown sunflower plants was associated with increased ... more Limited availability of K+by hydroponically-grown sunflower plants was associated with increased abundance of two polypeptides of molecular mass of 60 and 62 KDa detected mainly in young subapical region of the stem. The increased abundance could be detected at least as early as three days after the transfer of plants from complete growth medium (5 mM K+) to media containing suboptimal concentrations (l mM K+ or less). It is proposed that these polypeptides could be the basis for early diagnosis of K+ deficiency.
Various plant organs of Nuphar lutea (L.) SM. (Nymphaeaceae) are used in traditional medicine for... more Various plant organs of Nuphar lutea (L.) SM. (Nymphaeaceae) are used in traditional medicine for the treatment of arthritis, fever, aches, pains and inflammation. The main purpose of this study was to determine the anti-inflammatory effect of Nuphar lutea leaf extract (NUP) in two septic shock models: (1) Survival of mice challenged with a lethal dose of LPS, determination of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in serum, as well as in peritoneal macrophages in cell culture. (2) The effect of NUP in a murine model of fecal-induced peritonitis. NUP pre-treatment partially protected mice in two models of acute septic shock. We concluded that NUP is anti-inflammatory by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway, modulating cytokine production and ERK phosphorylation. A significant average survival rate (60%) of LPS lethally-challenged mice was achieved by pre-treatment with NUP. In addition, NUP pre-treatment reduced nuclear NF-κB translocation in peritoneal macrophages. The production...
The ecological, evolutionary and genetic bases of population differentiation in a variable enviro... more The ecological, evolutionary and genetic bases of population differentiation in a variable environment are often related to the selection pressures that plants experience. We compared differences in several growth- and defence-related traits in two isolated populations of Acacia raddiana trees from sites at either end of an extreme environmental gradient in the Negev desert. We used random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) to determine the molecular differences between populations. We grew plants under two levels of water, three levels of nutrients and three levels of herbivory to test for phenotypic plasticity and adaptive phenotypic plasticity. The RAPD analyses showed that these populations are highly genetically differentiated. Phenotypic plasticity in various morphological traits in A. raddiana was related to patterns of population genetic differentiation between the two study sites. Although we did not test for maternal effects in these long-lived trees, significant genotype × ...
In plants, dioecy characterizes species carrying male and female flowers on separate plants and o... more In plants, dioecy characterizes species carrying male and female flowers on separate plants and occurs in about 6% of angiosperms. To date, the molecular mechanism(s) underlying sexual dimorphism is essentially unknown. The ability of gender-reversal by hormone application suggests that epigenetics might play an important role in sexual dimorphism. Proteome analysis of nuclei derived from flower buds of females, males and feminized males of the dioecious plant Mercurialis annua revealed differentially expressed proteins related to nucleic acid binding proteins, hydrolases and transcription factors, including floral homeotic genes. Further analysis showed that class B genes are mainly expressed in male flowers, while class D genes, as well as SUPERMAN-like genes, were mainly expressed in female flowers. Cytokinin-induced feminization of male plants was associated with down-regulation of male-specific genes concomitantly with up-regulation of female-specific genes. No correlation coul...
... relationship between wine and civilization. Pistacia seed oil, leaves and resin have been use... more ... relationship between wine and civilization. Pistacia seed oil, leaves and resin have been used since ancient times for medicine (Majno, 1975 ... we have realized that there are partial germplasm collections of the genus Pistacia in a few Mediterranean countries (Golan-Goldhirsh ...
The global distribution of Pistacia is correlated to its adaptability to environmental conditions... more The global distribution of Pistacia is correlated to its adaptability to environmental conditions and mechanisms that had driven the genus to the current unique narrow latitudinal belt in between 10° North and 45° North. The current geostatisitcal distribution maps of the genus are shown and the derived probability maps over a period between 121 Kyr before present and the year 2100 were calculated. The tolerance of Pistacia trees to harsh climate conditions was related to leaf phenology, evergreeness vs deciduousness, which has led to geographic classification of the genus in two corresponding sections that corroborate recent molecular genetic studies. The deciduous trees are more tolerant to extreme climate conditions (−26°C to 46°C) than the evergreen species (−8°C to 41°C), except Pistacia lentiscus, which occurs at a max. temperature of 45°C. The close spatial distribution of the later species and the deciduous ones may have been conducive in further evolution of the genus. Base...
Journal of Environmental Science and Health . Part A: Environmental Science and Engineering and Toxicology, 1997
Abstract The concentrations of heavy metals (zinc, copper, iron, manganese, cadmium, lead and nic... more Abstract The concentrations of heavy metals (zinc, copper, iron, manganese, cadmium, lead and nickel) were measured in 51 desert plants, of which 42 are considered medicinal, three fodder and six common plant species. Accumulation of certain heavy metals in some plant species was 2‐260‐fold higher than the available heavy metal content of the soil of the Negev desert. The highest levels of heavy metal (mg kg− 1 dry weight) were: Fe: 3020 in Gundelia tournefortii and 2485 in Anchusa strigosa; Cu: 27 and 21 in Nicotiana glauca ...
Plant Nutrition — Physiology and Applications, 1990
Limited availability of K+by hydroponically-grown sunflower plants was associated with increased ... more Limited availability of K+by hydroponically-grown sunflower plants was associated with increased abundance of two polypeptides of molecular mass of 60 and 62 KDa detected mainly in young subapical region of the stem. The increased abundance could be detected at least as early as three days after the transfer of plants from complete growth medium (5 mM K+) to media containing suboptimal concentrations (l mM K+ or less). It is proposed that these polypeptides could be the basis for early diagnosis of K+ deficiency.
Various plant organs of Nuphar lutea (L.) SM. (Nymphaeaceae) are used in traditional medicine for... more Various plant organs of Nuphar lutea (L.) SM. (Nymphaeaceae) are used in traditional medicine for the treatment of arthritis, fever, aches, pains and inflammation. The main purpose of this study was to determine the anti-inflammatory effect of Nuphar lutea leaf extract (NUP) in two septic shock models: (1) Survival of mice challenged with a lethal dose of LPS, determination of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in serum, as well as in peritoneal macrophages in cell culture. (2) The effect of NUP in a murine model of fecal-induced peritonitis. NUP pre-treatment partially protected mice in two models of acute septic shock. We concluded that NUP is anti-inflammatory by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway, modulating cytokine production and ERK phosphorylation. A significant average survival rate (60%) of LPS lethally-challenged mice was achieved by pre-treatment with NUP. In addition, NUP pre-treatment reduced nuclear NF-κB translocation in peritoneal macrophages. The production...
The ecological, evolutionary and genetic bases of population differentiation in a variable enviro... more The ecological, evolutionary and genetic bases of population differentiation in a variable environment are often related to the selection pressures that plants experience. We compared differences in several growth- and defence-related traits in two isolated populations of Acacia raddiana trees from sites at either end of an extreme environmental gradient in the Negev desert. We used random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) to determine the molecular differences between populations. We grew plants under two levels of water, three levels of nutrients and three levels of herbivory to test for phenotypic plasticity and adaptive phenotypic plasticity. The RAPD analyses showed that these populations are highly genetically differentiated. Phenotypic plasticity in various morphological traits in A. raddiana was related to patterns of population genetic differentiation between the two study sites. Although we did not test for maternal effects in these long-lived trees, significant genotype × ...
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Papers by Avi Golan-goldhirsh