About
80
Publications
37,779
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
2,016
Citations
Introduction
Current institution
Publications
Publications (80)
We explored the complex process of parthenocarpic fruit development in prickly pear Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae) by comparing the fruits of the parthenocarpic Beer Sheva1 (BS1) mutant and revertant non-parthenocarpic fruits. The mutant plants produce flowers with enlarged ovules that develop into degenerated seed-like stony structures. Some new...
Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) is cultivated for its seeds, which contain a high-value liquid wax. There is little known regarding irrigation requirements of intensively cultivated jojoba. The project’s objectives were to evaluate the effects of irrigation regime on water status, growth, yield, and water productivity (WP, wax yield per unit of water...
Although jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) has been cultivated for years, information on its N requirements is limited. A 6-year study of mature jojoba plants grown under field conditions with an intensive management regime evaluated the effect of N application rate on plant nutrient status, growth, and productivity, and nitrate accumulation in the soi...
The fitness of self-progeny individuals is inferior to that of their outcrossed counterparts, resulting in a reduction in a plant population’s ability to survive and reproduce. To prevent self‐fertilization, angiosperms with hermaphrodite flowers may exploit a variety of mechanisms, including synchronous dichogamy and self-incompatibility. Synchron...
Although jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) has been cultivated for years, information on its N re-quirements is limited. A 6-year study of mature jojoba plants grown under field conditions with an intensive management regime evaluated the effect of N-application rate on plant nutrient status, growth and productivity, and nitrate accumulation in the soi...
Grafting has the potential to improve melon fruit yield and quality, but it is currently held that a lack of compatibility between the rootstock and scion compromises such an effect. To throw light on this subject, we studied melon-pumpkin graft combinations with different levels of compatibility to assess to the effect of the rootstock identity on...
Hylocereus species, known as pitaya or dragon fruit, have gained a large niche in the agri-business ventures over the last two decades. Pitaya is a long-day perennial crop, photoperiod-dependent, which blooms and bears highly valued fruits where the geographic condition has a critical day length of approximately 12 h. To improve profitability in pi...
The factors underlying the plant collapse of certain melon-pumpkin graft combinations are not fully understood. Our working hypothesis was that impairment of photoassimilates transport in incompatible combinations induces an imbalance in the homeostasis of root auxin (indole-3-acetic acid; IAA) and of cytokinins, probably triggering plant collapse....
This review describes three decades of introduction, agro-technology development, breeding and selection of Hylocereus species, known as pitaya or dragon fruit, as an example of a holistic program aimed to develop the horticultural potential of a perennial underutilized fruit crop. Interspecific homoploid and interploid crosses and embryo rescue pr...
Special Issue - Agronomy - "Advances in Fruit Pre-harvest and Postharvest Quality, Physiology and Technology"
Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider) holds high industrial value and an extended cultivation trend. Despite its increased importance, there is a lack of fundamental information about its metabolic reserves and development. Our objective was to characterise metabolite allocation and fluctuations in the carbohydrate and nutrient balance of...
Dear Colleagues,
Fruits are high perishable products with an active metabolism, subjected to several losses between harvest and consumption through microbial decay, physical injury, and senescence during postharvest life. Fruit postharvest metabolism cannot be stopped, but it can be slowed within certain limits. Quality maintenance and fruit posth...
Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) is a wax crop cultivated mainly in arid and semi-arid regions. This crop has been described as an alternate-bearing plant, meaning that it has a high-yield year (“on-year”) followed by a low-yield year (“off-year”). We investigated the effect of fruit load on jojoba’s vegetative and reproductive development. For two co...
The effect of the rootstock on the acropetal and basipetal transport of photoassimilates and hormones was studied in the 'Kiran' (Ki) melon cultivar grafted onto pumpkin rootstocks with different degrees of compatibility. A complementary experiment was performed to compare the incompatible combination (as evidenced by plant collapse at the fruit ri...
The Hylocereus species that are grown as exotic fruit crops are very often farmed under marginal agronomic conditions, which may include exposure to high temperatures. Here we present a pioneering investigation of grafting as an agro-technique to improve heat tolerance in Hylocereus. To this end, we studied the diploid species H. undatus, the tetra...
Heterodichogamous reproduction in plants involves two flowering morphs, reciprocal in their timing of male and female sexual functions. The degree of synchrony in floral sex phase, within and between individuals of each morph, determines the flowers’ potential fertilization partners. Complete within-morph synchrony enables across-morph mating alone...
Background:
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and their regulatory functions in anthocyanin, carotenoid, and chlorophyll accumulation have been extensively characterized in many plant species. However, the miRNA regulatory mechanism in betalain biosynthesis remains mostly unknown.
Results:
In this study, 126 conserved miRNAs and 41 novel miRNAs were first isol...
Polyploidy—or chromosome doubling—plays a significant role in plant speciation and evolution. Much of the existing evidence indicates that fusion of unreduced (or 2n) gametes is the major pathway responsible for polyploid formation. In the early 1900s, a theory was put forward that the mechanism of “hybridization followed by chromosome doubling” wo...
High temperatures limit the successful cultivation of the Hylocereus species on a global basis. We aimed to investigate the degree of heat tolerance in three species, namely, the diploids Hylocereus undatus and H. monacanthus, and the tetraploid H. megalanthus, and nine of their interspecific-interploid hybrids. Rooted cuttings were exposed to heat...
The seeds of the dioecious shrub jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider) yield a liquid wax that is in high demand for the cosmetics industry. While elite female cultivars of this species are currently clonally propagated, male plants are grown from seed, resulting in large variations in both the flowering period and the pollen viability, an...
Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and their regulatory functions in anthocyanin, carotenoid, and chlorophyll accumulation have been extensively characterized in many plant species. However, the miRNA regulatory mechanism in betalain biosynthesis remains mostly unknown.
Results: In this study, 126 conserved miRNAs and 41 novel miRNAs were first isolate...
Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and their regulatory functions in anthocyanin, carotenoid, and chlorophyll accumulation have been extensively characterized in many plant species. However, the miRNA regulatory mechanism in betalain biosynthesis remains mostly unknown.
Results: In this study, 126 conserved miRNAs and 41 novel miRNAs were first isolate...
Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and their regulatory functions in anthocyanin, carotenoid, and chlorophyll accumulation have been extensively characterized in many plant species. However, the miRNA regulatory mechanism in betalain biosynthesis remains mostly unknown.
Results In this study, 126 conserved miRNAs and 41 novel miRNAs were first isolated...
Background
Rootstock has a significant impact on plant growth and development, including fruit maturation. However, the existence of mutual interaction between scion and rootstock is often neglected. To explore the origin of different fruit quality traits in citrus, we studied the effect of rootstock and the reciprocal interaction between scion and...
Key message
We propose a silvicultural-ecological, participatory-based, conceptual framework to optimize the socioeconomic-ecological services provided by dryland afforestation, i.e. addressing the limited resources in arid areas while minimizing the harm to the environment. The framework applies the following criteria to select multifunctional tre...
Dioecy, the specialization of individuals into either male-only or female-only sexual function, has multiple evolutionary origins in plants. One proposed ancestral mating system is heterodichogamy, two morphs of cross-fertilizing hermaphrodite flowers that differ in their timing of flowering. Previous research suggested that small specializations i...
Background:
A suitable reference gene is an important prerequisite for guarantying accurate and reliable results in quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analyses. However, there is no absolute universality in reference genes among different species. It's hard to find an ideal reference gene to fit for different tissues and growth periods. Pitaya (...
Pitaya is a new fruit crop, whose exotically colored fruits have excellent nutritional and antioxidant properties. In this study, the primary metabolite profiles of three pitaya cultivars i.e. 'Guanhuahong' (red peel with red pulp), 'Guanhuabai' (red peel with white pulp) and 'Guanhuahongfen' (red peel with pink pulp) were investigated using GC-MS...
Putative gamete-derived progenies from two Hylocereus species, the diploid H. monacanthus and the tetraploid H. megalanthus, were studied with the dual aims to confirm their gamete origin and to evaluate their potential use as genetic resources. An additional goal was to determine the origin (allotetraploid vs. autotetraploid) of H. megalanthus by...
Assessing the nuclear C–DNA content and estimating DNA ploidy in succulent species, such as dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp., Cactaceae), is a challenging task. Dragon fruit tissues are rich in polysaccharides that are released during the nuclei isolation procedure, inducing the formation of clusters of nuclei and hence leading to inaccurate results....
The search for novel stress tolerance determinants has led to increasing interest in plants native to extreme environments – so called “extremophytes.” One successful strategy has been comparative studies between Arabidopsis thaliana and extremophyte Brassicaceae relatives such as the halophyte Eutrema salsugineum located in areas including cold, s...
Information on public awareness and acceptance issues regarding the use
of Genetically Modified (GM) trees in forestry is lacking, although such information
is available for GM organisms in agriculture. This is mainly due to the fact that in Europe there is no authorization for commercial planting of GM forest trees. To address this issue and withi...
In deciduous fruit trees, the effect of chilling on flowering has mostly been investigated in the “indirect flowering” group, characterized by a period of rest between flower bud formation and blooming. In the present study, we explored the effects of chilling and chilling deprivation on the flowering of Ziziphus jujuba, a temperate deciduous fruit...
Information on public attitudes towards the use of transgenic trees in forest plantations is important in the decision-making process and policy implementation for safe tree development, particularly at the EU level. In Europe, the use of transgenic forest trees is very limited and therefore such information is completely lacking. To address this i...
Pitahayas, dragonfruit and vine cacti are the popular names used to describe the species belonging to the genus Hylocereus. This group of semi-epiphytic cacti is endemic to tropical regions of northern South America, Central America and Mexico. Since these plants use the Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthetic pathway, they present an att...
The tolerance of perennial fruit crops to salinity is usually determined by analyzing tree performance in relation to EC or NaCl concentration in the soil and/or irrigation water or in relation to the period during which the plants were grown under salinity conditions. In response to these conditions, toxic ions accumulate in the plant over time, b...
Three species of Ziziphus Mill. [Z. jujuba Mill., Z. mauritiana Lam. and Z. spina-christi (L.) Willd.] comprising a total of seventeen cultivars/genotypes were selected to perform interspecific crosses over a period of two flowering seasons under semi-arid conditions in the Negev desert of Israel. Twenty one cross combinations were done, comprising...
Three cultivated species of Ziziphus Mill. [Z. jujuba Mill., Z. mauritiana Lam. and Z. spina-christi (L.) Willd.] comprising a total of seventeen cultivars/genotypes were selected for a mating system study. Phenological stage determination showed an overlap in blooming between the three species during June. Intraspecific cross compatibility was eva...
Genome doubling may have multi-level effects on the morphology, viability and physiology of polyploids compared to diploids. We studied the changes associated with autopolyploidization in two systems of somatic newly induced polyploids, diploid-autotetraploid and triploid-autohexaploid, belonging to the genus Hylocereus (Cactaceae). Stomata, fruits...
Allopolyploidy is common in angiosperms, but only rarely involves different genera. One hypothesized case of intergeneric allopolyploidy is Hylocereus megalanthus, a member of Cactaceae tribe Hylocereeae, a group of vine cactus species, some of which are known for their edible fruits ("pitahaya" or "dragon fruit"). This polyploid species has been i...
Interest in vine cacti of the genus Hyloce-reus (Cactaceae) has grown markedly due to their high economic potential as exotic fruit crops. Thus, we investigate the genomic and genetic characteristics of 18 accessions belonging to three Hylocereus species, from which were produced eight progeny from self-pollination and 51 interspecific-homoploid an...
Comparative studies of the stress-tolerant Arabidopsis thaliana halophytic relative, Eutrema salsugineum have proven a fruitful approach to understanding natural stress tolerance. Here, we performed comparative phenotyping of Arabidopsis and Eutrema vegetative development under control and salt stress conditions, and then compared the metabolic res...
Vine cacti of the genera Hylocereus and Selenicereus, native to the tropical regions of northern South America, Central America and Mexico, are an epiphytic group of plants bearing edible and exotic fruits. The flowers are nocturnal and remain open only for few hours. The fruits, known in Latin America as pitahaya, are sweet, juicy, and have black...
Self-incompatibility and synchronous protandrous dichogamy have previously been reported in Ziziphus species. In this work, we conducted a comparative analysis of fluorescence microscopy observations of pollen tube growth following controlled cross pollinations of emasculated flowers and self-pollinations of non-emasculated flowers in three Ziziphu...
In this study we developed a technique for rescuing embryos at a very early developmental stage following interspecific-interploid crosses between Hylocereus sp. Controlled hand pollinations were performed between the tetraploid H. megalanthus (Vaup.) Bauer as the female parent and either diploid H. monacanthus (Lem.) Britton et Rose or H. undatus...
Controlled hand-cross-pollinations were performed among the genera Hylocereus, Selenicereus, and Epiphyllum and synthetic intergeneric hybrids were obtained. Parental lines and the intergeneric hybrids were studied for their nuclear DNA (2C) content and for their morphological and phenological characteristics. Hybrids between Hylocereus and Selenic...
With 2 figures and 1 table
Self-incompatibility (SI) is the major factor that limits the development of the exotic fruit crops belonging to Hylocereus species. The selection of self-compatible (SC) hybrids would greatly benefit growers by eliminating the need to grow complementary cultivars for cross-pollination. With this breeding objective in min...
Species of the vine cactus Hylocereus are increasingly being grown in Israel as new exotic fruit crops that are particularly suited to cultivation in semi-arid and arid lands. Hylocereus species are characterized by high genetic variability; in the current study, we investigated genetic similarity and distance, genetic relationships, allele frequen...
Hylocereus species, night blooming vine cacti endemic to the Americas, use the Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthetic pathway, and bear large, attractive and edible fruits. Taken together, these characteristics of Hylocereus species indicate their high economic potential as perennial fruit crops in arid and semi-arid regions where water...
Chromosome duplication—autopolyploidization—may affect plant morphology and breeding systems, ultimately enabling the production of improved genotypes. In this study, the autotetraploid lines obtained from the self-incompatible diploid Hylocereus monacanthus and the autooctapolyploid lines obtained from the self-compatible tetraploid H. megalanthus...
Hylocereus (Berger) Britton et Rose, Selenicereus (Berger) Britton et Rose and Epiphyllum Haw. species have commercial potential as exotic fruit crops in semi-arid and arid lands. The high genetic variability among these species offers an opportunity for commercial cultivation. Toward this end we investigated genomic and morphological characteristi...
Vine cacti have economic potential as exotic fruits in semi-arid and arid lands due to their high water use efficiency. The goal of this study was to attain autopolyploid plants by applying the antimitotic agents colchicine and oryzalin on axillary vegetative buds and germinating seeds. The diploid Hylocereus monacanthus and the tetraploid H. megal...
The aim of this study was to develop an efficient methodology to rescue embryos following interspecific crosses in the genus Hylocereus. Crosses between the diploids Hylocereus polyrhizus and H. undatus in both directions were performed. Fertilized ovules carrying embryos at very early pro-embryonic stages were excised from ovaries five days after...
The aim of this work was to study the association between leaf anatomical characteristics and response to short-term drought stress in Ziziphusmauritiana Lamk. Six Z. mauritiana cultivars (Seb, Gola, Umran, Keitly, Q-29 and B-5/4) under field conditions in Israel's Negev desert were studied. Width of palisade mesophyll, spongy mesophyll and epiderm...
Floral development of the synchronous dichogamous species Ziziphus mauritiana, as followed by light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), was divided into 11 stages using a series of landmark events. Main cellular events happen synchronously in the female and the male structures, such as meiosis in micro- and macrosporocyte cells, tetrad microspo...
Gynogenesis was investigated on the allotetraploid Selenicereus megalanthus and the diploid Hylocereus polyrhizus and Hylocereus undatus vine cactus species. Unpollinated ovules from developing flower buds containing microspores at middle uninucleate developmental stage were cultured on MS basal medium containing 2,4-D/TDZ with different sucrose co...
Anther culture techniques were applied to develop a methodology for producing haploid vine cactus plants. Anthers with most
microspores in the middle uninucleate developmental stage from the tetraploid species Selenicereus megalanthus and the diploid species Hylocereus polyrhizus and H.undatus were cultured on basal MS medium supplemented with picl...
Recurrent selection programmes use one or just a few selection criteria, however other indirect traits may be unpredictably changed in a population. This study was conducted to determine the indirect effects of 10 cycles of bi-directional recurrent selection for cotyledon size in the model system of rapid-cycling Brassica rapa. Eight sub-population...
The sustainability of agriculture in arid regions is dependent on efficient irrigation, involving water management strategies that control salinity along with a selection of crops that are appropriate for arid conditions. The article reviews the present state-of-the-art in water management and irrigation research, including recycling of effluents....
Hylocereus and Selenicereus are native to tropical and sub-tropical America. Based on its taxonomic status and crossability relations it was postulated that H. megalanthus (syn. S. megalanthus) is an allotetraploid (2n = 4x = 44) derived from natural hybridization between two closely related diploid taxa. The present work aimed at elucidating the g...
Clones of Hylocereus and of Selenicereus species were distinguished from each other by the banding pattern generated by one to nine 10-mer oligonucleotide primers in the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) reaction. RAPD analysis was also applied to estimate the genetic relationship among five Hylocereus and nine Selenicereus species. A dendrog...
Crosses between the diploid Hylocereus polyrhizus, as the female parent, and the tetraploid Selenicereus megalanthus, as the male parent, yielded triploid and aneuploid hybrids. The fruits of these hybrids combined the attractive appearance of Hylocereus fruits with the delicious taste of S. megalanthus fruits. The aim of this work was to assess th...
We performed reciprocal crosses between the tetraploid Selenicereus megalanthus and the diploid Hylocereus species, H. undatus and H. polyrhizus. S. megalanthus x H. undatus gave rise to viable hexaploids and 6x-aneuploid hybrids rather than to the expected triploids. No genuine hybrids were obtained in the reciprocal cross. The pollen diameter of...
Fruits of vine and columnar cacti are increasingly popular in many countries. This chapter discusses vine and columnar cacti cultivated for their fruits, known as pitahaya or pitaya: pitahaya generally refers to fruits of vine (climbing) species and pitaya to fruits of columnar (erect) ones. The red pitahaya (Hylocereus undatus) is the most popular...
Chromosome numbers and meiotic behavior are reported for the climbing cacti species Hylocereus undatus, Hylocereus polyrhizus, and Selenicereus megalanthus. The Hylocereus spp. are diploid (2n = 22), while S. megalanthus is a tetraploid (2n = 44). Irregular chromosome disjunction at anaphase I in pollen mother cells of S. megalanthus is probably th...
We present a simple protocol for DNA isolation from climbing cacti, genera Hylocereus and Selenicereus. The abundant polysaccharides present in Hylocereus and Selenicereus species interfere with DNA isolation, and DNA extracts, rich in polysaccharides, are poor templates for amplification using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We used roots as the...
