1
January 2004
Curriculum Vitae Moshe Sagi
1. Personal Details
Date and Place of Birth20/07/52, Israel
Permanent address Kibbutz Mashabbe Sade, D.N. Chalutza, 85510
Temporary address Yasur 2, Lehavim, 85338
Tel+972-8-6479312
2. Education
B.Sc. Agr.Area: Vegetable and Field Crops
1980-1982Institution: Faculty of Agriculture, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel; Graduated cum laude
Rector's prize for distinguished student
Ph. D.Area: Relationships between salinity of the growth
1994-1998medium, N metabolism and ionic balance in annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum)
Institution: Faculty of Agriculture, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Post-Doc Area: Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of
1999-2000reactive oxygen species production in response to biotic and abiotic stresses
Institution: Department of Plant Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science
3. Employment history
1972- presentMember of Kibbutz Mashabbe Sade, Ramat Negev
1972-78Manager of field crop production at Mashabbe Sade (growing cotton, sorghum, wheat, alfalfa, clover Rhodes-grass at Ramat Negev using brackish and/or sewage water)
1983-85Director of the RAM (Revivim and Mashabbe Sade) experimental agricultural farm for irrigation with recycled sewage water produced in Beer-Sheva. (growing cotton, sorghum, corn, wheat, and alfalfa at Ramat Negev)
1986-89General manager of Kibbutz Mashabbe Sade
1989- presentResearcher and Director of the Desert Agricultural Negev Saline Water Experimental Center, Ramat Negev, Israel
1996-2000Joint appointment with the Biostress Research Laboratory,
J. Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer, Israel
10/2000- 10/2003 Researcher, The Institutes for Applied Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva
11/2003-Present Researcher grade B, The Institutes for Applied Research.
4. Scientific Publications
Articles in Peer-Reviewed Scientific Journals
1. Pasternak, D., Sagi,M.,De-Malach, Y., Keren, Y. and Shaffer, A.1995. Irrigation with brackish water under desert conditions XI. Salt tolerance in sweet-corn cultivars. Agric. Water Manag. 28:325-334.
2. De Malach, Y., Ben- Asher, J., Sagi,M. and Alert, A. 1995. Double emitter source (DES): an adaptation of trickle irrigation to the double line source method. Int. Water Irrig. Review 15: 34-39.
3. Gao, Z., Sagi,M. and Lips, S. H. 1996. Assimilate allocation priority as affected by nitrogen compounds in the xylem sap of tomato. Plant Physiol. Biochem. 34:807-815.
4. De Malach, Y., Ben- Asher,J., Sagi,M. and Alert, A. 1996. Double emitter source (DES) for salinity and fertilization experiments. Agron. J. 88: 987-990.
5. Sagi, M., Savidov, N.A., L'vov N.P. and Lips, S.H. 1997. Nitrate reductase and molybdenum cofactor in annual ryegrass as affected by salinity and nitrogen source. Physiol. Plant. 99: 546-553.
6. Sagi, M., Dovrat, A., Kipnis, T. and Lips, S.H. 1998. Nitrate reductase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and glutamine synthetase in annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) as affected by salinity, N source and level. J. Plant Nutr. 21:707-723
7. Sagi, M., Dovrat, A., Kipnis, T. and Lips, S.H. 1997. Ionic balance, biomass production, and organic nitrogen as affected by salinity and nitrogen source in annual ryegrass. J. Plant Nutr. 20: 1291-1316.
8. Savidov, N. A., L'vov, N. P., Sagi, M. and Lips, S. H. 1997. Molybdenum cofactor biosynthesis in two barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes as affected by nitrate in the tissue and in the growth medium. Plant Sci. 122: 51-59.
9. Savidov, N. A., Sagi, M. and Lips, S.H. 1997. The assay of the molybdenum cofactor in higher plants as affected by pyridine nucleotides and nitrate. Plant Physiol. Biochem. 35: 419-426.
10. Sagi, M., Omarov, R. T. and Lips, S.H. 1998. The Mo-hydroxylases xanthine dehydrogenase and aldehyde oxidase in ryegrass as affected by nitrogen and salinity. Plant Sci. 135:125-135.
11. Sagi, M. and S.H. Lips. 1998. The levels of nitrate reductase and molybdenum cofactor in annual ryegrass as affected by nitrate and ammonium. Plant Sci. 135: 17-24.
12. Gao, Z., Sagi,M. and Lips, S.H. 1998. Carbohydrate metabolism in leaves and assimilate partitioning in fruits of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) as affected by salinity. Plant Sci. 135: 149-159.
13. Omarov R., Sagi,M. and Lips, S.H. 1998. Regulation of aldehyde oxidase and nitrate reductase in roots of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) by nitrogen sources and salinity. J. Exp. Bot. 49: 897-902.
14. Li, J. Sagi,M., Gale, J., Volokita, M. and Novoplansky, A. 1999. Response of tomato plants to saline water as affected by carbon dioxide supplementation. I: Growth, yield and fruit quality. J. Horticult. Sci. Biotech. 74:232-237.
15. Sagi, M. Fluhr, R. and Lips, S.H. 1999 Aldehyde oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase in a flacca tomato mutant with deficient abscisic acid and wilty phenotype. Plant Physiol. 120:571-578.
16. Lips, S.H., Omarov R. T. and Sagi, M. 2000. Mo-enzymes at the crossroads of signal transmission from root to shoot. In: "Nitrogen in a sustainable ecosystem from the cell to the plant." M. A. Martins-Loucao and S. H. Lips (eds). Backhuys, Leiden.
17. Sagi, M.and Fluhr, R. 2001 Superoxide Production by plant homologues of the gp91phox NADPH oxidase. modulation of activity by calcium and by tobacco mosaic virus infection. Plant Physiol. 126: 1281-1290.
18. Lichter, A., Ostrovski, A., Dvir, O., Cohen, S., Golan, R., Shemer, Z. and Sagi, M. 2002. Cracking of cherry tomatoes in solution. Postharv. Biol. Technol. 26: 305-312.
19. Sagi, M., Scazzocchio, C. and Fluhr, R. 2002. The absence of molybdenum cofactor sulfuration is the primary cause of the flacca phenotype in tomato plants. Plant J. 31:305-317
20. Chen, G., Lips, S.H. and Sagi, M. 2002. Biomass, transpiration and endogenous ABA levels in grafts of flacca and wild-type tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). Aust. J. Plant Physiol. [present journal name: Functional Biology] 29: 1329-1335.
21. Chen, G., Shi, Q., Lips, S.H. and Sagi, M. 2003. Comparison of growth of flacca and wild-type tomato grown under conditions diminishing their differences in stomatal control. Plant Sci. 164:753-757.
22. Chen, G., Fu, X., Lips, S.H. and Sagi, M. 2003. Control of plant growth resides in the shoot and not the root in the presence and absence of salinity stress in reciprocal grafts of flacca and wild-type tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). Plant and Soil 256:205-215.
23. Sagi, M, Davydov, O, Orazova, S, Yesbergenova, Z, Ophir, R, Stratmann, J W and Fluhr R, (2004) Rboh impinges on wound responsiveness and development in tomato. Plant Cell (in Press)
Articles in preparation
24. Guoxiong Chen, Moshe Sagi, Song Weining, Tamar Krugman, Tzion Fahima, Abraham B Korol, and Eviatar Nevo, * Wild barley eibi1 mutation identifies a gene essential for leaf water conservation (Submitted to Planta).
25. Man-Kim Cheung, Radhika Desikan, Jayne Davies, Rebecca Smith, Moshe
Sagi, Robert Fluhr, Christopher Rock, John Hancock and Steven Neill. H2O2 is required for stomatal closure in response to darkness and ABA in guard cells of Pisum sativum L. (Submitted to Plant J).
26. Alikulov, Z..A, and Sagi M. Molybdenum cofactor and Mo-enzymes in dormant and developing wheat seeds (in preparation).
27. Xing-Yu, J., Omarov, R.T. and Sagi, M. 2003. Effects of molybdate and tungstate on abscisic acid, aldehyde oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase in barley roots and leaves (in preparation).
Additional Publications
Sagi M., U. Naphtaliahu, A. Alert, Z. Hoffman and Y. de Malach. 1991. Sunflower irrigated with saline water in the Ramat HaNegev region. Hassadeh 72:306-309.
De Malach Y., M. Sagi, A. Alert, Y. David, Z. Hoffman and C. Efron. 1992. A gradual two-variable design of field experiments using trickler double source. Hassadeh 73:80-82.
Kipnis T., M. Sagi and Y. de Malach. 1990. Adaptation to the Negev conditions of different cultivars of sorghum for forage irrigates with sewage water. Report in Ramat HaNegev Research and Development annual activity summary.
Sagi M. and Y. de Malach. 1990. Influence of alternated fresh brackish water irrigation on maize. Report in Ramat HaNegev Research and Development annual activity summary.
Kipnis T., M. Sagi and Y. de Malach. 1991. The effect of saline water irrigation on the yield of different cultivars of sorghum for forage. Report in Ramat HaNegev Research and Development annual activity summary.
Sagi M., Y. Keren and Y. de Malach. 1992. Cultivars of sweet corn irrigated with brackish water at the Ramat Negev. Report in Ramat HaNegev Research and Development annual activity summary.
Leshem Y., M. Sagi, Ch. Frenkel, D. Chanoch and Y. de Malach. 1992. Irrigation of forage beet with brackish water. Report in Ramat HaNegev Research and Development annual activity summary.
Katz I., M. Sagi and U. Silberstein. 1992. Development of technologies for the production of dry and humid hay of ryegrass with brackish water in the Ramat HaNegev area. Report in Ramat HaNegev Research and Development annual activity summary.
Sagi M., T. Kipnis and M. Dovrat. 1992. Ryegrass irrigated with brackish water. Report in Ramat HaNegev Research and Development annual activity summary.
Sagi M., T. Kipnis and M. Dovrat. 1992. The effect of brackish water irrigation with different irrigation methods on the yield of sorghum. Report
Sagi M. 1992. Trial of different cultivars of Sudan irrigated with brackish water. Report in Ramat HaNegev Research and Development annual activity summary.
5. Lectures and Presentations at Conferences
Sagi, M., N. P. L’vov, N. A. Savidov, A. Dovrat, T. Kipnis, and S. H. Lips. 1994.
Nitrogen nutrition of annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) under saline conditions.
Poster presented at the 9th. FESPP Congress. Brno. Chech Rep. Biolog. Plant. 36:379.
Sagi, M., N. A. Savidov, N. P. L’vov, and S. H. Lips. 1995. MoCo and NR in ryegrass as affected by salinity, nitrate, nitrite and ammonium.
Lecture at the Fourth International Symposium on Inorganic Nitrogen Assimilation and the First Fohs Biostress Symposium, July 23-28, 1995, Seehim/Darmstadt, Germany.
Sagi, M., R.T, Omarov, and S. H. Lips. 1998. The Mo-hydroxylases xanthine dehydrogenase and aldehyde oxidase in ryegrass as affected by nitrogen and salinity.
Lecture at the 5th International Symposium on Inorganic Nitrogen Assimilation and the 3rd Fohs Biostress Symposium, July 13-17, 1998, Luso Portugal.
Sagi, M., and S.H., Lips. 1998. Aldehyde oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase in a flacca tomato mutant with deficient abscisic acid and wilty phenotype.
Poster presented in Salt and Water stress in Plants at Gordon Research Conference. Oxford.
Sagi, M. and R. Fluhr 2001. Superoxide production by the gp91phox NADPH oxidase plant homologue: modulation by calcium and TMV.
Lecture presented at the annual conference of the Israeli Society of Plant Sciences, held in The Faculty of Agriculture, Rehovot, April 4th 2001.
Sagi, M. and Fluhr, R. 2002. The absence of molybdenum cofactor sulfuration is the primary cause of the flacca phenotype in tomato plants.
Poster presented in Salt and Water stress in Plants at Gordon Research Conference. Oxford.
6. Grants History
Ministry of Agriculture (Moshe Sagi). Chief Scientist Project 884-0068-91-93 (1991-1993). The production of forage irrigated with saline water in Ramat Negev. $100,000
Ministry of Agriculture (Moshe Sagi). Chief Scientist Project 255-0388-94-97 (1994-1997). Production of high-quality tomatoes irrigated with saline water: The influence of salinity and its components on physiological processes.
$75,000.
Ministry of Agriculture (Moshe Sagi). Chief Scientist Project 255-0297-94-96 (1995-1997). Enhancement of melon yield by controlling plant density and architecture when grown in greenhouse in Ramat Negev.
$40,000
Ministry of Science and Technology (S. H. Lips and Moshe Sagi).
(1996-1998). Novel techniques for the production of high-quality fruit in greenhouses.
$ 120,000.
Ministry of Agriculture(Moshe Sagi). Chief Scientist Project 884-0141-99/01 (1999-2001). Prevention of brown spots in melon (Cucumis melo L.) fruits.
$45,000.
Ministry of Agriculture(Moshe Sagi). Chief Scientist Project 884-0140-99/01 (1999-2001). Improvement of fruits yield and quality in pepper grown in greenhouse at Ramat Negev.
$45,000
Ministry of Agriculture(Moshe Sagi). Chief Scientist Project 402-0271-99/01 (1999-2001). Study of the factors affecting fruit cracking in cherry tomato fruits.
$30,000
AID/CDR/CAR CA20-036(Moshe Sagi in cooperation with Z. Alikulov [Kazakhstan])
(2001-2004). Prevention of pre-harvest sprouting.
$75,000
Ministry of Agriculture(Moshe Sagi). Chief Scientist Project 884-0150-02
In cooperation with Ramat Negev R&D.
(2002-2004). Development of agrotechniques for exportable tomato production without the use of methyl bromide.
$38,000
The Harry Stern Applied Research Grant (Moshe Sagi)
(2002-2003).Development of Salicornia, a new halophyte crop for export to the gourmet market of Europe.
$30,000
The Harry Stern Applied Research Grant (Moshe Sagi)
(2003-2004).Development of Salicornia, a new halophyte crop for export to the gourmet market of Europe.
$28,000
Seed money - Research Encouragement Foundation of Ben-Gurion University (Moshe Sagi)
(2002-2003). Novel molybdenum cofactor sulfurase and control of plant molybdo enzymes in response to biotic and abiotic stress.
Seed money was given to fund a proposal receiving high scoring from The Israel Science Foundation but unfortunately not granted due to funding limitations.
$4, 200.
ICA foundation (Moshe Sagi).
(2002-2004). Innovative cash-crop halophytes for future halophyte growers in Ramat Hanegev - A triennial project. In cooperation with Ramat Negev R&D.$165000.
Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport (Moshe Sagi). M. Sagi and N. Bernstein.
(2003-2005). Development of Salicornia, a new halophyte crop for export to the gourmet market of Europe. In cooperation with Dead Sea R&D.
$ 70,000.
Peres Center for Peace and Ramat Negev R&D (Moshe Sagi). (2003-2005). " Water Culture " at Ramat Hanegev [Principal Investigator of the project with total budget over $700, 000 (confidential)].$177,000
Ministry of Agriculture(Moshe Sagi). Chief Scientist Project 884-0165-03
(2003-2005). Increase salt resistance in tomato by use of tomato rootstocks able to minimize root to shoot salt movement.
$51,000.
Ministry of Agriculture(Moshe Sagi). Chief Scientist Project 884-0166-03
(2003-2005). Development of high-quality pepper in combined (net/greenhouse) growing system.
$38,000
The Israel Science foundation (ISF) 417/03. (2003-2007) Novel role of molybdoenzymes in biotic and abiotic stresses.
($200,000)
The Israel Science foundation (ISF) 9056/03. (2003-2005) Budget to purchaseReal Time Quantitative PCR for detection of molybdoenzymes gene products expressed in plants exposed to biotic and abiotic stresses.
$30,000 from ISF complemented with $30,000 from BGU.
7. Students
Project students
Eynav Oron (4th year Biotechnology)
Dana Sofer (4th year Biotechnology)
Carmit Porat (4th year Biotechnology)
M.Sc
1. Guoxiong Chen
2. Xiaoping Fu
PhD
1. Dina Haraonovitzc (to be registered).
Post-docs
1. Xing-Yu Jiang (China)
2. Saltanat Orazova (Kazakhstan)
3. Zhazira Yesbergenova (Kazakhstan)
4. Guohua Yang (China, to be registered)
8. Cloned and registered genes
1. FLACCA- tomato molybdenum cofactor sulfurase [Lycopersicon esculentum].
LOCUS AAL71858 816 aa linear PLN 07-AUG-2002
ACCESSION AAL71858
VERSION AAL71858.1 GI:22128583
DBSOURCE accession AY074788.1
9. Activities in Public Forums
- 1989 – present: Member, Agricultural Committee of Ramat Negev Regional Council
- 1989 – present: Member, Ramat Negev R&D Management
- 2002 – present: Member, Ministry of Agriculture, Chief Scientist's Steering Committee for Indoor Vegetables
10. Synopsis of Current Research
A. Roles of plant molybdo enzymes in response to plant stress
Aldehyde oxidase (AO), xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH), nitrate reductase (NR) and sulfite oxidase (SO) — enzymes that contain a molybdenum cofactor (MoCo) — are involved in the essential aspects of oxidative metabolism in plants. NR catalyzes a step in ammonium production from nitrate, and SO catalyzes the detoxification of sulfite to sulfate. XDH plays a role in nitrogen assimilation and has been found in high concentrations in nitrogen-fixing nodules of legumes. We have found that the MoCo level of NR is induced not only by nitrate, as expected, but also by the ammonium level in the plant growth medium [5, 8, 10, 11, 13]. We also showed that AO-type enzymes (AO and XDH) play a role in the biosynthesis of abscissic acid (ABA) and purine metabolism in response to salinity stress and in controlling the concentration and type of nitrogen compounds produced [10, 11, 13, 16]. The insertion of a terminal sulfur ligand into the MoCo site is required for XDH and AO activity, but not for NR and SO activity. Lesionsin MoCo sulfuration result in the disruption of AO functioning, as is found in wilty mutants. By analysis of such mutants, we have shown that the additional sulfuration step in MoCo has the potential to provide a regulatory point for XDH and AO activities [15, 19].
NO, a reactive oxygen species (ROS), serves as a stress signaling molecule in plants and animals. Plant NR can catalyze the production of NO and other reactive nitrogen species (RNS) from nitrite and NAD(P)H. Interestingly, organically liganded molybdenum can catalyze the reduction of nitrite to NO in the absence of protein. While NO plays an important function in plant stress signaling, the source of physiological NO is unknown in plants and most likely differs from that in animals. We have shown that ROS are readily produced in plants by AO and that AO increases during stress response [preliminary unpublished results]. Thus, MoCo oxidative class enzymes may serve a dual function in metabolism and ROS/RNS production in the stress response of plants. The extent of the contribution of MoCo enzymes to both ROS and RNS is currently one of the main thrusts of my research activity. By appropriate use of mutants [19] and transgenic plants engineered by us, we propose to delineate the coordinated regulation of AO, XDH, SO and NR and the type of ROS and/or RNS produced in response to environmental changes. The importance of this research lies in the fact that ROS production plays a crucial role in plant productivity. Delimiting the molecular players involved in the production of reactive species is thus an important step to rational plant improvement.
B. Production of tomato plants with altered resistance to biotic and abiotic stress by manipulation of NADPH oxidase gene expression levels
A major problem in crop production are losses to biotic (diseases and insects) and abiotic stress. Consequently, increasing resistance to stresses in important crops, such as tomato, is of high economic value. Many forms of biotic stress lead to the rapid generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which have been shown to be a component of the resistance response of plants to pathogens and insects. These species serve as direct protective agents (because of their toxicity to pests) or as essential signaling intermediates that transduce the stress signal, leading to activation of defensive genes. A paradigmatic abiotic stress response of plants is the triggering of ROS production by ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation: ROS cause damage to cellular macromolecules but are also required for activation of UV-protective genes. We propose to manipulate the control of ROS levels by an ROS-generating enzyme, NADPH oxidase, as a biotechnological approach to engineering plants with increased resistance to multiple forms of stress. There is increasing evidence that plant NADPH oxidase is required for ROS accumulation in the plant defense response. We hypothesize that altering the expression levels of this enzyme will have striking consequences for plant stress responses. Previously, we developed a novel NADPH oxidase activity gel assay and showed that the plant plasma membrane NADPH oxidase can produce the ROS superoxide (O2-) in tobacco leaves infected with tobacco mosaic virus [17]. We have already produced transgenic tomato plants with decreased levels of NADPH oxidase gene expression, and the next step in the research will be to engineer tomato plants with overexpression of the gene. The proposed investigation will be carried out on two levels. Transgenic plants with altered NADPH oxidase activity will be challenged with necrotrophic and biotrophic fungi, insect pests and UV-B radiation. This part of the research is directly aimed at producing tomato plants with increased resistance to stressful environmental conditions. Because of the universal role of ROS in the plant kingdom, we expect that the approach will be directly applicable to other crop plants. The second part of the research is aimed at determining the role of NADPH oxidase and ROS in signaling mechanisms and gene activation patterns underlying plant responses to stress and development. Indeed, we have recently shown in transgenic tomato plants decreased levels of NADPH oxidase gene expression, resulting in developmental phenotypes such as branching, dwarfish plants and curly leaves, a finding that indicates the important role of NADPH oxidase in plant development [25]. This research will enable us to test for overlaps in ROS requirements between pathogen, insect, and UV stress signal transduction and to explore the limitations of the direct regulation of NADPH oxidase as an approach to increasing plant tolerance to stress.