It is widely accepted that future agriculture will face the challenge of increasing productivity under limited resources. This will require the development of better yielding crops together with resistances to biotic and abiotic stresses. New genomic technologies offer a great potential to advance our understanding of plant physiological processes and accelerate the exploitation of beneficial traits from wild germplasm. The Distelfeld laboratory is focused on improving yield and quality of crop plants, especially wheat, with an emphasis on physiological processes that occur during plant senescence. We believe that an integrated system approach, combining physiological, genetic, genomic and transgenic tools, is required to dissect complex traits and reduce the gap between phynotype and genotype. Such approach is implemented by the combination of laboratory and field experiments.

RESEARCH AREAS

• Wheat genetics and genomics

• Plant breeding

• Gene-network controlling senescence in wheat senescence

• Molecular mechanisms controlling grain yield in Wheat senescence

• Flowering time in wheat

1. Distelfeld A., Dubcovsky J. (2010) Characterization of the maintained vegetative phase deletions from diploid wheat and their effect on VRN2 and FT transcript levels. Molecular Genetics and Genomics 283:223-232.
2. Distelfeld A., Li C., Dubcovsky J. (2009) Regulation of flowering in temperate cereals. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 12:178-184.
3. Fu D., Uauy C., Distelfeld A., Blechl A., Epstein L., Chen X., Sela H., Fahima T., Dubcovsky J. (2009) A kinase-START gene confers temperature-dependent resistance to wheat stripe rust. Science 323:1357-1360.
4. Distelfeld A., Uauy C., Fahima T., Dubcovsky J. (2006) Physical map of the wheat high-grain protein content gene Gpc-B1 and development of a high-throughput marker. New Phytologist 169:753-763.
5. Uauy C., Distelfeld A., Fahima T., Blechl A., Dubcovsky J. (2006) A NAC Gene regulating senescence improves grain protein, zinc, and iron content in wheat. Science 314:1298 - 1301.

1. Cantu D., Vanzetti L., Sumner A., Dubcovsky M., Matvienko M., Distelfeld A., Michelmore R., Dubcovsky J. (2010) Small RNAs, DNA methylation and transposable elements in wheat. Bmc Genomics 11:408.
2. Dhillon T., Pearce S.P., Stockinger E.J., Distelfeld A., Li C.X., Knox A.K., Vashegyi I., Vagujfalvi A., Galiba G., Dubcovsky J. (2010) Regulation of Freezing Tolerance and Flowering in Temperate Cereals: The VRN-1 Connection. Plant Physiology 153:1846-1858.
3. Distelfeld A., Dubcovsky J. (2010) Characterization of the maintained vegetative phase deletions from diploid wheat and their effect on VRN2 and FT transcript levels. Molecular Genetics and Genomics 283:223-232.
4. Yoshida T., Nishida H., Zhu J., Nitcher R., Distelfeld A., Akashi Y., Kato K., Dubcovsky J. (2010) Vrn-D4 is a vernalization gene located on the centromeric region of chromosome 5D in hexaploid wheat. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 120:543-552.
5. Distelfeld A., Li C., Dubcovsky J. (2009a) Regulation of flowering in temperate cereals. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 12:178-184.
6. Distelfeld A., Tranquilli G., Li C., Yan L., Dubcovsky J. (2009b) Genetic and molecular characterization of the VRN2 loci in tetraploid wheat. Plant Physiology 149:245-257.
7. Fu D., Uauy C., Distelfeld A., Blechl A., Epstein L., Chen X., Sela H., Fahima T., Dubcovsky J. (2009) A kinase-START gene confers temperature-dependent resistance to wheat stripe rust. Science 323:1357-1360.
8. Distelfeld A., Korol A., Dubcovsky J., Uauy C., Blake T., Fahima T. (2008) Colinearity between the barley grain protein content (GPC) QTL on chromosome arm 6HS and the wheat Gpc-B1 region. Molecular Breeding 22:25-38.
9. Distelfeld A., Cakmak I., Peleg Z., Ozturk L., Yazici A.M., Budak H., Saranga Y., Fahima T. (2007) Multiple QTL-effects of wheat Gpc-B1 locus on grain protein and micronutrient concentrations. Physiologia Plantarum 129:635-643.
10. Distelfeld A., Fahima T. (2007) Wild emmer wheat as a source for high-grain-protein genes: Map-based cloning of Gpc-B1 . Israel Journal of Plant Sciences 55:297-306.
11. Suprunova T., Krugman T., Distelfeld A., Fahima T., Nevo E., Korol A. (2007) Identification of a novel gene ( Hsdr4 ) involved in water-stress tolerance in wild barley. Plant Molecular Biology 64:17-34.
12. Distelfeld A., Uauy C., Fahima T., Dubcovsky J. (2006) Physical map of the wheat high-grain protein content gene Gpc-B1 and development of a high-throughput marker. New Phytologist 169:753-763.
13. Uauy C., Distelfeld A., Fahima T., Blechl A., Dubcovsky J. (2006) A NAC Gene regulating senescence improves grain protein, zinc, and iron content in wheat. Science 314:1298 - 1301.
14. Uauy C., Brevis J.C., Chen X., Khan I.A., Jackson L., Chicaiza O., Distelfeld A., Fahima T., Dubcovsky J. (2005) High-temperature adult plant (HTAP) stripe rust resistance gene Yr36 from Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides is closely linked to the grain protein content locus Gpc-B1 . Theoretical and Applied Genetics 112:97-105.
15. Distelfeld A., Uauy C., Olmos S., Schlatter A.R., Dubcovsky J., Fahima T. (2004) Microcolinearity between a 2-cM region encompassing the grain protein content locus Gpc-6B1 on wheat chromosome 6 and a 350-kb region on rice chromosome 2. Functional and Integrative Genomics 4:59-66.
16. Burger Y., Sa'ar U., Distelfeld A., Katzir N., Yeselson Y., Shen S., Schaffer A.A. (2003) Development of sweet melon ( Cucumis melo ) genotypes combining high sucrose and organic acid content. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 128:537-540.
17. Cenci A., Chantret N., Kong X., Gu Y., Anderson O.D., Fahima T., Distelfeld A., Dubcovsky J. (2003) Construction and characterization of a half million clone BAC library of durum wheat ( Triticum turgidum ssp durum ). Theoretical and Applied Genetics 107:931-939.
18. Olmos S., Distelfeld A., Chicaiza O., Schlatter A.R., Fahima T., Echenique V., Dubcovsky J. (2003) Precise mapping of a locus affecting grain protein content in durum wheat. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 107:1243-1251.

EDUCATION

Title of M.sc. thesis: Organic Acids and pH in Cucumis melo L. Fruits

Supervisors: Prof. Shmuel Wolf, Dr. Arthur Schaffer and Dr. Nurit Katzir.

Title of Ph.D. thesis : Map-Based Cloning of Gpc-B1 QTL for Grain Protein and Mineral Content in Wheat Revealed a Transcription Factor Regulating Senescence

Supervisor: Prof. Tzion Fahima

ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL AWARDS