Ya'acov Y. Leshem

 

Plant Biology

Career Highlights

  • Ph.D. Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1967
  • Postdoctoral work at Yale University, USA (Plant Biology)
  • Joined Department of Life Sciences in 1968 as Senior Lecturer
  • Full Professor of Biology,  1975-2001
  • Professor Emeritus since 2001
  • President of Israeli Botanical Society 1978-1981
  • Award from the International Plant Lipid Research Association and Hungarian Academy of Sciences 1988
  • Invited guest Professor at: Waterloo and Guelph, (Canada); Rutgers and Purdue (USA); DSIR, Auckland (New Zealand); Groningen (The Netherlands); Newcastle University (Australia).
  • 120 publications. 98 in Refereed Journals: 9 books.
  • 7 students (2 Ph.D. and 5 M.Sc.) have been supervised in his laboratory.

Research Areas

        Molecular aspects of hormone action; plant senescence; plant membranes, lipids and biophysical parameters; calcium metabolism in plants; stomatal opening, NO and ethylene, stress; postharvest vegetable, fruit and flower storage.

        The Biophysics of Plant Membrane Phase Changes Relating to Biological Aging. An interdisciplinary approach involving plant physiology, structural chemistry and interfacial physics.

        Effect of Abscisic Acid on Plant Plasma Membranes with Respect to Ethylene Evolution and Ca2+ Metabolism. This topic is being studied as well in connection to plant senescence and stomate guard cell physiology. Emphasis is placed on structural components of guard cell membranes. Techniques employed include fluorescent probing and cell cytometry.

        Nitric Oxide NO and Ethylene Interaction. As related to control of post-harvest physiology. Analogies between cGMP action on viagra related plant senescence inhibition.

Selected Publications

1.     Leshem, Y.Y. and Kuiper, P.J.C. (1996) Is there a common "GAS" (general adaptation syndrome) response to different types of physiological stress? Biologia Plantarum 38: 1-18.

2.     Leshem, Y.Y. (1996) Nitric oxide in biological systems. Plant Growth Reg. 18: 155-159.

3.     Leshem, Y.Y. and Haramaty, E. (1996) The characterization and contrasting effects of the nitric oxide free radical in vegetative stress and senescence of Pisum sativum Linn. foliage. J. Plant Physiol. 148: 258-263.

4.     Leshem, Y.Y. and Haramaty, E. (1996) Ethylene regulation by the nitric oxide free radical: a possible mode of action of endogenous NO. In: "Biotechnology of the Plant Hormone Ethylene". Ed. A.K. Kanellis, NATO Ad. Res. Workshop (in press).

5.     Leshem, Y.Y., Haramaty, E., Malik, Z. and Sofer, Y. (1997) Chloroplast membrane lipids as possible primary targets for nitric oxide-mediated induction of chlorophyll fluorescence in Pisum sativum (argentum mutant). In: "Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plant Lipids". Eds. J.P. Williams, M.U. Khan and N.W. Lem. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp. 157-159.

6.     Leshem, Y.Y., Haramaty, E., Iluz, D., Malik, Z., Sofer, Y., Roitman, L. and Leshem, Y.Z. (1997) Effect of stress nitric oxide (NO): Interaction between chlorophyll fluorescence, galactolipid fluidity and lipoxygenase activity. Plant Physiol. Biochem. 35(7): 573-579.

7.     Leshem, Y.Y. and Wills, R.B.H. (1998) Harnessing senescence delaying gases – nitric oxide and nitrous oxide: a novel approach to postharvest control of fresh horticultural produce. Biol. Plant. 41: 1-12.

8.     Leshem, Y.Y., Kuiper, P.J.C., Erdei, L., Lurie, S. and Perl-Treves, R. (1998) Do Selye’s mammalian "GAS" concept and "co-stress" response exist in plants? In: "The Physiology of Stress" Ed. P. Csermely et al., Annal. NY Acad. Sci. 851: 199-208.

9.     Leshem, Y.Y., Wills, R.B.H. and Ku V.V. (1998) Evidence for the function of the free reduced gas – nitric oxide (NO·) as an endogenous maturation and senescence regulating factor in higher plants. Plant Physiol. Biochem. 36: 825-826.

10. Leshem, Y.Y. (2000) Nitric Oxide in Plants. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands (Book in publication).