Tzahi Arazi Ph.D.
Department head
- Vegetable Field Crop Research
- Institute of Plant Sciences, ARO, HaMaccabbim Road 68, P.O.B 15159, Rishon LeZion, 7505101, Israel
- +972-506220498
- +972-39683498
Biography
Dr. Arazi received his PhD from the Weizmann Institute. He then joined the biotech startup ViroGene, where he developed plant viral expression vectors. As a next stage in his career development he joined the lab of Prof. David Baulcombe at the Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, England, as an EMBO postdoc fellow. The subject of his research was microRNAs (miRNAs) in lower land plants. Since 2002, Dr. Arazi holds a position at the Institute of Plant Sciences, ARO, Volcani Center, Rishon Lezion, Israel, where he is currently working as a senior scientist. Since 2023, Dr. Arazi is the head of the Ornamental Plants and Agricultural Biotechnology department.
Education
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1989-1992
B.Sc., cum laude in biology at Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
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1992-1994
M.Sc., summa cum laude in plant molecular biology at the Department of Plant Science, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
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1995-2000
Ph.D. in plant molecular biology at the Department of Plant Science, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
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2000 – 2002
Postdoctoral position at ViroGene Ltd.
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2003 – 2004
Postdoctoral position at The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, UK with Prof. D.C. Baulcombe.
Research Interests
The functions of plant small RNAs with focus on micro-RNAs (miRNAs)
A major goal of our research is to understand how plant miRNAs and their target mRNAs regulate fleshy fruit development and ripening and to use this knowledge to improve agricultural crops biotechnologically. This goal is achieved by determining which miRNAs and their corresponding targets are involved in tomato fleshy fruit development and how their deregulation impacts it.
The molecular mechanisms of fleshy fruit set
Fruit set is a key determinant of yield and thus of significant agronomic importance in all edible fruit crops. Fruit set is established during and soon after fertilization of the ovules inside the quiescent ovary, yet the molecular mechanism underlying it remains obscure. To gain insights into the mechanism of fleshy fruit set, we investigate how certain tomato parthenocarpic mutants isolated in the lab uncouples fruit set from fertilization.
Research Areas
- The mechanisms of fleshy fruit set and development
- The functions of plant small RNAs with focus on micro-RNAs (miRNAs)