Diurnal and seasonal occurrence,feeding habits and mating behavior ofMaladera matrida adults in Israel

Adult populations ofMaladera matrida Argaman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), a beetle highly injurious to agricultural crops, were studied in the coastal plain of Israel from 1985 to 1988. There were two generations annually. Adults emerged in March, April or May and disappeared in October or November. The beetles are on the wing, mate, and feed at twilight and in the dark. Feeding and mating behavior, sex ratio, and preferred food plants were studied.     

Metabolic engineering of plant cells for biotransformation of hesperedin into neohesperidin, a substrate for production of the low-calorie sweetener and flavor enhancer NHDC

Neohesperidin dihydrochalcone (NHDC) is a seminatural, safe, low-calorie sweetener, bitterness blocker, and flavor enhancer with unique properties and applications for the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and animal feed industries. Current production is limited by the availability of the substrate neohesperidin, a flavonoid that accumulates to significant levels only in the inedible bitter citrus species. We propose a process to convert hesperidin, a tasteless flavonoid extracted from orange peels that are abundant byproducts of the vast orange juice industry, into neohesperidin using metabolic engineering and biotransformation via three steps: (i) extraction of hesperidin from orange peels, (ii) hydrolysis of sugar moieties, and (iii) biotransformation of hesperidin hydrolysis products into neohesperidin. We overcame the current technological bottleneck in biotransformation of hesperidin hydrolysis products into neohesperidin using metabolically engineered plant cell cultures expressing a recombinant flavanone-7-O-glucoside-2-O-rhamnosyltransferase. A small-scale production experiment established the feasibility of the proposed process.     

Properties and spatial distribution of microbiotic crusts in the Negev Desert,Israel

Playing a cardinal role in surface stabilization and in carbon and nitrogen fixation, microbiotic crusts play a crucial role in arid regions where they may serve as useful biomarkers for wind power and wetness duration. This is especially the case on relatively unstable and infertile sand dunes in the Negev Desert where high correlations between the crust chlorophyll content and the daytime wetness duration were found. Yet, only scarce data are available as to the possible link between the chlorophyll content and other physical (color, thickness, strength, crack density, surface roughness and infiltrability) and biological (protein, carbohydrate, organic matter and species composition) factors, which determine, in turn, the crust type and its effect upon geomorphological and ecological processes. No data are available on crust type distribution. These were the aims of the current research.