My research is focused on the involvement of reactive oxygen intermediates in the response of plants to different environmental stimuli and stress (biotic and abiotic), and on the mechanisms underlying the acclimation of desert plants to their harsh environments.

Current research includes:

• Regulation of reactive oxygen metabolism. A comprehensive approach that combines transcriptome and metabolic profiling, proteomics and bioinformatics is used to dissect the gene network that controls the level of antioxidants and toxic reactive oxygen species in cells. The network protects cells and controls many different signal transduction pathways.
   
• The response of plants to a combination of two different stresses. We are pioneering a new field in plant biology. A genomic/transgenic approach coupled with physiological and molecular studies is being taken to study how plants cope with a combination of two different stresses. Our goal is to enhance the tolerance of crop plants to field stress conditions.
   
• Unraveling the “unknown-eom” and its role in plant protection from stress. We are using a combination of methods to study the role and function of more than 2,000 genes with an unknown function expressed in plants during abiotic stress.

Journals

1. Mittler, R. Oxidative stress, antioxidants, and stress tolerance. Trends Plant Sci. 7, 405-410 (2002).
2. Pnueli, L., Hongjian, L. and Mittler, R. Growth suppression, abnormal guard cell response, and augmented induction of heat shock proteins in cytosolic ascorbate peroxidase (Apx1) - deficient Arabidopsis plants. Plant J. 34, 187-203 (2003).
3. Rizhsky L, Liang H, Mittler R. The water-water cycle is essential for chloroplast protection in the absence of stress. J. Biol. Chem. 278, 38921-38925 (2003).
4. Rizhsky L., Liang H., Shuman J., Shulaev V., Davletova S. and Mittler R. When defense pathways collide: The response of Arabidopsis to a combination of drought and heat stress. Plant Physiol. 134, 1683-1696 (2004).

Patents:

1. U.S. Patent No. 5,629,470 entitled "Transgenic Plants and Plant Cells with Enhanced Pathogen Resistance and Related Methods"; International Application Number: PCT/US96/00741 (Jan. 1996); Inventors: Lam, E. and Mittler, R.
2. U.S. Patent No. 6,320,101 "Enhancing Inorganic Carbon Fixation by Photosynthetic Organisms". Inventors: Kaplan, A., Lieman-Hurwitz, J., Mittler, R, Ronen-Tarazi, M., Bonfil, D. and Schatz, D.
3. Patent application No. PCT IL-02/00250, and Application No. US 09/828,173, entitled "Plants Characterized by Enhancing Growth and Methods and Nucleic Acid Constructs Useful for Generating Same" Inventors: Kaplan, A., Lieman-Hurwitz, J., Mittler, R, RonenTarazi, M., Bonfil, D. and Schatz, D.

Book Chapters:

1. Mittler, R. (1998) Cell death in plants. In: When Cells Die, A Comprehensive Evaluation of Apoptosis and Programmed Cell Death, Z. Zakeri, J.Tilly, R.A. Lockshin (eds.), John Wiley & Sons, pp. 147-174.
2. Rizinski, L. and Mittler, R. (2002) Measuring apoptosis in plant cells. In: Methods in Molecular Biology. Hunana Presss.
3. Shulaev, V. and Mittler, R. (2002) Programmed cell death in plant yeast and bacteria. In: Essentials of Apoptosis. Hunana Press.
4. Cheung, A. and Mittler R. (2002) Programmed cell death in plants. In: When Cells Die II, A Comprehensive Evaluation of Apoptosis and Programmed Cell Death. Z. Zakeri, J.Tilly, R.A. Lockshin (eds.), John Wiley & Sons.
5. Mittler, R. and Zihnskas, B. (2002) Active oxygen species and environmental stress. In: Ecological Research. Elsevier, Amsterdam. In press. Shulaev, V. and Mittler, R. (2002) Future perspectives and methods. In: Programmed Cell Death in Plants. Black-well Publishing.