Jonathan Gressel (born October 30, 1936 in
Cleveland, Ohio) is an Israeli agricultural scientist and Professor Emeritus at the
Weizmann Institute of Science
The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli unive ...
in
Rehovot, Israel.
Gressel is a "strong proponent of using modern genetic techniques to improve agriculture" especially in third world and developing countries such as
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.
In 2010, Gressel received Israel's highest civilian award,
the
Israel Prize, for his work in
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
Early life
Jonathan Ben Gressel were born on October 30, 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA and immigrated to Israel with his family,
making
aliyah in 1950 at the age of 14.
Education
Gressel completed his secondary education at
Pardes Hanna Agricultural High School
Pardes Hanna Agricultural High School ( he, בית הספר התיכון החקלאי פרדס חנה) established in 1935 by the Palestine Farmers Association, is one of the oldest Agricultural education, agricultural high schools in Israel. It wa ...
in Israel in 1955. He returned to the United States, where he earned his B.Sc. in Plant Sciences at
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
. He then attended the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
where he obtained his master's degree in Botany (Plant Physiology) in 1957, working with
Folke K. Skoog, and his Ph.D. degree in 1962 working with LeRoy G. Holm, Eldon H. Newcomb, and R. H. Burris.
Career
Gressel joined the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, in 1962, working in the biochemistry department.
In 1963 he moved to the Plant Genetics Department (later the Department of Plant and Environmental Science.)
For a number of years, he held the Gilbert de Botton Chair of Plant Sciences.
As of 2005, he became a professor emeritus at the Weizmann Institute.
Gressel has edited several journals, including ''Plant Science'' and others in this field. He has taught classes on
transgenic
A transgene is a gene that has been transferred naturally, or by any of a number of genetic engineering techniques, from one organism to another. The introduction of a transgene, in a process known as transgenesis, has the potential to change the ...
biosafety
Biosafety is the prevention of large-scale loss of biological integrity, focusing both on ecology and human health.
These prevention mechanisms include conduction of regular reviews of the biosafety in laboratory settings, as well as strict guide ...
for the
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in ...
(UNIDO).
Gressel belongs to the
American Society of Plant Biologists
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
, the
International Weed Science Society, and
Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...
.
He is an Honorary member of the
Weed Science Society of America
The Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) is a nonprofit, learned society focused on weed science. It was founded in 1956. The organization promotes research, education, and extension outreach, provides science-based information to the public an ...
. He served as president of the International Weed Science Society from 1997-1999.
In 2008 Jonathan Gressel co-founded the company TransAlgae.
Research
Two-thirds of the food eaten by the human population comes from just four main plant species:
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
,
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
,
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...
, and
soybeans.
Historically, reliance on genetically uniform crops has put the human population at risk for catastrophic crop failures such as the
European Potato Failure
The European Potato Failure was a food crisis caused by potato blight that struck Northern and Western Europe in the mid-1840s. The time is also known as the Hungry Forties. While the crisis produced excess mortality and suffering across the aff ...
and the
Great Famine of Ireland.
Throughout the twentieth century, plant breeding has focused on increasing agricultural productivity, while pesticides and herbicides have been widely used to increase yields. Concerns have arisen about reliance on chemical means of weed control, and the ability of pests and weeds to develop resistance to pesticides and herbicides.
Jonathan Gressel and
Lee Segel developed the first
simulation model for the development of resistance to herbicides, later modifying and expanding it. Their models have been widely used to predict and study the possible evolution of herbicide resistance.
In 1982, Gressel and Homer LeBaron edited the first book to be published on ''Herbicide Resistance in Plants''.
Gressel and Segel's earliest models are relatively simple, and tend to predict pessimistic outcomes for the evolution and management of resistance. Their later models are more complex and suggest a variety of options for managing herbicide resistance.
In 1991, Gressel reported a number of characteristics that tend to be associated with plants that develop herbicide resistance:
1)
Herbaceous annuals
2)
Self-fertile
Self-incompatibility (SI) is a general name for several genetic mechanisms that prevent self-fertilization in sexually reproducing organisms, and thus encourage outcrossing and allogamy. It is contrasted with separation of sexes among individuals ...
3) Found in agricultural habitats
4)
Colonisers
5) High reproductive capacity
6) Complex
genetic variability
Genetic variability is either the presence of, or the generation of, genetic differences.
It is defined as "the formation of individuals differing in genotype, or the presence of genotypically different individuals, in contrast to environmentally i ...
(
polymorphic phenotypes)
Assuming that a heritable variation of a trait occurs in a population, the rate at which it evolves will depend on the mode of inheritance of the traits, and intensity of selection in the population. The rate at which naturally resistant individuals occur in a population varies with plant species. Persistent applications of herbicides can result in recurrent selection, resulting in a shift in the average fitness in the population due to herbicide exposure. Resistant individuals in a population will produce seed for the next generation, while non-resistant individuals do not live to do so. Selection pressure will drive the proportion of resistant individuals in the next generation upward. The rate at which herbicide resistance appears in a weed population will depend on factors such as the initial frequency of resistant individuals, how many individuals in a population are treated, the mode of inheritance of the gene or genes involved, and the nature and extent of herbicide use.
Gressel has extensively studied weed control practices, with particular attention to developing countries where farmers may not have the resources to buy and use expensive herbicides.
Herbicide rotation is one type of management practice that may slow the evolution of herbicide-resistant plants.
In ''Molecular biology of weed control'' (2002) Gressel also reviews possible approaches such as the development of plant species that can produce their own weed-killing
allelochemicals and
the development of insects and plant pathogens that can act as
biological control agents by targeting herbicide-resistant weeds.
In recent years, Gressel has focused on control options for the root parasitic weeds''
Orobanche
''Orobanche'', commonly known as broomrape, is a genus of over 200 species of small parasitic herbaceous plants, mostly native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. It is the type genus of the broomrape family Orobanchaceae.
Description
Broom ...
'' (broomrape)
and ''
Striga
''Striga'', commonly known as witchweed, is a genus of parasitic plants that occur naturally in parts of Africa, Asia, and Australia. It is currently classified in the family Orobanchaceae, although older classifications place it in the Scrophul ...
'' (witchweed).
These weeds are particularly important in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, where they can cause farmers to lose half their potential yield and cause long-term environmental damage. Gressel has developed herbicide-resistant maize seeds coated in pesticide, which are now commercially available in Kenya and Uganda.
Gressel is also known for inventing the
biobarcode. He has proposed the creation of a universal public repository to track ‘biobarcoded’ biological materials. PCR (
polymerase chain reaction
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to rapidly make millions to billions of copies (complete or partial) of a specific DNA sample, allowing scientists to take a very small sample of DNA and amplify it (or a part of it) ...
) based techniques would be used to create, assign and identify
nucleotide sequences
A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases signified by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. By convention, sequences are usu ...
that can be recognized by
universal primers.
There are a variety of reasons to use biobarcodes, including protection of patented organisms, detection of transgenics, and tracking of the dispersal of genetic materials. Gressel suggests that such a system would have benefits to industry, regulators and taxpayers.
Another area of Gressels's research concerns the evolution of
volunteers
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...
(plants that germinate in later years, after a crop has been harvested) and
feral
A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...
plants (derived from crops that have become de-domesticated). Understanding processes in the
domestication
Domestication is a sustained multi-generational relationship in which humans assume a significant degree of control over the reproduction and care of another group of organisms to secure a more predictable supply of resources from that group. ...
and de-domestication of crops is particularly important as scientists develop and commercialize
transgenic crops. In 2005, Gressel edited ''Crop ferality and volunteerism'', the first book published on the topic.
In 2008, Gressel published ''Genetic Glass Ceilings: Transgenics for Crop Biodiversity'', a careful, detailed, and passionate examination of the possible application of plant sciences such as molecular biology and transgenics to worldwide agricultural policies. He discusses the limitations and possible genetic modification of fourteen underutilised crops. He describes ways in which plant sciences could be used to expand biodiversity, address agricultural problems, and protect the environment.
In 2008 Jonathan Gressel co-founded TransAlgae, with his son, Noam Gressel and others. His goal was to develop genetically modified algae for growth in customized indoor and outdoor reactors that would be resistant to colonization and take-over by other types of algae and bacteria. The genetically designed algae, along with its optimal medium and growing system, could be specialized for a particular partner. To address limitations in water availability, the systems are designed to work with either fresh water or sea water. In the event of an accidental release, the algae were designed to die within a few hours, to prevent their escape into the wild.
Possible applications of specialized algae include feedstocks for
biofuels,
animal feed, and drug delivery.
Gressel has applied for or received at least 21 patents.
Awards
* 2010, Gressel received Israel's highest civilian award, the
Israel Prize in the category of
Agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
for "breakthrough studies in the molecular mechanisms that allow the extermination of weeds in agriculture."
* 2008, Outstanding International Achievement award, International Weed Science Society
* 2007, Honorary Award, Weed Science Society of Israel
* 1992, Honorary Fellow,
Weed Science Society of America
The Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) is a nonprofit, learned society focused on weed science. It was founded in 1956. The organization promotes research, education, and extension outreach, provides science-based information to the public an ...
* 1979, Cohen Award in Plant Protection, Israel Agricultural Research Organization, for work on cellular and mathematical models for studying herbicide effects (with Dr. S. Zilkah)
* 1967, Sarah Leedy Award for Outstanding Young Scientist, Weizmann Institute of Science
Publications
Gressel has published more than 300 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and eight books. His ''Herbicide resistance in plants'' (1982)
and ''Crop ferality and volunteerism'' (2005) are the first books on those topics.
Books
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Papers
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gressel, Jonathan
1936 births
Living people
Plant physiologists
Israeli scientists
Israeli agronomists
Israel Prize in agriculture recipients