Asaph Aharoni

Research Statement

AI generated · Oct 20, 2026

Asaph Aharoni's research centers on plant metabolism, from the SHINE-clade AP2 transcription factors that activate wax biosynthesis and cuticle deposition, conferring drought tolerance, to the FaMYB1 transcription factor's suppression of anthocyanin and flavonol accumulation. His work also maps how plants make flavor and defense compounds, including clustered genes mediating antinutritional alkaloid biosynthesis in Solanaceous crops and the SAAT gene underlying strawberry flavor biogenesis, alongside broader efforts to characterize terpenoid metabolism and volatile ester formation. Beyond these, Aharoni contributed to the woodland strawberry genome assembly and to best-practice guidelines for mass spectrometry-based metabolomics annotation and quantification, both widely cited community resources. His earlier work on genetically engineered terpenoid metabolism that attracts bodyguards to Arabidopsis reflects a sustained interest in how plant chemistry mediates ecological interactions. No software, datasets, patents, or grants are indexed beyond his publications. Taken together, the arc runs from dissecting individual biosynthetic genes and transcription factors toward systems-level metabolomics and genome resources, with collaborators such as Robert Hall helping bridge chemical and genomic approaches.

Most Cited Works

Mass spectrometry-based metabolomics: a guide for annotation, quantification and best reporting practices

Saleh Alseekh, Asaph Aharoni, Yariv Brotman, Kévin Contrepois, John D'Auria, Jan Ewald, Jennifer C Ewald, Paul D Fraser, Patrick Giavalisco, Robert D Hall, Matthias Heinemann, Hannes Link, Jie Luo, Steffen Neumann, Jens Nielsen, Leonardo Perez de Souza, Kazuki Saito, Uwe Sauer, Frank C Schroeder, Stefan Schuster, Gary Siuzdak, Aleksandra Skirycz, Lloyd W Sumner, Michael P Snyder, Huiru Tang, Takayuki Tohge, Yulan Wang, Weiwei Wen, Si Wu, Guowang Xu, Nicola Zamboni, Alisdair R Fernie

Research Areas

Plant biochemistry and biosynthesisPlant Gene Expression AnalysisPlant Molecular Biology ResearchPostharvest Quality and Shelf Life ManagPlant Surface Properties and Treatments

Affiliations & Education

Education

2005–2007
Wageningen University & Research(NL)

Employment

Weizmann Institute of Science Faculty of Biochemistry(IL)

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Sources

Research Statement

Most Cited Works

Mass spectrometry-based metabolomics: a guide for annotation, quantification and best reporting practices

Research Areas

Affiliations & Education

Education

Employment

Plant–microbe interactions in the rhizosphere via a circular metabolic economy

Analysis of wild tomato introgression lines elucidates the genetic basis of transcriptome and metabolome variation underlying fruit traits and pathogen response

A Metabolic Gene Cluster in the Wheat W1 and the Barley Cer-cqu Loci Determines β-Diketone Biosynthesis and Glaucousness

Bacterial virulence against an oceanic bloom-forming phytoplankter is mediated by algal DMSP