Prof. Yariv Brotman

I am a plant scientist interested in how genes shape the chemical diversity of plants and how this diversity influences their biology.

My research began with the genetics of disease resistance in melon during my graduate studies at Bar-Ilan University.

I then worked on beneficial plant–microbe interactions at the Weizmann Institute of Science, followed by postdoctoral research and group leadership at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam.

After holding faculty positions at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, I joined Tel Aviv University in 2024.

Our lab explores how genetic variation shapes plant metabolism and how this chemical diversity influences growth, development and adaptation to environmental changes. We also study the genetic basis of key agricultural traits, including yield in tomato.

We combine mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and lipidomics with genomics, gene expression analysis and functional experiments to identify the genes, enzymes and regulatory mechanisms behind metabolic and agronomic traits. We are particularly interested in using untargeted metabolomics to uncover previously uncharacterized metabolites and integrating chemical and genetic evidence to reveal their structures, biosynthetic origins and biological roles. We also investigate enzyme families that contribute to plant chemical diversity, including the serine carboxypeptidase-like (SCPL) family in tomato.

Working with Arabidopsis and crops including tomato, wheat, maize and rice, we investigate both primary and specialized metabolites, with a particular interest in lipid metabolism. Our goal is to connect genes with chemical diversity and biological function, generating knowledge that can support improvements in crop productivity, resilience and nutritional quality.

Wu S, Zhang Y, Luzarowska U, et al. (2025). The homeostasis of beta-alanine is key for Arabidopsis reproductive growth and development. The Plant Journal. 122(1):e70134. Publication link

Zhang F, Ji B, Wu S, et al. (2025). High-resolution time-series transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling reveals the regulatory mechanism underlying salt tolerance in maize. Genome Biology. 2025;26(1):275. Publication link

Zhang F, Rosental L, Ji B, et al. (2024). Metabolite-mediated adaptation of crops to drought and the acquisition of tolerance. The Plant Journal. 2024;118:626-644. Publication link

Luzarowska U, Ruß AK, Joubès J, et al. (2023). Hello darkness, my old friend: 3-Ketoacyl-Coenzyme A Synthase4 is a branch point in the regulation of triacylglycerol synthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell. 2023 May

29;35(6):1984-2005. Publication link

Vallarino JG, Hong J, Wang S, et al. (2023). Limitations and advantages of using metabolite-based genome-wide association studies: Focus on fruit quality traits. Plant Science 2023 Aug; 333:111748. Publication link

Zhang F, Wu J, Sade N, et al. (2021). Genomic basis underlying the metabolome-mediated drought adaptation of maize. Genome Biology 2021 Sep 6;22(1):260. Publication link

Lapidot-Cohen T, Rosental L, Brotman Y. (2020). Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry-based analysis for lipophilic compound profiling in plants. Current Protocols in Plant Biology 2020 Jun;5(2): e20109. Publication link

Correa SM, Fernie AR, Nikoloski Z, et al. (2020). Towards model-driven characterization and manipulation of plant lipid metabolism. Progress in Lipid Research. 2020;80:101051. Publication link

Wu S, Tohge T, Cuadros-Inostroza Á, et al. (2018). Mapping the Arabidopsis metabolic landscape by untargeted metabolomics at different environmental conditions. Molecular Plant 2018 Jan 8;11(1):118-134. Publication

link

Garbowicz K, Liu Z, Alseekh S, et al. (2018). Quantitative trait loci analysis identifies a prominent gene involved in the production of fatty acid-derived flavor volatiles in tomato. Molecular Plant 2018 Sep 10;11(9):1147-1165. Publication link

Wu S, Alseekh S, Cuadros-Inostroza Á, et al. (2016). Combined use of genome-wide association data and correlation networks unravels key regulators of primary metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana. PLoS genetics 2016 Oct 19;12(10): e1006363. Publication link

Tenenboim H, Brotman Y. (2016). Omic relief for the biotically stressed: metabolomics of plant biotic interactions. Trends in Plant Science. 2016;21(9):781–791. Publication link

Bromke MA, Hochmuth A, Tohge T, et al. (2015). Liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry for fatty acid profiling. The Plant Journal. 2015;81(3):529–536. Publication link

Brotman Y, Landau U, Cuadros-Inostroza Á, et al. (2013). Trichoderma-plant root colonization: escaping early plant defense responses and activation of the antioxidant machinery for saline stress tolerance. PLoS Pathogens. 9(3):e1003221. Publication link

Brotman Y, Landau U, Pnini S, et al. (2012). The LysM receptor-like kinase LysM RLK1 is required to activate defense and abiotic stress responses induced by overexpression of fungal chitinases in Arabidopsis plants. Molecular Plant. 5(5):1113–1124. Publication link

Brotman Y, Viterbo A, Briff E, et al. (2008). Role of swollenin, an expansin-like protein from Trichoderma, in plant root colonization. Plant Physiology. 147(2):779–789. Publication link