Prof. Ariel Kushmaro Profile

Prof. Ariel Kushmaro

Associate Professor

Department :	Department of Biotechnology Engineering
Room :	009 בניין להנדסת ביוטכנולוגיה, ע"ש משפחת גוזיק - 42
Phone :	972-74-7795294 972-74-7795291
Email :	arielkus@bgu.ac.il
Office Hours :

Education

B.Sc. Biology, Tel Aviv University, Israel, 1990.
M.Sc. ( Cum Laude ) in Microbiology. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, 1992.
Name of advisors: Prof. E. Rosenberg and Prof. E. Z. Ron
Title of thesis: Application of bacteria & fertilizer F-1 for treatment of
petroleum contaminated beach sand on the Israeli Mediterranean coast.
Ph.D. ( Cum Laude ), Departments of Zoology and Microbiology, Tel Aviv University, Israel, 1999.
Name of advisors: Prof. Y. Loya and Prof. E. Rosenberg
Title of thesis: Interactions between corals and their associated bacteria.

Research Interests

Research Abstract

Research activity in my lab includes investigation of the diversity and distribution of microorganisms from a variety of environments through approaches based on molecular studies (e.g. 16S rRNA analysis, FISH and DGGE). The research in the lab is aimed at understanding the structure and function of microbial communities and their dynamics with regard to the environment. These investigations include the isolation of bacteria and their study under defined conditions in the laboratory. This includes characterization of the enrichment and pure cultures by nucleic acids analysis. Research projects include; wastewater treatment and bioremediation, discovery of novel antibiotics from cultured and uncultured microorganisms, characterization of microorganisms from coral surfaces and assessing their potential roles in the marine ecosystem. For example, a recent finding in my laboratory points to the important role that sulfur reducing bacteria may play in Black Band disease of Red Sea corals.