Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors: Ido Nir

Ido Nir is featured first author of The Tomato DELLA Protein PROCERA Acts in Guard Cells to Promote Stomatal Closure

Current Position: PhD candidate in Plant Sciences at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel

Education: B.Sc. and M.Sc. (direct track to PhD) in Plant Sciences in The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel

Non-scientific Interests: Hiking, reading, skiing, kayaking, music and spending time outdoors with my family and my dogs. I grew-up in a Kibbutz, an agricultural-based community, spending most of my childhood in nature surrounded by wild animals and plants. I have always been interested in plants and was curious about how they grow, flower and set fruit. I was also fascinated by the ways they interact with the environment. It was therefore a natural decision for me to study plant sciences. During my undergraduate studies, I was enthusiastic about plant genetics, molecular biology and physiology. My great interest in these fields spurred me to continue my studies toward a PhD degree. I joined Prof. David Weiss’s lab for my MSc, and later for my PhD research. This lab studies plant hormone signaling and responses using molecular biology, molecular genetics and physiological tools. During my PhD, I explored the effects of reduced GA activity on tomato plant responses to water deficit and the mechanisms behind them. The results show that the central tomato GA signaling suppressor, the DELLA protein PROCERA, increases the sensitivity of guard cells to ABA and promotes stomatal closure and plant tolerance to water deficit. I am now writing my PhD dissertation and have decided to continue my post-doctoral studies abroad.