People

Lital Davidi


Assistant Professor of Biology and Bioengineering
Member of IPHI

📧 l.davidi@northeastern.edu
📍 EXP 530C

Question & Approach

As global food security challenges intensify and climate change threatens agricultural productivity, there is a critical need to understand and enhance iron acquisition in photosynthetic organisms. The Davidi lab addresses this challenge by investigating the molecular and cellular mechanisms of iron homeostasis in extremophilic microalgae, particularly focusing on Dunaliella species that have evolved remarkable resilience to iron-scarce environments. This research is essential as iron deficiency affects both terrestrial crop yields and marine ecosystem productivity, while also contributing to nutritional deficiencies that impact nearly 30% of the global population.

The Davidi lab employs a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach combining genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics with molecular biology and biochemistry techniques to unravel novel iron acquisition pathways. Their strategy focuses on three innovative areas: characterizing transferrin-mediated iron uptake mechanisms in the green lineage, investigating siderophore-mediated iron acquisition systems, and developing synthetic biology approaches to enhance iron uptake for improved crops and marine ecosystem productivity. Using CRISPR-based genetic tools they have developed for Dunaliella, along with advanced molecular techniques such as proximity proteomics and biochemical characterization, the lab aims to translate discoveries about extremophile iron acquisition strategies into practical applications for enhancing food security and ecosystem resilience.

Bio

Dr. Lital Davidi is an Assistant Professor at Northeastern University with a joint appointment between the Department of Biology (75%) and the Department of Bioengineering (25%), and a member of the Institute for the Plant-Human Interface (IPHI). Prior to joining Northeastern, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA, where she worked in the laboratories of Dr. Siobhan Braybrook and Prof. Sabeeha Merchant, investigating iron homeostasis mechanisms in photosynthetic organisms. Her postdoctoral research led to significant breakthroughs in understanding iron acquisition in extremophile microalgae. She previously completed a one-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Weizmann Institute of Science with Prof. Edward Bayer, where she developed innovative designer cellulosome machinery for plant biomass degradation. She earned her Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2014 under the guidance of Prof. Uri Pick, where her research on lipid droplets and β-carotene biosynthesis in Dunaliella. Her earlier education includes an M.Sc. in Biotechnology Engineering from Ben Gurion University under Prof. Shoshana Arad (2008) and a B.Sc. in Biotechnology Engineering (Cum Laude) from the same institution (2005). Throughout her career, she has been awarded prestigious fellowships including the EMBO Long-Term Postdoctoral Fellowship and the Vaadia-BARD Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Key Publications

Davidi L, Gallaher SD, Ben-David E, Purvine SO, Fillmore TL, Nicora CD, et al. Pumping iron: A multi-omics analysis of two extremophilic algae reveals iron economy management. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023;120: e2305495120.

Davidi L, Pick U. Novel 9-cis/all-trans β-carotene isomerases from plastidic oil bodies in Dunaliella bardawil catalyze the conversion of all-trans to 9-cis β-carotene. Plant Cell Rep. 2017;36: 807–814.

Davidi L, Moraïs S, Artzi L, Knop D, Hadar Y, Arfi Y, et al. Toward combined delignification and saccharification of wheat straw by a laccase-containing designer cellulosome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016;113: 10854–10859.

Davidi L, Levin Y, Ben-Dor S, Pick U. Proteome analysis of cytoplasmatic and plastidic β-carotene lipid droplets in Dunaliella bardawil. Plant Physiol. 2015;167: 60–79.

Davidi L, Shimoni E, Khozin-Goldberg I, Zamir A, Pick U. Origin of β-carotene-rich plastoglobuli in Dunaliella bardawil. Plant Physiol. 2014;164: 2139–2156.


Full list of publications on Google Scholar

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