Prof. Alex Sivan

Eductaion:

B.Sc. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Agriculture, Plant Protection Major, Israel, 1981.

M.Sc. (with Honors) Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1982, M.Sc. Thesis: Application of Trichoderma spp. as biocontrol agents of Pythium aphanidermatum. (Adviser Prof. Ilan Chet).

Ph.D. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, 1988, Ph.D. Thesis: Biological control of Fusarium oxysporum by Trichoderma harzianum. (Adviser Prof. Ilan Chet).

Research Interests:

Microbial degradation of plastic wastes. Isolation and utilisation of soil bacteria for degradation of plastic waste materials such as polyethylene, polystyrene and polypropylene.

Microbial biodegradation of concrete used for immobilization of low-level radioactive waste.

Design of monitoring systems that accelerate biodegradation of cement mixtures.

Bioremediation of crude-oil and fuel contaminated soils.

Email: sivan@bgu.ac.il

Publications (last 5 years):

Fisher, M., Bar Nes, G., Zeiri, Y. and Sivan, A. (2008). Effect of silica fume the biodegradation of cement and on immobilization of strontium in cement paste exposed to a continuous culture of Halothiobacillus neapolitanus. Biodegradation 19:321-328.

Wroblewska, M., Sawicka-Grzelak1, A . Marchel., H., Luczak. M. and Sivan, A. (2008). Biofilm production by clinical strains of Acinetobacte r baumannii isolated from patients hospitalised in two tertiary care hospitals Immunology and Medical Microbiology 53:140-144. FEMS

Mor, R. and Sivan, A. (2008) Biofilm formation and partial biodegradation of polystyrene by the Actinomycete Rhodococcus rubber Biodegradaton 19:851-858

Siboni, N., Ben-Dov E., Sivan A. and Kushmaro (2008). A. Global distribution and diversity of coral-associated Archaea and their possible role in the coral holobiont nitrogen cycle. Environmental Microbiology 10: 2979–2990

Siboni, N., Ben-Dov E., Sivan A. and Kushmaro A. (2008). Coral-associated ammonium oxidizing Crenarchaeota and their role in the coral holobiont nitrogen cycle. Proceedings of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Moshe Rabaev Daniela Shapiro Joseph Geva Rephael Fass and Alex Sivan.(2009). Effect of the fuel system icing in hibitor diethylene glycol monomethyl ether on the biodegradation of jet fuel in soil. International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation. (2009) 63: 311-315.

Siboni N, Martinez S, Abelson A, Sivan A and Kushmaro A (2009) Conditioning film and initial biofilm formation on electrochemical CaCO3 deposition on a metallic net in the marine environment. The Journal of Bioadhesion and Biofilm 25:675 – 683

Siboni N, Rasoulouniriana D, Ben Dov E, Kramarsky-Winter E, B, Loya associated with the Massive Coral Favia sp. 57:236-2439.

Shnit-Orland, M., Sivan A. and A. Kushmaro, (2010) Shewanella corallii sp. a marine bacterium isolated from a Red Sea coral. International Jourtnal of Systematic Evolutionary Microbiology 60: 2293 – 2297

Sivan, A. (2011). New perspectives in plastic biodegradation. Current Opinion in Biotechnology. 22(3):422-6. DOI 10.1016/j.copbio.2011.01.0

Siboni N, Ben Dov E, Sivan A. and Kushmaro A. (2012). 64(1):18-24 Geographic specific coral-associated ammonia – oxidizing Archaea in the northern Gulf of Eilat (Red Sea), DOI 10. 1007/O48-o11002.

Santo M., Weitsman R. and Sivan (2012). The Role of the Copper-Binding Enzyme - Laccase - in the Biodegradation of Polyethylene by the Actinomycete Rhodococcus Ruber.

Shnit-Orland, M., Sivan A. and A. Kushmaro. (2012) Antibacterial activity of Pseudoalteromonas in a coral holobiont. Microbial Ecology 3(in press)

Gilan (Or), I. and Sivan A. (2013). The role of proteases in the development of biofilm of the plastic degrading actinomycete Rhodococcus Ruber (in press)