Amir Sagi (; born May 22, 1956) is a professor of life sciences at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, whose field of expertise is crustacean biology, physiology, endocrinology, and functional genomics. He contributed to the study of sexual differentiation, cell growth and aquaculture.
Early life and education Sagi completed his MSc, in oceanography and marine biology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem which marked the start of his interest in crustacean reproduction strategies. and during his PhDSagi, Amir (1989). Anatomical and physiological aspects of morphotypic differentiation in males of the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii and the regulatory role of the androgenic gland – Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 93 pages. Life Sciences Institute, Dept. of Biological Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. he addressed anatomical and physiological aspects of differentiation in prawns, with special attention to the androgenic gland.Sagi, A., Cohen, D. and Y. Milner, 1990. Effect of androgenic gland ablation on morphotypic differentiation and sexual characteristics of male freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii. Gen. Comp. Endocrinol., 77:15–22.
Research and career His postdoctoral training in comparative endocrinology was at the University of Connecticut and the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. under Prof Hans Laufer. Sagi than moved to Ben Gurion University of the Negev (1992) in which he was promoted to the degree of full professor of life sciences (2005), and distinguished professor (since 2018).
He was also president of the International Society for Invertebrate Reproduction and Development (ISIRD) between 2011 and 2013, and held various roles within academic and professional committees such as Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Ben Gurion University of the Negev (2008–2011) and as a board member of the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev.
Sagi's group has discovered the IAG physiological sexual switch,Ardavan Farhadi et al., 2021. The Regulatory Mechanism of Sexual Development in Decapod Crustaceans. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, pp. 1–19 (references in pages 13–18; Citations within the text).Kenji Toyota, 2024. Crustacean endocrinology: Sexual differentiation and potential application for aquaculture. General and Comparative Endocrinology, Vol. 356, September 15, 2024, 114578. and its associated gene expressionMiao M. CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Gene Mutation of EcIAG Leads to Sex Reversal in the Male Ridgetail White Prawn Exopalaemon Carinicauda. Front Endocrinol (Lousanne), November 21, 2023 (references: 1, 17, 20, 22, 24 & 52). in decapods investigating multigenic functions in crustacean reproduction and growth and the establishment of genome editing in prawns using application of CRISPR.
His group established monosex biotechnologies in crustacean culture including the application of temporal RNA interference (RNAi) in the field of aquaculture for all-male culture. Crustacean monosex technologies are applied in Vietnam, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Israel.Phansawat, P., Keetanon, A., Rairat, T., Pichitkul, P., Poldetch, P., & Chuchird, N., 2022. Benefits of Male Monosex Culture of Giant Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii): Improving Growth Performance, Production Yield, and Profitability. Journal of Fisheries and Environment, 46, pp.157–168. He is a co-founder of the all-female culture biotech company Enzootic Ltd.
Prawns are efficient predators thus might serve as sustainable and responsible biocontrol agents over various invasive and pest species.Yingying Wang et al., Efficacy of Giant River Prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii in Controlling the Invasive Snail Pomacea canaliculata: Implications for Ecological Farming. Diversity, 15, September 2023, pp. 1–12 (references: 42, 57 and also 2 recomanded articles). The Sagi lab development of monosex prawn biotechnologies enables the application of responsible, efficient, and non-invasive biocontrol agents in various parts of the world. Hoover et al., 2019. Modelled effects of prawn aquaculture on poverty alleviation and schistosomiasis control. Nature Sustainability 2: 611–620.
Prof. Amir Sagi has received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the ACEEU Asia-Pacific Triple E Awards in Malaysia 2024, recognizing his contributions to aquaculture biotechnology over the past two decades.
Awards and honors
Vice President and Dean of R&D Award for Breakthrough Research (2022)The Vice President of the University and Dean for Research and Development, Prof. Raz Yelinek, were awarded to outstanding researchers in recognition of their scientific achievements during the 2021–2022 academic year. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, June 2, 2022 (in Hebrew) ICA award for leading entrepreneurship in agriculture and biotechnology (2018) The Crustacean Society Excellence in Research Award (2015–16) The Landau Prize for Sciences and Arts (2014) The Global Aquaculture Alliance's inaugural Novus Global Aquaculture Innovation Award (2013) Lily and Sidney Oelbaum Chair in Applied Biochemistry Lifetime Achievement Award at the ACEEU Asia-Pacific Triple E Awards, 2024. Recognition from the Bard Foundation for his contribution to aquaculture and global food security, 2024
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