| GENETICS | Plant Genetics and Biothecnology |
Bioremediation of soil and water for heavy metals and aromatic compounds by means of plants and microalgae
| Characterisation and induction of phenol oxidase activity in plants and microalgae to remediate PHA-containing soils and wastewaters. |
Dissecting anthocyanin pathway
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Analysis of structural genes and transcription factors controlling anthocyanin pathway in potato and grape. |
DNA and transcriptomic markers for food traceability and authentication
| Developments and applications of modern genetics and genomics for the characterization of plant-derived food. |
Genomic studies for heavy metal exclusion in eggplant fruit
| Identification of major genes involved in heavy metal uptake, translocation and accumulation into eggplant fruit by means of qPCR and ICP-MS. |
Identification of mRNAs and miRNAs controlling gene methylation and expression patterns associated to drought tolerance, potato tuber and tomato fruit quality
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Development and use of genomic tools for tomato breeding and identification of gene networks functionally associated to quality traits and methylation patterns. |
Ionomics and modelling of ions accumulation in tomato fruit
| On the basis of gene expression analysis of tomato fruit (RNA-Seq) coupled with their ion content evaluation (ICP-MS), a model of ions homeostasis will be established for food biofortification. |
Metabolic engineering of lipids biosynthesis in microalgae for biodiesel production
| Biosynthetic pathways modification of lipids in microalgae for green energy production. |
Molecular plant-insect interactions
| The research covers different aspects of the interaction between insects with plants including chemical, genetic and molecular analysis, with a broad fundamental or applied focus on the development of novel defense strategies against Aphids and Lepidoptera. |
Multidisciplinary approaches for improving tomato resistance and quality
| Data integration system of genetic, genomic and phenotypic data in order to investigate plant–pathogen systems and to predict models of action for a better identification of quality features. |
Novel genes and molecules active in plant defence
| Increase the understanding of the origin, function, and significance of plant- and pest-derived gene products that mediate interactions within and between organisms and their use through biotechnology. |
Plant genome sequencing
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Generation, sequencing, assembling and cataloguing of data and sequence variations in tomato, Cucurbita and wild potato Solanum commersonii. Analysis of their biological significance and the functional nucleotide polymorphisms. |
Production of bioactive compounds in plant cells
| Development of novel systems for the production of pharmaceuticals in plant cells. |
Tomato epigemomic profiling
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Analysis of DNA methylation and micro RNA in tomato to assess environmental effects on tomato fruit ripening. |
Transcriptomic and metabolomic patterns in olive drupe following Bactrocera oleae infestations
| The research deals with the study of transcriptome and metabolome reprogramming in infested olives. |