Plant Functional Genomics

Overview

Our group, Genomics of Plant Stress Laboratory, is hosted by ITQB & iBET.

Plant growth and yield depend much on the environment, which plays a critical role in the expression of plant genetic potential. Environmental (abiotic) stress is a major cause of losses in plant productivity worldwide, wisth resulting economical instability. Our team is particularly interested in the study of the environmental impact on plant growth regulation and on the adaptation strategies that permit some plants to survive the stress. We are using a genomics approach to explain plant stress responses, from the regulation of chromatin structure and epigenetic modifications, to the study of post-translational protein modifications (e.g. SUMOylation) and functional characterization of new players in the transcriptional network regulated by stress.
Our main focus is rice, due to its worldwide importance as food crop and because Portugal is the main rice consumer/capita in the EU, producing 60% of its internal needs. However, we are also studying other plants such as Jatropha curcas, Prunus dulcis (almond), cork oak (Quercus suber) and Arabidopsis thaliana (as a plant model). GPlantS also collaborates with other teams studying several other species.

Group leader: Prof. M. Margarida Oliveira