This program aims to contribute to biotechnological developments necessary for the advancement of a society both in the agricultural and environmental fields, bringing together the next scientific objectives:
- To determine the cellular and molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying stress-induced plant cell reprogramming and regeneration, including autophagy, epigenetic and hormonal factors, for crop breeding and propagation.
- Identification and characterization of Arabidopsis LSM proteins, essential components of the spliceosome and decapping machineries, and how they regulate plant responses to abiotic stressors.
- New insights and novel tools for managing arthropods of agricultural and medical importance, including plant-mite interactions and the impact of insecticides on wild pollinators.
- Deciphering plant-virus interactions and the immune response during viral infections in plants.
- To explore and exploit the ability of bacteria to produce and degrade plastic material in order to contribute to sustainability.
- Use of filamentous fungi, microbial consortia, and their enzymes for the conversion of plant biomass into bio-based chemicals, fuels, and materials (bioplastics included) in sustainable and circular industrial processes.
- Use of protein engineering and synthetic biology (directed evolution, computational design, phylogenetic & evolutionary studies) to develop new biocatalysts for green chemistry and to valorize renewable residues in added-value products.
- Understanding bacterial carbon metabolism to transform syngas, a mixture of CO, CO2, and H2 derived from the gasification of organic waste materials, into bioplastics.
- Systems metabolic engineering to design recombinant microorganisms for use as biofactories to convert contaminants such as aromatic compounds and waste into added-value products. Development of sustainable technologies to fix CO2.
- Understanding the biology of lactic acid bacteria to exploit their probiotic potential.