Latest News
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With equipment of last generation, scientists linked to FAPESP Program for Research on Bioenergy (BIOEN) begin to decipher genome of sugar cane. Read the news Pontapé inicial (Authorship: Agência FAPESP).
Overview
Coordinator: Marcio Silva Filho (click here to see the team)
SUMMARY
In our lab we are interested in two major research areas: 1) intracellular protein trafficking and, 2) plant-herbivore interactions. These topics have been successfully established over the years and we've obtained international recognition for our research. Our contribution to these fields can be seen in international peer-reviewed journals and also as a referee to world-class journals and national/international funding agencies. A Thematic Project that will be merged to the new BIOEN project, based on Plant-herbivore interactions, currently funds intracellular protein trafficking work. Thus, all the aims of the intracellular protein translocation project will be kept but will not be related to the BIOEN initiative. Plant-herbivore interaction is a dynamic system, subjected to continual variation and change. Plants developed different mechanisms to reduce insect attack, including specific responses that activate different metabolic pathways that considerably alter their chemical and physical aspects. On the other hand, insects developed several strategies to overcome plant defense barriers, allowing them to feed, grow and reproduce on their host plants. This project tries to address important aspects of this complex interaction between sugarcane and herbivore insects, by using different approaches, including: 1) characterization of sugarcane response to major insect pests, 2) understanding the molecular adaptive mechanisms of sugarcane pests, 3) high-throughput gene expression analyses of sugarcane proteinase inhibitors (PI) and serine-proteinases (SP) in response to herbivory by the sugarcane borer (Diatraea saccharalis), 4) subcellular localization of PIs and SPs, 5) characterization of the pool of the giant borer Telchin licus licus (Drury) digestive proteinases aiming to block them with the use of proteinase inhibitors, and 6) Use of Physcomitrella patens as a model for understanding plant response to wounding and other organisms. |
Research
Plant-Insect Interactions
In the preset work, plant-insect interaction is investigated as a dynamic system, subjected to continual variation and change. Plants developed different mechanisms to reduce insect attack, including specific responses that activate different metabolic pathways which considerably alter their chemical and physical aspects. On the other hand, insects developed several strategies to overcome plant defense barriers, allowing them to feed, grow and reproduce on their host plants. Our work foccuses on several aspects of this complex interaction between plants and insects, including characterisation of plant defense strategies, isolation of insect-induced sugarcane promoters and finally, the characterisation of insect genes involved in adaptation to plant defenses. |
Publications (last 5 years) |
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