Drought
Coordinator: Marcelo Menossi
PHYSIOLOGY, MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND BIOTECNOLOGY OF DROUGHT TOLERANCE IN SUGARCANE
The Laboratory of Functional Genomics has a focus on gene discovery associated to agronomical traits in sugarcane. Our major work in sugarcane aims to uncover the plant responses to water stress. We are studying the expression profile of miRNA in sugarcane varieties differing in their ability to withstand drought stress. On the other hand, we are producing transgenic sugarcane plants with altered expression of selected genes that have been shown to be modulated by drought stress. These studies are integrated to the work of other groups that are studying sugarcane physiology, genomics, proteomics and metabolomics. Our group also is working with intellectual property related to biotechnology.
By Francisco José de Almeida Fernandes