Seminarios IHSM La Mayora - Antonio Heredia (Universidad de Málaga)

Título: The biophysical design of plant cuticles Abstract The outer surfaces of epidermal cell walls are impregnated with an extracellular matrix called the cuticle. This composite matrix provides several functions at the interface level that enable plants to thrive in different habitats and withstand adverse environmental conditions. The lipid polymer cutin, which is the main constituent of the plant cuticle, has some unique biophysical properties resulting from its composition and structure. This seminar summarizes the progress made towards understanding the biophysical significance of cuticle with special focus on its structural, thermal, biomechanical, hydric, optical and electrical properties and their relationships. The physiological relevance of such biophysical properties will be discussed in light of existing knowledge on the plant cuticle. Biography I am a chemist specialized in physical chemistry. During 1988-89 I worked as post-doc in USA (Michigan State University) where I started to investigate plant biopolymers, in particular the plant cuticle. Currently, I work as a Full Professor at the Departamento de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica in the Universidad de Malaga (UMA) teaching Biophysics and Biochemistry. Since 2012 I am a permanent researcher in the Instituto de Horticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea (IHSM). I have carried out research in the Plant Sciences, Biophysics, Biochemistry and Polymer Science fields. Generally, I have been active in the application of physico-chemical models and techniques to plant biopolymers, working in a multidisciplinary environment. In this sense I have been granted by 16 public and private projects and have supervised 14 PhDs. Five of them currently occupy permanent positions in universities and research centers. Also, as a consequence of my teaching position, I supervised a total of 31 bachelor and master’s thesis. I also have been involved in organizing a special issue on plant cuticle in a high impact factor journal, a conference, and numerous outreach activities related to the topic. My main lines of research have been the physical-chemical characterization and biophysics of the plant cuticle, the study of fruit quality and fruit physiopathies such as cracking and rusetting of fruits, and the molecular mechanism of plant cuticle synthesis. Current research objectives are focused on genetic approaches on fruit cuticle synthesis and breeding and the optical and electrical properties of plant cuticles.