My research lays in the intersection between Ecology, Development and Evolution (eco-evo-devo) of plants
Eco– type of questions
Is the soil microbial community helping the plant?
What is the microbial diversity associated to a focal plant in specific environments ?
Techniques:
Metabarcoding, metatranscriptomic, bacterial transformation (eGFP) and plant inoculation.
…and lots of statistics!
Evo– type of questions
-have the mechanisms allowing interactions evolve across plant lineages?
-Are there any plant evolutionary signals that help explain their ecological and developmental success.
Techniques:
Phylogenetics (combining Eco + Devo results)
Devo– type of questions
-What are the molecular mechanisms mechanisms behind the development of key processes (i.e. roots or fruits)
-Have those mechanisms changed in response to a more diverse soil microbial community?
Techniques:
Comparative transcriptomic; in situ hybridization for gene expression; plant transformation and Genomes.
…I would love to start incorporating spatial transcriptomics!
My research has focused on two fundamental structures for the plant: Roots and Fruits.
Across different lineages of seed plants
Research that extends beyond the laboratory
Laboratory
Sebastiano Nigris 