There are 9 of us in the group, with researchers, technical staff and trainee staff, all associated with the HTS for Agronomy, Food and Biosystems Engineering at the UPM. We have worked together for more than 10 years on the study and conservation of plant germplasm and were officially made into a Research Group in 2015. Some of us also participate in the Educational Innovation Group EI in Biodiversity and Plant Biology.
Site card
PLANGER Plant Germplasm
PLANGER
Structure: Research Groups
The main aim of our research is the study and conservation (in situ and ex situ) of plant diversity and, in particular, plant germplasm (a set of genes found in the various plant organs). We address this aim starting from knowledge about taxonomic, morphological and evolutionary aspects up to studying the plants in their natural habitat. To achieve this aim, our main lines of research are as follows:
- Ecophysiology of seed germination and dormancy
- Plant cryoconservation
- Plant taxonomy and morphology
- Cultivation in vitro and molecular markers
- Seed longevity
- Experiment design and statistical analysis
- Plant evolutionary patterns and conservation
- Ecophysiology of germination and seed dormancy
- Effect of
- plastic
- pollution
- (micro- and
- nano-) on
- plant
- development
- In vitro culture and molecular markers
- Mathematical models for natural resource management
- null
- Plant cryopreservation
- Plant evolutionary patterns and conservation
- Plant taxonomy and morphology
- Seed Longevity
The group's work is carried out within research projects, the majority of which have public funding. Within these projects, procedures have been developed for germinating seeds from different wild species and an assessment made of the effect of seed conservation conditions on their longevity, while also studying the volatile compounds that are indicators of their possible degradation. On the other hand, using molecular markers, the possible genetic drift in the multiplication of saved seeds has been determined. Cultivation in vitro and cryoconservation techniques offer alternatives for developing efficient conservation procedures, particularly in the case of species with vegetative propagation. Cryoconservation protocols have been developed for different species, with a particular emphasis on the genetic and epigenetic stability of the material recovered. Molecular markers have also been used in phylogeny studies with wild species.
Our group has trained students (for end of course projects and doctoral theses) and hosted researchers from other groups and countries (Portugal, Brazil and Algeria, etc.). We currently collaborate with groups from other institutions: CRF- INIA, CIB-CSIC, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department UCM, IPK (Germany), NCGRP Fort Collins (USA), Botanic Gardens Kew (United Kingdom), etc.
