Please join us on November 8th starting at 14:00.
No need to register - just show up in EBI 017.

Diana Filipa Moreira is our guest speaker.

Human nutrition depends on plants, their fruits and seeds, the reproductive units of flowering plants (angiosperms), providing 90% of the world's food energy intake.  Increasing our knowledge on mechanisms behind successful plant reproduction is fundamental to increase reproductive resilience, leading to further reliable crop production and higher yields. In angiosperms, reproduction relies on a series of complex molecular interactions between male (pollen) and female (pistil) tissues in the flower until seed development starts. Arabinogalactan Proteins (AGPs) are a common player in almost all the phases of plant reproduction. AGPs are a large family of proteins highly glycosylated, ubiquitously present in land plants. Glycosylation is an essential stage of AGP biosynthesis since 90% of these proteins are carbohydrates (sugars). For decades the function of AGPs sugar chains remained unknown. This work demonstrates the importance of AGP sugars chains, added by specific enzymes (Hyp-GALTs), towards AGPs biological functions in plant reproduction in Arabidopsis thaliana. D. Moreira is currently working on the RADIANT ‘Realising Dynamic Value Chains for Underutilised Crops’ project at CBQF, continuing the focus on sustainable and resilient agricultural production leading to further reliable crop production and higher yields. RADIANT is a consortium of 29 partners across Europe, dedicated to promoting crop and seed diversification, preserving the environment and agrobiodiversity, and fostering fair economic development through the valorisation of underutilised crops.