Biography

Mario Serrano’s research line is the characterization of the plant innate immunity to the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea (grey mold), that has been classified as the second most important plant pathogen. The first interaction between the plant and the fungal organism takes place at the epidermis, where not only the plant has the first physical barrier, that includes the plant cuticle in aerial organs, but also where the organisms are recognized and potentially the plant immune responses are triggered. The objective of the project is to identify and characterize of the molecular elements that link the degradation of the cuticle and the induction of the plant innate immunity, using the plant-pathogen system Arabidopsis thaliana-Botrytis cinerea using traditional and chemical genetics.