BIO-293 Horticultural Genetics

Professor of Genetics at the University of Almeria, he has 30 years of experience in teaching and research in the field of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology. He holds a degree in Biological Sciences and a PhD in Sciences from the University of Granada. His pre- and post-doctoral training (1989-1994) was carried out at the UGR and at the University of Reading (UK), respectively, studying the molecular composition and evolution of Bs chromosomes and sex chromosomes in plants.

In 1994 he joined the University of Almeria. Initially he worked on the genetic and molecular control of flowering and floral development of tomato, as well as on the identification of molecular markers linked to genes of agronomic interest in horticultural plants.

In 2003 he created his own research group: Horticultural Genetics, BIO293. Since then he has led several lines of research in Genetics, Genomics, and Cucurbitaceae breeding. The group he leads collaborates with other Spanish and foreign groups, and with different national and international seed companies for the identification and functional and molecular characterization of genes involved in the control of traits of agronomic interest in horticultural species.

They use NGS sequencing and functional and phenomic genomics tools to characterize the molecular pathways that regulate flower and fruit development, postharvest quality and tolerance to cold storage in immature non-climacteric fruits, as well as genetic resistances to biotic and abiotic stresses in zucchini and watermelon.

His scientific production is summarized in the awarding of 4 six-year research periods (last one in 2008-2013), 5 autonomic six-year periods, 82 publications in WoS, 71 of them indexed and 58 in first quartile journals. More than 1,500 citations in WoS (Index h = 23). He has supervised a total of 7 doctoral theses and more than 50 master's and bachelor's degree dissertations.