Nelson Saibo Lab

	In the Plant Gene Regulation Laboratory we use model and crop plants to study gene regulatory mechanisms underlying plant growth and plant responses to adverse environmental conditions.
	Nelson Saibo Investigador Principal PhD in Science: Biotechnology, 2003, Ghent University (Belgium) Phone (+351) 214469644 Extension 1644 saibo@itqb.unl.pt

Research Interests

Global climate changes and a fast growing world population require higher crop production even under adverse environmental conditions. To achieve this goal, we need plants with improved tolerance to abiotic stress and/or increased photosynthesis efficiency. Since these traits of high agronomic impact are both highly regulated at the transcriptional level, it is crucial to better understand their gene regulatory mechanisms. Using rice as a model to study abiotic stress responses in cereal crops and maize as a highly efficient photosynthetic plant (C4 mechanism ), we have been working on the identification and functional characterization of master transcription factors regulating key genes in abiotic stress responses and photosynthesis performance, associated cis- regulatory elements, and related epigenetic modifications (histone & DNA modifications). We are also interested in studying the function of the small RNAs involved in these mechanisms as well as the function of other key players in the signaling pathways associated with abiotic stress responses and photosynthesis performance. The integrative approach we are using will contribute to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying plant responses to both environmental and developmental cues. The ultimate goal of our research is to identify key players critical to address crop improvement.

Group Members

• Tiago Lourenço, Auxiliary Researcher 
• Pedro Carvalho, Post Doc
• Fredilson Melo, PhD student
• Gonçalo Elias da Silva, PhD student
• Célia Gomes, PhD student
• Catarina Monteiro, PhD student
• Tiziano Cadeddu, PhD student
• Ivan Gonçalves, Research fellow
• Sofia Neves, Research fellow

Selected Publications

1. Carvalho, P., Gomes, C., Gonçalves, I., Lourenço, T.F., Vlad, D., Langdale, J., Saibo, N.J.M. (2024) The bHLH transcription factor OsPRI1 activates the Setaria viridis PEPC1 promoter in rice. New Phytologist, First published 7 February 2024. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19556
2. Borba, AR,  Reyna-Llorens, I, Dickinson, PJ, Steed, G, Gouveia, P, Górska, AM, Gomes, C, Kromdijk, J, Webb, AAR, Saibo, NJM,  and Hibberd, JM. (2023) Compartmentation of photosynthesis gene expression in C4 maize is dependent on time of day. Plant Physiology 193 (4): 2306–2320. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiad447
3. Andrade, L., Lu, Y., Cordeiro, A., Costa, J., Wigge, P.A., Saibo, N.J.M., Jaeger,K.E. (2022) The Evening Complex integrates photoperiod signals to control flowering in rice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 119 (26) e2122582119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2122582119
4. Cordeiro, A., Andrade, L., Monteiro, C.C., Leitão, G., Wigge, P.A., Saibo, N.J.M. (2022) PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORS: a promising tool to improve crop productivity . Journal of Experimental Botany 73: 3881–3897. https://academic.oup.com/jxb/article/73/12/3881/6569348

Laboratory's Website

For further information please visit the GPlantS website

For further information please visit the laboratory's (Plant Gene Regulation) website

Regulação Génica em Plantas (PT)

O crescimento da população mundial, em conjunto com as alterações climáticas previstas, exige um aumento da produção agrícola mesmo em situações ambientais menos favoráveis e sem aumentar a área de cultivo. Este objetivo poderá ser atingido através da obtenção de plantas mais tolerantes a condições ambientais adversas (stress) ou de plantas com uma fotossíntese mais eficiente e por isso mais produtivas. Dado que tanto os mecanismos de resposta das plantas ao stress, como os da fotossíntese são altamente regulados ao nível da expressão dos genes envolvidos, o nosso laboratório tem como principal objetivo estudar como se dá essa regulação, em particular ao nível da transcrição do DNA. Estes estudos estão a ser realizados em duas plantas de cultivo, o arroz que é uma planta altamente sensível a condições ambientais desfavoráveis, nomeadamente frio, secura e salinidade, e o milho que é uma planta muito produtiva por possuir um mecanismo fotossintético altamente eficiente (mecanismo C4). O principal objetivo do laboratório de regulação da expressão génica em plantas é identificar elementos chave que no futuro possam ser utilizados no melhoramento das plantas cultivadas.

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