MCB Seminar: Two stories on the importance of using natural genetic diversity for the study of plant specialized metabolism

Dr. Eliana Gonzales-Vigil, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto-Scarborough, will present "Two stories on the importance of using natural genetic diversity for the study of plant specialized metabolism."

Plants are sessile organisms that must defend themselves against multiple environmental stressors without the ability to move. Instead, part of their defence relies on an intricate chemical language composed of specialized metabolites, which play crucial roles in ecological interactions, for example deterring invading insects or sealing plant tissues to reduce water loss.

Understanding the function of specialized metabolites requires identifying species with diverse ecological preferences. Solanum and Populus each comprise complexes of closely related species that have colonized varied environments under unique selective pressures. This diversity is evident in the morphological and chemical variation present in both genera. Their natural histories make them ideal study systems for interrogating the function and biochemistry of specialized metabolites.

In this seminar, two examples will be highlighted: 1) the striking terpene diversity in trichomes of wild tomato species and its role in insect defence, and 2) the variation in alkene deposition on the cuticular waxes of North American poplar species.

Biography: Dr. Gonzales-Vigil is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto in Scarborough working on Functional Genomics of Plant Specialized Metabolism. Originally from Peru, she obtained her BSc in Biology at the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. A Fulbright scholarship took her to the Plant Research Laboratories at Michigan State University to pursue a PhD under the supervision of Dr. Gregg Howe studying tomato-insect interactions. She then did a postdoc with Dr. Cornelius Barry investigating specialized metabolites produced by wild tomatoes, before moving to the laboratory of Dr. Shawn Mansfield at the University of British Columbia, where she started working on the cuticular waxes of poplars.

All are welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be served.