Seed development requires the coordinated growth of genetically different seed tissues (i.e. embryo, endosperm and seed coat) and the implementation of different primary and specialized metabolic pathways (Figure 1). The metabolic routes of the main storage compounds are rather well characterized. Nevertheless, the developmental or environmental regulations and partitioning between the different tissues and metabolic pathways remain to be elucidated.

Our scientific objectives are to 1) characterize the metabolic landscape of seeds from different plant species, 2) to identify the genes that control seed development and primary or specialized metabolisms (e.g. fatty acids and phenylpronanoids) and 3) to elucidate the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved and integrate them in comprehensive gene regulatory networks and seed models.

My main scientific interests and results are described further on the SEEDEV team pages of this website