Characterisation of ultrastructural alterations induced by infectious agents and epigenetic effects in plant cells.

One of the major societal challenges of our time is developing mechanisms to feed the expanding human population. Moreover, new threats as pests and pathogens, precipitation, heat-waves and other weather extremes will limit crop yields, most of them accentuated by climatic change. In this proposal, we will study three plant cell systems and the effects, at cellular ultrastructural level, of the alterations induced by both relevant plant pathogens and epigenetic changes derived from cellular stress contexts, aiming to pave the road for new treatments and methods to increase the crop yields.