Inference of Longevity-Related Genes from a Robust Coexpression Network of Seed Maturation Identifies Regulators Linking Seed Storability to Biotic Defense-Related Pathways

Author Profile

Karima Righetti

Current Position: Researcher at the Research Institute of Horticulture and Seeds, Angers, France.

Education: M.S. (2006) in Molecular Biology at the University of Roma Tre, Italy; PhD (2010) at the Center for Biomolecular Sciences, Nottingham, UK.

Non-scientific Interests: Scuba diving, kin ball, reading.

I was born in San Martin de Los Andes in Argentina surrounded by the majestic nature of Patagonia. Very early I discovered a great curiosity for nature and when my brother gave me a microscope I understood that I wanted to become a biologist. After completing a MS in Molecular Biology in Rome, I continued my graduate research at Nottingham University working on the bacteria communication system called quorum sensing. As a side project I had the chance to collaborate with the Computer Science department and to interact with plant scientists. It was then that I realized I had a great interest in the area of bioinformatics and that I was attracted by the idea of applying my molecular biology skills to improve crop quality. With this idea in mind I leapt at the opportunity to work in the team of Dr. Julia Buitink, on the understanding of mechanisms involved on the acquisition of seed storability, an important agro-economical trait. The generation of a vast expression dataset and the application of a bioinformatics approach, allowed us to construct a co-expression network describing seed maturation and to contribute to the understanding of seed survival after extended storage.