Objetivos: estudios de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular en Plantas y su aplicación a problemas biotecnológicos, en las áreas siguientes:

1. Respuesta al estrés salino
2. Maduración de frutos
3. Senescencia de flores
4. Infección de olivo por patógenos fúngicos
5. Marcadores moleculares aplicados a la identificación y mejora

• Berteli F., Corrales E., Guerrero C., Ariza M.J., Pliego F. & Valpuesta V. Salt stress increases ferredoxin-dependent glutamate synthase activity and protein level in the leaves of tomato. Physiol. Plant. 93: 259-264, 1995.
• Valpuesta V., Lange N.E., Guerrero C. & Reid M.S. Up-regulation of a cysteine protease accompanies the ethylene-insensitive senescence of daylily (Hemerocallis) flowers. Plant Molec. Biol. 28: 575-582, 1995.
• El Mansouri I., Mercado J.A., Valpuesta V., López-Aranda J.M., Pliego-Alfaro F. & Quesada M.A. Shoot regeneration and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Fragaria vesca L. Plant Cell Rep. 15: 642-646, 1996.
• Pérez-Rodríguez J. & Valpuesta V. Expression of glutamine synthetase genes during natural senescence of tomato leaves. Physiol. Plant. 97: 576-582, 1996.
• Medina M.I., Botella M.A., Quesada M.A. & Valpuesta V. Expression of a highly basic peroxidase gene in NaCl-adapted tomato cell suspensions. FEBS Lett. 407: 357-360, 1997.
• Medina-Escobar N., Cárdenas J., Valpuesta V., Muñoz-Blanco J. & Caballero J.L. Cloning and characterization of cDNAs from genes differentially expressed during the strawberry fruit ripening process by a MAST-PCR-SBDS method. Anal. Biochem. 248: 288-296, 1997.
• Mercado J.A., Reid M.S., Valpuesta V. & Quesada M.A. Metabolic changes and susceptibility to chilling stress in Capsicum annuum plants grown at suboptimal temperature. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 24: 759-767, 1997
• Guerrero C., de la Calle M., Reid M.S. & Valpuesta V. Analysis of the expression of two thiolprotease genes from daylily (Hemerocallis spp.) during fower senescence. Plant Molec. Biol. 36: 565-571, 1998.
• Moyano, E., Portero-Robles I., Medina-Escobar N., Valpuesta V., Muñoz-Blanco J. & Caballero J.L. A fruit-specific putative dihydroflavonol 4-reductase gene is defferentially expressed in strawberry during the ripening process. Plant Physiol. 117: 711-716, 1998.
• Alba C.M., de Forchetti S.M., Quesada M.A., Valpuesta V. & Tigier, H.A. Localization and general properties of developing peach seed coat and endosperm peroxidase isoenzymes. J. Plant Growth Regul. 17: 7-11, 1998.
• Medina M.I., Quesada M.A., Pliego F., Botella M.A. & Valpuesta V.Expression of the tomato peroxidase gene TPX1 in NaCl-adapted and unadapted suspension cells. Plant Cell Rep. 18: 680-683, 1999.
• Botella MA, Coleman MJ, Hughes DE, Nishimura MT, Jones JDG & Somerville SC. Map positions of 47 Arabidopsis sequences with sequence similarity to disease resistance genes. Plant J. 12:1197-1211, 1999.
• Amaya I., Botella M.A., Calle M., Medina M.I., Heredia A., Bressan R.A., Hasegawa P.M., Quesada M.A. & Valpuesta V.Improved germination under osmotic stress of tobacco plants overexpressing a cell wall peroxidase. FEBS Lett. 457: 80-84, 1999.
• Mansouri I.E., Mercado J.A., Santiago-Doménech N., Pliego-Alfaro F., Valpuesta V. & Quesada M.A. Biochemical and phenotypical characterization of transgenic tomato plants overexpressing a basic peroxidase. Physiol. Plant. 106: 355-362, 1999.
• Botella MA, Parker JE, Frost LE, Bittner-Eddy PD, Beynon JL, Daniels MJ, Holub EB & Jones JDG. Three genes of the Arabidopsis RPP1 complex resistance locus recognize distinct Peronospora parasitica avirulence determinants. Plant Cell 10:1847-1860, 1999.
• Amaya I., Ratcliffe O.J. & Bradley D.J. Expression of CENTRORADIALIS (CEN) and CEN-like genes in tobacco reveals a conserved mechanism controlling phase change in diverse species. Plant Cell 11: 1405-1418, 1999
• Quiroga M., Guerrero C., Botella M.A., Barceló A., Amaya I., Medina M.I., Alonso F.J., Milrad de Forchetti S., Tigier H. & Valpuesta V. A tomato peroxidase involved in the synthesis of lignin and suberin. Plant Physiol. 2000, (En prensa).