Ana Alonso Simón
Centre: Dpto. Bioquímica y Biología Molecular y Celular/IUI BIFI
Institution: University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza (Spain)
Position: Researchers from the University of Zaragoza
E-mail: a.alonso@unizar.es
Phone: 976761284
Profile: Click here
Personal statement
I did my doctoral thesis at the Plant Physiology Laboratory of the University of León, with two stays at the University of Kyoto (Japan). Afterwards, I worked for a year as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), characterizing the cell walls of several plant species and studying their possible use for bioethanol synthesis. After that, I was an associate professor in the area of Plant Physiology at the University of León for 5 academic years. From 2015, I worked as a researcher for the Vine and Wine Research Institute of the University of León and other companies, in order to obtain virus-free plants of grapevine and hops, among other things. In 2021, I joined the Università degli Studi de la Tuscia (Viterbo, Italy), to carry out a study on the influence of possible allelopathic substances released by an invasive plant (Carpobrotus sp.) on the germination of native plants. In September 2022, I joined as Assistant Professor in the area of Plant Physiology at the University of Zaragoza, and in 2023, I joined the BIFI.
Researcher profile identity
I am currently an R3 level researcher. I have joined the research area of gene regulation, physiology and biotechnological applications of cyanobacteria. At the moment, I am investigating the influence of cyanobacteria on the growth of plants subjected to abiotic stresses caused by pesticides (lindane) or heavy metals (copper). We have observed that the presence of cyanobacteria is beneficial for plants to overcome abiotic stress conditions, but the mechanism of this influence needs to be further studied, i.e. whether they sequester stress-causing agents (possible influence of exopolysaccharides synthesized by cyanobacteria), or whether they degrade stress-causing molecules, or whether they synthesize molecules that can stimulate plant growth, such as some phytohormones.
Why my research is important
Plants are the basis of our food supply, as well as the source of numerous other resources, such as chemical compounds used in medicine, textile fibers, fuels (wood or ethanol), compounds that serve as a starting point for synthesis in the chemical industry, and a long etcetera. Crop yields can be reduced by numerous stress factors, many of them caused by humans: for example, the percentage of soils with high copper and other metal contents due to their use as fungicides in various crops is increasing. In this sense, the rhizosphere is being studied as a key factor in enabling plants to overcome various stresses with varying degrees of success, and cyanobacteria are a key component in the composition of microorganisms in the soil that supports plant roots. Therefore, it is key to know how these bacteria can influence plant development.
Know more about me and my research
– https://sideral.unizar.es/sideral/CV/ana-alonso-simon
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-alonso-sim%C3%B3n-a1047818/
– https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ana-Alonso-Simon
– @alosim.bsky.social
