Prof. Natalia Pabón-Mora
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My main research interests are: Plant Evo-devo, the genetic networks controlling flower and fruit development and the comparative morpho-anatomy of flowers and fruits. Keen to study the unique features of the neotropical flora I established the first Plant Evo Devo lab in Colombia right after my doctoral studies at the City University of New York and the New York Botanical Garden joint program.
Principal investigator
Prof. Favio González
My main research areas are focussed on the systematics, morphology and development in several plant neotropical families of the orders Piperales, Chloranthales, Winterales, Papaverales, Gunnerales, Fabales and Campanulales, as well as in members of the parasitic Apodanthaceae (Cucurbitales) and various New World Santalales. Most of my research is related to the evolution of leaf, inflorescence and floral traits. ​
Principal investigator
People
Valentina Botero Castaño
M.S. student
I am interested in comparative flower and fruit anatomy as well as the genetic basis for flower to fruit transformations in rare angiosperms. For my undergraduate thesis I analyzed the flower to fruit transformation of large and small flowered hemiparasitic Loranthaceae. Most angiosperms have bitegmic ovules, and some groups can reduce the integument number, but there is nothing comparable to the ovular reduction occurring in Santalales lacking all remanants of true integumented ovules and seeds. As morphological reduction processes are usually accompanied by underlying genetic changes that allow only some minimal characteristics needed for survival to be retained, while other less essential ones are eliminated the genetic mechanisms underlying such extreme modifications merits a deeper investigation. For my masters dissertation I am looking forward to assess if ovule reduction in the Loranthaceae has a genetic basis related say for instance to gene loss in those transcription factors linked to integument and nucellus development.
Estefanía Elejalde-Baena
M.S. student
Andrés Hernández Ortega
M.S. student
My primary interests are in the systematics and evolution of angiosperms, especially species with diverse flower morphologies. During my undergraduate studies, I gained experience in floristic and taxonomic research in the tropical forests of the Orinoquia and Colombian Amazon. In my graduate studies, I am exploring the diversification of the genus Aristolochia L. in dry ecosystems of the Neotropics, focusing on the Caribbean basin and dry areas of the Orinoquia. To understand the diversity of species in these ecosystems, I will employ molecular phylogenetics to study some leaf development traits in Aristolochia species, especially those with unclear classifications.
During my undergraduate studies, I focused on identifying transcriptional factors involved in the regulation of floral color synthesis in the holoparasite Pilostyles boyacensis and its host Dalea cuatrecasasii. Currently, in my master’s research, I am analyzing differentially expressed genes in Dalea cuatrecasasii under infection by Pilostyles boyacensis, aiming to understand the molecular interactions between host and parasite. My work contributes to a deeper understanding of plant-parasite relationships and gene expression dynamics in ecological contexts.
Crismer Jinelly Figueroa
Undergraduate student
My undergraduate thesis focuses on understanding how floral color is produced in páramo plants from Colombia. In this project, I use in situ UV–visible–NIR spectrophotometry to measure floral reflectance and combine these data with analyses of the flowers' epidermal microstructure. My goal is to understand how pigments (chromophores) and surface microstructure work together to shape floral color and potentially influence plant–pollinator interactions. This research will generate the first colorimetric and anatomical dataset for páramo flowers, contributing to our understanding of the morphofunctional adaptations of plants in these unique high-Andean ecosystems.
Juan David Galeano
Undergraduate student
My current research focuses on the evolution of the genetic mechanisms that regulate vegetative meristem identity in holoparasitic plants, which have undergone an extreme reduction of their vegetative organs. These plants have largely lost structures such as leaves and functional roots and depend almost entirely on host plants for water, nutrients, and organic compounds. I use bioinformatics, phylogenetic approaches, and experimental analyses to investigate the evolution of the KNOX (KNOTTED1-like homeobox) gene family. These highly conserved transcription factors play a central role in the establishment and maintenance of the shoot apical meristem (SAM), the population of pluripotent cells responsible for continuous shoot growth and the development of aerial organs. My goal is to better understand how these developmental genetic pathways have evolved in plants with such highly modified morphologies.
Ximena Sánchez López
Undergraduate student
I study the anatomy and gland development of high-Andean species of Hypericum, the only genus of the family Hypericaceae within the order Malpighiales, best known for H. perforatum (St. John’s wort), the commercial source of hypericin. In Colombia, 44 species of Hypericum are restricted to subpáramo and páramo ecosystems, where they play key ecological roles in water retention, nutrient cycling, and pollinator attraction. My project focuses on documenting the diversity of leaf and floral anatomy across 25 Hypericum species collected from the Colombian Andes. I am characterizing gland formation, distribution, and elaboration across all aerial organs, as well as anatomical traits related to water retention (such as epidermal papillae, cuticle thickness, and wax crystals), photosynthesis (mesophyll organization), and diagnostic features useful for taxonomy. This work will provide the first comprehensive anatomical descriptions of northern Andean high-mountain Hypericum, a lineage that diversified rapidly during the Andean uplift 3–5 million years ago. In the long term, I aim to relate leaf anatomy to the production of bioactive metabolites in Andean species.