Juan Losada
Deland Award Recipient
Ph.D. Candidate
Pomology Department, Aula Dei Experimental Station – CSIC
1300 Centre Street
Boston, MA 02131
Email
I am finishing my doctoral degree on the reproductive biology of Malus under the supervision of Professor María Herrero at the Aula Dei Experimental Station in Zaragoza (Spain), which belongs to the Spanish Council for Scientific Research. My work has mainly concentrated on pollen-pistil interaction from pollination to fertilization, particularly focusing on how secretions from the pistil affect pollen tube behaviour. My attention has been directed to hydroxyprolin rich glycoproteins such as arabinogalactan proteins and extensins. I would like to evaluate if these glycoproteins also play a role in the events following fertilization—and to what extent they are conserved in the Rosaceae—as an approach to search for key common pathways in the reproductive process in flowering plants.