Theme: The many Facets of chloroplasts – hosted by Dr. Juan Camilo Moreno Beltran.

Abstract:
Biofortification of foodstuffs with health-promoting metabolites such as carotenoids is a powerful tool to fight against hidden hunger. Dietary carotenoids are vitamin A precursors and reduce risk of several chronical diseases. In the last few years, our work unveiled novel molecular mechanisms regulating the levels and activity of carotenoid biosynthetic enzymes and created artificial chromoplasts for improved carotenoid biosynthesis, storage and bioaccessibility. Additionally, we explored the feasibility of moving the production of carotenoids away from plastids. Impact of these strategies on the biofortification of leaves and other green tissues with carotenoids will be presented.

Bio:
Dr. Rodriguez-Concepcion completed his PhD thesis in 1995 at the IATA-CSIC (now IBMCP) in Valencia, Spain. In 1996 he moved to Univ. California at Berkeley, USA, where he developed his interest on isoprenoids as a postdoc. In 1999 he  moved to Univ. Barcelona, Spain, as a senior postdoc, and in 2001 he was granted a "Ramón y Cajal" award to start his independent research line on carotenoids. In 2006 he joined the CRAG in Barcelona as a CSIC Assistant Professor. He was promoted to CSIC Associate Professor in 2010 and to CSIC Full Professor in 2020. In 2021 he moved to IBMCP in Valencia. His work has revealed novel components controlling the metabolic pathways that synthesize carotenoids and related isoprenoids at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels.

Visit the Spring Lecture Series webpage to view the full schedule and learn more about the upcoming lectures.