4D Life Sciences Seminar

Lucia Colombo is a plant developmental biologist and Professor at the University of Milan, working on the molecular mechanisms that control plant development and reproduction. Her research focuses on understanding how plants establish their reproductive structures and how individual cells acquire distinct identities during development. A particular focus of her group is the development of the female germline and the formation of seeds, investigating how genetic and hormonal signals, including auxin, coordinate developmental decisions in space and time. By combining genetic, molecular, and developmental approaches, her research seeks to uncover how complex plant structures and reproductive systems emerge from the coordinated behaviour of individual cells.

In her talk 'Molecular and genetic regulatory mechanisms controlling female germ line initiation in plants', Lucia Colombo will explore the molecular and genetic mechanisms that control the initiation of the female germ line in plants. She will discuss how developmental signals and regulatory pathways guide cells towards their reproductive fate, and how these processes are coordinated to ensure the proper formation of the female reproductive lineage.