Tomato possesses a significant nutritional value and is one of the most widely consumed crops worldwide.
Among horticultural products, tomato ranks third regarding production volumes and ranks first regarding the processing volumes. According to Eurostat, in 2019, Portugal was the 6th biggest tomato producer in Europe, having a great impact on the Portuguese national economy.
Tomato is a model of climacteric fruit ripening. We are particularly interested in transcription factors as major regulators of gene expression during fruit development and ripening. Currently, we are studying the role of GRAS transcription factors in tomato ripening and defense against Botrytis cinerea.