Lucía Ramírez

My research centers on the genetics and breeding of higher basidiomycetes. In particular, I am interested in the effect of mobile elements (helitrons) have on the organization of fungal genomes, the capturing and transcription of genes, and on their impact on mushroom yield trait and its components. To investigate these topics, my research uses tools of molecular genetics, genomics, and genetic breeding. I use the white rot edible basidiomycete Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster mushroom) as model system. In my group, we constructed the first genetics linkage maps for this fungus and identified the genome regions (or quantitative trait loci, QTLs) controlling biological (growth rate) and industrial (agronomic productivity) traits. These maps were used as frameworks to carry out the basis for the whole genome sequencing of this fungus performed by scientists at the Joint Genome Institute, in a project coordinated by our Genetics and Microbiology Research Group. The analysis of the relationship between genome structure and the functional mushroom characteristics has raised the question about the impact of mobile elements (helitron elements) in shaping the mushroom genome and their influence on mushroom yield. We have identified and characterized the helitron families in P. ostreatus, studied their evolution and evaluated their impact on gene capture and expression