Teresa Hernández Sotomayor
Centro de Investigacion Cientifica de Yucatan, México
Title: Aluminium toxicity and signal transduction in cell suspensions of Coffea arabica
Biography
Biography: Teresa Hernández Sotomayor
Abstract
Aluminium (Al) is the most abundant metal on Earth’s crust (7% of the all elements). Toxicity due to this metal is widely documented in tropical acid mineral soils and is the major factor limiting over the productivity of crop species. Coffee is one of the most important crops economically worldwide. This crop grows on acid soils where the availability of Al is greater; therefore coffee yield is limited by the toxic effects of this element. We have developed a biological model in which suspension cells of Coffea arabica have been used. We found that aluminium toxicity affect the activity of different enzymes involved in the metabolism of phosphoinositides and other members of the signal transduction pathway associated to them. We also are looking for the effect of salicylic acid and the mechanism of protection in aluminium toxicity on this signal transduction mechanism. An overview of the latest results will be presented.