Las plantas con flores o Angiospermas son el grupo de plantas que ha alcanzado un mayor éxito evolutivo. Gran parte de este éxito reside en los frutos, una adquisición evolutiva clave de este grupo, cuya función es proteger a las semillas en desarrollo y servir como mecanismo de dispersión, para lo que han adoptado una inmensa diversidad morfológica y funcional.

Los frutos también tienen un valor económico muy importante, ya que representan la parte comestible de muchos cultivos, y también son clave para la producción de semillas, aceites y otros productos no comestibles.

El rendimiento y la calidad de los frutos son, por tanto, de gran importancia para la producción agrícola. Por tanto, la mejora de estos aspectos, claves para un agricultura cada vez más eficiente, es fundamental y va a depender de un conocimiento cada vez más profundo de los mecanismos que controlan el desarrollo de diferentes aspectos relacionados con la calidad del fruto, como forma, textura o tamaño.

Nuestro objetivo a largo plazo es entender cómo se dirige la morfogénesis y diferenciación de carpelos (los órganos femeninos de la flor) y frutos, y cuáles son las bases genéticas de su diversidad morfológica y funcional en las Angiospermas. Nos interesa conocer qué genes son los reguladores principales de los procesos que dirigen la formación de sus distintos tejidos y que confieren la forma final a los frutos y cómo las redes genéticas en las que se integran han evolucionado en distintas especies para dar lugar a la increíble diversidad que encontramos en la Naturaleza.

Líneas de investigación

Actualmente estamos desarrollando este trabajo en varias lineas:

• Estudio de las bases genéticas de la morfogénesis del gineceo en la planta modelo Arabidopsis thaliana
• Bases moleculares de la diversidad morfológica de los frutos en Angiospermas, trabajando con varias especies de ranunculáceas, leguminosas y solanales
• Redes genéticas que controlan el mantenimiento de los meristemos reproductivos y la producción de frutos en Arabidopsis y otras especies cultivadas

vistar web del grupo

Irene Martinez-Fernandez, Chloe Fourquin, Donna Lindsay, Ana Berbel, Vicente Balanza, Shaoming Huang, Marion Dalmais, Christine LeSignor, Abdelahafid Bendahmane, Thomas Warkentin, Francisco Madueño, Cristina Ferrandiz (2024) Analysis of pea mutants reveals the conserved role of FRUITFULL controlling the end of flowering and its potential to boost yield. PNAS 121, e2321975121.

Moisés Pérez-Rojas, David Diaz-Ramirez, Clara I. Ortiz Ramírez, RM Galaz-Avalos, VM Loyola-Vargas, Cristina Ferrándiz, MDR Abraham-Juárez, Nayelli Marsch-Martínez (2023) The role of cytokinins during the development of strawberry flowers and receptacles..Plants (Basel) 12:3672

Vicente Balanzà, Paz Merelo, Cristina Ferrándiz (2023) Flowering also has an end: knowns and unknowns of reproductive arrest in monocarpic plants. Journal of Experimental Botany 74:3951-3960

Paz Merelo, Irene González-Cuadra, Cristina Ferrándiz (2022) A cellular analysis of meristem activity at the end of flowering points to cytokinin as a major regulator of proliferative arrest in Arabidopsis. Current Biology 32:749-762

Paz Merelo, Irene González-Cuadra, Cristina Ferrándiz (2022) A cellular analysis of meristem activity at the end of flowering points to cytokinin as a major regulator of proliferative arrest in Arabidopsis. Current Biology 32:749-762

Ludovico Dreni, Cristina Ferrándiz. Tracing the Evolution of the SEPALLATA Subfamily across Angiosperms Associated with Neo- and Sub-Functionalization for Reproductive and Agronomically Relevant Traits. (2022) Plants 11:2934. 

Wanwan Zhu, Liu Yang, Di Wu, Quincai Meng, Xiao Deng, Guoqiang Huang, Jiao Zhang, Xiaofei Chen,Cristina Ferrandiz, Wanqi Liang, Ludovico Dreni, Dabing Zhang (2022) Rice SEPALLATA genes OsMADS5 and OsMADS34 cooperate to limit inflorescence branching by repressing the TERMINAL FLOWER1-like gene RCN4.  New Phytologist 233:1682-1700

David Aguilar-Benítez, Inés Casimiro-Soriguer, Cristina Ferrándiz, Ana M. Torres (2022) Study and QTL mapping of reproductive and morphological traits implicated in the auto fertility of faba bean. BMC Plant Biology 22:175

Patricia Ballester, Maria A Martínez-Godoy, Miguel Ezquerro, Marisa Navarrete-Gómez, Marina Trigueros, Manuel Rodríguez-Concepción, Cristina Ferrándiz. (2021) A transcriptional complex of NGATHA and bHLH transcription factors directs stigma development un Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 33: 3645-57

Wanwan Zhu, Liu Yang, Di Wu, Quincai Meng, Xiao Deng, Guoqiang Huang, Jiao Zhang, Xiaofei Chen,Cristina Ferrandiz, Wanqi Liang, Ludovico Dreni, Dabing Zhang (2021) Rice SEPALLATA genes OsMADS5 and OsMADS34 cooperate to limit inflorescence branching by repressing the TERMINAL FLOWER1-like gene RCN4.  New Phytologist (advanced)

Hector Salazar-Duque, Juan F Alzate, Aura Urrea Trujillo, Cristina Ferrandiz, Natalia Pabon-Mora (2021) Comparative anatomy and genetic bases of fruit development in selected Rubiaceae species (Gentianales). American Journal of Botany 108:1838-60

Pablo Peréz-Mesa, Clara I. Ortíz-Ramírez, Favio González, Cristina Ferrándiz, Natalia Pabón-Mora (2020)
Expression of gynoecium patterning transcription factors Aristolochia fimbriata (Aristolochiaceae) and their contribution to gynostemium development
Evodevo 11:4

Natalia Pabón-Mora, Yesenia Madrigal, Juan F. Alzate, Barbara A.Ambrose, Cristina Ferrándiz, Stephan Wanke, Christoph Neinhuis, Favio Gonzalez (2020)
Class II TCP Gene Evolution in Perianth-bearing Piperales and Their Contribution to the Bilateral Calyx in Aristolochia
New Phytologist 228: 752-769

Pablo Peréz-Mesa, Clara I. Ortíz-Ramírez, Favio González, Cristina Ferrándiz, Natalia Pabón-Mora (2020)
Expression of gynoecium patterning transcription factors Aristolochia fimbriata (Aristolochiaceae) and their contribution to gynostemium development
Evodevo 11:4

Irene Martínez-Fernández, Stefanie Menezes de Moura, Marcio Alves Ferreira, Cristina Ferrandiz, Vicente Balanzà (2020)
Identification of players controling meristem arrest downstream of the FRUITFULL-APETALA2 pathway
Plant Physiology 184:945-59.

Clara Ortiz-Ramirez, Marco A. Giraldo, Cristina Ferrandiz, Natalia Pabon Mora (2019)
Expression and function of the bHLH genes ALCATRAZ and SPATULA in selected Solanaceae species
Plant Journal https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.14352

Cristina Ferrandiz (2019)
Fruit Development: Turning Sticks into Hearts
Current Biology 29, R337-9

Humberto Herrera-Ubaldo, Paulina Lozano-Sotomayor, Ignacio Ezquer, Maurizio di Marzo, Ricardo A Chávez-Montes, Andrea Gómez-Felipe, Jeanneth Pablo-Villa, David Díaz-Ramírez, Patricia Ballester, Cristina Ferrándiz, Martin Sagasser, Lucia Colombo, Nayelli Marsch-Martínez, Stefan de Folter (2019)

New roles of NO TRANSMITTING TRACT and SEEDSTICK during medial domain development in Arabidopsis fruits
Development 146:dev172395
Edelín Roque, Concepción Gómez-Mena, Cristina Ferrándiz, Jose Pio Beltrán, Luis Cañas (2018)

Functional genomics and genetic control of flower and fruit development in Medicago truncatula: An overview
Methods Mol Biol 1822:273-29

Vicente Balanzà, Irene Martínez-Fernández, Shusei Sato, Martin F. Yanofsky, Kerstin Kaufmann, Gerco C Angenent, Marian Bemer, Cristina Ferrándiz (2018)
Genetic control of meristem arrest and life span in Arabidopsis by a FRUITFULL-APETALA2 pathway
Nature Communications 9 doi:10.1038/s41467-018-03067-5 .

Carol Moreau, Julie M. I. Hofer, Morgane Eléouët, Andrey Sinjushin, Mike Ambrose, Kirsten Skøt, Tina Blackmore, Martin Swain, Matthew Hegarty, Vicente Balanzà, Cristina Ferrándiz, T. H. Noel Ellis (2018)
Identification of Stipules reduced, a leaf morphology gene in pea (Pisum sativum).
New Phytologist doi.org/10.1111/nph.15286

Di Wu, Wanqi Liang, Wanwan Zhu, Minjiao Chen, Cristina Ferrandiz, Rachel A Burton, Ludovico dreni, Dabing Zhang (2018)
Loss of LOFSEP transcription factor function converts spikelet to leaf-like structures in rice
Plant Physiology doi:10.1104/pp.17.00704.

Marian Bemer, Hilda van Mourik, Jose M Muiño, Cristina Ferrándiz, Kerstin Kaufmann, Gerco C Angenent (2017)
FRUITFULL controls SAUR10 expression and regulates Arabidopsis growth and architecture
Journal of Experimental Botany doi:10.1093/jxb/erx184.

Stefanie Menezes de Moura, Sinara Artico, Cassio Lima, Sarah Muniz Nardeli, Ana Berbel, Osmundo Brilhante Oliveira-Neto, Maria Fatima Grossi-de-Sa, Cristina Ferrandiz, Francisco Madueño, Marcio Alves-Ferreira (2017)

Functional characterization of AGAMOUS-subfamily members from cotton during reproductive development and in response to plant hormones
Plant reproduction doi:10.1007/s00497-017-0297-yPatricia Ballester, Cristina Ferrandiz (2017)

Shattering fruits: Variations on a dehiscent theme.
Current Opinion in Plant Biology 35: 68-75

J. Irepan Reyes-Olalde, Victor Zúñiga-Mayo, Joanna Serwatowska, Ricardo A. Chavez Montes, Paulina Lozano-Sotomayor, Humberto Herrera-Ubaldo, Karla L. González-Aguilera, Patricia Ballester, Juan José Ripoll, Ignacio Exquer, Dario Paolo, Alexander Heyl, Lucia Colombo, Martin F. Yanofsky, Cristina Ferrándiz, Nayelly Marsch-Martínez, Stefan de Folter (2017)
The bHLH transcription factor SPATULA enables cytokinin signaling, and both activate auxin biosynthesis and transport genes at the medial domain of the gynoecium
PLOS Genetics doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006726

Africa Gomariz-Fernández, Verónica Sánchez-Gerschon, Chloé Fourquin, Cristina Ferrándiz (2017)
The role of SHI/STY/SRS genes in organ growth and carpel development is conserved in the distant eudicot species Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana bentamiana.
Frontiers in Plant Science 8:814

Eduardo Bueso, Jesús Muñoz-Bertomeu, Francisco Campos, Candido Martinez, Carlos Tello, Irene Martinez-Almonacid, Patricia Ballester, Miguel Simón-Moya, Veronique Brunaud, Lynne Yenush, Cristina Ferrandiz, Ramon Serrano. (2016)
Arabidopsis COGWHEEL1 links light perception and gibberellins with seed tolerance to deterioration
Plant J . doi: 10.1111/tpj.13220

Ballester P, Navarrete-Gómez M, Carbonero P, Oñate-Sánchez L, Ferrándiz C (2015)
Leaf expansion in Arabidopsis is controlled by a TCP-NGA regulatory module likely conserved in distantly related species
Physiologia Plantarum 155SI: 21-32

Sussmilch Frances C, Berbel A, Hecht V, Vander Schoor JK, Ferrandiz C, Madueno F, Weller JL (2015)
Pea VEGETATIVE Is an FD Homolog That Is Essential for Flowering and Compound Inflorescence Development
Plant Cell 27: 1046-1060

Wellmer F, Bowman JL, Davies B, Ferrandiz C, Fletcher JC, Franks RG, Graciet E, Gregis V, Ito T, Jack TP, Jiao Y, Kater MM, Ma H, Meyerowitz EM, Prunet N, Riechmann JL (2014)
Flower development: open questions and future directions
Methods Mol Biol 1110: 103-124

Balanza V, Ballester P, Colombo M, Fourquin C, Martinez-Fernandez I, Ferrandiz C (2014)
Genetic and phenotypic analyses of carpel development in Arabidopsis.
Methods in molecular biology 1110: 231-249

Ferrandiz C, Fourquin C (2014)
Role of the FUL-SHP network in the evolution of fruit morphology and function.
Journal of experimental botany 65: 4505-4513

BalanzaV, Martinez-Fernandez I, Ferrandiz C (2014)
Sequential action of FRUITFULL as a modulator of the activity of the floral regulators SVP and SOC1
Journal of Experimental Botany 65: 1193-1203

Fourquin C, Primo A, Martinez-Fernandez I, Huet-Trujillo E, Ferrandiz C (2014)
The CRC orthologue from Pisum sativum shows conserved functions in carpel morphogenesis and vascular development.
Annals of botany 114: 1535-1544

Martinez-Fernandez I, Sanchis S, Marini N, Balanza V, Ballester P, Navarrete-Gomez M, Oliveira AC, Colombo L, Ferrandiz C (2014)
The effect of NGATHA altered activity on auxin signaling pathways within the Arabidopsis gynoecium
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 5: –

Fourquin C ,Ferrandiz C (2014)
The essential role of NGATHA genes in style and stigma specification is widely conserved across eudicots
NEW PHYTOLOGIST 202: 1001-1013

Fourquin C, del Cerro C, Victoria FC, Vialette-Guiraud A, de Oliveira AC, Ferrándiz C (2013)
A change in SHATTERPROOF protein lies at the origin of a fruit morphological novelty and a new strategy for seed dispersal in Medicago genus
Plant Physiology 162: 907-917

Fourquin C, Ferrándiz C (2012)
Functional analyses of AGAMOUS family members in Nicotiana benthamiana clarify the evolution of early and late roles of C-function genes in eudicots
Plant Journal 71: 990-1001

Berbel A, Ferrándiz C, Hecht V, Dalmais M, Lund OS, Sussmilch FC, Taylor SA, Bendahmane A, Ellis TH, Beltrán JP, Weller JL, Madueño F (2012)
VEGETATIVE1 is essential for development of the compound inflorescence in pea
Nature Communications 3: 797

Girin T, Paicu T, Stephenson P, Fuentes S, Körner E, O’Brien M, Sorefan K, Wood TA, Balanzá V, Ferrándiz C, Smyth DR, Ostergaard L (2011)
INDEHISCENT and SPATULA interact to specify carpel and valve margin tissue and thus promote seed dispersal in Arabidopsis
Plant Cell 23: 3641-3653

Ferrándiz C, Fourquin C, Prunet N, Scutt CP, Sundberg E, Trehin C, Aurélie CM, Vialette-Guiraud ACM (2010)
Carpel Development
Advances in Botanical Research 55: 1-74

Benlloch R, Roque E, Ferrandiz C, Cosson V, Caballero MT, Penmetsa RV, Cañas LA, Beltrán JP, Ratet P, Madueño F (2009)
Analysis of B function in legumes: PISTILLATA proteins do not require the PI motif for floral organ development in Medicago truncatula
Plant Journal 60: 102-111

García-Giménez P, García-Maroto F, Garrido-Cardenas JA, Ferrándiz C, Robaina RR (2009)
Differential expression of the ornithine decarboxylase gene during carposporogenesis in the thallus of the red seaweed Grateloupia imbricata (Halymeniaceae)
Journal of Plant Physiology 166: 1745-1754

Scacchi E, Osmont K, Beuchat J, Salinas P, Navarrete-Gómez M, Trigueros M, Ferrándiz C, Hardtke C (2009)
Dynamic, auxin-responsive plasma membrane to nucleus movement of Arabidopsis BRX
Development 136: 2059-2067

Trigueros M, Navarrete-Gómez M, Sato S, Christensen S, Pelaz S, Weigel D, Yanofsky M, Ferrándiz C (2009)
The NGATHA genes direct style development in the Arabidopsis gynoecium
Plant Cell 21: 1394-1409

Alonso-Cantabrana, H, Ripoll J J Ochando I, Vera A, Ferrandiz C, Martinez-Laborda A, Martinez-Laborda A (2007)
Common regulatory networks in leaf and fruit patterning revealed by mutations in the Arabidopsis ASYMMETRIC LEAVES1 gene
Development 134: 2663-2671

Domoney C, Duc G, Ellis THN, Ferrándiz C, Firnhaber C, Gallardo K, Hofer J, Kopka J, Küster H, Madueño F, Munier-Jolain NG, Mayer K, Thompson R, Udvardi M, Salon C (2006)
Genetic and genomic analysis of legume flowers and seeds
Current Opinion in Plant Biology 9: 133-141

Blázquez MA, Ferrándiz C, Madueño F, Parcy F (2006)
How floral meristems are built
Plant Molecular Biology 60: 855-870

Benlloch R, d’Erfurth I, Ferrandiz C, Cosson V, Beltrán JP, Cañas LA, Kondorosi A, Madueño F, Ratet P (2006)
Isolation of mtpim proves Tnt1 a useful reverse genetics tool in Medicago truncatula and uncovers new aspects of AP1-like functions in legumes
Plant Physiology 142: 972-983

Balanzá V, M Navarrete ML, Trigueros M, Ferrándiz C (2006)
Patterning the female side of Arabidopsis. The importance of hormones
Journal of Experimental Botany 57: 3457-69

Ripoll JJ, Ferrándiz C, Martínez-Laborda A, Vera A (2006)
PEPPER, a novel K-homology domain gene, regulates vegetative and gynoecium development in Arabidopsis
Developmental Biology 289: 346-359

Hecht V, Foucher F, Ferrandiz C, Macknight R, Navarro C, Morin J, Vardy ME, Ellis N, Beltran JP, Rameau C, Weller JL (2005)
Conservation of Arabidopsis flowering genes in model legumes domain
Plant Physiology 137: 1420–1434

Berbel A, Navarro C, Ferrándiz C, Cañas LA, Beltrán JP, Madueño F (2005)
Functional conservation of PISTILLATA activity in a pea homolog lacking the PI motif
Plant Physiology 139: 174-185

Roeder A, Ferrándiz C, Yanofsky M (2003)
The Role of the REPLUMLESS Homeodomain Protein in Patterning the Arabidopsis Fruit
Current Biology 13: 1630-1635

Ferrándiz C (2002)
Regulation of fruit dehiscence in Arabidopsis
Journal of Experimental Botany 53: 2031-2038

Cristina Ferrandiz (2019) Fruit Development: Turning Sticks into Hearts. Current Biology 29, R337-9