Secondment of Sebastiano Nigris from University of Padova (IT) to the New York Botanical Garden (US) – August-October 2023

From late August to October (2 months) Sebastiano Nigris (University of Padova and Botanical Garden of Padova, IT) traveled to the NYBG (US) to perform in situ hybridization expression analyses in the laboratory of Dr. Barbara Ambrose. Sebastiano assessed the expression of genes known to be important for fruit ripening in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana but for which little is known in members of the ANA grade, like Nymphaea caerulea, the species of interest for his study. With these results it will be possible to better hypothesize the functional evolution of these genes and the impact they may have on the morphological evolution of fruits. He also performed experiments to asses the involvement of development related genes in the gymnosperm Taxus baccata, a plant species that forms interesting fruit-like structures around the ovule. In addition, Sebastiano was invited to present his current work in the weekly science seminars where interesting discussions arose among the attendees, providing different perspectives and feedback on the project.