Recognizing Plant Physiology author Richard Breia

Richard Breia, first author of Plant SWEETs: from sugar transport to plant-pathogen interaction and more unexpected physiological roles

Current Position: Junior Researcher at CBMA, University of Minho

Education: Bachelor in Applied Biology, Master in Plant Molecular Physiology and PhD in Biology

Non-scientific Interests: Guitar, Literature.

Brief bio: Graduated in Applied Biology and a Master in Plant Molecular Physiology I recently finished my PhD in Biology. During my path, I was always fascinated with plant biology. I focused my work in grapevine, a crop with high socioeconomic importance, and I studied different aspects of the grape berry physiology, from its photosynthetic capacities to its complex mechanisms to cope with different stresses such as drought, high irradiance and pathogen attacks. My recent work, that I started during my PhD, is focused on the crucial but so far poorly understood role of less known sugar transporter families during plant-pathogen interactions: SWEET and ERD6l transporters. The key question that arises from these complex interactions is to know if these plant sugar transporters are components of susceptibility or resistance and this question may only be resolved in a case by case basis.