Recognizing Plant Physiology first authors: Irene Garcia

Irene Garcia, first author of HCN regulates cellular processes through posttranslational modification of proteins by S-cyanylation

Current Position: Distinguished Researcher at the Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Photosynthesis (CSIC-Universidad de Sevilla) Seville, Spain.

Education: PhD in Biological Sciences (University of Seville, Spain).

Non-scientific Interests: Reading, travelling, spreading science and spending time with my three teen kids.

Brief bio: During my PhD I obtained plants resistant to fungal pathogens by expressing a chitinase of Trichoderma harzianum, a biocontrol agent. During that time I gained training in the passionate world of the plant-pathogen interaction, and then I moved to Paris to do a 6-years postdoc stay in gene regulation using filamentous fungi as model organisms. After that, I returned to Seville, Spain, where I recently obtained a permanent position in the CSIC.

In the last decade, my interests have evolved from basic and biotechnological aspects of the plant-pathogen interaction in relation to cysteine to the signaling mechanisms mediated by cysteine and related molecules. Indeed, we have described that besides its toxicity, cyanide has a regulatory role in root hair development and plant-pathogen response. The elucidation of the mechanisms underlying this regulation and the role of cyanide as a gasotransmitter are the objectives of my current research.