Photobiology

This research line focuses on how marine plants perceive and respond to environmental light through molecular and physiological mechanisms. In particular, we investigate the functioning of circadian rhythms and photoperiodic responses, which regulate daily and seasonal biological processes. These endogenous clocks allow organisms to align metabolic activity with predictable environmental cycles, optimizing fitness and survival.

We study how global change drivers, such as artificial light pollution, disrupt these natural rhythms, potentially affecting physiological performance and species distribution. By combining transcriptomic analyses, functional genomics, and field-based approaches, we aim to uncover the regulatory networks and gene expression patterns that underlie these responses. A central objective is to characterize the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of circadian clock genes and the metabolic pathways they control.