WORK PERFORMED AT: GENOMICS OF PLANT STRESS LABORATORY Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica Universidade Nova de Lisboa Av. da República 2780-157 Oeiras Portugal SUPERVISORS: Dr. Nelson José Madeira Saibo Auxiliary Investigator at GPlantS laboratory (ITQB-UNL) Prof. M. Margarida Oliveira Head of GPlantS laboratory (ITQB-UNL) Associated Professor with Aggregation at UNL Aos meus pais, por me amarem e ajudarem incondicionalmente. Science and art have that in common that everyday things seem to them new and attractive. Friedrich Nietzsche (15th October 1844 - 25th August 1900) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To Nelson Saibo for being my PhD supervisor, for the help and guidance during all this years, for all the brilliant ideas you gave me and for always “pushing” me to give my best in everything I do. Above all, thank you for allowing me to enter in the science world and to believe in me and in my work. To Prof. Margarida Oliveira for helping me to be a “scientist” (almost). Thank you for accepting me in your lab when I was just another student and for helping me grow up not only “scientifically” but also personally. Moreover, thank you for always find time to guide my work and to give me new ideas for all the problems I encounter. To Ana Paula Santos for the help with the microscope “world”, especially with the confocal “monster”. Thank you for all the advices and for always be available to help. To Lisete Fernandes from IGC for all the help with the “EMSA saga”. If it weren’t for your wonderful advices, for sure it would be even more difficult to finish that part of the work. To Laszlo Bogre from Royal Holloway (University of London) for accepting me in his lab and teaching new techniques that helped me finish my PhD. To Tiago Lourenço for all the fruitful talks during my PhD and for the several ideas that you gave me to overcome the million problems I had during these years. Also thank you for noticing when something was wrong and helping me to find a way out. To Duarte Figueiredo for the “peace” you gave me during these years and for helping me to unstress when everything seemed to fall apart. Also, thank you for giving me the positive side of the “bad” results and for giving me strength to carry on. vii To Pedro Barros for the companionship and the nice insights you gave me. Thank you for always be willing to help. Also, I am really thankful that you have worked with almond all this years, because when we talked about our work problems, I always realized that rice is a fairly easy plant to work with and all my problems may not be that complicated. To André Cordeiro for joining the lab when you did and for always be ready to help whenever needed. If it weren’t for your help I would probably had to work 24h a day to finish this thesis, so thank you for working so hard and for doing all the work the best way possible. To Isabel Abreu for always be available to talk about everything and for helping me realize that my work is actually not that bad. Thank you for making difficult questions that “force” me to think outside the box. To Safina Khan for all the help during my staying in Royal Holloway, not only for guiding me in the lab but also for making me feel welcome and for the nice company and friendship. I’m saving a nice bottle of wine for us to celebrate. To Mafalda Rodrigues for helping me in a million things. From proteins to plants, you always have some great idea. Also, thank you for the companionship during the several long nights that we spent in the lab. To Sónia Negrão for all the “pet-talks” that truly helped me gain more confident in my work. Also for helping me to have a more positive thinking and to keep in mind that one day all the hard work will be worth it. To Diego Almeida for always having a nice topic to talk about that is not related to work. Thank you for helping me “disconnect” from work and for the nice ideas about travelling. viii
Description: