The Research Group Mejora Genética de Plantas of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (MGP-UPM) focuses its research on the improvement of cereal crops, especially wheat. The group is made up of researchers with extensive experience in cereal improvement for functional quality, molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics, cytogenetics, plant genetic resources and plant development. Such interdisciplinarity facilitates the development of projects that include a wide range of experimental approaches, such as: field trials, biochemical analyses, molecular analyzes and functional quality tests. The MGP Group is integrated by professors, researchers and technical staff from the Department of Biotechnology-Plant Biology who carry out their research work at the Technical School of Agronomic, Food and Biosystems Engineering (ETSIAAB) and the Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (CBGP, UPM-INIA/CSIC). In addition, a researcher from CRF-INIA participates in the Group. During the last 5 years, the research team has obtained several grants in competitive public calls, within regional (CAM), national (National R&D Plan) and Horizon 2020 (EU) funding programs.

Research lines

• •   Plant breeding for wheat quality
• •   Genetic variability of grass germplasm
• •   Genomics assisted breeding
• •   Functional quality in cereals
• •   Genomic Association (GWAS)

Community Representatives

• •   Elena Benavente
• •   Patricia Giraldo