The NGCP

The Group of Genetics and Conservation of Plants is linked to the Graduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology, UFRGS (PPGBM), Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Our research focus on genetics and conservation of Neotropical plant species, with main emphasis on the family Bromeliaceae. We use different approaches and tools to resolve issues related to biology, ecology, genetics and evolution of species of this taxonomic group.

The bromeliads are the largest family of plants typical of the New World, with distribution restricted mainly to the Americas. Despite growing demand in the use of bromeliads as ornamental plants, both in Brazil and abroad, there are few effective domestic producers that meet the consumer market, and therefore there is greater demand than supply. Thus, there is a gap that is filled with the illegal trade in bromeliads from the extraction. Moreover, most species occur in the Atlantic Rainforest, one of the biomes with the highest rates of destruction of the planet. For these two reasons, the populations of bromeliads have been destroyed and threatened, with several species in the red list published by the IUCN (The World Conservation Union). Our team is engaged not only in providing data that can contribute to a better understanding of many aspects still unknown for most species of bromeliads, but primarily dedicated to the integration of these data aiming to describe the scenario and status of the natural populations of these plants.

Support