{"id":70964,"date":"2019-02-17T13:11:11","date_gmt":"2019-02-17T11:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/espores.org\/?p=70964"},"modified":"2026-02-05T13:45:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T11:45:16","slug":"botanist-of-the-month-eva-barreno","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/espores.org\/en\/interviews\/botanist-of-the-month-eva-barreno\/","title":{"rendered":"Botanist of the month: Eva Barreno"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What attracted you to the world of Botany?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To start with, my childhood and youth experiences. I lived in Madrid, but as my mother is from Asturias, we spent four months of the holidays there. I also had a direct relationship with nature, as my uncle El\u00edas was a man who knew the countryside very well and taught me many things. On the other hand, I remember that at my school, which was quite special for the time, with a headmistress trained at the Instituci\u00f3n Libre de Ense\u00f1anza<\/em> (Free Educational Institution), we had to read a biography from a book by Vicens Vives every day. And I got Linnaeus. I wasn’t really a city girl, I was quite used to living with animals and plants, and knowing that plants had names fascinated me forever. Then I went to university and was very lucky to meet a professor like Salvador Rivas-Mart\u00ednez. In my third year of university, when I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do in the world of biology, Salvador introduced me to plant communities and their relationship with their habitat, and I found meaning in the plants we trampled on along the paths, the ones my uncle El\u00edas told me we could pick, the ones that were toxic… That’s when I knew I wanted to be a botanist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1
Parmelia barrenoae<\/em> Divakar, M. C. Molina & A. Crespo, epiphytic on all types of bark, discovered in the Valencian Community, is now known throughout the Northern Hemisphere where it had been confused with P. sulcata<\/em>; it is the basal species of the genus.
On the right, Acarospora hilaris<\/em> (Duf.) Hue (with lobes) parasitized by Acarospora epithallina<\/em> H. Magn. (umbilicate) on iron-rich quartzites (Montes de Toledo), related to many species from the deserts of California and Arizona; it does not exceed the mesomediterranean belt.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You specialise in lichenology, something not well known, in general. Why?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Actually, it also came from my childhood. My grandfather, in Asturias, taught me about them; he knew what lichens were. However, there was a belief that lichens colonised fruit trees, especially plum and apple trees, and that they were bad for the trees. What they didn\u2019t know was that when a tree has fewer leaves, lichens grow and develop more, but because they are heliophiles, not because they kill trees. Much later, on the first field trip Salvador Rivas took us on to Cercedilla, we had to present a herbarium of 450 plants, with only two days of practice! The thing is, the lichens in the pine forests caught my attention, I remembered my grandfather and asked Rivas, who told me: \u2018They are lichens\u2019, something very interesting, but I don’t know anything about them. For whatever reason, I picked them and kept them in a box. The following year, as I got honours in the subject, I was eligible to be an assistant, a student who helped with the practical sessions. And there was Ana Crespo, who had just arrived from the Basque Community and was already studying lichens, like a good Canarian. The thing is, I couldn’t get the cuts right in the practical classes, and I had to learn how to do them so that I could then teach others how to do them in class. As I\u2019m very persistent, I kept trying and trying, and finally I managed to cut them and see what they were made of. From then on, I was hooked on lichens forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2
On the left, fruticose lichens. The dark lichen is Cetraria iberica<\/em> Crespo et Barreno, on sticky rockrose twigs, closely related to a species found on the cold Pacific coast of North America. The light-coloured lichen is Evernia prunastri<\/em> (L.) Ach., with the typical colour provided by usnic acid, one of the most common lichens on the Iberian Peninsula with a certain preference for slightly acidic bark. In the centre of the image is Letharia vulpina<\/em> (L.) Hue, so called because it was used as poison for wolves and foxes, epiphytic on conifer bark in high mountains. Interestingly, this lichen is threatened in Spain by excessive nitrogen deposition; in fact, this photo taken in the summit areas of the Javalambre mountain range (Teruel) would no longer be possible today, as it has practically disappeared. In the photo on the right, Pseudevernia furfuracea<\/em> (L.) Zopf, a preferred epiphyte on high mountain conifers, gives character to the tree trunks and the landscape.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, your PhD was also about lichens.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of course. At that time, I was a \u2018clerk and nuisance\u2019, a title that served to remind us not to think we were superior to our colleagues in the laboratory. Salvador Rivas, who has always had a very modern view of botanical science and had close ties to Kew Gardens, brought us a poster about the relationship between air pollution and lichens when he returned from one of his trips. In Great Britain, they had it all figured out, with meters and correlations, and he told us, \u2018We have to do this here in Madrid, at the Complutense, right now.\u2019 But the only keys to lichens at the time were in German, and no one knew that language. Luckily, Wolf Wildpret, who was German, was able to explain how to break down the words so we could look them up in the dictionary. And later, finally, a book by Ozenda and Clauzade came out in French. With these rudimentary foundations, we took off and realised that we couldn’t assimilate what the British had done, simply because our species were different. Even so, our first work was published in 1977 on the effects of pollution in Madrid (Anales Inst. Bot. Cavanilles<\/em> 34 (1): 71-94). Back then, there were lichens on Complutense Avenue, but today there are none left! Salvador was always ahead of the curve. He wanted us to continue to research because he knew that if we could interpret the lichens, we would be able to provide him with excellent bioindication guidelines to better interpret vegetation and its cartography. And bioclimatology. It was all very intuitive, but they were wonderful joint discoveries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"3
Eva Barreno sampling biological crusts of lichens on Miocene gypsum in the hills of Titulcia (Madrid), where terrestrial lichens coexist on substrates rich in bases, brackish and gypsum, some of which are also found in the Iranian-Turanian steppes. One of the best-developed species is (DD) Diploschistes<\/em> diacapsis<\/em> (Ach.) Lumbsch, which, according to the group’s research, has been shown to act as a microalgae donor for many other species in the community that later become independent. (AP) Acarospora placodiiformis<\/em>; (AN) Acarospora nodulosa<\/em>; (RM) Rhizocarpon malenconnianum<\/em>; (DRM) Diplotomma rivas-martinezii<\/em>. Drawing by Cati Artigues.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That was when I wrote my PhD on terrestrial lichens in the province of Madrid. I completed it very quickly, encouraged by Salvador Rivas-Goday, my teacher’s father, and Conchita S\u00e1ez, Salvador’s wife. They heard me speak at a conference and told me I had to start writing right away, even though I had only been experimenting for a year and a half. So I finished my degree in 1973 and submitted my PhD in December 1975. I became friends with janitors, security guards… I hardly slept, I worked very hard, but I got it done and now I think I did a good job taking into account the resources I had available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How would you summarise your professional career?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I went from field ecology to what I do now, molecular biology and ultrastructures, after physiologically testing the effects of atmospheric pollutants on plants and lichens. Let’s say that everything is very interdisciplinary, because I\u2019ve also worked in physiology and biochemistry. In the end, experimental designs for molecular phylogenies, for the identification of microalgae and other organisms, can produce original results, thanks to my field experience, as I\u2019ve travelled almost the entire northern hemisphere. Many results of molecular studies are published, but the organism is not usually considered as a \u2018holobiont\u2019 and its interrelationships with the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ESQUEMA
The model lichen Ramalina farinacea<\/em> (L.) Ach. in the research of the \u2018Lichen Symbiogenesis team\u2019, on which interdisciplinary studies have been carried out. The coexistence of several species of microalgae in a single lichen thallus was discovered; the genome of the microalgae Trebouxia<\/em> sp. TR9 was isolated and sequenced using HTS techniques from material from El Toro mountain range (Castell\u00f3n), and numerous physiological and biochemical experiments were carried out with the isolated microalgae. It was also discovered that there were numerous colonies of non-photosynthetic bacteria on the cortex that interact (symbiosis) with the hyphae of the mycobiont.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is one of the characteristics of your teams, which are multidisciplinary.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I like to talk about interdisciplinary approaches because we are not disorganised; we have common, inclusive goals. That’s how I’ve always been, and so was my trainer, who tried to learn from others and from other disciplines. He was the one who promoted lichenology in Spain, being an expert in vascular vegetation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"5
GIUV Team: Symbiosis, Diversity and Evolution in Lichens and Plants: Biotechnology and Innovation. Christmas lunch 2017. From left to right: Patricia Moya (molecular biology), Eva Barreno, Pedro Carrrasco (biochemist), Francisco Marco (plant physiologist), Salva Chiva (symbiotic microalgae collection), Ernesto Hinojosa (bioinformatics), Pepe Reig (anatomist), Francisco Garc\u00eda-Breijo (anatomist, UPV), Alfonso Garmendia (ecologist, UPV), Nuria Cebri\u00e1n (Jard\u00ed Bot\u00e0nic University of Valencia) and Isabel Mart\u00ednez-Nieto (bacteria and yeasts). Some members were absent.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"5
GIUV team. Work team, both in the laboratory and in the field, and \u2018motivated new generations\u2019 in Azu\u00e9bar, after sampling in Barranc (ravine) de la Mosquera (Espad\u00e1n mountain range). Cristina Dumitru (intern and completing her Master’s thesis), Salva Chiva (symbiotic microalgae collection and thesis on soil crusts), Arantxa Molins (with Hugo) and Patricia Moya (with Sabina), PhD experts in molecular biology and sampling designs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Which projects do you feel especially proud of?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The truth is that we could say that I\u2019ve had several careers, and in each one there are things that I would like to highlight. If we talk about lichens, one of the best experiences is having participated in the flora of the Sonoran Desert, as well as North America, Baja California, and others. It was an impressive wake-up call, although I didn’t publish much about it because, when I returned from my stays, between classes and limited resources, it was difficult. I\u2019ve postponed it until retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"6
Expedition to the Sequoiadendron giganteum<\/em> forests in California, with Professor Mauro Tretiach (University of Trieste). Study of the flora and vegetation of lichens in the mountains of Itxl\u00e1n de Ju\u00e1rez (Oaxaca, Mexico), with incredible sizes of Usnea<\/em> sp. thalli that are now impossible to find in Europe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Later, as there was hardly any funding for lichenology projects in Spain, I accepted a project from the Regional Ministry of Agriculture that asked me to do some research on the relationship between pollutants and crops. They were beginning to have serious problems, with many losses during transplants from nurseries to fields, and it was clear that something was wrong. So, I got back in touch with Tom Nash from Arizona State University, who had introduced me to the researchers at Riverside who had discovered the effects of ozone on trees, were working on crops and the effects of nitrogen compounds. I learned a lot from my time with them. So, when the Regional Ministry wanted to implement Open-Top Chambers<\/em> (open fumigation chambers), I told them we had to bring in those researchers. And that’s what we did. A variety of melon grown in the Puig area was the one that raised the alarm: it was sensitive to ozone and, in addition, infections penetrated through the roots, which were unprotected from mycorrhizal fungi due to the excess of nitrogen compounds from so much fertiliser. Hence the failures. And we managed to detect it. Thanks to that, we had quite a few projects with the Regional Ministry of Agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"7<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"7b
Sampling for the establishment of a biological network for monitoring and tracking observable damage to pine forests in the Canary Islands, on the island of La Palma, at the entrance to Caldera de Taburiente National Park. In the foreground, Dr Patrick Temple, who, together with Dr Andrej Bytnerowicz (Riverside Forest Firelab, USDA Forest Service), accompanied us in establishing the sampling locations, Arnoldo Santos, Eva Barreno, To\u00f1i Ramos, Juan Carlos Tormo and Patricia P\u00e9rez-Rovira. On the right, Sim\u00f3n Fos and Juan Carlos Tormo collect branches with poles to assess symptoms. Below, the \u2018passive ozone samplers\u2019 that we installed in the forests to confirm the impact of tropospheric ozone on them. They were calibrated at the Iza\u00f1a Observatory (Tenerife). The book Characterisation and classification of plant damage for the establishment of a biological environmental quality network in the pine forests of Tenerife<\/em> (Caracterizaci\u00f3n y tipificaci\u00f3n de da\u00f1os vegetales para el establecimiento de una red biol\u00f3gica de calidad ambiental en los pinares de Tenerife) (Jard\u00ed Bot\u00e0nic de la Universitat Val\u00e8ncia, 1996) was published.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, we also had contracts with Endesa and Unelco, related to the effects of pollution on lichens and plants in Els Ports and Maestrat, and to the deterioration of pine forests in the Canary Islands, which had the same symptoms that I had already seen in the United States. I clearly remember Arnoldo Santos, a friend and an excellent botanist, the best in Macaronesia in my opinion, telling me that I was obsessed with this issue. But I was right, the pine forests were damaged. However, the privatisation of Endesa and other professional factors put an end to these projects. From being a company that financed research, it became nothing. From the biomonitoring carried out in Els Ports, we were left with the book, bound and… unpublished; just now, a Master’s thesis will be presented on the monitoring of the evolution of biodiversity and the symptoms of damage 22 years after the last sampling. The truth is that, having found most of the trees we had marked, it is a shame to see the negative evolution of the habitats and how even then the lichens had warned of the risks. In some areas, we have detected serious losses of ecological value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"8
Biomonitoring carried out in Els Ports and Maestrat (CS, TE) since 1989. Monitoring of the evolution of lichen biodiversity and symptoms of damage in sensitive species, 22 years after the last sampling. Pleurosticta acetabulum<\/em> (Neck.) Elix & Lumbsch, in the centre image, in forests impacted by pollutants (photooxidants and nitrogen deposition), and in the image on the right, in forests with clean air, the thalli show no signs of damage. \/ Photos by Andreu Manzanera.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In short, a bit of everything. The research carried out has been published in high-impact journals. For example, the studies on the physiological effects of photooxidants on Valencian crops are now the most cited in my professional career. But it seems that it\u2019s been decided that no one wants to know more and this type of research is no longer being funded. Together with \u00c1ngeles Calatayud, a researcher at IVIA (Valencian Institute of Agrarian Research), we had begun to test important things, to find palliative measures, substances that wouldn\u2019t harm the environment, so that it wouldn\u2019t always be necessary to use greenhouses to prevent impacts… But one day, without warning, the funding was finished and the 9 OTC (Open-Top Chambers<\/em>) systems and the weather station at the Carcaixent Experimental Station were dismantled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"9
Carcaixent Agricultural Training Centre. Weather station and OTC (Open-Top Chambers) fumigation chambers. Effects of ozone on: lettuce cultivation (Lactuca sativa<\/em> L.) cv. Candele R7<\/em> (left) and nitrogen fertilisation on watermelon cultivation (Citrullus lanatus<\/em> Thumb.) cv. Reina de Corazones<\/em>. Modulated fluorescence PAM-2000 fluorometer to measure the kinetics of the fluorescence emission spectrum after chlorophyll excitation; these analyses can be several orders of magnitude more sensitive than other techniques for investigating the physiological state of plants.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tell us about some of your discoveries.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to my PhD, for example, I found many lichens from Russian Astrakhan and saline soils here, in the Miocene gypsum deposits in the Ebro Valley, in Madrid, Murcia and Almer\u00eda. This was a major breakthrough, as there was no previous record of this. Later, together with Ana Crespo and Gerhard Follmann, we discovered that there were wandering lichens on the Iberian Peninsula. These are lichens that roll along the ground, which in the Bible are called \u2018manna\u2019. And now, in addition, we have found that the algae that form part of these lichens are very special, and we are trying to carry out a joint study with a US team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"10
Wandering lichens (\u2018manna\u2019) of the genus Circinaria<\/em> in the mountains of the Javalambre mountain range (Teruel), with very continental, windy and cold conditions, among the most extreme in Western Europe. Both lichens, when studied using molecular biology techniques, appear to be undescribed species, although morphologically similar to others found in the cold steppes of Asia and North America. The symbiotic microalgae are diverse, with several species coexisting, some of which are going to be described as new species to science. The one on the left is only found on the summit of Javalambre and Mount Olympus in Greece. The one on the right is more widely distributed in the Iberian moors, and in Javalambre it is common to find it fruiting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another important milestone I\u2019m proud of is having discovered that there can be several species of symbiotic microalgae (phycobionts) in the thalli of lichens. This has marked a paradigm shift in lichenology, a turning point in the interpretation of lichen symbiosis. In fact, other well-funded foreign groups have already begun to research on this, but it was us who discovered that there were at least two dominant species of algae in a very common lichen: Ramalina farinacea<\/em>. It took us years to get it accepted for publication. More recently, in 2017, using massive sequencing, we found that there are at least 32 OTUs, of which 27 algae are different Trebouxia<\/em> species. We have studied this lichen from California to the Canary Islands and the Iberian Peninsula, where we\u2019ve always obtained the same result. Trebouxia<\/em> TR9 may predominate in the Canary Islands, and TR1 on the peninsula, but there are always two predominant species and 25 additional ones that are perfectly recognisable from a molecular point of view, as well as other genera. A real mix. And now we are working on the ecological interpretation of this, because there are important questions that we still don\u2019t know how to answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"11
Image of the work published in PLOS ONE<\/a> (trabajo publicado en PLOS ONE) by researchers Eva Barreno, Arantxa Molins and Patricia Moya from the Cavanilles Institute at the University of Valencia, together with Lucia Muggia (University of Trieste) and Fernando Mart\u00ednez-Alberola, in which they explain the discovery of a wide variety of microalgae in lichen thalli. This contribution debunks the old paradigm that lichens are symbiotic associations between a fungus and an alga. \/ University of Valencia (Universitat de Val\u00e8ncia<\/a>).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"12
Tenerife. Masca viewpoint, bordering the sea of clouds, Eva Barreno, Patricia Moya and Arnoldo Santos. Parmotrema pseudotinctorum<\/em>\u00a0 is common in this area (rocks), a lichen in which a new species of microalgae, Trebouxia crespoana<\/em>, has been described. In the Canary Islands, the lichen Ramalina<\/em> farinacea<\/em> is abundant and the dominant microalgae in its populations is Trebouxia<\/em> sp. TR9, a new species whose genome we have sequenced.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"12
Arantxa Molins and Guillermo Salv\u00e1, in La Guancha, carefully collecting thalli of the lichen Ramalina farinacea<\/em>, using poles, gloves and continuous disinfection, with the aim of analysing the symbiotic bacteria. These collections were given to \u00c1ngela Fig\u00e1s Segura for her PhD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Any funny anecdotes to tell us about?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Well, I was working at Arizona State University on a seasonal basis, and Professor Nash asked me to accompany Dr. Bruce Ryan to the Yuma Desert in Arizona, because he had discovered a species of lichen there. I didn’t really want to go, but I agreed because Tom Nash asked me to. Before heading into the desert, I took the opportunity to buy some supplies at the supermarket. I also wore good boots and outdoor clothing, following Professor Rivas-Mart\u00ednez’s advice. My companion, Bruce, bought just enough for the day and wore shoes from a shopping centre. The fact is that the hours went by, we couldn’t find any lichens, and it was getting late. The ecology didn’t seem optimal, so I asked him for more information. That’s when he told me we had to find narrow gorges where one wall cast a shadow on another. I climbed onto the roof of the vehicle, scanned the horizon and saw the only possible place where we could find them. Ryan wanted to go in the opposite direction, so I gave him an ultimatum. In the end, I was right and there they were. But he was so excited that he didn’t notice where he had left the SUV. When we returned from collecting, the car was stuck. I told him not to accelerate, that we had to put rocks under the wheels. I had some similar experience in Do\u00f1ana, but I didn’t have time and he managed to get the car stuck even more. So we took the food and started walking towards a caravan campsite. Unfortunately, there was no one around, and according to Bruce, we couldn’t stay there because if they saw us like that, they might shoot us on the spot. American property, a deeply rooted concept. Although I insisted, he told me that it was best for them to see us walking and looking for help, not looking suspicious, as that would put us in danger. So we kept walking, but we couldn’t find anyone. We had to make decisions about which paths to take, and thanks to applying European hypotheses on vegetation analysis, I was able to make the right ones. Verdi’s operas kept me going, while Bruce only talked about lichens and regretted getting me into such a situation and only speaking English. When we saw a 20-mile sign, he broke down. On the other hand, I was happy because I realised we had followed the right path. Seeing him so down, I decided to give him double his food and we lay down on a piece of plastic to try to sleep and rest. We said goodbye. We didn’t know what was going to happen. It was night-time, it was very cold… And the cold woke us up again. When the sun came up, it was me who broke down. He seemed more rested and was feeling better. We climbed a hill and finally spotted what looked like a motorway. I was already dragging myself along. We saw a van, but I realised it wasn’t going to help us. They gave us water and Doritos. It was a man who was in a hurry because he was an amateur, it had rained and he wanted to see the desert flowers. He wasn’t going to waste time with us. That’s how it was. So he told us how to get there, what we had to do to get someone to pick us up, and went on his way. Finally, we came across another van with a couple travelling in it. They took us to the city, everything typical American, the waitresses, the \u2018leave your weapons here\u2019 sign… We ate and they took us where we had left our car. These were people who helped those who had suffered some kind of accident or difficulty in the desert. They were paid by the USDA Forest Fire Service and didn’t want our money. When I asked them to at least let me send them a gift from Spain, they wrote down their name and address… His name was Barrien, of Basque origin like my paternal family… We were amazed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"13b
Drawing ordered by members of the research team for Eva Barreno\u2019s birthday, made by Araceli Isaac Delso, which faithfully reflects her style of dress, makeup, perennial glasses and many details of her office. According to Barreno, it was a really lovely present.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You have already told us about some interesting people you have met along your professional carrer. Someone else you would like to name?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As I mentioned earlier, Salvador Rivas-Mart\u00ednez is an excellent botanist who, along with Manuel Costa and Jes\u00fas Izco from his team, knows the world’s vegetation like no other. In addition, Lynn Margulis was the person who most influenced my change of perspective. I invited her to give the opening lecture at a conference I was organising, and we became friends. We discussed a lot, and she was passionate about lichens because of their representativeness of her hypotheses on cyclic sectosymbiosis. She postulated that microalgae and bacteria would have a lot to do with lichen symbiosis, but she passed away just before these discoveries were made. With her, I organised the Gaia 2000 conference, at the behest of the then rector of the University of Valencia, Pedro Ruiz, which was attended by the world’s most notable researchers in biogeochemistry. In 2001 or 2002, when I was studying the reactions of crops to ozone, she told me: \u2018Eva, look, lichens are something else. Forget what you’re doing and devote yourself fully to symbiosis\u2019. He was ahead of everything we are now corroborating. From then on, I began to consider other scientific perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"14
With Lynn Margulis at her investiture ceremony as an Honoris Causa Doctor at the University of Valencia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"15
Ceremony of the awarding of the gold medal of the University of Santiago to Professor Jes\u00fas Izco, on the occasion of his retirement. Lunch in his nonour at the Hostal of the Reyes Cat\u00f3licos in Santiago de Compostela: Eva Barreno, Manuel\u00a0Costa, Salvador Rivas\u2010Mart\u00ednez and Ana Crespo. Professor Izco is the editor of the book\u00a0Bot\u00e1nica,\u00a0by McGraw\u2010Hill\u00a0Interamericana (1997 y 2004).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Within the world of lichenology, I was fortunate enough to meet the best, in my opinion: Joseph Poelt, who I learned a lot from. In fact, on my first trip outside Spain, when Franco died and my husband allowed me to leave, my first stop was in the south of France, on an expedition that George Clauzade was also attending. I also learned a very much from Poelt’s disciple, Hannes Hertel. He offered me his home in Munich, where I stayed for almost two months and learned the rigorous methodology of research in lichenology. The truth is that I\u2019ve met many personalities, I\u2019ve been lucky, but I believe these are the most important ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has being a woman affected your professional career?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, I was lucky enough to experience the end of the dictatorship, and everyone was very progressive. That’s why, in the Rivas-Mart\u00ednez team, with Manuel Costa, Jes\u00fas Izco and Ana Crespo, there was no sexism whatsoever, quite the opposite. But I did experience a big shock when I arrived as a professor at the University of Valencia. I think there are some cultural remnants that encourage people to question the role of women, always indirectly, of course. Not long ago, when the University recognised the pioneering female department heads and I was interviewed as one of them, I said that I\u2019d had a hard time and that I\u2019d resigned because I couldn’t stand certain issues. And because of that interview, I was asked to explain myself. Society is what it is, and if there is sexism now, there was also sexism in the 1980s, and it was even worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"16
Recognition ceremony for pioneering women as Department Heads at the University of Valencia. Auditorium of La Nau, 6th<\/sup> June 2018.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You are critical of the educational system.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before, they let me teach, but now they don’t. Now I’m a bit frustrated. For example, before, in Biology, there were specialisations, and in the last two years of the degree, there were homogeneous groups of students, specialisation groups that interacted with each other. In addition, the teachers agreed to coordinate schedules so that we could do stays abroad. I was able to organise botanical campaigns across the Iberian Peninsula and Tenerife. But now the regulations and timetable structures are very inflexible and restrictive. For me, however, it\u2019s essential to be able to go out, see what is being done elsewhere and continuously pass on new things to students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"17
With the students of the Master of Biodiversity and Conservation, in the pine forests with symptoms of damage due to the impact of atmospheric pollutants in the Puerto de San Rafael, G\u00fadar mountain range (Teruel).\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In addition, you have posted part of your knowledge in some educational publications.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Indeed. I contributed to a book called Bot\u00e1nica<\/em> published by McGraw Hill. I was responsible for chapter 9: symbiotic fungi. In the second edition, I also contributed to the chapter on taxonomic characters. The book continues to sell well in Latin America. I also have a book on Lichens in the Muniellos Integral Nature Reserve in Asturias (L\u00edquenes en la Reserva Natural Integral de Muniellos<\/a><\/em>), which is available for free on the University’s website. I put a lot of effort into it, and some of its chapters are taught in both secondary schools and universities. It\u2019s the only book in Spanish with this content, especially the glossary with explanatory drawings, and it has an original dichotomous key. But it\u2019s used more in Latin America. There is also another project, an interactive guide to epiphytic macrolichens in Spain (Gu\u00eda interactiva sobre los macrol\u00edquenes ep\u00edfitos de Espa\u00f1a).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, we have developed two websites with the group’s scientific information and documentation on advances in studies on symbiotic microalgae in lichens: symbiolichen.blogs.uv.es<\/a> and symbioticgreenalgae.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are there students interested in lichenology?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Biology, with the new curricula, a fantastic subject disappeared: Mycology. It attracted interesting and interested students, which is why I\u2019d like to see it reinstated. I want to defend it. If I\u2019m not in contact and don\u2019t have subjects where I can pass on everything I know, I cannot attract students. In the 1980\u2019s, Americans called on Europeans to develop lichenology there, and people went to Arizona to study it. In just a few decades, everything has turned around and they are now the leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, on 3rd<\/sup> and 4th<\/sup> December 2018, we organised the workshop \u2018The Complexity of Lichen Symbiosis: Novel Interdisciplinary approaches from Genomic to Functional perspectives<\/a>\u2019 at the Burjassot campus, funded by the Valencian Regional Government as part of the PROMETEO Project for Excellence in Research. Some of the most prominent European researchers participated in the workshop, which included a half-day session on the practical application of bioinformatics programmes for the analysis of phylogenies, populations, biogeography, etc., designed for master’s and doctoral students. Only three students from Valencia signed up, while fifteen from Germany, Switzerland and other centres in Spain and Portugal participated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"18
Representation of European and American lichenologists involved in the complexity of symbioses and symbiont microalgae in particular, as well as members of our research group. Workshop\u00a0Meeting of the Trebouxia -Working Group\u00a0at Universit\u00e1 di Trieste (Italia), September 2016.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lichens are unknown to society. Why?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For me, the problem lies with the media and publication policies. At the University, they are always on the lookout for our findings, press releases are written and sent out, but the media doesn\u2019t publish them. We managed to sequence the genome of the strawberry tree chloroplast and were hugely successful. It was a plant. We sent them the topic of microalgae diversity in lichen thalli and they didn\u2019t even publish it in what we would consider to be serious media outlets. The yeast research, as it came from America, was published, but our very important discovery wasn\u2019t. The natural world doesn\u2019t seem to interest anyone, not even the most progressive. And I say this as someone who worked for the socialist government in 1983 as Head of Service in the Environment Department of the Ministry of Public Works and Urban Planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"19
Study of the lichen\u00a0Seirophora lacunosa\u00a0(Rupr.) Fr\u00f6d\u00e9n, seriously threatened on the island of Lanzarote with Arnoldo Santos. On the right, below, communities of ornithocoprophyllous lichens (orange) of the genus\u00a0Xanthoria, on limestone cliffs on the island of Dragonera; the dark ones are\u00a0Rocella\u00a0sp. pl. that symbiotic with\u00a0Trentepohliaalgae<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What is your relationship with the Jard\u00ed Bot\u00e0nic of the University of Valencia?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I have a very good relationship with them, and when I take my students there, I have my own guide. I think the Jard\u00ed Bot\u00e0nic offers many possibilities, and I like to take them there and tell them everything within the context of evolution and interrelation with the environment. And in the Anatomy laboratory, I have teamed up with Pepe Reig and Francisco Garc\u00eda-Breijo. I convinced them both to apply what they had learned about plants to lichens, and they work hard on our projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you assess the situation in this sector?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Well, all the people who work with me, who are top-notch doctors hired on a project basis, I don’t know if they\u2019ll have the chance to continue my work once I retire. Unlike what happened with my teachers, who were able to give us opportunities, I can only offer project-based employment contracts. These are projects related to the complexity of lichen symbiosis, yeasts, bacteria, basic knowledge that can be applied to many things, for example in biotechnology, with high added value. But we\u2019re a service and tourism society…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you had as much budget as possible, what would you do?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d set up the deserved interdisciplinary laboratory so that all the results we are achieving now could grow exponentially. People are trained, they have the knowledge, and more staff could be brought in. My team also includes Luc\u00eda Muggia (University of Trieste, Italy), Pavel \u015ckaloud (University of Prague), Cristina Branquinho (University of Lisbon) and Myriam Catal\u00e1 (URJC in Madrid).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"lobaria
Two lichens that serve as bioindicators of the environmental quality of ecosystems, unfortunately now extinct in the Valencian Community. On the left, Lobaria pulmonaria<\/em> (L.) Hoffm., Somiedo Forest (Asturias), was known as \u2018oak lungwort\u2019. It is an excellent bioindicator of the health and balance of forests in general and of the absence of atmospheric pollution. On the right, a community of terrestrial lichens, dominated by Cladonia mediterranea<\/em> Duvign. & des Abb., which can reach spectacular sizes and biomass in the sand dunes of the Sado River Estuary Nature Reserve (Set\u00fabal, Portugal). Eva Barreno collected it, in a smaller size, when she was a student in the dunes of El Saler, right where the sports centre was built. \/ Photo by Pedro Arsenio, Lisbon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"19b
Observing a lichenicolous fungus,\u00a0Cyphelium marcianum, at the summit of the Pina mountain range (Castell\u00f3n).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Are you allergic to any plants?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I’m allergic to mould spores!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What future awaits Botany?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Botany is dying, and biodiversity studies in general are too, as it\u2019s difficult to publish work of this kind in high-impact journals, making it hard to compete. Animals, as I say, squeal and bleed, but plants don’t… So botany is mortally wounded, at least in certain universities in this country, including Valencia; with honourable exceptions, on the whole it is doomed. Although we talk a lot about biodiversity, it is not reflected in reality. Students arrive, in theory from good schools, and know nothing. The little they do know is about biochemistry and genetics. And this is regrettable, because we\u2019ve been leaders in botany in Europe. And molecular biodiversity, without understanding the idea of the holistic whole of the organism, is not enough. It doesn\u2019t provide information about what the organism is and how it relates to the environment, and therefore about all the factors involved in the evolution of living beings and their diversification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which era of Botany would you have liked to live in?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I believe I\u2019ve lived through the golden age of Spanish and European botany. Now it has already changed. That\u2019s why I think I\u2019ve been very lucky, I\u2019m privileged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What attracted you to the world of Botany? To start with, my childhood and youth experiences. I lived in Madrid, but as my mother is from Asturias, we spent four months of the holidays there. 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