Diego Salazar Amoretti's research examines the mechanisms that forge and maintain the remarkable diversity of plants. Specifically, his research centers around three main themes: Every species must use, overcome or circumvent chemical compounds in order to complete their life cycle. Plants, in particular, face an unparalleled diversity of natural enemies, likely exerting an equally diverse range of evolutionary pressures and ecological challenges. To overcome these challenges, plants are armed with rich and diverse chemical arsenals, a unique chemical fingerprint that reveals much about their evolutionary histories. Salazar Amoretti approaches the study of plant chemistry at the species, community and evolutionary levels, focusing on species-rich plant genera. His work integrates experimental field ecology, analytical chemistry, metabolomics, machine learning and applied phylogenetics, all built on the cornerstone of natural history.
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