SYSTEMOL

The SYSTEMOL Group, integrated in the Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacognosy and Botany of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the UCM, was created in 2007. It is led by Prof Ana M. Crespo de Las Casas and at the moment is composed of 15 internal UCM researchers, and 5 external collaborators.
SYSTEMOL has recently attracted another consolidated and competitive UCM group that had been working on different aspects of organism biology and ecology. The current composition thus brings together the most focused line in basic science. The current group aims to exploit the synergies between two fields that are increasingly complementary in studies of organism biology, specifically: (i) biological identification (DNA-barcoding), systematics, molecular phylogeny and evolutionary biology, and (ii) description and interpretation of biodiversity based on the operation of the most extreme terrestrial ecosystems, in Antarctica and sub-Antarctic regions, and also in high mountain and arid zones. The joint objectives recently undertaken between lines (i) and (ii) will allow - among other basic scientific challenges - the following: create robust models that integrate better the evolutionary biology, biogeography and ecology; better models for phylogeny and speciation/adaptation; and better approaches to the biology and evolution of symbiotic organism. Applied aspects can also be addressed specifically: biomonitoring, global climate change prediction and approximations in DNA-barcoding techniques.

Fungi, lichens, plants systematics, molecular phylogeny, DNA-barcoding, bioindicators, ecophysiology, polar biology, Antarctica, biodiversity, climate change, biological crusts.
Metagenomics, phylogenomics, comparative genomics, population genomics
Natural products, bioprospection.
Biogeography, molecular dating
Integrative taxonomy, biodiversity and conservation
Ecological and biomonitoring studies

CV, letter of motivation