Ricardo J. G. Pimenta

Post Doctoral Fellow

Research Interests

My research integrates genomics and transcriptomics to advance plant breeding, focusing on disease and pest resistance. I have experience in genetic mapping, transcriptomics, and population genomics, with applications in polyploid crop resistance and breeding. Currently, I am working on the AshforFuture project, deploying omics technologies for the conservation and breeding of common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) for tolerance to ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) in Ireland.

Current Projects

AshforFuture – Breeding Fraxinus excelsior (Common or European ash) for dieback disease tolerance to conserve and re-establish ash on the island of Ireland (DAFM and DAERA funding)
Report a healthy ash tree

Past Projects:

Multiomic approaches for the investigation of resistance to viruses in sugarcane (2018-2024)
Developing broad-spectrum resistance to turnip mosaic virus in rapeseed (2022-2023)
Population genetics and conservation of a tree species of the cerrado and atlantic forest (2017)
Associative transcriptomics and marker validation in plants (2015-2016)
Analysis of the resistance of the Brazilian yellow scorpion Tityus serrulatus to environmental stresses (2013-2015)

Education

Professional Diploma in Research Development – University College Dublin, Ireland (2025-Present)
PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology – Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil, with a year abroad at the University of Warwick, United Kingdom (2018-2024)
BSc in Biological Sciences – Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil, with a year abroad at the University of York, United Kingdom (2013-2017)

Professional Membership

Association of Applied Biologists (2025-Present)

Publications

Pimenta, R.J.G., Aono, A.H., Sforça, D.A., … & de Souza, A. P. (2025). Sugarcane yellow leaf virus impairs the transcriptomic defense response of sugarcane to its new aphid vector Melanaphis sorghi. BMC Plant Biology, 25(1), 1-15.
Martins, M.L.T., Sforça, D.A., Dos Santos, L.P., Pimenta, R.J.G., … & de Souza, A.P. (2024). Identifying candidate genes for sugar accumulation in sugarcane: an integrative approach. BMC Genomics, 25, 1201.
Pimenta, R.J.G., Macleod, K., Babb, R., … & Walsh, J.A. (2023). Genetic variation of turnip yellows virus in arable and vegetable brassica crops, perennial wild brassicas and aphid vectors collected from the plants. Plant Disease, 108(3), 616-623.
Pimenta, R.J.G., Aono, A.H., Burbano, R.C.V., … & de Souza, A.P. (2023). Multiomic investigation of sugarcane mosaic virus resistance in sugarcane. The Crop Journal, 11(6), 1805-1815.
Aono, A.H., Pimenta, R.J.G., Dambroz, C.M.S., … & de Souza, A.P., Pereira, W.A. (2023). Genome-wide characterization of the common bean kinome: catalog and insights into expression patterns and genetic organization. Gene, 855, 147127.
Muniz, A.C., Pimenta, R.J.G., Cruz, M.V., Rodrigues, J., … & Lovato, M.B. (2022). Hybrid zone of a tree in a cerrado/atlantic forest ecotone as a hotspot of genetic diversity and conservation. Ecology and Evolution, 12, e8540.
Aono, A.H., Ferreira, R.C.U., Moraes, A.C.L., Lara, L.A.C., Pimenta, R.J.G., … & de Souza, A.P. (2022). A joint learning approach for genomic prediction in polyploid grasses. Scientific Reports, 12, 12499.
Pimenta, R.J.G., Aono, A.H., Villavicencio, R.C.B., … & de Souza, A.P. (2021). Genome-wide approaches for the identification of markers and genes associated with sugarcane yellow leaf virus resistance. Scientific Reports, 11, 20057.
Aono, A.H., Pimenta, R.J.G., Garcia, A.L.B., … & de Souza, A.P. (2021). The wild sugarcane and sorghum kinomes: insights into evolutionary expansion, diversification and expression patterns. Frontiers in Plant Science, 12, 589.
Aono, A.H., Costa, E.A., Rody, H.V.S., Nagai, J.S., Pimenta, R.J.G., … & Kuroshu, R.M. (2020). Machine learning approaches reveal genomic regions associated with sugarcane brown rust resistance. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1-16.