The MAEC Lab is one of the laboratories of the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Siena . The main line of research is ecological chemistry i.e. the role of chemical interactions between living organisms and their environment and the consequences of these interactions on the behaviour and evolution of the organisms involved. It is therefore a vast and highly interdisciplinary field. The main object of study is the biochemistry of ecology, intended as the identification of specific molecules or groups of molecules that function as signals to start, modulate or terminate a variety of biological processes such as metabolism.

The molecules that cover these roles are generally organic substances of low molecular mass that can easily diffuse and derive from secondary metabolic pathways, but also include peptides.

 

MAEC's activity mainly concerns the development of analytical methods, in particular liquid chromatography with DAD-MS-RI detectors, for the identification of secondary metabolites, peptides and amino acids involved in plant-animal interaction. Particular attention is given to the characterization of the nectar (floral and extra-floral), as a tool for communication between plants and insects.