Education
Ph.D., 2004, Plant Sciences, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
M.Sc., 1999, Horticulture, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
B.S., 1997, Agronomy, Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
Professional Employment
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Sao Paulo University, 2004-2006
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, 2006-2009
Assistant Professor, West Virginia University, 2009-present
Courses Taught
GEN726 – Advanced Biochemical Genetics
PLSC550 – Grants and Grantsmanship
Research Interests
Functional Genetics and Genomics
Plant Development and Molecular Physiology
Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Legumes
Hormonal Interactions in Tomato Development
Biochemistry of Membrane Transporters and Transcription Factors
Professional Affiliations
American Society of Plant Biology
Selected Publications
Scientific Publications
26. Benedito VA, Li H, Dai X, Wandrey M, He J, Kaundal R, Torres-Jerez I, Gomez SK, Harrison MJ, Tang Y, Zhao PX, Udvardi MK (2010) Genomic inventory and transcriptional analysis of Medicago truncatula transporters. Plant Physiology 152: 1716-1730
25. Wang M, Benedito VA, Zhao PX, Udvardi MK (2010) Inferring large-scale gene regulatory networks using a novel low-order constraint-based algorithm. Molecular BioSystems 6: 988-998
24. Campos ML, Carvalho RF, Benedito VA, Peres LE (2010) Small and remarkable: The Micro-Tom model system as a tool to discover novel hormonal functions and interactions. Plant & Signaling Behavior 5: 267-270
23. He J*, Benedito VA*, Wang M, Murray JD, Zhao PX, Tang Y, Udvardi MK (2009) MtGEA: the Medicago truncatula Gene Expression Atlas database. BMC Bioinformatics 10: 441
22. Li H, Benedito VA, Udvardi MK, Zhao PX (2009) TransportTP: A two-phase classification approach for membrane transporter prediction and characterization. BMC Bioinformatics 10: 418
21. Libault M, Joshi T, Benedito VA, Xu D, Udvardi MK, Stacey G (2009) Legume transcription factor genes; what makes legumes so special? Plant Physiology 151: 991-1001
20. Campos ML, Almeida M, Rossi ML, Martinelli AP, Litholdo-Junior CG, Figueira, A, Rampelotti-Ferreira FT, Vendramim JD, Benedito VA, Peres LEP (2009) Brassinosteroids interact negatively with jasmonates in the formation of anti-herbivory traits in tomato. Journal of Experimental Botany 60: 4347-4361 (cover)
19. Lima JE, Benedito VA, Figueira A, Peres LE (2009) Callus, shoot and hairy root formation in vitro as affected by the sensitivity to auxin and ethylene in tomato mutants. Plant Cell Reports 28: 1169-1177
18. Coelho CMM, Benedito VA (2008) Seed development and reserve compound accumulation in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Seed Science and Biotechnology 2: 45-52
17. Benedito VA, Torres-Jerez I, Murray J, Andriankaja A, Allen S, Kakar K, Wandrey M, Gallardo K, Thompson R, Ott T, Moreau S, Niebel A, He J, Dai X, Zhao PX, Tang Y, Udvardi MK (2008) A gene expression atlas of the model legume, Medicago truncatula 55: 504-513 (cover)
16. Zsögön A, Lambais MR, Benedito VA, Figueira AVO, Peres LEP (2008) Reduced arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization in tomato ethylene mutants. Scientia Agricola 65: 259-267
15. Frickey T, Benedito VA, Udvardi M, Weiller G (2008) AffyTrees: facilitating comparative analysis of Affymetrix plant microarray chips. Plant Physiology 146: 377-386
14. Benedito VA (2007) Time to crop: jumping from biological models to crop biotechnology. Crop Breeding and Applied Biotechnology 7: 1-10
13. Udvardi MK, Kakar K, Wandrey M, Montanari O, Murray J, Andriankaja A, Zhang JY, Benedito VA, Hofer JMI, Chueng F, Town C (2007) Legume transcription factors: global regulators of plant development and response to the environment. Plant Physiology 144: 538-549
12. Benedito VA, Faria L, Freitas-Astúa J, Figueira A (2007) Genetic Machinery for RNA Silencing and Defense against Viruses in Citrus. Genetics and Molecular Biology 30: 991-996
11. Quecini V, Torres, GAM, Rosa Jr. VE, Gimenes MA, Machado JBM, Figueira A, Benedito V, Targon MLP, Cristofani M (2007) In silico analysis of phytohormone metabolism and communication pathways in citrus transcriptome. Genetics and Molecular Biology 30: 713-733
10. Coelho CMM, Benedito VA, Figueira A, Vitorello V, Azevedo RA (2007) Variation in the enzyme activity and gene expression of myo-inositol-3-phosphate synthase (MIPS) and phytate accumulation during seed development in common bean. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum 29: 265-271
9. Benedito VA, Dai X, He J, Zhao PX, Udvardi MK (2006) Functional Genomics of Legume Nodule Transporters. Functional Plant Biology 33: 731-736
8. Benedito VA, Angenent G, Krens FA (2005) Floral homeotic mutants in lily: double flower and festiva phenotypes. Flowering Newsletter 39: 29-37
7. Benedito VA, Visser PB, Angenent GC, de Vries SC, Krens FA (2005) Transformation of Lilium longiflorum via particle bombardment and generation of herbicide-resistant plants. Crop Breeding and Applied Biotechnology 5: 125-130
6. Benedito VA, Visser PB, van Tuyl JM, Angenent GC, de Vries SC, Krens KA (2004) Ectopic expression of LLAG1, an AGAMOUS homologue from lily (Lilium longiflorum Thunb.) causes floral homeotic modifications in Arabidopsis. Journal of Experimental Botany 55: 1391-1399
5. Benedito VA, Visser PB, Angenent GC, Krens KA (2004) The potential of virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) for speeding up functional characterization of plant genes. Genetics and Molecular Research 3: 323-341
4. Benedito VA, Krens KA (2004) Lilium longiflorum and its molecular floral development: the ABCDE model. Acta Horticulturae 651: 83-89
3. Mendes BMJ, Mourão Filho FAA, Farias PCM, Benedito VA (2001) Citrus somatic hybridization with potential for improved blight and CTV resistance. In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology – Plant 37: 490-495
2. Benedito VA, Mendes BMJ, Mourão Filho FAA (2000) Callus induction, somatic embryogenesis and protoplast isolation from sweet orange varieties. Scientia Agricola 57: 33-38 (in Portuguese, abstract in English)
1. Siqueira DL, Pereira WE, Salomão LCC, Benedito VA (2000) Physicochemical characteristics of ‘Hamlin’ sweet orange fruits in relation to the number of leaves and ringing. Brazilian Journal of Pomology 22: 106-110 (abstract in English)
Book Chapters
4. Faria AP, Fátima A, Benedito VA, Modolo LV (2011) Plant cell culture and transgenic plants: the goldmines for the production of compounds of pharmacological interest. In: Goutam Brahmachari (ed) Bioactive Natural Products – opportunities & challenges in medicinal chemistry.
3. Verdier J, Benedito VA, Udvardi MK (2011) The Medicago truncatula gene expression atlas (MtGEA): A tool for understanding legume seed biology. In: Ganesh K Agrawal & Randeep Rakwal (eds) Seed Development: omics – technologies toward improvement of seed quality and crop yield.
2. Valentine AJ, Benedito VA, Kang Y (2011) Legume nitrogen fixation and soil abiotic stress: from physiology to genomics and beyond. In: Christine Foyer & Hanma Zhang (ed) Nitrogen Metabolism in Plants in the Post-genomic Era – volume 2. Wiley-Blackwell (in press)
1. Benedito VA, Figueira A (2005) Environmental risk of transgenic plants. In: Borem A (ed). Plant Biotechnology. Viçosa University Press (in Portuguese)