Melinka Alonso Butenko

Melinka Alonso Butenko is a Professor in the Section for Genetics and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Oslo's Institute of Biosciences. Her research focuses on peptide ligand-receptor interactions in Arabidopsis thaliana, particularly the IDA peptide's role in floral abscission and cell separation. She teaches MBV1010 (Cell Biology and Genetics) and has held roles like Representative for Temporary Employees on the Department of Molecular Biosciences board.

• Research Interests: Genetic control of cell separation, signaling pathways in plant development, CLE/IDA peptide functions.
• Publications: 20+ peer-reviewed articles from 2002–2025, including work on abscission mechanisms, peptide signaling, and short tandem repeats' role in gene expression.
• Labs/Teams: Lead researcher in the Butenko Group and member of the Centre for Computational Inference in Evolutionary Life Science (CELS).

Her work bridges genetics, molecular biology, and evolutionary biology, with recent focus on WRKY transcription factors and kinase signaling axes in abscission regulation.