Miguel Ángel Vega Palas
Group: Regulation of A. thaliana telomere structure and function
Position: Scientific Researcher CSIC
Contact:
Office: D E107
tel. ext. 446091
e-mail:
Formation
BA 1986 Biology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
PhD 1991 Biology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
(1992-1995) Postdoctoral Researcher. University of Florida, USA.
(1995-1996) Postdoctoral Researcher. University of Rome, Italy.
(1997-1998) Teaching Assistant. University of Seville, Spain.
(1999) Postdoctoral Researcher. UCLA, Los Angeles, USA.
(1999-2001) Postdoctoral Researcher. Spanish Scientific Council (CSIC), Spain.
(2001-2002) Associated Professor. University of Seville, Spain.
(2003 to date) Permanent position as Researcher. Institute of Vegetal Biochemistry and Photosynthesis (IBVF), CSIC, Spain.
Research Interests
Dr. Vega Palas has worked with four different model systems: cyanobateria, yeast, Arabidopsis and humans.
In cyanobacteria, he contributed to identify the NtcA protein, which is a global regulator of nitrogen assimilation and heterocysts differentiation. Heterocysts are differentiated cells of filamentous cyanobacteria that fix nitrogen using the energy provided by photosynthesis. Since cyanobacteria represent a high proportion of the sea’s production, they contribute significantly to produce O2 and to remove CO2.
In yeast, he collaborated in the identification and characterization of telomeric silencing in a natural context. Previously, subtelomeric heterochromatin had been shown to silence the expression of reporter genes placed at subtelomeric positions. This phenomenon was known as Telomere Position Effect (TPE). The study performed by Dr. Vega Palas demonstrated that the Ty5-1 retrotransposon, which jumps to subtelomeric regions and is naturally found at subtelomeres, undergoes TPE. This early study contributed to demonstrate that heterochromatin controls mobile elements.
In Arabidopsis thaliana, first, Dr. Vega Palas mapped the distribution of nucleosomes along the Adh gene promoter and defined this gene as a DNase I sensitive domain. Then, more recently, he has focused on the study of the structure and function of telomeric regions. His group has found that the epigenetic features of Arabidopsis telomeres, and also of humans, are not heterochromatic.
Publications
| Vaquero-Sedas MI, Vega-Palas MA. Epigenetic nature of Arabidopsis thaliana telomeres. Plant Physiol. 2023 Jan 2;191(1):47-55. doi: 10.1093/plphys/kiac471. |
| Farrell C, Vaquero-Sedas MI, Cubiles MD, Thompson M, Vega-Vaquero A, Pellegrini M, Vega-Palas MA. A complex network of interactions governs DNA methylation at telomeric regions. Nucleic Acids Res. 2022 Feb 22;50(3):1449-1464. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkac012. |
| Cubiles MD, Barroso S, Vaquero-Sedas MI, Enguix A, Aguilera A, Vega-Palas MA. Epigenetic features of human telomeres. Nucleic Acids Res. 2018 Mar 16;46(5):2347-2355. doi: 10.1093/nar/gky006. |
| Vega-Palas MA, Venditti S, Di Mauro E. Telomeric transcriptional silencing in a natural context. Nat Genet. 1997 Mar;15(3):232-3. doi: 10.1038/ng0397-232. |
| Vega-Palas MA, Flores E, Herrero A. NtcA, a global nitrogen regulator from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus that belongs to the Crp family of bacterial regulators. Mol Microbiol. 1992 Jul;6(13):1853-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1992.tb01357.x. |