Group Leader/s
Head of lab
intro
Welcome to the “Molecular plant/virus/vector interactions” Group at the Biological Research Center.
Our group maintains a research program, over the last years, focused toward the Plant Virus Disease Control. Particularly, the emphasis has been recently on the study of plant/virus/vector interactions from a genomic and proteomic perspective, identifying the cellular and viral factors and mechanisms, which determine the course of viral infections.
Click below on the Research projects link to see more details about the different scientific lines of the Group.
Members
| Francisco Tenllado Peralo |
| Tomás Raimundo Canto Ceballos |
| Raul Herranz Barranco |
| Khouloud Necira |
| Mongia Makki |
| Hao Sun |
Selected Publications
Tenllado, F and Canto, T [2020]. Effects of a Changing Environment on the Defenses of Plants to Viruses. Current Opinion in Virology. 42:40–46.
Hou W, Singh RK, Zhao P, Martins V, Aguilar E, Canto T, Tenllado F*, Franklin, G, Pires Dias AC*. [2020]. Transgenic expression of Hyp-1 gene from Hypericum perforatum L. alters expression of defense-related genes and modulates recalcitrance to Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Planta, 251:13.
Aguilar E, Del Toro F, Figueira-Galán D, Hou W, Canto T, and Tenllado F. [2020]. Virus infection induces resistance to Pseudomonas syringae and to drought in both compatible and incompatible bacteria-host interactions, which are compromised under conditions of elevated temperature and CO2 levels. J. Gen Virol (jgv.0.001353)
Aguilar, E, Del Toro F, Brosseau, C.,Moffett, P., Canto, T, and Tenllado, F. [2019 ]. Cell death triggered by the P25 protein in Potato virus X-associated synergisms results from ER stress in Nicotiana benthamiana. Molecular Plant Pathology 20, 194-210
Francisco J del Toro, Eva Mencia, Emmanuel Aguilar, Francisco Tenllado, Tomás Canto [2018]. HCPro-mediated transmission by aphids of purified virions does not require its silencing suppression function and correlates with its ability to coat cell microtubules in loss-of-function mutant studies. Virology 525, 10-18
del Toro F, Rakhsandehroo F, Larruy B, Aguilar E, Tenllado F, Canto T [2017]. Effects of simultaneously elevated temperature and CO2 levels on Nicotiana benthamiana and its infection by different positive-sense RNA viruses are cumulative and virus type-specific. Virology 511, 184-192
Aguilar E, Cutrona C, Del Toro F, Vallarino JG, Osorio S, Perez-Bueno, ML, Baron M, Chung Bong-Nam, Canto T, Tenllado F [2017]. Virulence determines beneficial trade-offs in the response of virus-infected plants to drought via induction of salicylic acid. Plant, Cell and Environment, 40, 2909–2930.
Aguilar E, Del Toro F, Canto T, Tenllado F [2017]. Identification of MAPKs as signal transduction components required for the cell death response during compatible infection by the synergistic pair Potato virus X-Potato virus Y. Virology 509, 178-184
Singha A, Permarb V, Jainb RK, Goswamia S, Kumara RR, Canto T, Palukaitis P, Praveen S [2017]. Induction of cell Death by tospoviral protein NSs and the motif critical for cell death does not control RNA silencing suppression activity. Virology 508, 108–117
Del Toro FJ, Donaire L, Aguilar E, Chung B-N, Tenllado F, Canto T [2017]. Potato virus Y HCPro suppression of antiviral silencing in Nicotiana benthamiana plants correlates with its ability to bind in vivo to in 21- and 22-nucleotide small RNAs of viral sequence. Journal of Virology Doi: 10.1128/JVI.00367-17
Funding
Projects in progress
2023-2026 "DEFENSA DE LA PLANTA Y CONTRADEFENSA VIRAL EN INTERACCIONES COMPATIBLES: BASES MOLECULARES Y APLICACIONES BIOTECNOLOGICAS PARA LA PROTECCION SOSTENIBLE DE LOS CULTIVOS". Referencia: PID2022-137691OB-I00. Organismo Financiador: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Investigadores Principales: FRANCISCO TENLLADO PERALO y TOMÁS CANTO
2020-2022 "Caracterización de factores virales de la planta y ambientales que son determinantes de efectos en infecciones compatibles de virus RNA en plantas". Referencia: PID2019-109304RB-I00. Organismo Financiador: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Investigadores Principales: Drs. TOMAS CANTO y FRANCISCO TENLLADO PERALO
2021-2022 Application of a nontransgenic, RNA interference approach in potato cultivars for sustained protection against viral synergism in Tunisia. Referencia: COOPA20465. Organismo Financiador: CSIC. Investigador Principal: FRANCISCO TENLLADO PERALO
Completed projects
1998-2001 “Análisis de estrategias y de mecanismos de resistencia transgénica derivada del patógeno frente a algunos virus de importancia económica para la agricultura española”. Organismo Financiador: Plan Nacional de I+D. Referencia: BIO98-0849. Investigador Principal: Dr. JOSÉ RAMÓN DÍAZ-RUIZ
2000-2001 “Evaluación de estrategias de resistencia transgénica frente a Potyvirus respetuosas con el medio ambiente”. Organismo Financiador: Comunidad de Madrid. Referencia: 07B/0026/1999. Investigador Principal: Dr. JOSÉ RAMÓN DÍAZ-RUIZ
2000-2002 “Obtencion de resistencia transgenica frente a los tobamovirus de pimiento”. Organismo Financiador: CICYT. Referencia: BIO2000-1605-C02-02. Investigador Principal: DIONISIO LOPEZ ABELLA
2001-2004 “Estudio del mecanismo de defensa antiviral mediado por silenciamiento genico y su aplicacion al control de enfermedades virales en plantas” Organismo Financiador: CICYT. Referencia: BIO2000-0914. Investigador Principal: Dr. JOSÉ RAMÓN DÍAZ-RUIZ
2001-2004 “Estudio del proceso de transmisión de potyvirus por pulgones para el control de la enfermedad mediante procedimientos respetuosos con el medio ambiente”. Organismo Financiador: Comunidad de Madrid. Referencia: 07M/0123/2000. Investigador Principal: Dr. JOSÉ RAMÓN DÍAZ-RUIZ
2002-2005 “Control de virosis vegetales causadas por potyvirus a traves de interferencia con procesos de transmisión natural por insectos” Organismo Financiador: CICYT. Referencia: AGL2001-2141. Investigador Principal: Dr. JUAN JOSÉ LÓPEZ-MOYA GÓMEZ.
2003-2005 “Control de virus vegetales con protección del medio ambiente a través de interferencia en la transmisión por insectos como alternativa al uso de plaguicidas”. Organismo Financiador: Comunidad de Madrid. Referencia: 07M/0072/2002. Investigador Principal: Dr. JUAN JOSÉ LÓPEZ-MOYA GÓMEZ.
2004-2005 “Nuevas estrategias de control de las enfermedades virales en plantas basadas en silenciamiento génico que redunden en una mejora de las variedades vegetales” Organismo Financiador: Comunidad de Madrid. Referencia: 07G/0043/2003 1. Investigador Principal: Dr FRANCISCO TENLLADO PERALO.
2004-2006 “Diseño y evaluación de nuevos bioplaguicidas basados en silenciamiento génico” Organismo Financiador: CICYT. Referencia: BIO2003-03428. Investigador Principal: Dr. JOSÉ RAMÓN DÍAZ-RUIZ
2006-2007 “Bases moleculares de sinergismo de virus de plantas: alteraciones en el patrón de expresión génica e interferencia en el metabolismo de microRNAs mediada por proteínas virales” Organismo Financiador: Comunidad de Madrid/CSIC. Referencia: 200540M109. Investigador Principal: Dr. FRANCISCO TENLLADO PERALO
2006-2009 “Estudio de la señalización sistémica del silenciamiento génico y su aplicación al control de enfermedades virales en plantas” Organismo Financiador: CICYT. Referencia: BIO2006-10944. Investigador Principal: Dr. FRANCISCO TENLLADO PERALO.
2009-2010 “Role of nucleus/nucleolus in RNA plant virus infections: Implications for understanding viral diseases” Organismo Financiador: CSIC-Russian Foundation for Basic Research. Referencia: 2008RU0089. Investigador Principal: Dr. TOMAS CANTO.
2009-2011 “Identificación y análisis funcional en vivo, de interacciones entre factores virales y de la planta o vector transmisor: implicaciones para el control de enfermedades virales”. Organismo Financiador: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Referencia: AGL2008-03482. Investigador Principal: Dr. TOMAS CANTO.
2010-2013 “Análisis comparativo de los cambios en el transcriptoma del huésped en infecciones sinérgicas virales y su relación con la manifestación de síntomas” Organismo Financiador: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. Referencia: BIO2009-10172. Investigador Principal: Dr. FRANCISCO TENLLADO PERALO
2010-2013 “Functional significance of potyviral HCPro interactions with host and vector factors” Organismo Financiador: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Government of India, Department of Science and Technology. Referencia: Indo-Spanish Research Cooperation in Science and Technology. ACI2009-0855. Investigador Principal: Dr. TOMAS CANTO
2013-2015 "Predicting the effects of climate change on the outcome of diseases caused by RNA viruses". Founding agency: South Korea Rural Development Administration (RDA) Reference: 2013040025. Leader Scientist: TOMÁS CANTO CEBALLOS
2014-2016 "Función de determinantes de patogenicidad viral en los balances que se establecen en interacciones compatibles virus RNA-planta". Organismo Financiador: Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO). Referencia: BIO2013-47940-R. Investigadores Principales: Drs. TOMAS CANTO y FRANCISCO TENLLADO PERALO
2017-2019 "Efectos de las infecciones virales en las respuestas de las plantas a estreses bióticos y abióticos combinados, bajo condiciones ambientales asociadas al cambio climático". Referencia: BIO2016-75619-R. Organismo Financiador: Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO). Investigadores Principales: Drs. TOMAS CANTO y FRANCISCO TENLLADO PERALO
2017-2019 "Identificación mediante secuenciación masiva de factores que modulan la severidad de la infección en el patosistema PYVV-Patata en Colombia. Referencia: COOPA20310. Organismo Financiador: I-COOP-CSIC. Investigador Principal: TOMÁS CANTO CEBALLOS
More info
Brief group history:
The Plant Molecular Virology Group has a long scientific tradition for more than 30 years and has contributed since then to a strong impulse of the Plant Virology field in Spain. The group begins in 1969 as the Plant Virus Unit within the Virology Department of the old “Jaime Ferrán” Institute of Microbiology, one of the six Institutes conforming the Biological Research Centre (CIB). In 1979 the group became part of the Phytopathology Unit, integrated first in the same Institute and later within the CIB, when the different Institutes were fused in 1989. In 1992 the group was integrated into the Plant Biology Department, one of the six Departments of the current CIB. We have good memories of the former members of the old group: Research Professor Prof. Dr. Miguel Rubio Huertos, retired. Research Scientist Dr. Rodrigo Moreno San Martín, deceased. Dr. Manuel Santaolalla Cerezo, deceased. Staff Scientist Amparo Vela Cornejo, retired. Staff Technician Adela Martín de Saavedra, deceased. Sacramento Peñalver Espino, deceased. We are also proud of people who obtained their Ph.D. degree in the group: Dr. Serafina Castro Robleda (Ph.D. in 1971) Staff Scientist at the Plant Protection Department of the INIA in Madrid and now just retired. Dr. José Ramón Díaz-Ruiz Alba (Ph.D. in 1971) Research Professor and now person in charge of the group. Dra. Maria Dolores Esplá Hernández (Ph.D. in 1974). Dr. Dionisio López Abella (Ph.D. in 1977) now Emeritus Scientist in the group. Dra. Maria Concepción Cruces de Abia (Ph.D. in 1978). Dr. Luis Cañas Clemente (Ph.D. in 1983) now Staff Scientist at the Development Biology Department of the IBMCP in Valencia. Dra. Isabel García Luque (Ph.D. in 1983) now Staff Scientist at the Plant Biology Department of the CIB in Madrid. Dra. María Jesús Ávila Rincón (Ph.D. in 1986). Dra. Dolores Rodríguez Aguirre (Ph.D. in 1986) now Staff Scientist at the Molecular and Cellular Biology Department of the CNB in Madrid. Dra. Isabel Díaz Rodríguez (Ph.D. in 1987) now Associate Professor at the Biotechnology Department of the ETSIA in Madrid. Dra. Mª Victoria Díaz Múgica (Ph.D. in 1990). Dr. Leandro Peña (Ph.D. in 1992) now Staff Scientist at the Department of Plant Protection and Biotechnology of the IVIA in Valencia. Dr. Juan José López-Moya (Ph.D. in 1993) now Staff Scientist at the Department of Plant Molecular Genetics of the IBMB in Barcelona. Dr. Tomás Canto (Ph.D. in 1994) now Staff Research Scientist at the Plant Science Department of the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) in Dundee, Scotland UK. Dr. Francisco Tenllado Peralo (Ph.D. in 1995) now Staff Scientist in the group. Dra. Jumana Trad Yunes from Lebanon (Ph.D. in 1996) and now President of READI, within the Foundation for the Social Promotion of Culture. Dra. María Carmen Lahoz Beltrá (Ph.D. in 1998). Dr. Cesar Llave Correas (Ph.D. in 1999) now Staff Scientist in the group. Dra. Belén Martínez García (Ph.D. in 2000) now Contract Scientist in the group. Dr. Pablo González Jara (Ph.D. in 2002) now Contract Scientist in the group. Dra. Virginia Ruiz Ferrer (Ph.D. in 2003) now Postdoctoral Fellow at the Département de Virologie of the Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes (IBMP) in Strasbourg, France. Dr. Daniel Barajas Ramírez (Ph.D. in 2005) now still Postdoctoral Fellow in the group. Dr. Félix Alejandro Atencio from Argentina (Ph.D. in 2005), CONICET predoctoral fellow and now remaining as Visiting Scientist in the group. Dra. Yolanda Marisol Vargas Concha from Chile (Ph.D. in 2005), CONICYT predoctoral fellow, and now just back to her country.
Research:
We carry out fundamental research relating to the control of plant virus diseases and conduct doctoral and post-doctoral research training. We also provide advice and perform technology transfer. There are several lines of research in our group, with separate grants and projects. Laboratory space, equipment and consumables are fully shared. Decisions are routinely agreed by the staff group members. We have weekly research meetings, which are attended by all members of the group, in order to have ourselves abreast of experiments and projects going on in the labs. Collaborations We maintain and have maintained close relationship with many national and international research groups and institutions, which have strongly contributed to the scientific enrichment of the group. Teaching The group is involved in a Doctorate course entitled "Biotechnology and Genetic Resources of Plants and Associated Microorganisms" as part of the Ph.D. program of the Technical University of Madrid (UPM).