José Antonio Pedroza-García: The Plant Cell First Author

José Antonio Pedroza-García first author of “Maize ATR Safeguards Genome Stability During Kernel Development to Prevent Early Endosperm Endocycle Onset and Cell Death“

Current Position: Postdoctoral researcher at Biotechnology Institute (IBT), UNAM, Mexico

Education: PhD in Plant Molecular Biology, Université Paris-Saclay, France; MSc Biochemistry, UNAM, Mexico; BSc Chemistry, UNAM, Mexico.

Non-scientific Interests: Spending time with friends, travelling, reading

Brief bio:

My interest in the research of the actors involved in the maintenance of plant genome integrity started during my master project at UNAM, Mexico, studying the role of the synthesis of thymidine nucleotides in the DNA repair process. Later, fascinated by this research field, I performed my PhD under supervision of Dr. Cécile Raynaud at the University of Paris-Saclay, where my research focused on the role of the DNA polymerase epsilon in DNA damage response (DDR) and cell cycle regulation. After my doctoral dissertation, I returned to my former lab in Mexico with Dr. Javier Plasencia to continue the study on the contribution of nucleotide salvage synthesis to the maintenance nuclear and organellar DNA integrity. Afterwards, I briefly worked with Dr. Elena. Alvarez-Buylla, collaborating to the standardization of methods for studying the proliferation dynamic in the Arabidopsis root meristem. Most recently, I completed a postdoc stay with Dr. Lieven De Veylder at VIB/University of Ghent, Belgium, where I focused my research on the characterization of maize CRISPR/Cas9 mutants of two kinases known as ATR and ATM, which are involved in the transduction of signals downstream of DNA damage. Recently, I joined as a postdoc researcher the group of Dr. Joseph Dubrovsky in Mexico, where I will investigate novel mechanisms that regulate root development.