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Department of Plant Sciences

 

Research group

 

Research overview

I am fascinated by plant gene regulation: how the organisms respond to internal and external stimuli modifying the expression of genes at transcriptional or posttranscriptional levels. I try to understand why hybrids are more vigorous or more productive than the parents as they often are. My main project explores the role of RNA silencing and epigenetic mechanisms using tomato as a model plant. The final aim is to gain understanding in plant breeding and improve it to obtain better crops.
 

Previous positions

My fundamental question is “how are genes regulated?”. In my PhD at the University of Zaragoza, I studied transcription factors in cyanobacteria, followed by postdoctoral research on plant miRNAs with Tamas Dalmay at the University of East Anglia and other small (s)RNAs with David Baulcombe at the University of Cambridge. In my current project, as Broodbank Senior Research Fellow, I have found a novel mechanism that associates regulatory sRNAs with a type of transposable elements, and these with regulation of gene expression.

 

Qualifications

  • 2007  PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. University of Zaragoza
  • 2004  B.Sc in Organic Chemistry. University of Zaragoza
  • 2003  M.Sc in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. University of Zaragoza
  • 2001  B.Sc in Biochemistry (5-year degree). University of Zaragoza
 

Key publications

Lopez-Gomollon, S., Müller, S.Y., Baulcombe, D.C. “Interspecific hybridization in tomato influences endogenous viral sRNAs and alters gene expression” Genome Biology (2022) 23(1):120.

Lopez-Gomollon, S. & Baulcombe, D.C. “Roles of RNA silencing in viral and non-viral plant immunity and in the crosstalk between disease resistance systems” Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology (2022) doi: 10.1038/s41580-022-00496-5.

Corrêa, R.L., Sanz-Carbonell, A., Kogej, Z., Müller, S.Y., Lopez-Gomollon, S., Gómez, G., Baulcombe, D.C., Elena, S.F. “Viral fitness determines the magnitude of transcriptomic and epigenomic reprograming of defense responses in plants” Molecular Biology and Evolution (2020) 36(7): 1866-1881.

Benoit, M., Drost, H.G., Catoni, M., Gouil, Q., Lopez-Gomollon, S., Baulcombe, D.C., Paszkowski, J. “Environmental and epigenetic regulation of Rider retrotransposons in tomato”. PLoS Genet. (2019) 15(9): e1008370.

Mathers, T.C., Chen,Y.,(..), Lopez-Gomollon, S., (..),Swarbreck, D., Hogenhout,S.A. “Rapid transcriptional plasticity of duplicated gene clusters enables a clonally reproducing aphid to colonise diverse plant species”. Genome Biology (2017) 18:27. Erratum in Genome Biology (2017) 18:63.

 

All publications

ORCID
Scopus 
Google Scholar
Pubmed

 

Awards and fellowships

2019 - 2023    Broodbank Reseach Fellowship, Broodbank Fund, University of Cambridge
2012 - 2015    JAE-DOC Postdoctoral fellowship, EEAD-CSIC
2010 - 2011    Ibercaja Trust postdoctoral fellowship, University of East Anglia
2008 - 2010    Spanish Government postdoctoral fellowship, University of East Anglia
2008 - 2011    Alfonso Martin Escudero Trust fellowship, University of East Anglia
2010 - 2011    FPU Spanish Government PhD studentship, University of Zaragoza

2010    YSF Award by IUBMB, FAOBMB, ComBio2010 and Biochemical Society
2007    Ph.D Award (“Premio extraordinario” - annual award for the best PhD in the subject area)
2006    CESA Award to the project “New risks in drinking water: microcystin. Improving water quality by cyanotoxin elimination” in collaboration with the company OX-CTA

 

Teaching

2019 - present  Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

2018-2023    Lecturer in Plant genomes and synthetic biology (Part II students, 3rd year), University of Cambridge
2018-2023    Supervisor in Plant genomes and synthetic biology (Part II students, 3rd year), University of Cambridge
2017-2023    Demonstrator in IB Plant and Microbial Sciences (2nd year), University of Cambridge
2013-2015    Guest Lecturer in Plant Biotechnology (4th year) and Plant Physiology (2nd year), Degree in Biotechnology. University of Zaragoza
2012-2014    Lecturer in New Methodologies in Molecular biology, Master in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Zaragoza
2010-2011    Research supervisor in “Analyses in Biology” (BIO-3C32), Degree in Biology and Degree in Biochemistry, University of East Anglia
2003-2005    Demonstrator in Plant Physiology (2nd year), Degree in Biochemistry, University of Zaragoza

 

Committees

2022 - present  Associate Feature Editor, The Plant Cell
2010 - present  Journal referee for Molecular Plant, Nature Plants, Plant Journal, FEBS Letters, Plant Cell Reports, Frontiers in Plant Sciences, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
2016 - 2019  Member of the Plant Sciences Department Postdoctoral Committee
2017, 2018  Co-organizer of the Cambridge Epigenetics Symposium
2016 - 2018  Organizer of the Postdoc-invited Departmental Talks, Department of Plant Sciences
2016 - 2017  Organizer of the Internal Departmental Talks, Department of Plant Sciences
2016 - 2017  Co-organizer of the Cambridge Epigenetics Club
2005  Member of “I Symposium in microcystin research” conference committee, Zaragoza

 

Outreach/public engagement

2021 - present  STEM Ambassador in primary schools and high schools
2021 - present  Member of StepWide, making more visible the research of underrepresented groups
2019  Speaker, Science Day, Trinity College, University of Cambridge
2005 - 2007  Volunteer in the  “Week of Science”, University of Zaragoza

Broodbank Fellow
Dr Sara  Lopez-Gomollon

Contact Details

Email address: 
Department of Plant Sciences,
University of Cambridge,
Downing Street,
Cambridge,
CB2 3EA
01223 748979