Research lines:

1.   “In silico” and experimental study of evolutionary breakpoints. Several reconstructions of the ancestral architecture of mammalian genomes have revealing striking aspects of mammalian chromosome evolutionary history, such as the suggestion that evolutionary breakpoints are clustered in regions that are more prone to break and reorganize. Our research activity in the last five years has been focused on the analysis of evolutionary breakpoints in different mammalian species. Such analyses suggest that evolutionary breakpoints are clustering in “hotspots”, that these regions are enriched for repetitive elements, and that the more commonly occurring human cancer-associated breakpoints tend to frequently co-localize with evolutionary breakpoints.

2.   Meiotic recombination in mammals. Meiosis is a specialized cell division by which haploid gametes (containing a single copy of each chromosome) are generated. Is in this context where the research activity of the group is focused: described the basis of meiotic recombination in different mammalian species and related this process with evolutionary mechanisms. 

3.   The role of telomeres in mammalian meiosis. Telomeres play an important role in meiosis, since they bind chromosomes together throughout prophase I by means of the bouquet formation. Preservation of telomere’s structure through specific mechanisms is essential for the appropriate development of meiosis.

4.   The CRYO-ZOO: A cell line repository from the Barcelona ZOO collection. A storage facility in which genetic material from endangered species are gathered are scarce world-wide and almost inexistence our country. The CRYO-ZOO is a initiative/collaborative project between the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Barcelona Zoo, which has as a main goal the creation of a cell line repository from endangered animals from the Barcelona ZOO collection available to the research community.