Staff profile

Unraveling chromatin dynamics during development

During my scientific career I have come to realize that the mutual regulation between DNA-binding transcription factors and chromatin organization is key to providing an optimal expression level under different circumstances.

I did my PhD in the National Center of Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC) in Madrid under Prof. Salomé Prat’s supervision. My dissertation work identified the molecular mechanisms required for intrinsic signals to modulate plant adaptation to the environment (de Lucas Miguel et al. 2008; Bernardo García et al. 2014). At the end of my thesis it was obvious that transcription was tightly controlled at multiple levels, including chromatin organization. To address this question, I obtained both EMBO and HFSP fellowships to perform the investigation at Dr. Siobhan Brady’s lab, UC Davis (USA). My postdoctoral work aimed to integrate these different mechanisms of regulation by studying first the role of gene regulatory networks (GRN) in shaping development (Taylor-Teeples et al. 2015) and subsequently, how chromatin remodelling, within the context of a GRN affects cell type-specific patterns of gene expression to regulate developmental decisions, such as cell proliferation and differentiation(de Lucas et. al. under review). While the analyses identified signalling and transcriptional changes, the fundamental question of how chromatin-remodelling enzymes act co-ordinately to regulate cellular decisions remains unclear.

With the use of next generation sequencing, bioinformatics and advanced cell biology approaches, the lab aims to address how chromatin is dynamicaly regulated by environmental and intrinsic signals to control cellular decisions and development.

• Plant Development
• Chromatin remodeling
• Cell Differentiation
• Light Signaling

Chapter in book

• de Lucas, M., Provart, N. J., & Brady, S. M. (2013). Bioinformatic Tools in Arabidopsis Research. In Arabidopsis Protocols. Springer Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-580-4_5

Edited book

• de Lucas, M., & Etchells, J. (Eds.). (2017). Xylem. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6722-3

Journal Article

• Ghosh, S., Nelson, J., Cobb, G., Etchells, J., & de Lucas, M. (2022). Light regulates xylem cell differentiation via PIF in Arabidopsis. Cell Reports, 40(3), Article 111075. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111075
• Mesejo, C., Marzal, A., Martinez Fuentes, A., Reig, C., de Lucas, M., Iglesias, D. J., …Agusti, M. (2022). Reversion of fruit‐dependent inhibition of flowering in Citrus requires sprouting of buds with epigenetically silenced CcMADS19. New Phytologist, 233(1), 526 - 533. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17681
• Agustí, M., Mesejo, C., Muñoz-Fambuena, N., Vera-Sirera, F., De Lucas, M., Martínez-Fuentes, A., …Blázquez, M. (2020). Fruit-dependent epigenetic regulation of flowering in Citrus. New Phytologist, 225(1), 376-384. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16044
• Martínez, C., Espinosa‐Ruíz, A., de Lucas, M., Bernardo‐García, S., Franco‐Zorrilla, J. M., & Prat, S. (2018). PIF4‐induced BR synthesis is critical to diurnal and thermomorphogenic growth. The EMBO Journal, 37(23), Article e99552. https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.201899552
• Toal, T. W., Ron, M., Gibson, D., Kajala, K., Splitt, B., Johnson, L. S., …Brady, S. M. (2018). Regulation of Root Angle and Gravitropism. G3: Genes | Genomes | Genetics, https://doi.org/10.1534/g3.118.200540
• Espinosa-Ruiz, A., Martinez, C., de Lucas, M., Fabregas, N., Bosch, N., Cano-Delgado, A. I., & Prat, S. (2017). TOPLESS mediates brassinosteroid control of shoot boundaries and root meristem development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Development, 144(9), 1619-1628. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.143214
• de Lucas, M., Pu, L., Turco, G. M., Gaudinier, A., Marao, A. K., Hiroshima, H., …Brady, S. M. (2016). Transcriptional Regulation of Arabidopsis Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 Coordinates Cell Type Proliferation and Differentiation. The Plant Cell, 28(10), 2616-2631. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.15.00744
• Ikeuchi, M., Iwase, A., Rymen, B., Harashima, H., Shibata, M., Ohnuma, M., …Sugimoto, K. (2015). PRC2 represses dedifferentiation of mature somatic cells in Arabidopsis. Nature Plants, 1(7), Article 15089. https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2015.89
• Taylor-Teeples, M., Lin, L., de Lucas, M., Turco, G., Toal, T., Gaudinier, A., …Brady, S. (2014). An Arabidopsis gene regulatory network for secondary cell wall synthesis. Nature, 517(7536), 571-575. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14099
• Bernardo-Garcia, S., de Lucas, M., Martinez, C., Davière, J., & Prat, S. (2014). BR-dependent phosphorylation modulates PIF4 transcriptional activity and shapes diurnal hypocotyl growth. Genes & Development, 28(15), 1681-1694. https://doi.org/10.1101/gad.243675.114
• de Lucas, M., & Prat, S. (2014). PIFs get BRright: PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTORs as integrators of light and hormonal signals. New Phytologist, 202(4), 1126-1141. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12725
• Ron, M., Dorrity, M. W., Lucas, M. D., Toal, T., Ivan Hernandez, R., Little, S. A., …Brady, S. M. (2013). Identification of Novel Loci Regulating Interspecific Variation in Root Morphology and Cellular Development in Tomato. Plant Physiology, 162(2), 755-768. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.113.217802
• Lucas, M. D., & Brady, S. M. (2013). Gene regulatory networks in the Arabidopsis root. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 16(1), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2012.10.007
• Lucas, M. D., Davière, J., Rodríguez-Falcón, M., Pontin, M., Iglesias-Pedraza, J. M., Lorrain, S., …Prat, S. (2008). A molecular framework for light and gibberellin control of cell elongation. Nature, 451(7177), https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06520
• Davière, J., Lucas, M. D., & Prat, S. (2008). Transcriptional factor interaction: a central step in DELLA function. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, 18(4), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2008.05.004