PBMBU / Researcher

Ignacio Rodrigo Islas Flores

Current position:Professor Level B
Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
SNI: Level I (2002-2012)
Telephone: 52-999-942-8330 Ext.: 225
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Education

• 1989 B.Sc. Biology, Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM
• 1994 M. Sc. Plant Biotechnology, Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida
• 1998 Ph. D. Plant Sciences and Biotechnology, CICY
• 1999 – 2001 Postdoctorate, Plant Biotechnology Department, Instituto de Biotecnología, UNAM.

Current Field of Research

• In our group, we are interested in the antimicrobial and antifungal properties associated to some plant peptides. The main goal is to identify plant peptides that can be used as natural substitutes of the synthetic agrochemicals and fungicides currently used to control fungi and bacteria that limit crop production.
• By using the fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis, we are trying to establish the role and function of some genes and their products as virulence factors, in order to better understand the mechanisms that M. fijiensis uses to colonize the leaves from Musa sp and then, develop the black Sigatoka disease.

Recent Publications

• Minero-García Y., M.A. Villanueva, F. Vázquez-Flota, S.M.T. Hernández-Sotomayor and I. Islas-Flores, Isolation of a soluble phosphate hydrolysing activity from an in vitro coffee cell line grown in the presence of aluminum, Asian Journal of Biochemistry 2: 302-313, (2007).
• Lizama Uc G., I.A. Estrada-Mota, G.M. Caamal-Chan, R.A. Souza-Perera, C. Oropeza-Salin, I. Islas-Flores and J.J. Zuñiga-Aguilar, Chitosan activates a MAP-kinase pathway and modifies abundance of defense-related transcripts in calli of Cocos nucifera L. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology 70: 130-141, (2007).
• Santana N., I. Echevarría, F. Vázquez, I. Islas, M. Martínez, J.J. Zúñiga., El chile habanero de Yucatán: Ciencia y denominación de origen. Ciencia, Conocimiento, Tecnología 89: 76-79, (2009).
• Brito-Argáez L., F. Moguel-Salazar, T. González-Estrada and I. Islas-Flores, Characterization of a Capsicum chinense seed peptide fraction with broad antibacterial activity. Asian Journal of Biochemistry 4: 77-87, (2009).
• Islas-Flores T., G. Guillén, I. Islas-Flores, C. San Román-Roque, F. Sánchez, H. Loza-Tavera, E. Bearer  and M.A. Villanueva, Germination behavior, biochemical features and sequence analysis of the Rack1/arcA homolog from Phaseolus vulgaris. Physiologia Plantarum 137: 264-280, (2009).

Awards

• 1996, FELLOWSHIP “Beca Socios Fundadores”, Mexican Society of Biochemistry.
• 1998, BEST AVERAGE Ph. D. studies, CICY.
• 1996-2000, RESEARCHER CANDIDATE, National Researchers System (Sistema Nacional de Investigadores, SNI).
• 2002-2012, RESEARCHER LEVEL I, National Researchers System (SNI).
• 2006, AWARD TO BEST RESEARCH PROJECT,  “Detección de actividad antimicrobiana en semillas de chile habanero", Mexican Society of Biotechnology and Bioengineering (Dlegación Yucatán).