Guillermo Montoya

Guillermo Montoya

Professor, forskningschef, Professor

Professor Guillermo Montoya is Research Director and Group Leader at the Protein Structure and Function program at Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research (CPR) at University of Copenhagen.
Guillermo Montoya’s research aims to understand basic cellular mechanisms at the atomic level, and he firmly believes that the detailed unravelling of these mechanisms will be essential for future biomedical research. 
The approach of the Montoya Group is to use advanced methodology, combining X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy with cell biology to study the structure and function of macromolecules involved in cell cycle progression, genome integrity and its manipulation.

 

Key discoveries

Montoya solved the first crystal structure of the 1 MDa TRiC/CCT chaperonin in complex with tubulin, shedding light on the folding mechanism that is essential for cell cycle progression and chromosome segregation. His group has recently provided molecular evidence of how key guardians of genome integrity such as the kinase TLK2 or the XMAP215 microtubule polymerase work to protect the genome and provide faithful cell division.

Montoya is also systematically pursuing the structure-function analysis of endonucleases, which are of great interest because of their applications in genome editing. His seminal work in homing endonucleases has shown that these proteins were amenable of redesign in order to target mutations in human monogenic diseases.

His studies elucidating the structure of CRISPR-Cas12a interference ribonucleoprotein have unveiled the mechanism of recognition, unzipping and catalytic activation in order to cleavage target DNA. This finding has opened new avenues in genome modification for biomedicine and biotechnology.

Udvalgte publikationer

  1. Udgivet

    Structure of Csx1-cOA4 complex reveals the basis of RNA decay in Type III-B CRISPR-Cas

    Molina, R., Stella, S., Feng, M., Sofos, N., Jauniskis, V., Pozdnyakova, I., López-Méndez, B., She, Q. & Montoya, Guillermo, 2019, I: Nature Communications. 10, 14 s., 4302.

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  2. Udgivet

    Conformational Activation Promotes CRISPR-Cas12a Catalysis and Resetting of the Endonuclease Activity

    Stella, S., Mesa, Pablo, Thomsen, J., Paul, B., Alcón, P., Jensen, S. B., Saligram, B., Moses, M. E., Hatzakis, Nikos & Montoya, Guillermo, 13 dec. 2018, I: Cell. 175, 7, s. 1856-1871.e21 16 s.

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  3. Udgivet

    Molecular basis of Tousled-Like Kinase 2 activation

    Mortuza, G. B., Hermida, D., Pedersen, Anna-Kathrine, Segura-Bayona, S., López-Méndez, B., Redondo, P., Rüther, P., Pozdnyakova, I., Garrote, A. M., Muñoz, I. G., Villamor-Payà, M., Jauset, C., Olsen, Jesper Velgaard, Stracker, T. H. & Montoya, Guillermo, 2018, I: Nature Communications. 9, 1, s. 2535 2535.

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  4. Udgivet

    Class 2 CRISPR-Cas RNA-guided endonucleases: Swiss Army knives of genome editing

    Stella, S., Alcón, P. & Montoya, Guillermo, nov. 2017, I: Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. 24, 11, s. 882-892 11 s.

    Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftReviewfagfællebedømt

  5. Udgivet

    Structure of the Cpf1 endonuclease R-loop complex after target DNA cleavage

    Stella, S., Alcón, P. & Montoya, Guillermo, 22 jun. 2017, I: Nature. 546, 7659, s. 559-563 5 s.

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  6. Udgivet

    Visualizing phosphodiester-bond hydrolysis by an endonuclease

    Molina, R., Stella, S., Redondo, P., Gomez, H., Marcaida, M. J., Orozco, M., Prieto, J. & Montoya, Guillermo, jan. 2015, I: Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. 22, 1, s. 65-72 8 s.

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  7. Udgivet

    XTACC3-XMAP215 association reveals an asymmetric interaction promoting microtubule elongation

    Mortuza, G. B., Cavazza, T., Garcia-Mayoral, M. F., Hermida, D., Peset, I., Pedrero, J. G., Merino, N., Blanco, F. J., Lyngsø, J., Bruix, M., Pedersen, J. S., Vernos, I. & Montoya, Guillermo, 29 sep. 2014, I: Nature Communications. 5, s. 1-12 12 s., 5072.

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  8. Directly from the source: endogenous preparations of molecular machines

    Mesa, Pablo, Deniaud, A., Montoya, Guillermo & Schaffitzel, C., jun. 2013, I: Current Opinion in Structural Biology. 23, 3, s. 319-25 7 s.

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  9. Udgivet

    Crystal structure of the open conformation of the mammalian chaperonin CCT in complex with tubulin

    Muñoz, I. G., Yébenes, H., Zhou, M., Mesa, Pablo, Serna, M., Park, A. Y., Bragado-Nilsson, E., Beloso, A., de Cárcer, G., Malumbres, M., Robinson, C. V., Valpuesta, J. M. & Montoya, Guillermo, jan. 2011, I: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 18, 1, s. 14-9 6 s.

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  10. Molecular basis of xeroderma pigmentosum group C DNA recognition by engineered meganucleases

    Redondo, P., Prieto, J., Muñoz, I. G., Alibés, A., Stricher, F., Serrano, L., Cabaniols, J., Daboussi, F., Arnould, S., Perez, C., Duchateau, P., Pâques, F., Blanco, F. J. & Montoya, Guillermo, 6 nov. 2008, I: Nature. 456, 7218, s. 107-11 5 s.

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ID: 93716435