Jacinto Villanueva Ph.D.
My current resume, updated August 2002.

Wellman 10, Dept. of Molecular Biology
Massachusetts General Hospital
50 Blossom Street
Boston, MA 02114

Research Interest:
The Ausubel lab has developed a system using model organisms as hosts for pathogen infection. Specifically, Arabidopsis thaliana and Caenorhabditis elegans are genetically tractable organisms that can be infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The utility of this system allows for the rapid screening for bacterial mutants attenuated in pathogenesis and subsequent identification of microbial virulence factors. In addition, host mutants can be isolated and further characterized with this system with the goal of identifying host mechanisms that result in pathogen resistance. Recently, our lab has isolated several C. elegans mutants exhibiting enhanced susceptibility to infection-mediated killing by P. aeruginosa (esp mutants). My main focus is on the phenotypic and molecular characterization of one of these Esp mutants, namely, esp-3.

1. Villanueva, J.M. and Ausubel, F.M. (Manuscript in preparation) (2002).
   Esp-3 encodes a novel serine threonine protein kinase involved in Cenorhabditis elegans innate immunity.
   
   
2. Miyata, S., Villanueva, J.M., Lee, D.G., Sifri, C.D., Ausubel, F.M., and Drenkard, E. (Manuscript in preparation) (2002). 
   Efficacy of screening for Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutants attenuated in virulence using a Galleria mellonella infection model.
   
   
3. Villanueva, J.M., Broadhvest, J., Hauser, B.A., Meister, R.J., Schneitz, K., and Gasser, C.S.  (1999). 
   INNER NO OUTER, regulates abaxial-adaxial patterning in Arabidopsis ovules. 
   Genes and Development.  13, 3160-3169.
   
   
4. Hauser, B.A., Villanueva, J.M., and Gasser, C.S. (1998)
   Arabidopsis TSO1 regulates directional processes in cells during floral organogenesis. 
   Genetics 150, 411-423.
   
   
5. Baker, S.C., Robinson-Beers, K., Villanueva, J.M., Gaiser, J.C., and Gasser, C.S. (1996)
   Interaction Among Genes Regulating Ovule Development in Arabidopsis thaliana. 
   Genetics 145, 1109-1124.
   
   
6. Davis, R.E., Singh, H., Botka, C., Hardwick, C., Ashraf el Meanawy, M., Villanueva, J. (1994).
   RNA trans-splicing in Fasciola hepatica.  Identification of a spliced leader (SL) RNA and SL sequences on mRNAs.
   Journal of Biological Chemistry 269, 20026-20030.