Luis A. Cañas Clemente is, since 1990, Research Scientist of the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) at the Institute of Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology (IBMCP) in Valencia. He studied Biology in the Complutense University of Madrid and obtained his PhD in Biology in 1982 for his work on a new bacteriophage of the olive pathogenic bacteria Pseudomonas savastanoi (CIB-CSIC, Madrid).
As a postdoc, he joined firstly the Miguel Vicente´s lab at the CIB-CSIC in Madrid and later on the Université Pierre et Marie Curie (CNRS lab, Paris, France), working on in vitro propagation and genetic transformation of olive cultivars. In 1988 he joined the Plant Molecular Biology Deparment at the University of Georgia (Athens, USA) with a NATO fellowship, where he evaluated the use of floral-specific monoclonal antibodies as molecular markers to study floral organ development, under the supervision of Prof. Russell L. Malmberg.
On his return to Spain, he was working at the CIB-CSIC in Madrid under the supervision of Dr. Javier Paz-Ares and finally he became staff scientist of the CSIC, working firstly in the IATA (CSIC) as a member of the José Pío Beltrán group, and later in the IBMCP (CSIC-UPV) in Valencia. Work in his lab is focused in the study of the MADS-box regulatory genes involved in floral organ development in legumes, using Medicago truncatula, M. sativa and pea as model systems. We are especially interested in integrate molecular evolution approaches to determine the mode of evolution of legume MADS-box genes after duplication, the identification of MADS-box target genes, the isolation and use of anther-specific promoters to produce engineered male-sterile plants and related biotechnological applications, such as parthenocarpy induction in tomato.
Rodas A.L., Roque E., Hamza R., Gómez-Mena C., Minguet E.G., Wen J., Mysore S.K., Beltrán J.P. & Cañas L.A. 2021. MtSUPERMAN plays a key role in compound inflorescence and flower development in Medicago truncatula. The Plant Journal 105 (3): 816-830. https: //doi.org/10.1111/tpj.15075
Hamza R., Roque E., Gómez-Mena C., Madueño F., Bentrán J.P. & Cañas L.A. 2021. PsEND1is a key player in pea pollen development through the modulation of redox homeostasis. Frontiers in Plant Science 12:765277. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.765277
Briones M.V., Hoenicka H., Cañas L.A., Beltrán J.P., Hanelt D., Sharry S., Fladung M. 2020. Efficient evaluation of a gene containment system for poplar through early flowering induction. Plant Cell Rep. 39: 577–587. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-020-02515-1
Pérez-Clemente R.M., Ríos G., Badenes M.L. & Cañas L.A. 2020. Chapter 19.4 Prunus pérsica Peach and Nectarine. In Biotechnology of Fruits and Nut Crops (2nd Edition). Richard E. Litz, Fernando Pliego Alfaro and Jose Ignacio Hormaza Eds. CABI International, pp. 474-495. ISBN 9781780648279 (hardback), ISBN 9781780648286 (ebook), ISBN 9781780648293 (epub).
Roque E., Gómez-Mena C., Hamza R., Beltrán J.P. & Cañas L.A. 2019. Engineered Male Sterility by Early Anther Ablation Using the Pea Anther-Specific Promoter PsEND1. Front. Plant Sci. 10:819. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00819
Rojas-Gracia P., Roque E., Medina M., López-Martín M.J., Cañas L.A., Beltrán J.P. & Gómez-Mena C. 2019. The DOF Transcription Factor SlDOF10 Regulates Vascular Tissue Formation During Ovary Development in Tomato. Front. Plant Sci. 10: 216
Cañas L.A. & Beltrán J.P. 2018. Functional genomics in Medicago truncatula. Methods and Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology Series nº 1822. Luis A. Cañas and José P. Beltrán Eds. Springer Nature, Humana Press, New York. ISBN: 978-1-4939-8632-3
Beltrán J.P. & Cañas L.A. 2018. Chapter 1. Grain and forage legumes: nutritional value and agriculture sustainability. In Functional genomics in Medicago truncatula. Methods and Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology Series nº 1822. Luis A. Cañas and José P. Beltrán Eds. Springer Nature, Humana Press, New York. ISBN: 978-1-4939-8632-3. PP. 1-10
Cañas L.A. & Beltrán J.P. 2018. Chapter 2. Model legumes: functional genomics tools in Medicago truncatula. In Functional genomics in Medicago truncatula. Methods and Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology Series nº 1822. Luis A. Cañas and José P. Beltrán Eds. Springer Nature, Humana Press, New York. ISBN: 978-1-4939-8632-3. PP. 11-38
Roque E., Gómez-Mena C., Ferrándiz C., Beltrán J.P. & Cañas L.A. 2018. Chapter 18. Functional genomics and genetic control of floral and fruit development in Medicago truncatula: an overview. In Functional genomics in Medicago truncatula. Methods and Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology Series nº 1822. Luis A. Cañas and José P. Beltrán Eds. Springer Nature, Humana Press, New York. ISBN: 978-1-4939-8632-3. PP. 273-290
Hamza R., Beltrán J.P. & Cañas L.A. 2018. Enzymatic Assays and Enzyme Histochemistry of Tuta absoluta Feeding on Tomato Leaves. Bio-protocol 8(17): e2993. DOI: DOI: 10.21769/BioProtoc.2993. http://www.bio-protocol.org/e2993
Hamza R., Pérez-Hedo M., Urbaneja A., Rambla J.L., Granell A., Gaddour K., Beltrán J.P. & Cañas L.A. 2018. Expression of two barley proteinase inhibitors in tomato promotes endogenous defensive response and enhances resistance to Tuta absoluta. BMC Plant Biology 18:24. DOI 10.1186/s12870-018-1240-6
Fresquet-Corrales S., Roque E., Sarrión-Perdigones A., Rochina M.C., López-Gresa M.P., Díaz-Mula H.M., Bellés J.M., Tomás-Barberán F., Beltrán J.P. and Cañas L.A. 2017. Metabolic engineering to simultaneously activate anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin biosynthetic pathways in Nicotiana spp. PLoS One 12(9):e0184839.
Rojas-Gracia P., Roque E., Medina M., Rochina M., Hamza R., Angarita-Díaz P., Moremo V., Pérez-Martín F., Lozano R., Cañas L.A., Beltrán J.P. & Gómez-Mena C. 2017. The parthenocarpic hydra mutant reveals a new function for a SPOROCYTELESS-like gene in the control of fruit set in tomato. New Phytologist 214: 1198-1212.
Roque E., Fares M., Yenush L., Rochina M.C., Wen J., Mysore K.S., Gómez-Mena C., Beltrán J.P., Cañas L.A. 2016. Evolution by gene duplication of Medicago truncatula PISTILLATA-like transcription factors. Journal of Experimental Botany 67 (6): 1805-1817.
Serwatowska J., Roque E., Gómez-Mena C., Constantin G., Wen J., Mysore K.S., Lund O., Johansen E., Beltrán J.P., Cañas L.A. 2014. Two euAGAMOUS genes control C-function in Medicago truncatula. PLoS One 9 (e103770).
Roque E., Serwatowska J., Rochina M.C., Wen J., Mysore K.S., Yenush L., Beltrán J.P., Cañas L.A. 2013. Functional specialization of duplicated AP3-like genes in Medicago truncatula. The Plant Journal 73: 663-675.
Medina M., Roque E., Pineda B., Cañas L.A., Rodríguez-Concepción M., Beltrán J.P., Gómez-Mena, C. 2013. Early anther ablation triggers parthenocarpic fruit development in tomato plants. Plant Biotechnology Journal 11: 770-779.
Gómez M.D., Renau-Morata B., Roque E., Polaina J., Beltrán J.P., Cañas L.A. 2013. PsPMEP, a pollen-specific pectin mathylesterase of pea (Pisum sativum L.). Plant Reproduction 26: 245-254.
García-Sogo B., Pineda B., Roque E., Atarés A., Antón T., Beltrán J.P., Moreno V., Cañas L.A. 2012. Production of engineered long-life and male sterile Pelargonium plants. BMC Plant Biology 12: 156-162.
Benlloch R., Roque E., Ferrándiz C., Cosson V., Caballero T., Penmetsa V., Beltrán J. P., Cañas L. A., Ratet P., Madueño F. 2009. Analysis of B-function in legumes: PISTILLATA proteins do not require the PI motif for floral organ development in Medicago truncatula. The Plant Journal 60: 102-111.
Gómez MD, Beltrán JP, Cañas LA. 2004. The pea END1 promoter drives anther-specific gene expression in different plant species. Planta 219: 967-981.
Pérez-Clemente R.M., Pérez-Sanjuán A., García-Férriz L., Beltrán J.P., Cañas L.A. 2004. Transformation and regeneration of peach plants (Prunus persica L.) from embryo sections using the green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a vital marker. Molecular Breeding 14: 419-427.
Cañas L.A., Busscher M., Angenet G.C., Beltrán J.P., van Tunen A.J. 1994. Nuclear localization of the petunia MADS-box protein FBP1. The Plant Journal 6: 597-604.