Education

Ph.D in Biological Sciences, Universidad de Chile, 1997

Current position

Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Genetic and Microbiology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

Publications (since 2009)

1. Tillmann, U., Trefault, N., Krock, B., Parada-Pozo, G., De la Iglesia, R. and  Vásquez, M. (2017). Identification of Azadinium poporum (Dinophyceae) in the Southeast Pacific: morphology, molecular phylogeny, and azaspiracid profile characterization. J Plankton Res 39: 350-367.
2. Alcamán, M. E., Alcorta, J., Bergman, B., Vásquez, M., Polz, M. and Díez, B. (2017). Physiological and gene expression responses to nitrogen regimes and temperatures in Mastigocladus sp. strain CHP1, a predominant thermotolerant cyanobacterium of hot springs. Syst Appl Microbiol 40: 102-113.
3. Elgueta, D., Aymerich, M. S., Contreras, F., Montoya, A., Celorrio, M., Rojo-Bustamante, E., Riquelme, E., Gonzalez, H., Vasquez, M., Franco, R. and Pacheco, R. (2017). Pharmacologic antagonism of dopamine receptor D3 attenuates neurodegeneration and motor impairment in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease. Neuropharmacology 113(Pt A): 110-123.
4. Hallam, S. J. and Vasquez, M. (2016). Editorial overview: Remapping the body of the world: Exploring interactions at the interface of microbial ecology, biological engineering and information science. Curr Opin Microbiol 31: v-vii.
5. Mandakovic, D., Trigo, C., Andrade, D., Riquelme, B., Gomez-Lillo, G., Soto-Liebe, K., Diez, B. and Vasquez, M. (2016). CyDiv, a Conserved and Novel Filamentous Cyanobacterial Cell Division Protein Involved in Septum Localization. Front Microbiol 7: 94.
6. Casanova, J. P., Madrid, C., Contreras, M., Rodriguez, M., Vasquez, M. and Torrealba, F. (2016). A role for the interoceptive insular cortex in the consolidation of learned fear. Behav Brain Res 296: 70-77.
7. Plominsky, A. M., Delherbe, N., Mandakovic, D., Riquelme, B., Gonzalez, K., Bergman, B., Mariscal, V. and Vasquez, M. (2015). Intercellular transfer along the trichomes of the invasive terminal heterocyst forming cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii CS-505. FEMS Microbiol Lett 362(5).
8. Stucken, K., John, U., Cembella, A., Soto-Liebe, K. and Vasquez, M. (2014). Impact of nitrogen sources on gene expression and toxin production in the diazotroph Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii CS-505 and non-diazotroph Raphidiopsis brookii D9. Toxins (Basel) 6(6): 1896-1915.
9. Plominsky, A. M., Larsson, J., Bergman, B., Delherbe, N., Osses, I. and Vasquez, M. (2013). Dinitrogen fixation is restricted to the terminal heterocysts in the invasive cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii CS-505. PLoS One 8(2): e51682.
10. Soto-Liebe, K., Lopez-Cortes, X. A., Fuentes-Valdes, J. J., Stucken, K., Gonzalez-Nilo, F. and Vasquez, M. (2013). In silico analysis of putative paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins export proteins in cyanobacteria. PLoS One 8(2): e55664.
11. Soto-Liebe, K., Mendez, M. A., Fuenzalida, L., Krock, B., Cembella, A. and Vasquez, M. (2012). PSP toxin release from the cyanobacterium Raphidiopsis brookii D9 (Nostocales) can be induced by sodium and potassium ions. Toxicon 60(7): 1324-1334.
12. Carneiro, R. L., Dorr, F. A., Dorr, F., Bortoli, S., Delherbe, N., Vasquez, M. and Pinto, E. (2012). Co-occurrence of microcystin and microginin congeners in Brazilian strains of Microcystis sp. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 82(3): 692-702.
13. Trefault, N., Krock, B., Delherbe, N., Cembella, A. and Vasquez, M. (2011). Latitudinal transects in the southeastern Pacific Ocean reveal a diverse but patchy distribution of phycotoxins. Toxicon 58(5): 389-397.
14. Soto-Liebe, K., Murillo, A. A., Krock, B., Stucken, K., Fuentes-Valdes, J. J., Trefault, N., Cembella, A. and Vasquez, M. (2010). Reassessment of the toxin profile of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii T3 and function of putative sulfotransferases in synthesis of sulfated and sulfonated PSP toxins. Toxicon 56(8): 1350-1361.
15. Stucken, K., John, U., Cembella, A., Murillo, A. A., Soto-Liebe, K., Fuentes-Valdes, J. J., Friedel, M., Plominsky, A. M., Vasquez, M. and Glockner, G. (2010). The smallest known genomes of multicellular and toxic cyanobacteria: comparison, minimal gene sets for linked traits and the evolutionary implications. PLoS One 5(2): e9235.
16. Morgante, V., Lopez-Lopez, A., Flores, C., Gonzalez, M., Gonzalez, B., Vasquez, M., Rossello-Mora, R. and Seeger, M. (2010). Bioaugmentation with Pseudomonas sp. strain MHP41 promotes simazine attenuation and bacterial community changes in agricultural soils. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 71(1): 114-126.
17. Plominsky, A. M., Soto-Liebe, K. and Vasquez, M. (2009). Optimization of 2D-PAGE protocols for proteomic analysis of two nonaxenic toxin-producing freshwater cyanobacteria: Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii and Raphidiopsis sp. Lett Appl Microbiol 49(3): 332-337.
18. Stucken, K., Murillo, A. A., Soto-Liebe, K., Fuentes-Valdes, J. J., Mendez, M. A. and Vasquez, M. (2009). Toxicity phenotype does not correlate with phylogeny of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii strains. Syst Appl Microbiol 32(1): 37-48.