Guillermo Montoya

Guillermo Montoya

Professor, head of research, 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.

Current research

  • Molecular activation mechanisms of oligomeric kinases involved in genome integrity
  • Protein complexes involved in telomere maintenance and integrity
  • Conformational activation of CRISPR-Cas12a catalysis and its redesign to generate new molecular scissors
  • Mechanisms for foreign RNA and DNA degradation by macromolecular complexes

 

 

Selected publications

  1. Published

    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, In: Nature Communications. 10, 14 p., 4302.

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

  2. Published

    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, In: Cell. 175, 7, p. 1856-1871.e21 16 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

  3. Published

    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, In: Nature Communications. 9, 1, p. 2535 2535.

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

  4. Published

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

    Stella, S., Alcón, P. & Montoya, Guillermo, Nov 2017, In: Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. 24, 11, p. 882-892 11 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalReviewpeer-review

  5. Published

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

    Stella, S., Alcón, P. & Montoya, Guillermo, 22 Jun 2017, In: Nature. 546, 7659, p. 559-563 5 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalLetterpeer-review

  6. Published

    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, In: Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. 22, 1, p. 65-72 8 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

  7. Published

    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, In: Nature Communications. 5, p. 1-12 12 p., 5072.

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

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

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

    Research output: Contribution to journalReviewpeer-review

  9. Published

    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, In: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 18, 1, p. 14-9 6 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

  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, In: Nature. 456, 7218, p. 107-11 5 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

ID: 93716435