Emeritus researcher

Member of the French Academy of Sciences and the Academia Europaea

Past interest: Control of initiation of DNA replication in metazoans

Key discoveries include:

• Genetic and epigenetic elements at replication origins.
• Cause of transcriptional repression in the early Xenopus embryo.
• G-rich repeated consensus sequences forming a G quadruplex at replication origins.
• Identification of replication origins in C. Elegans, Drosophila, Xenopus, Mouse, and Human.
• Organization of replication origins along TADs in normal and transformed cells.
• DNA replication and cell identity during development.
• Reprogramming of replication origins by mitosis.
• Discovery of the licensing factor Cdt1 and Obi1.
• Role of MCM4, MCM8, and MCM9 in replication, genetic stability, homologous recombination, and fertility.

Present interest: New replicating non-viral vectors for gene therapy
In the last 5 years, his previous team initiated a project aimed to generate new vectors for gene therapy, supported by Genethon, CNRS Innovation, and the University Montpellier. This project is now ongoing with a PEPI Biotherapy support to Philippe Pasero.

Some last publications

• Castellano CM, Lacroix L, Mathis E, Prorok P, Hennion M, Lopez-Rubio JJ, and Méchali M, Gomes AR (2023) The genetic landscape of origins of replication in P. falciparum.  Nucleic Acids Res. 52, 660-676.
• Prorok P, Forouzanfar F, Murugarren N, Peiffer I, Charton R, Akerman I, and Méchali M.(2023) Loss of Ezh2 function remodels the DNA replication initiation landscape. Cell Rep. 42, 112280
• Méchali M. (2022)  Replication timing and genetic instability. Science, 377,1259-1260.
• Akerman, I., Kasaai, B., Bazarova, A., Sang, P.B., Peiffer, I., Artufel, M., Derelle, R., Smith, G., Kinet, S., Romano, M., Theillet, C., Taylor, N., Ballester, B., and Méchali, M. (2020) A predictable, conserved DNA sequence signature defines Human Core DNA replication origins.  Nature Com. 11, 4826

All publications
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