People

I am a chromosome and centromere biologist combining molecular cytogenetics, functional centromere assays, comparative genomics, long-read genome analysis, and repetitive DNA biology. My research has progressed from centromeric satellite evolution in legumes to metapolycentric and holocentric chromosome systems, with a current focus on how centromere architecture changes across closely related plant lineages, particularly using Drosera as a model system. I have extensive experience working with non-model species, and my research lies at the interface of chromosome biology and evolutionary genomics.

My name is Marco, scientist from Italy. I am passionated about meiotic recombination dynamics in non-model species. I love to leverage untapped natural diversity to study fundamental processes.

As a Master’s student, Alice stumbled upon the moss model, and decided to keep it with her from lab to lab. Since then, she’s been on a mission to convince as many people as possible that Physcomitrium patens is an amazing model, allowing endless molecular biology approaches and paving the way to better understand the evolution of molecular mechanisms in plants. When she is not playing with the moss chromosome architecture, she provides help for the development of all moss-related projects at MPIPZ.

Maciej is a Senior Scientist with a background in plant genetics, biotechnology, and cytogenetics. A recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship, his work has focused on the molecular and cytogenetic basis of chromosome organisation and chromosome engineering in plants, with over 30 peer-reviewed publications and involvement in numerous international research projects. At the Marques Lab, he is currently investigating achiasmatic meiosis in Rhynchospora tenuis, combining cytogenetic and molecular approaches to address questions in chromosome biology and reproductive adaptation.

Thiago Nascimento is a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Germany. He holds a PhD and a Master’s degree in Plant Biology from the Federal University of Pernambuco (Brazil), and completed a doctoral research fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research. His research focuses on Chromosomal Evolution in Plants, combining approaches from comparative cytogenomics, immunocytogenetics, oligo-FISH barcode mapping, and chromosome painting. He has broad expertise in both Molecular and Classical Cytogenetics across diverse plant and insect groups, and in microscopy techniques including fluorescence, confocal, SIM, STED, and SEM. He is also experienced in sequencing technologies and library preparation — including Illumina, PacBio, Hi-C, Nanopore, Methyl-seq, ChIP-seq, and CUT&Tag — and in the downstream bioinformatic analysis of these data.

Stefan is a experienced wet-lab scientist. He works on several projects involving artificial karyotype engineering, meiotic recombination control and single-cell sequencing in holocentric plants.

Aaryan is a PhD student in bioinformatics working on the comparative genomics of carnivorous Drosera plants. He enjoys the interdisciplinary nature of his work and applying his skills to centromere biology. Outside science, he spends his time on calisthenics and philosophy.

Hi, I’m Natália, a Brazilian biologist passionate about plant genetics, genomics, and chromosome evolution. Here at the Marques groups, my research focuses on understanding how holocentromeres and holocentric plant genomes evolve by combining cytogenomics, molecular biology, and bioinformatics. I’m especially fascinated by how chromosomes are organized, how genomes change over time, and the mechanisms that shape the evolution of holocentric organisms!

Tantawat (Fame) is from Thailand and is a third-year PhD student shared between the Marques Lab and the Underwood group at Radboud University, the Netherlands. The project aims to establish transcriptomic profiles of male meiocytes to compare gene expression during male meiosis across plant species and meiotic modes, for example monocots versus dicots and holocentric versus monocentric species. To this end, Tantawat is developing a single-cell RNA-seq method adapted to this unique plant cell type, which should open a new route to studying meiocytes at the single-cell level.

Ruiyi uses bioinformatics to study the genomes and centromeres of interesting organisms, with a particular focus on the population genetics of holocentric plants.

I am a PhD student in Andre Marques’ group at MPIPZ. My research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying meiotic recombination and chromosome cohesion during inverted meiosis in holocentric plants. Using Rhynchospora species as model systems, I aim to investigate how meiotic chromosome dynamics and segregation differ from those in organisms undergoing canonical meiosis.

Georgios is supported by a doctoral fellowship co-funded by the European Union's Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (rePLANT). He investigates the evolutionary dynamics of repetitive elements in Rhynchospora (Cyperaceae). His work in the Marques Lab integrates phylogenomics and cytogenetic approaches, including analyses of male and female meiosis and recombination landscapes, to shed light on how exceptions to canonical chromosome biology drive genome evolution.

Ursula is a well-experienced lab technician that supports the group on different tasks. She is also responsible the lab plant collection management.

Laís does the lab mangement and supports the group work on tissue culture and different experiments in the lab that require technical assistance.

Christina support the lab on different molecular techniques.