For detailed information about our group, please visit the lab webpage.
Research overview
During sexual reproduction, highly specialized reproductive cells called gametes (e.g. sperm and egg cells) compete to find a partner. This competition has driven evolution of remarkable adaptations where behaviour, reproductive organs and gamete properties ensure reproductive success. However, as soon as two gametes fuse, the newly formed zygote must immediately change its physiology to prevent further mating and initiate development of a new individual. How fertilization triggers this gamete-to-zygote switch is a key question our group pursues.
The sexual lifecycle is principally identical across eukaryotes: Haploid gametes fuse to form a diploid zygote, which then undergoes meiotic divisions to produce the next generation of gametes. We rely on the relative simplicity of fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and its powerful plethora of experimental approaches, to identify genes and mechanisms that drive the zygotic fate establishment.
For detailed information about our group, please visit the lab webpage.
Representative publications
Gerganova V., Lamas I., Rutkowski D.M., Vještica A., Castro D.G., Vincenzetti V., Vavylonis D., Martin S.G., Cell patterning by secretion-induced plasma membrane flows. Science advances, 7 (38) pp. eabg6718.
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Prof. Aleksandar Vještica After undergraduate studies at University of Belgrade in Serbia, Aleksandar obtained a PhD from the National University of Singapore under mentorship of Snezhana Oliferenko. He then moved to Sophie Martin’s group where he discovered how fungal zygotes prevent re-fertilization. Currently he is an Assistant Professor at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and continues to study the mechanisms of zygotic specification and development. ✆ +41 21 692 41 40 @ Aleksandar.Vjestica[at]unil.ch |
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Dr Clàudia Salat Canela Clàudia obtained a bachelor diploma in Biotechnology at URV, Tarragona and a master’s degree in Biomedical Research from UPF, Barcelona. She joined Elena Hidalgo and José Ayté’s groups for her doctoral studies, where she focused on the role of MAP kinases in regulating transcription and cell polarity upon stress in fission yeast. Currently, as a post-doctoral researcher, she is interested in the molecular mechanisms driving zygotic fate in fission yeast, with a particular interest in RNA-binding proteins and membrane-less organelles. ✆ +41 21 692 41 41 @ claudia.salatcanela[at]unil.ch |
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Dr Celso Martins Celso Martins received his bachelor and master degrees in Biology and Microbiology at the University of Aveiro, Portugal. He then obtained a PhD in Cristina Silva Pereira’s lab at ITQB NOVA studying the impacts pollutants exert on fungal communities. Celso joined the lab to study how re‑fertilization blocks affect the adaptive fitness in fungi. ✆ +41 21 692 41 41 @ celso.martins[at]unil.ch |
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Ayokunle Araoyinbo Following his B.Sc in Microbiology at Adekunle Ajasin University in Nigeria, Ayo obtained his Masters at Leeds Beckett University, UK. His initial work focused on functional and molecular characterisation of the adenosine nucleotide transporters in budding yeast. Ayo then became CBMnet fellow and worked on developing yeast strains to metabolise distillery waste. He joined the Vjestica’s group to study how molecular signaling drives zygotic specification in fission yeast. ✆ +41 21 692 41 41 @ ayokunleoluwaseun.araoyinbo[at]unil.ch |
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Anđela Brančić Tričković Anđela Brančić Tričković received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Molecular Biology and Physiology at the University of Belgrade, Serbia. Her master thesis characterized prostate cancer cell lines through bioinformatics analysis of genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic data. Anđela joined the Vještica lab to study how fertilization triggers zygote-specific transcription. ✆ +41 21 692 41 41 @ andela.brancictrickovic[at]unil.ch |
