Francisco Ernesto Baralle Explained

Francisco Ernesto (Tito) Baralle
Birth Date:26 October 1943
Birth Place:Buenos Aires, Argentina
Workplaces:University of Oxford
ICGEB
Children:4

Francisco Ernesto (Tito) Baralle (born 26 October 1943, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentinian geneticist best known for his innovations in molecular biology and in particular the discovery of how genes are processed and mechanisms in mRNA splicing.

Biography

Francisco Ernesto (a.k.a. Tito) Baralle was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 26 October 1943. After completing his Ph.D. studies at the Department of Organic Chemistry, he transferred to the Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquimicas Fundacion Campomar directed by Prof. Luis F. Leloir, now the Leloir Institute. In 1974, he moved to the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge University, UK, where he worked in the Division directed by Dr. Frederick Sanger. From (1980 to 1990), he was University Lecturer of Pathology at Oxford University and Fellow of Magdalen College. In 1993, he was awarded the Platinum Konex Award for Science and Technology (Argentina) as the best scientist of the decade in Genetics and Cytology.

In September 1990, he was appointed Director of the Trieste Component of International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB)https://www.icgeb.org/francisco-e-baralle/ an autonomous, intergovernmental organisation originally established under UNIDO. From 2004-2014 he was the Director-General of the institute, overseeing laboratories in 4 continents, spanning 63 countries championing collaboration, scientific education and dissemination of Science and Biotechnology worldwide.

During his 10 year tenure as Director-General, and as well as expanding his medical and scientific research, he was responsible for the establishment of a Biotechnology Development Group serving as a training hub for researchers of developing countries, transferring biopharmaceutical know-how locally.

He was a strong supporter of the internationalization of science and took the 2-component (Italy and India) International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, and expanded it to 4 component institutions, establishing, and opening new centres in Africa and Argentina, giving opportunities and access to young scientists from the developing world.

Scientific activity

In 1977, and as a staff scientist at the laboratory of molecular biology, Cambridge, Tito published the sequence of the messenger RNA coding for beta-globin,[1] the first complete primary structure of a eukaryotic[2] mRNA. In 1979, his research group isolated the gene for epsilon-globin (HBE1),[3] a component of human embryonic hemoglobin. He was one of the first to describe the pre-mRNA alternative splicing process in the 1980s.[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

His studies on how genes are processed described the first sequences within exons that control splicing, exonic splicing enhancer (ESE)[4] [9] and has since made critical contributions to understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in this important cellular process in health and disease. He first identified the protein called TDP 43,[10] [11] that is now known to play a central role in certain neurodegenerative disorders (Frontotemporal lobar degeneration, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer disease). Tito Baralle is a leader and innovator in molecular biology and in particular the discovery of how genes are processed and mechanisms in mRNA splicing.

Honors and awards

Scientific publications

Tito has over 200 scientific publications,[15] some of his most cited are:

Notes and References

  1. Efstratiadis . A . Posakony . JW . Maniatis . T . Lawn . RM . O'Connell . C . Spritz . RA . DeRiel . JK . Forget . BG . Weissman . SM . Slightom . JL . Blechl . AE . Smithies . O . Baralle . FE . Shoulders . CC . Proudfoot . NJ . The structure and evolution of the human beta-globin gene family. . Cell . October 1980 . 21 . 3 . 653–68 . 10.1016/0092-8674(80)90429-8 . 6985477 . 54326419 . en . 0092-8674.
  2. Baralle . FE . The functional significance of leader and trailer sequences in eukaryotic mRNAs. . International Review of Cytology . 1983 . 81 . 71–106 . 10.1016/s0074-7696(08)62335-9 . 6135669. 9780123644817 .
  3. Proudfoot . NJ . Baralle . FE . Molecular cloning of human epsilon-globin gene. . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America . November 1979 . 76 . 11 . 5435–9 . 10.1073/pnas.76.11.5435 . 160554. 411663 . free .
  4. Mardon. H. J.. Sebastio. G.. Baralle. F. E.. 1987-10-12. A role for exon sequences in alternative splicing of the human fibronectin gene. Nucleic Acids Research. 15. 19. 7725–7733. 10.1093/nar/15.19.7725. 0305-1048. 306303. 3671064.
  5. Kornblihtt. A. R.. Vibe-Pedersen. K.. Baralle. F. E.. 1984-07-25. Human fibronectin: cell specific alternative mRNA splicing generates polypeptide chains differing in the number of internal repeats. Nucleic Acids Research. 12. 14. 5853–5868. 10.1093/nar/12.14.5853. 0305-1048. 320036. 6462919.
  6. Paolella. G.. Henchcliffe. C.. Sebastio. G.. Baralle. F. E.. 1988-04-25. Sequence analysis and in vivo expression show that alternative splicing of ED-B and ED-A regions of the human fibronectin gene are independent events. Nucleic Acids Research. 16. 8. 3545–3557. 10.1093/nar/16.8.3545. 0305-1048. 336511. 3375063.
  7. Zardi. L.. Carnemolla. B.. Siri. A.. Petersen. T. E.. Paolella. G.. Sebastio. G.. Baralle. F. E.. August 1987. Transformed human cells produce a new fibronectin isoform by preferential alternative splicing of a previously unobserved exon. The EMBO Journal. 6. 8. 2337–2342. 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1987.tb02509.x. 0261-4189. 553637. 2822387.
  8. Barone. M. V.. Henchcliffe. C.. Baralle. F. E.. Paolella. G.. April 1989. Cell type specific trans-acting factors are involved in alternative splicing of human fibronectin pre-mRNA. The EMBO Journal. 8. 4. 1079–1085. 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb03476.x. 0261-4189. 400917. 2545440.
  9. Muro. A. F.. Iaconcig. A.. Baralle. F. E.. 1998-10-16. Regulation of the fibronectin EDA exon alternative splicing. Cooperative role of the exonic enhancer element and the 5' splicing site. FEBS Letters. 437. 1–2. 137–141. 10.1016/s0014-5793(98)01201-0. 0014-5793. 9804187. 7904127.
  10. Buratti. E.. Baralle. F. E.. 2001-09-28. Characterization and functional implications of the RNA binding properties of nuclear factor TDP-43, a novel splicing regulator of CFTR exon 9. The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 276. 39. 36337–36343. 10.1074/jbc.M104236200. 0021-9258. 11470789. free.
  11. Buratti. E.. Dörk. T.. Zuccato. E.. Pagani. F.. Romano. M.. Baralle. F. E.. 2001-04-02. Nuclear factor TDP-43 and SR proteins promote in vitro and in vivo CFTR exon 9 skipping. The EMBO Journal. 20. 7. 1774–1784. 10.1093/emboj/20.7.1774. 0261-4189. 145463. 11285240.
  12. News: Premian a científicos destacados. La Nación.
  13. Web site: 2007-09-20. Bienvenido a la Academia Nacional de Ciencias — Academia Nacional de Ciencias. 2021-06-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20070920173427/http://www.acad.uncor.edu/. 20 September 2007.
  14. Web site: Factory. Troop Software. Fundación Konex. 2021-06-10. www.fundacionkonex.org. es.
  15. Web site: baralle fe - Search Results - PubMed. 2021-06-10. PubMed. en.
  16. Efstratiadis. A.. Posakony. J. W.. Maniatis. T.. Lawn. R. M.. O'Connell. C.. Spritz. R. A.. DeRiel. J. K.. Forget. B. G.. Weissman. S. M.. Slightom. J. L.. Blechl. A. E.. October 1980. The structure and evolution of the human beta-globin gene family. Cell. 21. 3. 653–668. 10.1016/0092-8674(80)90429-8. 0092-8674. 6985477. 54326419.
  17. Sreedharan. Jemeen. Blair. Ian P.. Tripathi. Vineeta B.. Hu. Xun. Vance. Caroline. Rogelj. Boris. Ackerley. Steven. Durnall. Jennifer C.. Williams. Kelly L.. Buratti. Emanuele. Baralle. Francisco. 2008-03-21. TDP-43 mutations in familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Science. 319. 5870. 1668–1672. 10.1126/science.1154584. 1095-9203. 7116650. 18309045. 2008Sci...319.1668S.
  18. Kornblihtt. A. R.. Umezawa. K.. Vibe-Pedersen. K.. Baralle. F. E.. July 1985. Primary structure of human fibronectin: differential splicing may generate at least 10 polypeptides from a single gene. The EMBO Journal. 4. 7. 1755–1759. 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1985.tb03847.x. 0261-4189. 554414. 2992939.
  19. Pagani. Franco. Baralle. Francisco E.. May 2004. Genomic variants in exons and introns: identifying the splicing spoilers. Nature Reviews. Genetics. 5. 5. 389–396. 10.1038/nrg1327. 1471-0056. 15168696. 1453186.

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