Curriculum vitae of József Burgyán
Name: Burgyán
First name: József
Birth Date: 11/11/1951. Monor, Hungary
Language skill: Hungarian (mother language), English, Italian
Education and Degrees:
1999 - Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Structure and functions of viral RNAs
1994 - Candidate
Molecular Biology of Tombusviruses
1981 - Ph.D
Tobamoviruses and cross-protection
1971-76 Horticultural University Budapest
Positions:
Present:
Director of Istituto di Virologia Vegetale, CNR
Previous:
Group leader of the Agricultural Biotechnology Center
Director of Plant Biology Institute
Agricultural Biotechnology Center
Godollo, Hungary
Deputy general director of Agricultural Biotechnology Center
Program leader at the Agricultural Biotechnology Center
Godollo, Hungary
PhD student and Post Doc. Plant Protection Institute of
Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest
July 1, 20081990-July 1, 2008
2001- 2006
2000- 2003
1997- 2000
1976- 1990
Expertise and Current interest
Jozsef Burgyan has 30 years experience in plant molecular virology and he has expertise in
different aspects of plant-virus interaction. Currently, most research of his group focuses on the
molecular mechanisms of virus induced RNA silencing and suppression. His group recently
demonstrated using deep sequencing technology that viral small RNAs derived predominantly
from folded virus RNA in plant and sRNA programmed RISC cleaves the viral targets. They
identified the first structure of an sRNA binding protein (p19) and characterized the molecular
mechanism of silencing suppression in detailed. Moreover, they also showed that number of
viral suppressor proteins interfere with endogenous small RNAs by sequestering them and they
demonstrated that small RNA binding is a common strategy to suppress RNA silencing by
several viral suppressors. They recenly developed a higly sensitive small RNA detection system
which allows to detect small RNA either in Norther or in situ analysis.
His current interest; Molecular aspects of plant-virus interaction focusing on the role of the
RNA silencing related small RNAs. Virus induced RNA silencing and suppression.
Identification and description of silencing plant small non coding RNAs (miRNAs and
siRNAs).
Awards
Award of Hungarian Academy of Science 2004
Bioscience Award 2004
Award of Hungarian Minister of Agriculture and Rural development 2000
EMBO membership 2005
Recent international research grants:
EU FP5 “VIS“ QLRT-2001-01673 (2002-2005) 215.000 Euro
Virus-induced gene silencing: unravelling the basis of a mechanism and its exploitation for the
analysis of multitude of individual gene functions in plant
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EU FP6 “RIBOREG“ LSHG-CT 2003-503022 (2004-2007) 205.000 Euro
Novel roles of non-coding RNAs in differentiation and disease
EU FP6 IP “SIROCCO“ Proposal no.: 037900 (2007-2009) 283.000 Euro
Silencing RNAs: organisers and coordinators of complexity in eukaryotic organisms
Membership in Scientific Organizations
Member of European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
Member of EMBO membership committee
Member of EMBO fellowship committee
American Society of Virology (ASV)
American Society Microbiology (ASM)
Italian Phytopathological Society (SiPAV)
Hungarian Society Microbiology (MMT)
Hungarian Academy of Sciences Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology
Reviewer activity:
Invited reviewer of international journals, such as Virology, Journal of General Virology,
Journal of Virology, Nature Biotechnology, Plant Cell, Nature, Science, Nature Review
Genetics, PNAS, Plant Journal, RNA, Nucleic Acid Research., EMBO J.
Invited reviewer of international grants, such as NSF (USA), Eranet Plant genomics,
European Collaborative Research Programmes, EEC-6th Framework Program, German Federal
Ministry of Education and Research,
Member of Grant Panel of Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (1999-2002; 2005-2008)
Publication activity:
In the past József Burgyán has published 86 (64 international and 22 national) original research
papers, which have been cited 2020 times, his Hirsh index: 26 (based on Web of Science).
Recent selected publications:
1. Pantaleo, V., and Burgyan, J. 2008. Cymbidium ringspot virus harnesses RNA
silencing to control the accumulation of virus parasite satellite RNA. J Virol 82:
11851-11858.
2. Lozsa, R., T. Csorba, L. Lakatos, and J. Burgyan. 2008. Inhibition of 3' modification
of small RNAs in virus-infected plants require spatial and temporal co-expression of
small RNAs and viral silencing-suppressor proteins. Nucleic Acids Res 36:4099-107.
3. Havelda Z., E. Varallyay and J. Burgyan, 2008. Plant virus infection-induced
persistent host gene downregulation in systemically infected leaves. Plant J. 55:27888.
4. Pantaleo, V., G. Szittya, and J. Burgyan. 2007. Molecular Bases of Viral RNA
Targeting by Viral Small Interfering RNA-Programmed RISC. J Virol 81:3797-806.
5. Csorba, T., A. Bovi, T. Dalmay, and J. Burgyan. 2007. The p122 subunit of Tobacco
mosaic virus replicase is a potent silencing suppressor and compromises both siRNA
and miRNA mediated pathways. J Virol 81: 11768–11780.
6. Lakatos, L., T. Csorba, V. Pantaleo, E. J. Chapman, J. C. Carrington, Y. P. Liu, V. V.
Dolja, L. F. Calvino, J. J. Lopez-Moya, and J. Burgyan. 2006. Small RNA binding is a
common strategy to suppress RNA silencing by several viral suppressors. EMBO J
25:2768-80.
7. Lakatos, L., G. Szittya, D. Silhavy, and J. Burgyan. 2004. Molecular mechanism of
RNA silencing suppression mediated by p19 protein of tombusviruses. EMBO J
23:876-84.
8. Silhavy, D., and J. Burgyan. 2004. Effects and side-effects of viral RNA silencing
suppressors on short RNAs. Trends Plant Sci 9:76-83.
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9. Szittya G., Silhavy D., Molnar A., Havelda Z., Lovas A., Lakatos L., Banfalvi Z.,
Burgyán J. (2003) Low temperature inhibits RNA silencing-mediated defence by the
control of siRNA generation. EMBO J. 22, 633-640.
10. Vargason, J., G. Szittya, J. Burgyan, and T. M. Hall. 2003. Size selective recognition
of siRNA by an RNA silencing suppressor. Cell 115:799-811.
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