Universidad Autonóma de Madrid
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa"
Cantoblanco
28049 Madrid (Spain)
Ordinary Academicians
Most important awards, prizes and academies
Awards: Principe de Asturias de Investigación Científica, Spain (1984); Leopold Mayer de l'Academie des Sciences de Paris, France (1986); Santiago Ramón y Cajal National Prize for Scientific Research, Spain (1995); Severo Ochoa Chair in Biology, Section: Research abroad, Spain (1996); Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid Research Prize, Spain (1998); Rey Jaime I Research Medal, Valencia, Spain (1998); Encomienda con Placa de la Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio (2005); Premio México de Ciencia y Tecnología (2006). Academies: Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas Fisícas y Naturales, Spain (1984); Foreign Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, USA (1985); Foreign Member, Royal Society, London (1986); Foreign Member, Nat. Acad. of Sciences USA, Washington, DC (1987); Founder Member, Academia Europaea (1988); Foreign Member, Nat. Acad. of Sciences of France (1995); European Academy of Sciences (2004). Honorary Degrees: Academy of Sciences USSR, Moscow (1990); University of La Coruña, Spain (1996); University of Barcelona, Spain (1996); University of Oviedo, Spain (1997); University of Salamanca, Spain (1998); University of Elche, Alicante, Spain (2001).
Summary of scientific research
The work of Antonio García-Bellido has been pioneer and prevalent in exploring an 'apogenetic' notion of Development: the genome, active in the individual cells, determines specific cell behaviour and this, in turn, the organization of cells in supracellular systems. The wealth of new ideas contributed by Antonio García-Bellido in the field of Developmental Biology is related with his outstanding experimental results in the studies of the genetic bases of cell recognition (1966-69); genetic mosaics and blastoderm maps (1968); clonal analysis of developing systems (1968-73) that lead him to the discovery of developmental compartments and the theory of selector genes; somatic cell genetics (1970-76); genetic trans-regulation and syntagmas (1972-82); cell-cell interactions in Morphogenesis (1984-). Venation and cell proliferation control (1989-). His ideas and new approaches to the problem of Development have been followed and continued by numerous researchers all over the world mainly in Europe and the United States of America, prompting similar research studies in other animal groups, such as mammals, and plants. The present flourishing of the Molecular Genetics of Development in Drosophila is due, in a large extent, to the important work of Antonio García-Bellido that is already quoted and explained in text books (e.g. Genetics, Strickberger, Molecular Biology of the Cell, B. Alberts et al.). Some of his papers have been qualified as 'citation classics' by Current Contents and commented and praised by many colleagues in research papers, review articles and dedications of books.
Main publications
García-Bellido, A., Larvalentwicklung transplantierter Organe von Drosophila melanogaster im Adultmilieu, J. Ins. Physiol., 11, pp. 1071-8 (1965); García-Bellido, A., Pattern reconstruction by dissociated Imaginal Disk Cell of Drosophila Melanogaster, Develop. Biol., 14, pp. 278-306 (1966); García-Bellido, A. and Merriam, J.R., Cell Lineage of the Imaginal Discs in Drosophila Gynandromorphs, J. Exp. Zool., 170, pp. 61-76 (1969); García-Bellido, A. and Merriam, J.R., Parameters of the Wing Imaginal Disc Development of Drosophila Melanogaster, Develop. Biol., 24, pp. 61-87 (1971); García-Bellido, A. and Merriam, J.R., Genetic Analysis of Cell Heredity in Imaginal Discs of Drosophila Melanogaster, Proc. Natl. Acd. Sd. USA, 68, pp. 2222-6 (1971); García-Bellido, A., Some Parameters of Mitotic Recombination in Drosophila Melanogaster, Molec. Gen. Genetics, 115, pp. 54-72 (1972); García-Bellido, A., Pattern Formation in Imaginal Disks, Results and Problems in Cell Differentiation, vol. 5, pp. 59-91 (H. Ursprung, R. Nothiger, eds.), Springer-Verlag (Berlin, 1972); García-Bellido, A. and Santamaria, P., Developmental Analysis of the Wing Disc in the Mutant Engrailed of Drosophila Melanogaster, Genetics, 72, pp. 87-104 (1972); García-Bellido, A., Ripoll, P. and Morata, G., Developmental Compartmentalization of the Wing Disk of Drosophila, Nature New Biology, 245, pp. 251-3 (1973); Capdevila, M.P. and García-Bellido, A., Development and Genetic Analysis of Bithorax Phenocopies in Drosophila, Nature, 250, pp. 500-2 (1974); García-Bellido, A., Genetic Control of Wing Disc Development in Drosophila, Cell Patterning, Ciba Foundation Symposium 29, pp. 161-82, Elsevier (Amsterdam, 1975); García-Bellido, A. and Ripoll, P., The Number of Genes in Drosophila Melanogaster, Nature, 273, pp. 399-499 (1978); García-Bellido, A. and Moscoso del Prado, J., Genetic Analysis of Maternal Information in Drosophila, Nature, 278, pp. 346-8 (1979); García-Bellido, A., Genetic Analysis of the Achaete-Scute System of Drosophila Melanogaster, Genetics, 91, pp. 491-520 (1979); Capdevila, M.P. and García-Bellido, A., Genes Involved in the Activation of the Bithorax Complex of Drosophila, Wilhelm Roux's Archiv., 190, pp. 339-50 (1981); García-Bellido, A. and Robbins, L.G., Viability of Female Germ-Line Cells Homozygous for Zigotic Lethals in Drosophila Melanogaster, Genetics, 103, pp. 235-47 (1983); Moscoso del Prado, J. and García-Bellido, A., Genetic Regulation of the Achaete-Scute Complex of Drosophila Melanogaster, Roux's Arch. Dev. Biol., 193, pp. 242-5 (1984); Diaz-Benjumea, F.J. and García-Bellido, A., Genetics Analysis of the Wing Vein Pattern of Drosophila, Roux's Arch. Dev. Biol., 198, pp. 336-54 (1990); Diaz-Benjumea, F.J. and García-Bellido, A., Behaviour of Cells Mutant for an EGF Receptor Homologue of Drosophila in Genetic Mosaics, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B, 242, pp. 36-44 (1990); García-Bellido, A., Cortés, F. and Milán, M., Cell Interactions in the Control of Size in Drosophila Wings, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 91, pp. 10222-6 (1994); Milán, M., Campuzano, S. and García-Bellido, A., Cell Cycling and Patterned Cell Proliferation in the Drosophila Wing during Metamorphosis, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93, pp. 11687-92 (1996); Cifuentes, F.J. and García-Bellido, A., Proximo-Distal Specification in the Wing Disc of Drosophila by the Nubbin Gene, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 94, pp. 11405-10 (1997); García-Bellido, A.C. and García-Bellido, A., Cell Proliferation in the Attainment of Constant Sizes and Shapes: the Entelechia Model, Int. J. Dev. Biol, 42, pp. 353-62 (1998); Martin-Blanco, E., Pastor-Pareja J.C. and García-Bellido, A., JNK and Decapentaplegic Signaling Control Adhesiveness and Cytoskeleton Dynamics during Thorax Closure in Drosophila, PNAS, 97, n. 14, pp. 7667-8192 (2000); Baonza, A. and García-Bellido, A., Notch signaling directly controls cell proliferation in the Drosophila wing disc, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 97: 2609-14 (2000); Baena-López, L.A., Baonza, A. and García-Bellido, A., The Orientation of Cell Divisions Determines the Shape of Drosophila Organs, Current Biology, 15: 1640-4 (2005); Baena-López, L.A. and García-Bellido, A., Control of growth and positional information by the graded vestigial expression pattern in the wing of Drosophila melanogaster, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103: 13734-9 (2006).