Pepe Franco

Investigador

Bio

Dr. José M. Franco is a senior research scientist of the Instituto de Investigaciónes Marinas (CSIC) in Vigo with 40 years experience in research activities. He joined the VGO-HAB team in 1990. He is an expert on HPLC and LCMS analysis of toxins algae. Among other goals, he improved a method for the determination of PSP toxins and participated at intercalibration exercises of the European Union BCR for toxins determinations.
He has more than 10 years experience in the application of detection techniques (LC-MS/MS, HPLC-FLD) to assess the presence of marine biotoxins in Spanish waters, and has been involved in a number of projects related to the detection of algal toxins in cultures on harmful algae.
Nowadays, he focuses on the LC- MS methodology’s of lipophylic toxins of harmful algal species of phytoplankton, as DSP toxins, Palytoxins, ciguatoxins, YTXs and cyclic imines.
He has coauthored numerous publications on the subject of marine toxins and supervised several doctoral theses on these topics.

Selected Publications

P. Riobó, J Franco. (2010). Palytoxins: Biological and Chemical determination. Toxicon. 57 (3) 368-375

B. Paz, P. Riobó and J.M. Franco.(2011). Preliminary study for rapid determination on phycotoxins in microalgae whole cells using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 25, 3627-3639.

Aguilera-Belmonte, A., Inostroza, I., Franco, J.M., Riobó, P., Gómez, P.I., (2011) The growth, toxicity and genetic characterization of seven strains of Alexandrium catenella (Whedon and Kofoid) Balech 1985 (Dinophyceae) isolated during the 2009 summer outbreak in southern Chile, Harmful Algae 12, 105-112.

M. Vila, L. Arin, C. Battocchi, I. Bravo, S. Fraga, A. Penna, A. Reñé, P. Riobó, F. Rodriguez, M. Sala, J. Camp, M. de Torres, and J. M. Franco. (2011). Management of Ostreopsis blooms in recreational waters along the Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean Sea): cooperation between a research project and a monitoring program. Cryptogamie-Algologie. 33 (2):143-152.

A. Moreira, F. Rodríguez, P. Riobó, J.M. Franco, N. Martínez, D. Chamero and C. Alonso. (2011). Notes on Ostreopsis sp. from southern-central coast of Cuba. Cryptogamie-Algologie. 33 (2): 217-224

P. Riobó, JM Franco and E. López. (2011). Chemical methods for phycotoxins detection: LC and LC/MS/MS. In: New Trends in Marine and Freshwater Toxins: Food and Safety Concerns (A.G. Cabado and JM Vieites Eds.) Nova Science Publishers, Inc pp 215-267

Nagore Sampedro, Jose M. Franco, Manuel Zapata , Pilar Riobo, Esther Garces, Antonella Penna,Amandine Caillaud, Jorge Diogene, Emiliano Cacho, Jordi Camp (2013).The toxicity and intraspecific variability of Alexandrium andersonii Balech. Harmful Alga. 25: 26-38

Alejandra Aguilera-Belmonte , Ingrid Inostroza , Katia Saez Carrillo , Jose´ M. Franco , Pilar Riobo ,Patricia I. Gomez (2013).The combined effect of salinity and temperature on the growth and toxin content of four Chilean strains of Alexandrium catenella (Whedon and Kofoid) Balech 1985(Dinophyceae) isolated from an outbreak occurring in southern Chile in 2009.Harmful Algae 23 55–59

Catharina Alves-de-Souza, Daniel Varela, Cristobal Contreras, Pablo de La Iglesia, Pamela Fernandez, Byron Hipp, Cristina Hernandez, Pilar Riobo, Beatriz Reguera, Jose M. Franco, Jorge Diogene, CarlosGarcıa, Nestor Lagos (2013) Seasonal variabilityof Dinophysis spp.and Protoceratium reticulatum associated tolipophilicshellfishtoxins inastronglystratifiedChileanfjord Deep-Sea ResearchII

Beatriz Paz, Juan Blanco, Jose M. Franco (2013) Yessotoxins production during the culture of Protoceratium reticulatum strainsisolated from Galician Rias Baixas (NW Spain). Harmful Algae 21–22 13–19