Biography
Luis Alberto Quesada Allué, Argentine insect biochemist (Bordeaux, France 23 November 1942 –
Authored over 120 papers being most of them published in first-level journals
Described the chitin synthesis in insects
With L.R. Marechal & E. Belocopitow. Chitin synthesis in Triatoma infestans and other insects. Acta Physiol. Latinoam. 26(5):349-63, 1976
Found polyprenol-phosphates sugars in insects and studied its biosynthesis
With L.R. Marechal & E. Belocopitow. Biosynthesis of polyprenol phosphate sugars by Ceratitis capitata extracts. FEBS Lett. 67(3):243-7, 1976
Presented the first evidence of a protein glycosylation in a pluricellular invertebrate through dolichyl derivatives in Mol. Cell. Biochem. 33(3):149-55, 1980
Performed the first studies about glycoproteins in Trypanosoma cruzi
With J.J. Cazzulo & A.J. Parodi. The biosynthesis of mannose-containing glycoconjugates in the trypanosomatid Crithidia fasciculata. J. Protozool. 29(2):329, 1982
With A.J. Parodi. Protein glycosylation in Trypanosoma cruzi. I. Characterization of dolichol-bound monosaccharides and oligosaccharides synthesized “in vivo”. J. Biol. Chem. 257(13):7637-40, 1982
With A.J. Parodi. Novel mannose carrier in the trypanosomatid Crithidia fasciculata behaving as a short α-saturated polypreyl phosphate. Biochem. J. 212(1):123-8, 1983
Described in detail the transition from larval to pharate adult stages
With A. Rabossi & P. Wappner. Larva to pharate adult transformation in the medfly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae). Can. Entomol. 124(6):1139–47, 1992
With A. Rabossi. Medfly eye pigments as markers of differentiation. Anales Asoc. Quim. Argentina 81:325, 1993
Performed the first analysis in vivo of synthesis and deposition of a glycoprotein
With G.L. Boccaccio. Synthesis and deposition of PCG-100, the main pupal cuticle glycoprotein of the medfly Ceratitis capitata. Arch Insect Biochem. Physiol. 27(3):217-34, 1994
Proposed an alternative model explaining the mechanism of water loss during sclerotization
With P. Wappner. Water loss during cuticle sclerotization in the medfly Ceratitis capitata is independent of catecholamines. J. Insect Physiol. 42(17):705-9, 1996
Demonstrated the onset of glycogen synthesis in insects
With D.S. Tolmasky & A. Rabossi. Synthesis and mobilization of glycogen during metamorphosis of the medfly Ceratitis capitata. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 392(1):38-47, 2001
Discovered that enzyme NBAD-S plays a role in the immune system of insects and in the turnover of dopamine
With J. Schachter & M.M. Perez. The role of N-β-alanyldopamine synthase in the innate immune response of two insects. J. Insect Physiol. 53(11):1188-97, 2007
With M.M. Perez, J. Schachter & J. Berni. The enzyme NBAD synthase plays diverse roles during the life cycle of Drosophila melanogaster. J. Insect Physiol. 56(1):8-13, 2010
With L.M.Pujol-Lereis & A. Rabossi. Lipid profiles as indicators of functional senescence in the medfly. Exper. Geront. 47(6):465-72, 2012
First to demonstrate that after irradiation a fraction of tumor cells present large lipid bodies which mainly contain high concentration of triglycerides
With G.A. Pizzurro, F.P. Madorsky Rowdo, I.M. Pujol-Lereis, A.M. Copati, M.P. Roberti, J.L, Teillaud, E.M. Levy, M.M. Barrio & J. Mordoh. High lipid content of irradiated human melanoma cells does not affect cytokine-maturated dendritic cell function. Cancer Immunol. Immunother. 62(1):3-15, 2013
First to identify extracellular brownish spots in insects
With M.M. Perez, P.A. Bochichio & A. Rabossi Extracellular activity of NBAD-synthase is responsible for colouration of brown spots in Ceratitis capitata wings. J. Insect Physiol. 107:224-32, 2018
