Dr. Brankica Mravinac
P.O. Box 180
HR-10002 Zagreb
CROATIA
Education
2006 postdoctoral training; Duke University (Durham, North Carolina, USA)
2004 Ph.D. University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Molecular biology
2000 M.Sc. University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Molecular and Cellular Biology
1996 B.Sc. University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Molecular Biology
Featured projects
2024-2027 "Genomics and epigenomics of holocentromeres in nematodes Meloidogyne" (Croatian Science Foundation) - participant
2020 - 2024 "Satellite DNA evolution illuminated by high-throughput satellitome analyses of related species" (Croatian Science Foundation) – Principal Investigator
2020 - 2024 "(Epi)genomics and transcriptomics of euchromatic satellite DNAs in embryogenesis and development (Croatian Science Foundation)" – participant
2019 - 2022 "Development of genomic markers for rapid identification of parasitic nematodes and effective methods of pest control" (Adris Foundation) - participant
2015 - 2020 "Invertebrate centromere genomics" (Croatian Science Foundation) - participant
2013 - 2016 "Enhancement of the Innovation Potential in SEE through New Molecular Solutions in Research and Development" (FP7-REGPOT) - secondment
2013 - 2014 "Development of DNA markers for identifying commercially important mollusk species Ruditapes decussatus in the Adriatic Sea" (Adris Foundation) – Principal Investigator
2007 - 2013 "Evolution, properties and functional interactions of satellite DNA sequences" (Croatian Ministry of Science) - participant
2002 - 2006 "Organization of heterochromatic DNA sequences in invertebrate genomes" (Croatian Ministry of Science) - participant
1996 - 2002 "Organization and evolution of eukaryotic genome" (Croatian Ministry of Science) - participant
Projects
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Rasvjetljavanje evolucije satelitnih DNA visokoprotočnim analizama satelitoma srodnih vrsta - EvoSat
01.11.2020 - 30.04.2025 | 0.00 EUR
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Satellite DNA evolution illuminated by high-throughput satellitome analyses of related species - EvoSat
15.03.2020 - 14.03.2024 | 132,603.36 EUR
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15.02.2020 - 14.02.2024 | 132,404.27 EUR
Awards and Achievements
2010, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 Annual Awards of the Ruđer Bošković Institute for best scientific papers
Classes
2009 - present "Non-coding DNA sequences in eukaryotic genomes" course; Doctoral programme of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb
2003 - 2013 Methodological courses in biology and medicine; Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb
Featured Publications
Veseljak D, Despot-Slade E, Volarić M, Horvat L, Meštrović N, Mravinac B (2026) Tribolium madens satellitome reveals a network of highly abundant satellite DNAs in megabase-sized regions hallmarked by macro-dyad symmetries. Genome Biol. 27(1):131.
Veseljak D, Despot-Slade E, Volarić M, Horvat L, Vojvoda Zeljko T, Meštrović N, Mravinac B (2025) Dynamic evolution of satellite DNAs drastically differentiates the genomes of Tribolium sibling species. Genome Res. 35(11):2445-2460.
Volarić M, Despot-Slade E, Veseljak D, Mravinac B, Meštrović N (2024) Long-read genome assembly of the insect model organism Tribolium castaneum reveals spread of satellite DNA in gene-rich regions by recurrent burst events. Genome Res. 34(11):1878-1894.
Gržan T, Dombi M, Despot-Slade E, Veseljak D, Volarić M, Meštrović N, Plohl M, Mravinac B (2023) The Low-Copy-Number Satellite DNAs of the Model Beetle Tribolium castaneum. Genes 28;14(5):999.
Despot-Slade E, Širca S, Mravinac B, Castagnone-Sereno P, Plohl M, Meštrović N (2022) Satellitome analyses in nematodes illuminate complex species history and show conserved features in satellite DNAs. BMC Biol. 20(1):259.
Volarić M, Despot-Slade E, Veseljak D, Meštrović N, Mravinac B (2022) Reference-guided de novo genome assembly of the flour beetle Tribolium freemani. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 23:5869
Volarić M, Veseljak D, Mravinac B, Meštrović N, Despot-Slade E (2021) Isolation of high molecular weight DNA from the model beetle Tribolium for Nanopore sequencing. Genes 12:1114.
Despot-Slade E, Mravinac B, Širca S, Castagnone-Sereno P, Plohl M, Meštrović N (2021) The centromere histone is conserved and associated with tandem repeats sharing a conserved 19-bp Box in the holocentromere of Meloidogyne nematodes. Mol Biol Evol. 38:1943-1965.
Gržan T, Despot-Slade E, Meštrović N, Plohl M, Mravinac B (2020) CenH3 distribution reveals extended centromeres in the model beetle Tribolium castaneum. PLoS Genet. 16(10):e1009115.
García-Souto D, Mravinac B, Šatović E, Plohl M, Morán P, Pasantes JJ (2017) Methylation profile of a satellite DNA constituting the intercalary G+C-rich heterochromatin of the cut trough shell Spisula subtruncata (Bivalvia, Mactridae). Sci Rep. 7:6930.
Nerlović V, Korlević M, Mravinac B (2016) Morphological and molecular differences between the invasive bivalve Ruditapes philippinarum (Adams & Reeve, 1850) and the native species Ruditapes decussatus (Linnaeus, 1758) from the northeastern Adriatic Sea. J Shellfish Res 35: 31-39.
Meštrović N, Mravinac B, Pavlek M, Vojvoda-Zeljko T, Šatović E, Plohl M (2015) Structural and functional liaisons between transposable element s and satellite DNAs. Chromosome Res. 23: 583-596.
Plohl M, Meštrović N, Mravinac B (2014) Centromere identity from the DNA point of view. Chromosoma 123: 313-325.
Plohl M, Meštrović N, Mravinac B (2012) Satellite DNA evolution. Genome Dyn. 7: 126-152.
Mravinac B, Meštrović N, Čavrak VV, Plohl, M (2011) TCAGG, an alternative telomeric sequence in insects. Chromosoma 120:367-376.
Mravinac B, Plohl M (2010) Parallelism in evolution of highly repetitive DNAs in sibling species. Mol. Biol. Evol. 27:1857-1867.
Mravinac B, Sullivan LL, Reeves JW, Yan CM, Kopf KS, Farr CJ, Schueler MG, Sullivan BA (2009) Histone modifications within the human X centromere region. PLoS One 4:e6602.
Kim JH, Ebersole T, Kouprina N, Noskov VN, Ohzeki J, Masumoto H, Mravinac B, Sullivan BA, Pavlicek A, Dovat S, Pack S, Kwon YW, Flanagan PT, Loukinov D, Lobanenkov V, Larionov V (2009) Human gamma-satellite DNA maintains open chromatin structure and protects a transgene from epigenetic silencing. Genome Res. 19:533-544.
Mravinac B, Plohl M (2007) Satellite DNA junctions identify the potential origin of new repetitive elements in the beetle Tribolium madens. Gene 394: 45-52.
Mravinac B, Plohl M, Ugarković Ð (2005) Preservation and high sequence conservation of satellite DNAs suggest functional constraints. J. Mol. Evol. 61: 542-550.
Mravinac B, Ugarković Ð, Franjević D, Plohl M (2005) Long inversely oriented subunits form a complex monomer of Tribolium brevicornis satellite DNA. J. Mol. Evol60: 513-525.
Mravinac B, Plohl M, Ugarković Ð (2004) Conserved patterns in the evolution of Tribolium satellite DNAs. Gene 332: 169-177.
Mravinac B, Plohl M, Meštrović N, Ugarković Ð (2002) Sequences of PRAT satellite DNA "frozen" in some coleopteran species. J. Mol. Evol 54: 774-783.
Meštrović N, Plohl M, Mravinac B, Ugarković Ð (1998) Evolution of satellite DNAs from the genus Palorus - experimental evidence for the “library” hypothesis. Mol. Biol. Evol. 15: 1062-1068.
Publications - Conference journals
Conference abstract
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Plohl, Miroslav ; Mravinac, Brankica ; Ugarković, Đurđica ; Durajlija-Žinić, Sonja | Organizational pattern of beetle satellite DNAs indicates high dynamics of recombinational events in centromeric heterochromatin // Chromosome research, 2007. str. 27-28
link.springer.com
Publications - Conference unpublished
Unpublished conference paper
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Mravinac, Brankica | Evolucija satelitnih DNA - smisao "besmisla" // Znanstveni simpozij "Darwin 200", Hrvatsko biološko društvo 1885 | Zagreb, Hrvatska, 11.12.2009-11.12.2009
www.hbd1885.hr
Publications - Graded papers
Master of Science thesis
Mravinac, Brankica | Satelitne DNA vrsta roda Palorus i njihova rasprostranjenost u drugim rodovima porodice Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) / Plohl, Miroslav (mentor). | Zagreb, Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet, Zagreb, 2000
Master's thesis (university)
Veseljak, Damira | Karakterizacija satelitnih DNA kukca brašnara Tribolium freemani Hinton / Mravinac, Brankica (mentor). | Zagreb, Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet, Zagreb, 2019
Dombi, Mira | Identifikacija i karakterizacija niskozastupljenih satelitnih DNA u genomu vrste Tribolium castaneum / Mravinac, Brankica (mentor). | Zagreb, Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet, Zagreb, 2018
Vondrak, Tihana | Upotreba molekularnih biljega u identifikaciji različitih vrsta kamenica u Jadranu / Mravinac, Brankica (mentor). | Zagreb, Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet, Zagreb, 2017
Pirija, Mario | Identifikacija vrsta roda Ruditapes (Mollusca, Bivalvia) upotrebom molekularnih biljega / Mravinac, Brankica (mentor). | Zagreb, Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet, Zagreb, 2015
Vladimir Vanja Čavrak | Telomerni slijed (TCAGG)n u genomima kukaca crnokrilaca (Tenebrionidae, Coleoptera) / Mravinac, Brankica (mentor). | Zagreb, Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet, Zagreb, 2009
Mravinac, Brankica | Istraživanje transkripcije satelitske DNA kukca brašnara (Tenebrio molitor L.) / Ugarković, Đurđica (mentor). | Zagreb, Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet, Zagreb, 1996
Doctoral thesis
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Veseljak, Damira | Satellitome characterization in flour beetles of the genus Tribolium / Mravinac, Brankica (mentor). | Osijek, Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, 2025
mobi.unios.hr -
Gržan, Tena | Centromerna epigenetika vrsta roda Tribolium / Mravinac, Brankica ; Plohl, Miroslav (mentor). | Osijek, Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku / Sveučilište u Dubrovniku, 2020
mobi.unios.hr Mravinac, Brankica | Evolucija satelitnih DNA nekih vrsta roda Tribolium (Coleoptera) / Plohl, Miroslav (mentor). | Zagreb, Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet, Zagreb, 2004
Membership in professional associations / societies
Croatian Genetic Society