About

Pablo Vargas Mejía

Plant genomics · Bioinformatics · Molecular plant pathology

I help research groups turn sequencing data into results they can publish, with the rigor of an academic collaborator and the focus of a specialist.

I recently completed doctoral research at UNAM on the epigenomics of the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora capsici, studying how its DNA methylation landscape shifts across developmental stages and during infection of different host plants. Rootline Genomics is how I make that experience available to other labs.

Pablo Vargas Mejía
Focus
Plant genomics & bioinformatics
Systems
Oomycetes, plant pathogens, plant genomes
Tools
Python · R · command-line · HPC

Over the past several years I've worked hands-on across the genomics workflow: assembling and annotating genomes from Illumina, PacBio, and Oxford Nanopore data; analyzing transcriptomes and small RNAs; calling DNA methylation from bisulfite, EM-seq, and Nanopore signal; and running metabarcoding and phylogenetic analyses. I work primarily in Python and R, in command-line and high-performance computing environments.

I started Rootline Genomics to give research groups direct access to that expertise, without the overhead of recruiting and training. I care about analyses that are biologically sound, statistically defensible, and clearly communicated. Whether you need a second pair of expert hands, a complete genome resource, or help getting a dataset into a manuscript, the goal is the same: results your lab can stand behind.

What I specialize in

Areas I work in every day.

Oomycete & pathogen genomics

Genomes, effector repertoires, and virulence biology of plant pathogens, with a focus on Phytophthora.

Plant genomes & annotation

Assembly and evidence-based annotation of plant and microbial genomes.

Epigenomics & methylation

Cytosine methylation from bisulfite, EM-seq, and Nanopore data.

Host-pathogen transcriptomics

Dual RNA-seq and time courses that resolve how infections unfold.

Metabarcoding & barcoding

Amplicon community profiling and marker / primer benchmarking.

Small-RNA & RNAi biology

siRNA dynamics, RNAi design, and small-RNA sequencing analysis.

Education

2022 – 2026

PhD, Biological Sciences

UNAM · ENES, Morelia / León

Epigenomics of Phytophthora capsici across development and host infection. Advisor: Dr. Julio César Vega Arreguín.

2020 – 2022

MSc, Plant Biotechnology

Cinvestav Irapuato

RNA silencing and callose at plasmodesmata in tobacco recovering from TEV infection. Advisor: Dra. Laura Silva Rosales.

2016 – 2020

BSc, Agrogenomic Sciences

UNAM

Graduated with Honors.

Experience & service

2025

Visiting Scholar

The Ohio State University · CFAES

Plant DNA metabarcoding research (WeedsWatch); contributed to two USDA-AFRI research proposals.

2023 – 2024

Teaching

UNAM

Teaching Assistant in Molecular Biology and Phytopathology; Lecturer in Bioethics, Biosafety & Legislation.

2019 – 2025

Member

Mexican Society of Virology

Professional membership and conference presentations.

Selected publications

Peer-reviewed work.

Full list on ORCID
2026
First author

SIREN: Suite for intelligent RNAi design and evaluation of nucleotide sequences

Vargas-Mejía P, Vega-Arreguín JC · Bioinformatics Advances
2026
First author

Adaptive transcriptional strategies underpin host-specific virulence of the generalist oomycete Phytophthora capsici during early crown infection

Vargas-Mejía P, Segura LS, Rojas-Rojas FU, Shimada-Beltrán H, Vega-Arreguín JC · Microbial Pathogenesis
2026

Phytophthora root rot induces compositional and functional changes in avocado rhizosphere bacterial communities

Alfaro-García RG, Vargas-Mejía P, et al. · FEMS Microbes
2023

Identification and management of tomato brown rugose fruit virus in greenhouses in Mexico

Vargas-Mejía P, et al. · Archives of Virology
2022

Differential expression between a tolerant and a susceptible maize line in response to Sugarcane mosaic virus infection

Rodríguez-Gómez G, Vargas-Mejía P, Silva-Rosales L · Viruses
2020
First author

Differential accumulation of innate- and adaptive-immune-response-derived transcripts during antagonism between papaya ringspot virus and papaya mosaic virus

Vargas-Mejía P, et al. · Viruses
2024
Preprint

Callose deposition at plasmodesmata suggests a role in viral movement restriction in transgenic tobacco during recovery from Tobacco etch virus infection

Vargas-Mejía P, et al. · bioRxiv

Skills & methods

The toolkit I bring to a project.

Genomics & assembly

Assembly & curation (Illumina · PacBio · Nanopore)Structural · functional · repeat annotationComparative genomics & phylogenetics

Transcriptomics & epigenomics

RNA-seq & differential expressionSmall RNA & metatranscriptomicsDNA methylation (bisulfite · EM-seq · Nanopore)

Amplicons, populations & design

Metabarcoding & DNA barcodingGenotyping-by-sequencing (GBS)RNAi / siRNA design

Computing & laboratory

Python (primary) & RCommand-line & HPCLibrary prep & sequencing (Nanopore · Illumina)Nucleic-acid & chromatin extraction

Let's talk about your data.

If your project overlaps with what I do, I'd be glad to hear about it.