MICROEVO

Title: Evolution, experimental epidemiology and therapeutic engineering of the microbiota

Research Group: Evolutionary Genetics

Mutualistic symbiosis between bacteria and eukaryotic hosts is a widespread phenomenon in nature. Two different symbiotic system exist in insects, endosymbiosis, in which intracellular mutualistic bacteria play an essential nutritional role, and ectosymbiosis, formed mainly by bacteria in the gut, which function is still not well understood. Cockroaches are special because the two symbiotic system coexist in a single individual. Moreover, there is still the fundamental questions of the specific role of each system on host physiology, and whether there is a dialogue between them and with the host. We will address this questions using Blatella germanica as a model organism. We intend to cause and analyze the changes in composition and functions in the symbiotic systems under the effect of different treatments: diets and/or antibiotics.

Additionally, following our previous studies on minimal genomes and endosymbiosis, we aim to develop an endosymbiont chassis for synthetic biology based on the model of Bartonella quintana. We intend to generate streamlined Bartonella genomes and check their viability under controlled grown conditions.

Ref. PROMETEO/2018/133
Total amount: 280,932.75 €

Andrés Moya

Conselleria d’Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport, Generalitat Valenciana

• GVA - PROMETEO - Research groups of excellence