Main research lines:
- Symbiosis evolution: The Symbiosis is an important factor for the promotion of evolutionary novelties. Studying it requires a joint analysis of the eukaryote host and its closely associated microorganisms by employing genomics and metagenomics. Moreover, the symbiosis of insects and humans is studied in a fundamental manner.
- Synthetic biology. The study of genomes of a microorganism variety offers clues for the comprehension and synthesis of minimal cells with applications in biomedicine, bioremediation and biotechnology.
- Genetic study of aphids: Taxonomy and reproductive polyphenism. Identification of genes and regulating channels for aphid reproduction (parthenogenesis vs sexuality).
The Gastrointestinal Infection Research Group of the Department of Microbiology and Ecology works in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and is linked to the Clinical Microbiology Service of the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valencia.
Our main objective is to investigate the pathogenic mechanisms of infectious agents that produce gastrointestinal pathology, mainly viruses (rotavirus and norovirus), as well as the immune response caused by these infections. Rotavirus and norovirus produce gastroenteritis that affect children, although noroviruses can also infect people of any age, often causing epidemic outbreaks. We study the immunological mechanisms of protection against these infections, as well as the molecular determinants that condition susceptibility to them.
