[SCAN] Microbe – Xenobiotics interactions: from single species to communities

Title: Microbe – Xenobiotics interactions: from single species to communities

Speaker: Sarela Garcia-Santamarina

Abstract: In this SCAN seminar, I will present my vision of the new laboratory that I am establishing at ITQB. I will first talk about my previous works: 1 - in the establishment of mechanisms of metal homeostasis involved in the virulence of the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans and 2 - in the characterization of how human intestinal bacteria respond to commonly used drugs when they are part of a community. I will use them as a basis to explain the fundamentals of my new laboratory, in which I intend to study the effects of transition metals on the human gut microbiota, at various levels: gene, strain, community, and interaction with the host. The goal is to understand how transition metals affect the structure and function of the human gut microbiota (e.g. metabolism or pathogen colonization resistance), antibiotic resistance patterns, or host nutrition. These studies are relevant for millions of people around the world who have deficiencies in metals of biological relevance (Fe, Zn, Cu, ...) or who accumulate heavy metals (Pb, Hg, Cd, As, ... ), with serious and even fatal consequences for your health.


https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84414201190