The pharmacological regulation of the cytoskeleton has been crucial in the development of cancer treatments and currently, it is considered a novel therapeutic target to fight several human diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases and infections. Our challenge is to develop new strategies to fight main human diseases, focusing on finding novel therapeutic targets and drugs candidates within the cell cytoskeleton with improved efficacy and less side effects.

The posttranslational modification of proteins is a key mechanism for the regulation of their activity by biological mediators, including lipids and reactive species, drugs and toxins.

Our group has long-standing experience in the structural characterization of bacterial virulence factors and in proteins implied in antibiotic resistance. The two major research lines of the group are: (i) the molecular basis of Acinetobacter baumannii infection, a life-threatening pathogen, and (ii) the mechanism of carbohydrate recognition by lectins, which have been shown to be involved in cancer development. For this, we use X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy in conjunction with other biophysical and biochemical techniques to accomplish our goal.

The main goal of the ‘Structural Biology of Host-Pathogen Interactions’ group is the study of protein-protein and protein-small molecule interactions that vehicle the communication between the human host and the microbiota and the complement system and bacterial pathogens. To this end we use methods that range from recombinant protein and protein complex production technologies to X-ray diffraction and biochemical and biophysical characterization methods.

Plants are sessile and need to cope with adverse environmental conditions that affect their development. To this end, plants have evolved adaptive processes that enable them to survive stresses such as drought, freezing or salinity. We aim to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes, which ultimately will allow improving crop productivity and sustainability in agriculture and environment. Currently, in addition of the head, the group is composed by one Cientíco Titular (Rafael Catalá Rodriguez),one Titulada Superior de Actividades Técnicas y Profesionales (M.

Plant biomass is a renewable source of chemical compounds and materials. In nature, fungi play a key role in its transformation and degradation through the action of complex enzymatic machineries. The Group of Biotechnology for Lignocellulosic Biomass at CIB aims to understand the enzymatic mechanisms involved in this process, and especially those responsible for lignin transformation in the plant cell wall.

The Environmental Biotechnology group was created to investigate the metabolizing abilities of bacteria for environmental applications. We study the genes, enzymes and regulation of the metabolic pathways both to degrade the environmental contaminants and to synthesize chemical compounds by biotransformation / biorefinery processes (e.g., pharmaceuticals, biofuels, biomaterials, enzymes), thus helping to reduce the environmental impact generated by human activity. It is a group integrated within the areas of LIFE and MATERIA..

The agriculture of the 21st century faces, among other challenges, the demand for global food security, the increase of world population and the climate change. Therefore, it is required more efficient and faster methods to develop new crop varieties, with higher yields and more resilient/adapted to environmental changes. The technologies of cell reprogramming, regeneration and in vitro propagation of selected plants are crucial in improvement and innovation programs of agrobiotechnological and nursery companies.

Our aim is to provide knowledge-based insights and novel tools for managing arthropods of agricultural and medical relevance. The multidisciplinary composition of the group (physiology, molecular biology, environmental biology and theoretical biology) allows a holistic approach for the implementation of Integrated Pest Management strategies that enable the establishment of more profitable and sustainable production systems, a key issue to increase food security, environmental quality and public health.

Plant virus diseases in commercial crops seriously affect the yield and quality of the food on which we depend. The understanding at the molecular level of interactions between factors from the plant, virus and transmission vector that determine the severity of disease outbreaks is crucial to the design of biotechnology strategies that attenuate their effects. Our group studies them by a combined genomic, proteomic and functional approach.