Microbial diversity is a rich source of genetic information with industrial potential, including biosynthetic gene clusters and novel enzyme catalysts. The synergy between biology-based and nanotechnology-based experimental tools is crucial for faster and more efficient gene discovery, particularly benefiting academic labs for screening campaigns. In the HT Discovery lab, we focus on methods to discover and engineer industrially relevant enzymes and biosynthetic gene clusters, utilizing biological selections and microfluidic screening.

Bacterial conjugation is the process by which a conjugative element is transferred from a donor to a recipient cell via a pore connecting both cells. Often, a conjugative element is located on a plasmid (then named conjugative plasmid). The conjugation process can be divided into four steps: (i) selection of and attachment to a suitable recipient cell, (ii) synthesis of the pore connecting both cells, (iii) processing of the DNA resulting in a single DNA strand (ssDNA) that is transferred into the recipient cell, and (iv) conversion of ss to dsDNA and establishment in the new host.

The Transformation and Metastasis group at IBBTEC investigates the signaling pathways involved in abnormalities during cancer and metastasis. The ultimate goal of these studies is to identify new modulators that can represent new therapeutic targets to stop metastasis and that can be directly translated into effective prevention or treatment strategies.

Conservation and Use of Plant Genetic Resources.

The Nanomedicine@ICN2 group, established at the end of 2019, is dedicated to the development of nanomaterials and devices for therapeutic and diagnostics applications. It has strong links with the Nanomedicine Lab at the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at the University of Manchester, with Prof. Kostas Kostarelos leading both teams. Graphene and 2D materials have a central role in a number of research lines carried out by the group in the context of the Graphene Flagship and beyond.

This group studies the cultural, political, social, and economic realities of the Americas from an interdisciplinary approach focused on history and cultural criticism, with special attention to Atlantic world connections. Within this field, priority is given to three lines of research: • Line 1: Literary production, cultural history, politics and ideology in the Americas and contemporary Europe. • Line 2: Imaginaries and transfers in the Atlantic world: utopianism and political cultures. • Line 3: Construction of national states and Latin American integration.

In our lab, we work with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and related Brassica crops species such as Brassica rapa (turnip, Chinese cabbage) and Brassica napus (oilseed rape). We are studying the impact of epigenetic mechanisms on plant development, genome organization and fundamental cell processes like transcription using molecular genetics, biochemical analyses and state-of-the-art epigenomics approaches.