Projects

Bacterial individuality can only be acknowledge at the single-cell level. To observe bacterial cells, we have developed a series of plasmids to tag them with unique fluorescent proteins. These plasmids are based on an expression, Tn5- and Tn7-delivery vectors.

The aerial parts of plants –leaves, stems, flowers– are considered as the phyllosphere. This environment is oligotrophic and heterogeneous for microbes to live on. Resources are limited and unevenly distributed. Thus, different possibilities would explain : (1) competition is high and bacteria have low degree of resource overlap between them to allow coexistence (increased niche stabilisation); (2) competition is low and bacteria are metabolically dependent on each other or on certain taxa; (3) they associate randomly and can tolerate each other without impacting on each other’s population growth.

During my BSc and MSc, I was involved in different projects related to grapevine biology. Being part of the Consorcio Tecnológico de la Fruta, I worked with varieties of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) resistant to the fungi Erysiphe necator.