Research expertise and methodologies

• Bacterial molecular genetics: directed mutagenesis, gene copy number analysis.
• Bacterial phenotypic characterization: antibiotic resistance, growth and fitness, motility, biofilm formation, membrane vesicles.
• Protein analysis and proteomics.
• Plant-bacteria interactions and infection assays.
  

Ongoing research projects

My research focuses on the potential of β-lactamases in mediating heteroresistance to clinically relevant β-lactam antibiotics. I work on identifying which prevalent genes can generate, within a clinically susceptible main population, a resistant subpopulation via increased gene copy number. This project also investigates how other factors, such as expression levels and the presence of common porin mutations, interact with β-lactamases in heteroresistance.

I also work on the mechanisms of plasmid copy number increase, with the objective to understand the role of PCN variation in generating heteroresistance and promoting horizontal gene transfer.

Key publications from previous work in plant–bacteria interactions

1. Casas-Román, A., Lorite, M.J., Werner, M., Muñoz, S., Gallegos, M.T., Sanjuán, J. (2024) The gap gene of Rhizobium etli is required for both free life and symbiosis with common beans. Microbiological Research 284, 127737. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micres.2024.127737
2. Casas-Román, A., Lorite, M.J., Sanjuán, J., Gallegos, M.T. (2024) Two glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenases with distinctive roles in Pseudomonas syringae Tomato DC3000. Microbiological Research 278, 127530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micres.2023.127530
3. Lorite, M.J., Casas-Román, A., Girard, L., Encarnación, S., Díaz-Garrido, N., Badía, J., Baldomá, L., Pérez-Mendoza, D., Sanjuán, J. (2023) Impact of c-di-GMP on the Extracellular Proteome of Rhizobium etli. Biology (Basel) 12, 44. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12010044