Who we are?

EGB gathers an enthousiastic team mainly Biologists and Biotechnologists from different local Universities (FCEN-UBA, UNQUI, UNSAM). We develop a research line in the intherphase of Genomics, Synthetic Biology and Bioinformatics. We understand bacterial physiology as an emergent property of genome content and structure. We are always looking for motivated students from a wide range of disciplines (Biology, Informatics, Chemistry, Engineering, etc.). We welcome your application.

Join us!

Andrey, Nachu, Sole, Nico, Alfonso, Ines,

&, Leti (2022) in a joint lab meeting with the LPM.

Current EGB members:

Alfonso SOLER-BISTUE, PhD (Group Leader)

Since 2017 I lead my research group at IIB-INTECH UNSAM (D. Comerci Lab). I am interested in bacteria since they are simple and powerful genetic models. We have recieved support from the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), the Agencia I+D+i and CONICET. We are trying to genomically reprogram bacterial growth using Vibrios and Bradyrhizobia as experimental models. We test the importance of gene order in bacterial genomes. We look for genes whose genomic location, and not their mere presence or absence, influence the phenotype. In the long-term we expect to contribute to discover the rules of bacterial genome organization. Through these approaches we aim at trying to make fast growing bacteria grow slow and, inversely and more challengengly, to accelerate the doubling time of Bradyrhizobium.

I made my my PhD, at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and Leloir Institute working on antibiotic resistance and anti-sense RNA molecules compounds to counter resistance genes. My international expericen include a Posdoc at Mazel’s Lab at Pasteur Institute in Paris, France (2011-2017) as an EMBO and Marie Slodowska-Curie Fellow. I worked on Vibrio cholerae genomics showing that genomic location of ribosomal protein genes links chromosomal structure to cell physiology, its ecology and evolution. We proved the concept that it is possible to predict and tune bacterial growth rate by modifying the position of key genes within the genome.

Leticia Larotonda, MSc (Doctoral Student)

Leticia studied Biotechnology at UNQUI and made her Masters Thesis at Leloir Institue. Leticia works on V. cholerae growth rate reprogramming. From 2020 she is a CONICET PhD candidate.

Main collaborations

NATIONAL

Diego Comerci (IIB-UNSAM).
Juan E. Ugalde (IIB-UNSAM).
Elías Mongiardini (Un. Nac. La Plata/IBBM).
Ignacio E. Sánchez (QB-FCEN-UBA).

INTERNATIONAL

Didier Mazel (Institut Pasteur, France).
Virginia Lioy (I2BC, U. Paris-Saclay,France).
Briardo Llorente (Macquarie University, Australia).
Eduardo Rocha (Institut Pasteur, France).
Carla Saleh (Institut Pasteur, France).
Marcelo Tolmasky (California State University Fullerton, USA).
Soledad Ramirez (California State University Fullerton, USA).

Ian Medici (PhD Candidate)

Ian studies Bradyrhizobium physiology aiming at improving Bradyrhizobium growth. He studies how specific traits of Bradrhizobium genome impacts growth rate while getting specific mutations that acceletate growth in vitro.

Andrey Giovanni Gomes De Oliveira (PhD candidate)

Andrey is an International Fellow from Maquarie University in Australia. He will spend one year with us in Vibrio recombineering in a collaborative project with Briardo Llorente .

Nazarena Wade (PhD candidate)

Naza recieved an Agencia Scholarship on collaborative project with Dr Comerci and Dr Marchesini elucidating the relationship between rrn structure, cell physiology and pathogenesis of Brucella.

The following agencies fund our research.