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Molecular Microbiology & Genomics

Molecular Microbiology
MMG Research Labs

The MMG Group uses different molecular microbiology approaches and genomics to understand and fight pathogenesis and antibiotic resistance in bacteria, and to decipher the evolution of important physiological properties in yeasts. Recent achievements relate to the understanding of microbial pathogenicity and concern the role of bacterial peptidoglycan (PG) hydrolases in evading the immune response and the role of PG amidation in antibiotic resistance. Also, characterization of Chlamydia virulence proteins led to findings relevant for targeting virulence.

Applied research contributed to the development of a test for detection of carbapenemases (antimicrobial resistance). Using yeasts as models, we uncovered events of horizontal gene transfer that re-shaped sugar fermentation in a yeast lineage.


Recent publications
Portela, R; Faria, NA; Mwangi, M; Miragaia, M; de Lencastre, H; Tomasz, A; Sobral, RG. 2022. Analysis of a Cell Wall Mutant Highlights Rho-Dependent Genome Amplification Events in Staphylococcus aureus. MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM, DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02483-21
Magdalena Ksiezarek; Teresa Gonçalves Ribeiro; Joana Rocha; Filipa Grosso; Svetlana Ugarcina Perovic; Luisa Peixe. 2021. Limosilactobacillus urinaemulieris sp. nov. and Limosilactobacillus portuensis sp. nov. isolated from urine of healthy women. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY MICROBIOLOGY, DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.004726
Melgosa, R; Marques, M; Paiva, A; Bernardo, A; Fernandez, N; Sa-Nogueira, I; Simoes, P. 2021. Subcritical Water Extraction and Hydrolysis of Cod (Gadus morhua) Frames to Produce Bioactive Protein Extracts. CEREAL FOODS WORLD, 10, DOI: 10.3390/foods10061222
Magdalena Ksiezarek; Svetlana Ugarcina-Perovic; Joana Rocha; Filipa Grosso; Luísa Peixe. 2021. Long-term stability of the urogenital microbiota of asymptomatic European women. BMC MICROBIOLOGY, DOI: 10.1186/s12866-021-02123-3
Koufopanou, V; Lomas, S; Pronina, O; Almeida, P; Sampaio, JP; Mousseau, T; Liti, G; Burt, A. 2020. Population Size, Sex and Purifying Selection: Comparative Genomics of Two Sister Taxa of the Wild Yeast Saccharomyces paradoxus. Genome Biology and Evolution, 12, DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evaa141