Our projects
Environmental Stress Adaptation in Microbial Dark Matter: Extracellular Vesicles versus Phages
Summary: This project investigates how previously uncharacterized microorganisms adapt to extreme environmental stress, focusing on the roles of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and bacteriophages in microbial adaptation and communication. By combining single-cell genomics, metagenomics and the characterization of mobile genetic elements, the project aims to understand how EVs and phages contribute to the transfer of genetic and functional traits within microbial communities exposed to environmental stress.
Project ID: CIDEXG/2026/07
Duration: November 2026 – October 2030 (4 years; possible 2-year extension)
Funding: €400,000 + principal investigator salary
Funding body: Generalitat Valenciana
Project type: Excellence researcher recruitment and research project funding
Impact of Extracellular Vesicles on Microbial Dark Matter
Summary: This project explores the largely unknown role of extracellular vesicles in microbial dark matter—microorganisms that remain poorly characterized or absent from current genomic databases. The project aims to determine which microorganisms produce EVs, characterize their genetic and functional cargo, and investigate their potential role in microbial interactions and adaptation. The work combines single-cell genomics, metagenomics and approaches for the characterization of extracellular particles.
Project ID: CNS2025-165964
Duration: April 2026 – March 2028 (2 years)
Funding: €199,876
Funding body: Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
Project type: Research consolidation project
Microbial Single-Cell Genomics
Summary: This project supports the establishment and development of an independent research programme focused on microbial dark matter and single-cell genomics. The research combines culture-independent approaches, particularly single-cell genomics and metagenomics, to discover and characterize previously unknown microorganisms and investigate their adaptations to unusual or extreme environments. The programme also supports the development of new methodologies and international collaborations in microbial genome discovery.
Project ID: CDEIGENT/2021/008
Duration: December 2021 – November 2027 (6 years)
Funding: €180,000 + principal investigator salary
Funding body: Generalitat Valenciana
Project type: International researcher recruitment and career development programme
The Mobilome of the Anaerobic Methanotrophic Archaea Methanoperedenaceae
Summary: This international project, led by Dr. Simon McIlroy from the Centre for Microbiome Research, Brisbane, Australia, investigates the mobilome of Methanoperedenaceae, a group of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea capable of oxidizing methane while coupling this process to the reduction of other compounds. The project focuses on mobile genetic elements—including plasmids, viruses and other mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer—to understand how genetic traits are exchanged and how this may influence the adaptation and evolution of these environmentally important archaea.
Project ID: DP240100992
Duration: January 2024 – December 2026 (3 years)
Funding: aprox. €345,981
Funding body: Australian Research Council
Programme: Discovery Projects
Our role: Partner Investigator
Nudi-Sym — New Culture-Independent Methodologies to Discover Bacterial Symbionts of Marine Soft-Bodied Animals and Their Contribution to Host Chemical Defence
Summary: Nudi-Sym investigates the largely unexplored microbial communities associated with marine soft-bodied animals, particularly nudibranchs. The project develops culture-independent approaches, including single-cell genomics and metagenomics, to discover previously unknown bacterial symbionts and determine their potential contribution to the chemical defence of their hosts. The project also explores microbial diversity preserved in museum specimens, opening new possibilities for studying host–microbe associations across space and time.
Project ID: PID2022-136298NA-I00
Duration: September 2023 – August 2026 (3 years)
Funding: €187,500
Funding body: Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
Project type: Fundamental research project (knowledge generation)
Previously Unknown Microbes Capable of Adapting to Hexavalent Chromium Pollution
Summary: This project explores microbial adaptation to extreme chromium contamination, with a particular focus on microorganisms that remain largely unknown to science. Using single-cell genomics and metagenomics, the project aims to discover novel microbial lineages inhabiting highly contaminated environments and characterize the genetic mechanisms that allow them to tolerate or transform toxic chromium. The project provides a basis for identifying microorganisms and genetic pathways with potential applications in bioremediation and biotechnology.
Project ID: INVEST/2023/173
Duration: December 2023 – November 2025 (2 years)
Funding: €132,435.68
Funding body: Generalitat Valenciana
Programme: INVESTIGO
Project type: Researcher employment programme
Extraction of High-Molecular-Weight DNA from Nudibranchs
Summary: This project developed and optimized methods for obtaining high-molecular-weight DNA from nudibranch specimens, including preserved museum material. The resulting DNA enables advanced genomic approaches for studying nudibranch biodiversity and their associated microorganisms, and contributes to the development of museomics and biodiversity genomics approaches for organisms for which fresh material is difficult or impossible to obtain.
Project ID: IEC_BG1_2023_6
Duration: November 2023 – November 2024 (1 year)
Funding: €18,742
Funding body: Institut d'Estudis Catalans
Programme: Research Grants in Biogenome (Biodiversity Genome)
Project type: Methodological research project