Discovery and characterization of antimicrobials against mycobacteria.
The group is part of the Genomics and Molecular Ecology Laboratory.
Overview
We are a young and dynamic research group, recently formed to help develop new strategies to combat mycobacterial infections. Our work focuses on the search for and characterization of antimicrobial compounds active against pathogenic bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium.
Our research addresses a major global health challenge: diseases caused by mycobacteria, including tuberculosis, continue to affect millions of people and cause many deaths each year. There is also a growing need for new treatments, particularly as strains resistant to currently available antimicrobials emerge and spread.
In this context, our group seeks to identify and study new compounds with therapeutic potential, contributing to our understanding of how these pathogens can be combated and, in the longer term, to the development of new treatment options for mycobacterial infections.
We are driven by scientific curiosity, collaborative work and a commitment to generating knowledge that can help address one of the enduring challenges in public health.
Shared research line
Bacteria–host interaction in symbiotic and pathogenic systems
Study of the molecular and cellular interactions that determine beneficial or pathogenic colonization.
We analyze how bacteria perceive host signals, modulate their gene expression and adjust their metabolism and physiology during symbiosis or infection. We use genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic approaches to identify regulators and molecular determinants of these interactions.
The knowledge generated can guide the development of more efficient agricultural inoculants and sustainable antimicrobial strategies.
Participants: María Carla Martini, Antonio Lagares and Gonzalo Torres Tejerizo.
Team
- Dr. María Carla MartiniGroup director · CONICET Associate Researcher
- Antonio LagaresGroup director · CONICET Superior Investigator
- Lic. Ludmila CareriANPCyT doctoral fellow.
Projects and funding
- PICT Radicación 2023/0003 (ANPCyT). “Identification and evaluation of antimicrobial compounds with potential to treat infectious diseases caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria.” Principal investigator: María Carla Martini.
- UNLP grant X1019. Principal investigator: Gonzalo A. Torres Tejerizo. María Carla Martini participates as a researcher.
Project shared with Antimycobacterial Research: UNLP X1019, led by Gonzalo A. Torres Tejerizo, with María Carla Martini participating. Molecular Mechanisms in Bacteria
Selected scientific output
- Loss of glycerol catabolism confers carbon-source-dependent artemisinin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- The small non-coding RNA B11 regulates multiple facets of Mycobacterium abscessus virulence
- Mycobacterial RNase E cleaves with a distinct sequence preference and controls the degradation rates of most Mycolicibacterium smegmatis mRNAs
- Loss of RNase J leads to multi-drug tolerance and accumulation of highly structured mRNA fragments in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- BioF is a novel B2 metallo-β-lactamase from Pseudomonas sp. isolated from an on-farm biopurification system
- Artemisia annua and Artemisia afra extracts exhibit strong bactericidal activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- MamA essentiality in Mycobacterium smegmatis is explained by the presence of an apparent cognate restriction endonuclease
- Defining the transcriptional and post-transcriptional landscapes of Mycobacterium smegmatis in aerobic growth and hypoxia
Contact
Dr. María Carla Martini: carlamartini@biol.unlp.edu.ar.