Publications

The emergence of drug-resistant strains of the parasite Leishmania infantum infecting dogs and humans represents an increasing threat. L. infantum genomes are complex and unstable with extensive structural variations, ranging from aneuploidies to multiple copy number variations (CNVs). These CNVs have recently been validated as biomarkers of Leishmania concerning virulence, tissue tropism, and drug resistance. As a proof-of-concept to develop a ...

Viral variability can be understood as genetic differences between nucleotide sequences. It can be used to define viral taxonomic units (species, genera, class, or family), viral subgroups, strains or life-cycle stages (lytic and latent phases). Viral diversity has been extensively studied, mostly through second-generation sequencing techniques, such as IonTorrent or Illumina sequencing. In the last years, third-generation technologies, such as ...

The first cluster of patients suffering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was identified on December 21, 2019, and as of July 29, 2020, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections have been linked with 664,333 deaths and number at least 16,932,996 worldwide. Unprecedented in global societal impact, the COVID-19 pandemic has tested local, national, and international preparedness for viral outbreaks to the ...

Almost all eukaryotes have transposable elements (TEs) against which they have developed defense mechanisms. In the Drosophila germline, the main transposable element (TE) regulation pathway is mediated by specific Piwi-interacting small RNAs (piRNAs). Nonetheless, for unknown reasons, TEs sometimes escape cellular control during interspecific hybridization processes. Because the piRNA pathway genes are involved in piRNA biogenesis and TE ...