I am interested in understanding the evolutionary history of organisms (specially, but not limited to, microorganisms) and how selection, mutation and recombination shape genomic variation. Some of the questions addressed in my lab are: ii) Can we understand from retrospective genomic analysis the demographic history of (micro)organisms and identify candidate genes that might have been involved in their adaptation to their current niche (either host or environment)? In the case of pathogenic microorganisms, these questions are interesting not only from a pure population genetic perspective but also have a strong link with health-related problems. ii) What ecological and evolutionary scenarios can explain the maintenance of toxic agents that kill organisms that produce them? It is a fascinating question that can be addressed with a combination of mathematical modeling, experimentation and molecular techniques and could lead to the discovery and perhaps better understanding of anti-bacterial agents. iii) What are the genetic basis of phenotypic variation in complex traits like disease susceptibility in organisms with very distinct genomic architectures like Theobroma cacao or humans
