About Us

The group was started on March 2022, headed by Dr. Jesús Montiel González. The group belongs to the program Functional Genomics of Eukaryotes, in the prestigious Centre for Genomic Sciences (https://www.ccg.unam.mx/) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The centre is located in Cuernavaca, México and possess funding and infrastructure necessary to develop high-impact research.

Research Interest

Our research interest focuses on identifying the molecular components that facilitate symbiotic associations between the
legume Lotus japonicus (Lotus) and nitrogen-fixing bacteria that colonize the plant roots intracellularly and
intercellularly. Comprehensive methodologies are used, including bioinformatics, molecular biology, microscopy, and
protocols for symbiotic phenotyping. Current initiatives also involve investigating molecular processes in
Lotus during pathogenic and endophytic colonizations, using the aforementioned biological resources. With the
knowledge generated in Lotus, research has also begun in Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean), the most consumed
legume in Mexico. In collaboration with colleagues, the Phabase (https://phabase.ccg.unam.mx/) platform was created, a database containing genomic and transcriptomic information from different bean varieties for functional genomics studies.

Dr. Jesús Montiel González
(Principal Investigator)

Jesús Montiel is a biologist graduated from Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla. Since his graduate studies have covered diverse angles of the legume-Rhizobia relationship in prestigious research institutes: Institute of Biotechnology (UNAM), Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Polytechnic University of Madrid and Aarhus University, Denmark.

Since March 2022, Jesús Montiel joined the program Functional Genomics of Eukaryotes at the Centre for Genomic Sciences, developing different research lines to elucidate the molecular components employed by legume roots to facilitate the colonization of symbiotic microorganisms. The different projects involve the characterization of legume genes (Lotus or common bean) involved in various biological processes such as cell-wall remodelling proteins, transcriptional regulators, among others… For this purpose, plant molecular biology, bioinformatics, and microscopy techniques (optical and confocal) are used in homozygous mutants affected in genes-of-interest. These projects are carried out in coordination with different collaborators from national and foreign research centres.