Antonio José Fernández González

Graduate in Biology (2008) and Master in Research and Advances in Microbiology (2009) by the University of Granada. PhD in Microbiology (University of Granada and Estación Experimental del Zaidín - CSIC, 2014), with International Doctorate Accreditation thanks to his stay at the Joint Genome Institute (JGI), California (USA).

During his PhD he managed large volumes of high-throughput sequencing (NGS) data to study the oak rhizosphere prokaryotic communities in the protected area of Sierra Nevada (Granada), which made it possible to isolate Arthrobacter strains able to thrive in soils affected by forest fire and with plant growth-promoting features (PGPB).

His postdoctoral stage was carried out in France (University of Lorraine), studying wood-degrading fungi and the enzymes involved in the detoxification of acetonic wood extracts, which led to the discovery of a new glutathione transferase (GST) in Phanerochaete chrysosporium, the white-rot model fungus.

Among the most recent projects I have participated in, called OVerMan and BIOLIMITS, and using the knowledge acquired during my predoctoral and postdoctoral stages, I have studied the microbial communities (bacterial and fungal) of the rhizosphere and the interior of the roots of 36 olive (Olea europaea L.) varieties that represent 95% of the genetic diversity of the world olive germplasm collection in IFAPA Alameda del Obispo, Córdoba (published in Scientific Reports). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of the root microbiome in olive tolerance to Verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahliae Kleb.), work published in MICROBIOME. As a result of this latter study, my most recent analyses focused on assessing the correlation between microbial communities in the olive root system and root gene expression profiles, through transcriptomics, across different cultivars (published in Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal and MICROBIOME). Additionally, I aimed to understand the changes in interactions within the olive root microbiome in plants stressed by the phytopathogen, previously inoculated with different biocontrol agents (published in Environmental Microbiome).

Currently, as a participant in the SOIL O-LIVE project (funded by the EU), I am primarily responsible for analyzing the major microbial communities (bacteria and fungi) of the olive root system (rhizosphere and endorhizosphere) across the Mediterranean basin. For this purpose, samples were collected from five of the main producing countries in the region: Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Italy, and Greece. This is a large-scale study, with nearly 500 samples, aimed at revealing the microbial biodiversity of Mediterranean olive groves, the specific characteristics in each country, and their relationship with soil health, as well as how the root microbiome is affected by the main management practices in this crop: traditional, organic, and intensive/super-intensive management.