Andrea Unzueta Martinez
I am intrigued by the idea that most animals are covered in microbes, and many depend on their microbial partners for survival, yet we still don’t understand what these microorganisms are doing or how they got to their host in the first place. My research aims to uncover whether microbial metabolisms can complement animal physiology as well as what generates and maintains diversity in animal microbiomes.
I use tools in molecular biology (e.g. metagenomics, metatranscriptomics) as well as physiological and geochemical techniques (e.g. absorption spectroscopy) to address questions about the contribution of microorganisms to the physiology and ecology of marine animals. My current projects include investigating (1) whether bivalve-associated microbiomes can alter the carbonate buffering system in body fluids and tissues and (2) the drivers of phylosymbiosis patterns across marine molluscs.
