The Yeast Genomics* lab @ NOVA

(*evolutionary, functional, comparative and more)

People

Ana Pontes

PhD Student

Lab: (+351) 21 294 85 30 (ext. 11108)

Email: ap.pontes@fct.unl.pt

BSc in Biology, Universidade Lusófona, 2011

MSc in Medical Microbiology, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2013

Research interests

My scientific interests cover several topics related to microbial ecology, evolution and domestication in yeast, in particular Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The systematic isolation of S. cerevisiae from natural and human related habitats, gives a unique opportunity to investigate both the natural and domesticated populations. I’ll be focusing on known domesticated groups like the wine and sake populations and on new domesticated populations. For this new groups and for the ones that are already studied, through whole genome sequence analysis I hope to find new genomic transformations associated with the fermentation process from where these strains have been isolated and associate these genomic traits with a possible phenotypic advantage.

Publications

Pontes A, Röhl O, Maldonado C,  Yurkov AM, Sampaio JP. 2017. Cryptotrichosporon argae sp. nov., Cryptotrichosporon brontae sp. nov. and Cryptotrichosporon steropae sp. nov., isolated from Mediterranean forest soils. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol (in press).

Sampaio JP, Pontes A, Libkind D, Hutzler M. Taxonomy, diversity, and typing of brewing yeasts. 2017. In Brewing Microbiology: Current Research, Omics and Microbial Ecology (Edited by: Charles W. Bamforth and Nicholas A. Bokulich). Caister Academic Press, U.K. pp. 88-117.

DOI: 10.21775/9781910190616.04

Mašínová T, Pontes A, Carvalho C, Sampaio JP, Baldrian P. 2017. Libkindia masarykiana gen. nov. et sp. nov., Yurkovia mendeliana gen. nov. et sp. nov., and Leucosporidium krtinense f.a. sp. nov., isolated from temperate forest soils. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 67:902-908.

DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.001707

Gonçalves M, Pontes A, Almeida P, Barbosa R, Serra M, Libkind D, Hutzler M, Gonçalves P, Sampaio JP. 2016. Distinct domestication trajectories in top-fermenting beer yeasts and wine yeasts. Curr Biol. 26:1-12.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.08.040

Yurkov A, Röhl O, Pontes A, Carvalho C, Maldonado C, Sampaio JP. 2016. Local climatic conditions constrain soil yeast diversity patterns in Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub biome. FEMS Yeast Research 16:fov103.

DOI:10.1093/femsyr/fov103

Pontes A, Röhl O, Carvalho C, Maldonado C, Yurkov AM, Sampaio JP. 2016. Cystofilobasidium intermedium sp. nov. and Cystofilobasidium alribaticum f.a. sp. nov. isolated from Mediterranean forest soils. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 66:1058-1062.

DOI:doi: 10.1099/ijsem.0.000835