Short Bio

Dr. Castillo obtained his bachelor degree in Biology at the Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Bolivia. He did his doctoral studies in microbiology at University of Chile and then a postdoc at the University of Chicago, Illinois, US, where he studied the genes involved on disease progression caused by a plant bacterial pathogen.

Research interest

Dr. Castillo’s main research interest is focused on plant–microbe interactions, in particular, to unravel the biological diversity of plant pathogens and the virulence determinants that they use to invade and cause disease in plants. He has studied a devastating bacterial pathogen that causes severe damage to agricultural production, Ralstonia solanacearum for years. This is a soil-borne pathogen that infects several plant species. His aim is to unravel the mechanism of infection and the genes that are involved in this process. He has also interested in the natural diversity of this pathogen at a worldwide level but recently, in Ecuador. To achieve both goals, he uses molecular and biochemical tools, genomics, microscopy, immunology, and bioinformatics. His more recent work considers the analysis of the defense systems that R. solanacearum harbors to avoid phage damage. This analysis also pursues the application of phage therapy to control R. solanacearum. For this, his work connects genomics, bioinformatics, and microbiology.

On the other hand, he has also investigated beneficial microbes. He worked with many Bacillus species (B. subtilis, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. pumilus, and B. thuringiensis) both in basic and applied science. On the basic side, he is currently working on the phylogeny and evolution of the Bacillus genus using bioinformatics tools. On the practical side, he worked with Bacillus and some fungi (Trichoderma sp), particularly focusing to use them as plant growth-promoting microorganisms to improve agricultural production. He has participated in a team of researchers that has developed several products based on living microorganisms for use in organic agriculture.

 

Recent publications

• Sarmiento K.N. and Castillo J.A.. 2022. Genome-scale Solanum spp.-Ralstonia solanacearum interactome reveals candidate determinants for host specificity and environmental adaptation. European Journal of Plant Pathology 162, 855–868. DOI: 10.1007/s10658-021-02442-1
• Castillo J.A., Conde G, Claros M, and Ortuño N. 2022 Diversity of Cultivable Microorganisms Associated with Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and their Potential for Plant Growth-Promotion. Revista Bionatura 7(2) 61. DOI: 10.21931/RB/2022.07.02.61.
• Secaira-Morocho H; Castillo J.A.; Driks A. 2020. Diversity and Evolutionary Dynamics of Spore Coat Proteins in Spore-forming Species of Bacillales. Microbial Genomics 2020;6(11):1-32. DOI 10.1099/mgen.0.000451.
• Castillo J.A., Secaira-Morocho H, Maldonado S and Sarmiento K.N. 2020. Diversity and Evolutionary Dynamics of Antiphage Defense Systems in Ralstonia solanacearum Species Complex. Frontiers in Microbiology 11:961. DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2020.00961.