In recent years, taxonomic profiling studies based on 16S rRNA sequencing have allowed for the characterization of the diversity and distribution of microbial communities in many polluted habitats. However, the basic mechanisms at the functional level by which microbial populations adapt to diverse stress conditions induced by anthropogenic activities, and their prevalence for resistance strategies in natural environments, remain poorly explored.

One of the strategies that microbial communities seem to adopt under stress conditions involves the release of extracellular vesicles. Recent studies demonstrate that certain bacterial taxa release vesicles in natural environments. These vesicles typically contain DNA, RNA, proteins, and metabolites; however, the role these vesicles play in the adaptation of bacterial communities to environmental conditions is not yet fully understood. One hypothesis under consideration suggests that these vesicles may play a role in facilitating both intra- and inter-group communication within complex microbial communities. I'm particularly interested in understanding the role of vesicles released by cyanobacteria and other bacteria in adapting to various extreme environments such as sediments polluted with metals, eutrophic lakes, or arid soils. To address this question, we integrates approaches from metagenomic, systems biology, ecology, and computational biology.

Cyanobacteria, with their unique ability to perform oxygenic photosynthesis, play an important role in biotechnology, ranging from biofuel production and carbon dioxide capture to environmental bioremediation through the synthesis of bioactive compounds. Despite extensive research and the high number of sequenced cyanobacterial genomes, functional annotation still leaves a significant percentage (35~45%) of proteins with unknown functions.

Functional annotation is vital for comprehending the biology of microorganisms. It further assists in contextualising genomic data and utilising it for practical purposes such as genetic engineering, biotechnology, and understanding microbial ecology. In this context, it is essential to improve the annotation of cyanobacteria in order to understand the mechanisms behind their adaptation to environmental stress.

Using various bioinformatic and computational tools for orthologous groups delineation, genomic context conservation and structural clustering, my current focus is on improving the functional landscape of cyanobacteria, with a particular emphasis on the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.