José Antonio Castillo, Ph.D.

Dr. José A. Castillo is a microbiologist; he has worked conducting basic and applied scientific research at the plant-bacteria interface for several years. Using genomics, bioinformatics, and tools from molecular biology, he studies the evolutionary trends of selected bacterial pathogens to understand their virulence factors and evolutive origin. Some results of this research directly help local farmers to avoid enormous losses due to crop diseases. His primary research is focused on a bacterial pathogen called Ralstonia solanacearum that causes significant losses to agricultural production worldwide. Currently, he is dedicated to developing a strategy to control Moko disease in banana and plantain using phage therapy. These Musa species are significant for Ecuador (where Dr. Castillo works) because the country produces and exports many of these fruits. Besides R. solanacearum, he has also investigated other bacterial pathogens such as Agrobacterium and Xylella fastidiosa.

Research interests

Plant -microbe interaction

Selected 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.
• Dennis Jimerez, Diego Beltran and José A. Castillo 2024. Mobile genetic elements of Xylella fastidiosa and their contribution to pathogenicity. Plant Pathology 00:1–10. DOI: 10.1111/ppa.13992
• Cristofer Motoche-Monar, Diego Andrade, et al 2024. CRISPRals: a web database for assessing CRISPR defense system in Ralstonia solanacearum species complex to avoid phage resistance. Phytopathology, in press. DOI: 10.1094/PHYTO-01-24-0010-SC
• Tiffany Lowe-Power, Parul Sharma, Poliane Alfenas-Zerbini, et al. 2023. Letter to the Editor: The Ralstonia research community rejects the proposal to classify phylotype I Ralstonia into the new species Ralstonia nicotianae. PhytoFrontiers, 3:4, 761-766. DOI: 10.1094/PHYTOFR-06-23-0071-LE
• 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.

Investigation Projects

• Desarrollo de una alternativa de biocontrol para frenar la propagación de la enfermedad del moko en el banano ecuatoriano” 2024 funded by Universidad de Investigación de Tecnología Experimental Yachay
• Nanotecnología en la gestión de humedad de suelos agrícolas” 2021 funded by FONTAGRO program, inter-american regional cooperation.