Emanuel Sanz-Luque

My scientific career began in 2006 when I was awarded an FPU fellowship (2006-2010) to start my Ph.D. in the group "Metabolismo del nitrógeno inorgánico en algas". My research focused on: 

1. Nutrient uptake. We identified the first molybdenum transporter in eukaryotes and resolved debated aspects about the ammonium uptake mechanism. 

2. Molecular players involved in the regulation and signaling of nitrogen assimilation. Role of soluble guanylate cyclase and nitric oxide (NO) in the transcriptional and posttranslational regulation of nitrogen assimilation in algae and plants. 

3. Synthesis and degradation of NO, mediated by the ARC (synthesis) and THBs (degradation) proteins.

In 2016, I started a postdoctoral stage at the Carnegie Institution for Science (Stanford, US), funded by two competitive fellowships awarded by the "Alfonso Martín Escudero" Foundation (2016-2018) and the European program Horizon 2020 (2018-2021, Outgoing Individual Marie Curie Fellowship). During this stage, my research focused on:

1. Nutrient deprivation responses. We showed the importance of polyP synthesis to maintain ATP homeostasis and sustain nutrient deprivation responses.

2. Regulation of the photoprotective mechanisms in algae. We studied how the light quality and intensity, as well as CO2 availability, are integrated to regulate the photoprotective mechanisms.

These projects equipped me with new technical skills to study photosynthesis and respiration processes.

In January 2020, I returned to UCO (for the third year of the Marie Curie Fellowship) and got involved in the following project:

1. Molecular factors involved in synthesizing and releasing the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). Our work has shown that algae produce N2O, and we have identified the first mitochondrial protein related to such production.

            In 2022, I was awarded a grant as PI (Programa Operativo FEDER Andalucía 2014-2020), and in 2023 I was awarded an EMERGIA grant.

Since July 2023, I have been an Assistant Professor in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department at UCO and PI of a grant (Programa de Incentivación de la Consolidación Investigadora) focused on phosphate metabolism. Our goal in this project is to understand the mechanisms that trigger polyphosphate synthesis in microalgal cells, use these organisms as bioremediation tools to recover phosphate from wastewater and promote a circular economy using microalgal biomass as biofertilizer.