Begoña AYO

She finished her degree in Biology in 1987, and then she won a predoctoral grant (Basque Government) to perform her PhD work on the grazing activity of bacterivorous flagellates and ciliates in freshwater and seawater aquatic systems, under the direction of Dr. Juan Iriberri in the UPV/EHU. She became PhD in Science (Biology) at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) in 1995, and was awarded with a “Premio Extraordinario de Doctorado” (1998). She won a postdoctoral grant to develope the Quality Control system in Microbiology at the industry Faes Farma SA (1997-98). Her teaching activity has been developed both at the Science and Technology Faculty (1990-1992, and 1998 up to now) and at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry (2012-2014) of the University of the Basque Country. She teaches courses on General Microbiology, Applied Microbiology and Microbial Ecology, mainly in Spanish and Basque languages, and both at the graduate (“Grado de Biología”, “Grado de Biotecnología”, “Grado de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular”) and postgraduate (“Master en Biodiversidad, Funcionamiento y Gestión de Ecosistemas”, “Master en Microbiología y Salud) levels. She was awarded with the “Diploma de Excelencia en Actividad Docente” in 2012. Her research activity has been developed mainly at the UPV/EHU, although she has joined the research teams at several research vessels (Mediterranean Sea: Thethis II (1994, 1995), Le Suroit (1995); Atlantic Sea: Hesperides, 2011). Her research interest focuses mainly on the microbial ecology of the aquatic systems, with special emphasis in the study of the structure and activity of the prokaryotic communities in aquatic systems: she has worked on the characterization of prokaryotic communities, both free-living and attached to aggregates, on the community of bacterivorous protists and on the functional prokaryotic community resistant to predation. The phenomenon of decoupling between hydrolytic activity and incorporation of monomers of the attached prokaryotes was studied in depth, and it was found that this dynamics are disengaged in particles. She is also interested in the relationships among different trophic levels in the microbial food web, specifically between protozoa and bacteria, and in particular, in the determination of the role of chemical cues generated by the bacterial prey under strong grazing pressure. The interaction was studied at both the natural mixed communities as well as with study model species, using both field approximations as well as laboratory analysis of changes and manipulations in laboratory microcosms. On-going research studies the specific composition and diversity of the bacterioplanktonic community in coastal waters of the Eastern Cantabrian Sea and the relevance of protistan grazing, compared to other environmental factors, as a significant driver of controlling core members of the community. Additionally, she is analyzing the field data obtained in the research project MICINN CSD2008-00077 Consolider-Ingenio ‘Malaspina Circumnavigation Expedition 2010: Global Change and Exploration of the Biodiversity Global Ocean «, in which she participated in the thematic block «Microbiological Biodiversity and Ecological Function.» She has participated in 20 competitive research projects funded by the University of the Basque Country, Basque Government, Spanish Ministries of Education and Science, Science and Technology, Environment, and Economy and Competitiveness, and EU.