Institution: MNCN
Research Groups: Biogeochemistry and Microbial Ecology
Position: Ramón y Cajal researcher
Home page: https://rafaellasoperez.webnode.es/
Contact email: rafael.laso@mncn.csic.es
BCB Committee: Outreach, Talent attraction and training
BCB Community: No communities assigned.
BCB Tools: No tools assigned.
BCB Services: No services assigned.
Research topics: Computational Methods, Applications of Computational Biology, Microbial Communities, Computational models and simulations, Metabolic modelling, Molecular evolution, Phylogenetic Analysis, Sequence analysis, Mapping, Omics, Genomics, Genome Assembly, Genome Sequencing, Genomic Annotation, Microbial communities, Amplicon Sequencing, Metagenomics, Metatranscriptomics, Transcriptomics, RNA Sequencing (RNA-seq)
Biography: I am an environmental microbiologist with a great interest on using bioinformatic approaches to study microbial metabolism and evolution. My research has focused on archaeal metabolism, environmental metagenomics and cultivation of novel microorganisms. Currently, I use next-generation sequencing technologies to link microbial function in different environments: from urban wastewaters to the polar regions.
Publications
Müller, M.-C., Wissink, M., Mukherjee, P., Von Possel, N., Laso-Pérez, R., Engilberge, S., Carpentier, P., Kahnt, J., Wegener, G., Welte, C., & Wagner, T. (2025). Atomic resolution structures of the methane-activating enzyme in anaerobic methanotrophy reveal extensive post-translational modifications. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.10.632498
Woods, P. H., Speth, D. R., Laso-Pérez, R., Utter, D. R., Ruff, S. E., & Orphan, V. J. (2025). Identification of key steps in the evolution of anaerobic methanotrophy in Candidatus Methanovorans (ANME-3) archaea. Science Advances, 11(25). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adq5232
Laso Pérez, R., Santisteban, J. R., Fernandez-Gonzalez, N., Mundy, C. J., Tamames, J., & Pedrós-Alió, C. (2024). Nitrogen cycling during an Arctic bloom: from chemolithotrophy to nitrogen assimilation. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.02.27.582273
Rivas-Santisteban, J., Fernández-González, N., Laso-Pérez, R., Tamames, J., & Pedrós-Alió, C. (2024). Picoplankton nitrogen guilds in the tropical and subtropical oceans: from the surface to the deep. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.05.583471
Woods, P. H., Speth, D. R., Laso-Pérez, R., Utter, D. R., Ruff, S. E., & Orphan, V. J. (2024). Convergence and horizontal gene transfer drive the evolution of anaerobic methanotrophy in archaea. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.05.23.595608
Laso-Pérez, R., Wu, F., Crémière, A., Speth, D. R., Magyar, J. S., Zhao, K., Krupovic, M., & Orphan, V. J. (2023). Evolutionary diversification of methanotrophic ANME-1 archaea and their expansive virome. Nature Microbiology, 8(2), 231–245. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-022-01297-4
Zehnle, H., Laso-Pérez, R., Lipp, J., Riedel, D., Benito Merino, D., Teske, A., & Wegener, G. (2023). Candidatus Alkanophaga archaea from Guaymas Basin hydrothermal vent sediment oxidize petroleum alkanes. Nature Microbiology, 8(7), 1199–1212. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01400-3
Molari, M., Hassenrueck, C., Laso-Pérez, R., Wegener, G., Offre, P., Scilipoti, S., & Boetius, A. (2023). A hydrogenotrophic Sulfurimonas is globally abundant in deep-sea oxygen-saturated hydrothermal plumes. Nature Microbiology, 8(4), 651–665. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01342-w
Fernandez-Guerra, A., Wörmer, L., Borrel, G., Delmont, T. O., Elberling, B., Elvert, M., Eren, A. M., Gribaldo, S., Henriksen, R. A., Hinrichs, K.-U., Jochheim, A., Korneliussen, T. S., Krupovic, M., Larsen, N. K., Perez-Laso, R., Pedersen, M. W., Pedersen, V. K., Ruter, A. H., Sand, K. K., … Willerslev, E. (2023). Two-million-year-old microbial communities from the Kap København Formation in North Greenland. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.06.10.544454
Murali, R., Yu, H., Speth, D. R., Wu, F., Metcalfe, K. S., Crémière, A., Laso-Pèrez, R., Malmstrom, R. R., Goudeau, D., Woyke, T., Hatzenpichler, R., Chadwick, G. L., & Orphan, V. J. (2022). Physiological adaptation of sulfate reducing bacteria in syntrophic partnership with anaerobic methanotrophic archaea. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.11.23.517749
Wegener, G., Laso-Pérez, R., Orphan, V. J., & Boetius, A. (2022). Anaerobic Degradation of Alkanes by Marine Archaea. Annual Review of Microbiology, 76(1), 553–577. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-micro-111021-045911
Laso-Pérez, R., Wu, F., Crémière, A., Speth, D. R., Magyar, J. S., Krupovic, M., & Orphan, V. J. (2022). Evolutionary Diversification of MethanotrophicCa. Methanophagales (ANME-1) and Their Expansive Virome. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.04.498658
Zehnle, H., Laso-Pérez, R., Lipp, J., Teske, A., & Wegener, G. (2022). Candidatus Alkanophaga archaea from heated hydrothermal vent sediment oxidize petroleum alkanes. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2096998/v1
Chadwick, G. L., Skennerton, C. T., Laso-Pérez, R., Leu, A. O., Speth, D. R., Yu, H., Morgan-Lang, C., Hatzenpichler, R., Goudeau, D., Malmstrom, R., Brazelton, W. J., Woyke, T., Hallam, S. J., Tyson, G. W., Wegener, G., Boetius, A., & Orphan, V. J. (2021). Comparative genomics reveals electron transfer and syntrophic mechanisms differentiating methanotrophic and methanogenic archaea. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.25.461819
Zhou, Z., Zhang, C., Liu, P., Fu, L., Laso-Pérez, R., Yang, L., Bai, L., Li, J., Yang, M., Lin, J., Wang, W., Wegener, G., Li, M., & Cheng, L. (2021). Non-syntrophic methanogenic hydrocarbon degradation by an archaeal species. Nature, 601(7892), 257–262. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04235-2
Hoffmann, K., Bienhold, C., Buttigieg, P. L., Knittel, K., Laso-Pérez, R., Rapp, J. Z., Boetius, A., & Offre, P. (2020). Diversity and metabolism of Woeseiales bacteria, global members of marine sediment communities. The ISME Journal, 14(4), 1042–1056. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-020-0588-4
Hahn, C. J., Laso-Pérez, R., Vulcano, F., Vaziourakis, K.-M., Stokke, R., Steen, I. H., Teske, A., Boetius, A., Liebeke, M., Amann, R., Knittel, K., & Wegener, G. (2020). CandidatusEthanoperedens, a thermophilic genus of archaea mediating the anaerobic oxidation of ethane. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.21.999862
Hahn, C. J., Laso-Pérez, R., Vulcano, F., Vaziourakis, K.-M., Stokke, R., Steen, I. H., Teske, A., Boetius, A., Liebeke, M., Amann, R., Knittel, K., & Wegener, G. (2020). “ Candidatus Ethanoperedens,” a Thermophilic Genus of Archaea Mediating the Anaerobic Oxidation of Ethane. MBio, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.00600-20
Laso-Pérez, R., Hahn, C., van Vliet, D. M., Tegetmeyer, H. E., Schubotz, F., Smit, N. T., Pape, T., Sahling, H., Bohrmann, G., Boetius, A., Knittel, K., & Wegener, G. (2019). Anaerobic Degradation of Non-Methane Alkanes by “ Candidatus Methanoliparia” in Hydrocarbon Seeps of the Gulf of Mexico. MBio, 10(4). https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.01814-19
Laso-Pérez, R., Krukenberg, V., Musat, F., & Wegener, G. (2018). Establishing anaerobic hydrocarbon-degrading enrichment cultures of microorganisms under strictly anoxic conditions. Nature Protocols, 13(6), 1310–1330. https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2018.030
Laso-Pérez, R., Wegener, G., Knittel, K., Widdel, F., Harding, K. J., Krukenberg, V., Meier, D. V., Richter, M., Tegetmeyer, H. E., Riedel, D., Richnow, H.-H., Adrian, L., Reemtsma, T., Lechtenfeld, O. J., & Musat, F. (2016). Thermophilic archaea activate butane via alkyl-coenzyme M formation. Nature, 539(7629), 396–401. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature20152
Research lines:
There are no lines of investigation associated with this user.