Albano Gonçalo Beja Pereira

Research Interests

My work focuses on the evolution of domestic species and the biological, ecological, and social consequences of domestication. I am interested in understanding how animals, plants, microorganisms and human societies have coevolved in agricultural contexts, giving rise to new forms of adaptation, dependence, and biological reorganisation that shape the world we live in.

I began with the genetics and evolution of domestic animals, but my interests have since expanded to include the microbiomes associated with agriculture and the role of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microorganisms in the adaptation of hosts, production systems, and human societies. This perspective leads me to advocate a shift in analytical scale: from population genetics, centred on the analysis of genetic variance in isolated entities, towards approaches focused on the interactions between organisms and on how those interactions participate in and influence coevolutionary processes between micro and macroscopic species. Epigenomics emerges here as a particularly valuable tool to complement this vision, capturing dimensions of biological variation that escape strictly genomic analysis or an evolutionary perspective centred solely on the individual, whilst ignoring the modelling effect of the surrounding environment.

Questions That Guide My Scientific Work

How did domestication, as a long-term evolutionary experience, simultaneously shape the genomes of domestic species and those of the human societies that selected them?

In what ways did the processes of mutation, genetic drift, gene flow and natural and artificial selection interact to generate the extraordinary diversity of local breeds and varieties that still exists today, and what does that diversity tell us about the environments and cultures that produced it?

To what extent was the adaptation of domestic species to their local environments mediated not only by their own genomes, but also by the communities of microorganisms with which they coexist, including symbionts, commensals and parasites?

Can we speak of a domesticated microbiome? In what ways did the prolonged proximity between humans, domestic animals, cultivated plants and agricultural environments reorganise microbial communities and create new relationships of ecological and evolutionary dependence?

To what extent does the population structure of a parasitic or commensal microorganism reflect and be shaped by the population structure of its host, and what does this tell us about the shared history of both?

How can epigenomics reveal dimensions of biological adaptation that genomics alone cannot explain, particularly in the processes of environmental response and the transmission of phenotypic states across generations?

What marks has the prolonged contact with microorganisms from domestic animals, foodstuffs and agricultural environments left on the human genome, and to what extent do those marks help us understand health and disease from an evolutionary perspective?

How can the evolutionary analysis of local varieties and breeds be applied in practical contexts, from the protection of the identity and authenticity of agricultural products to the conservation of domestic biodiversity and the reconstruction of histories of migration and contact between peoples?

For Prospective Students Seeking a Supervisor or Research Topic

I am always available to work with early-career researchers who share a genuine interest in the themes described above. If you recognise in those questions something that troubles you or that you would like to explore, do not hesitate to get in touch. I do, however, have some advice for those seeking a thesis or dissertation topic, and I prefer to share it from the outset.

In science, nothing is guaranteed. A Master's or a PhD is not a walk in the park, but rather a pilgrimage, often a solitary one, guided by signs that are not always clear and by directions that reveal themselves only gradually. It is precisely here that the role of a supervisor lies: not to walk the path for you, but to help you read the signs and avoid losing yourself in shortcuts. And always be wary of shortcuts.

It is perfectly normal, when one focuses seriously on research, to feel that the world has conspired against you. Not only is this normal, but it is also a good sign. It means you are working on something that matters enough to resist.

Autonomy is earned, not given. Initiative, enthusiasm, and sustained motivation are worth as much as, if not more than, the so-called ease of learning. Consistent work and discipline are, invariably, what distinguish those who go far from those who fall by the wayside.

Finally, a word of warning I consider fundamental: there is no shortage of good ideas. But until they appear in a peer-reviewed publication within the relevant field of research, they remain precisely that: ideas. And as someone once remarked, with pointed irony, those who have only ideas are called idiots. Those who transform them into verifiable knowledge are called researchers.

This is the path. It is demanding, solitary, at times thankless, and absolutely rewarding for those with the right kind of stubbornness. If, after everything you have just read, you are still interested, then you probably have the right profile. Get in touch.