Carlos Loncoman
Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Austral de Chile: Valdivia, Chile (2008 – 2013) Professional title of veterinarian.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Melbourne: Melbourne, Australia (2014 – 2018)– Research Higher Degree, Veterinary Science, Veterinary virology.
My research focuses on investigating molecular interactions between viruses and their hosts. In particular, I am interested in the impact of genetic diversity on viral virulence, pathogenesis, and the modulation of host immune responses.
I began my research career in 2014, and have since published several papers in peer-reviewed journals. Of these, I have been the primary or corresponding author on over 10 papers, all focusing on virology, poultry, and aquaculture.
Since 2019, I have been serving as an assistant professor at Universidad Austral de Chile. I teach virology, biochemistry, cell biology, and bioinformatics applied to microbiology for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
The Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo (ANID) currently funds my research laboratory to investigate the role of Piscine orthoreovirus in Jaundice syndrome affecting the coho salmon that are locally farmed in Chile. I am using both in vivo and ex vivo approaches for conducting the research. In addition, my laboratory undertakes side projects related to zoonotic diseases, viruses transmitted through food, bacteriophages, viruses that affect the cattle and poultry industries, and the evaluation of antiviral compounds.
My research interests are not limited to the field of virology, and I am always willing to collaborate and learn in order to contribute to our community as much as possible.
Miembro de:
- Sociedad de Microbiología de Chile (SOMICH)
- World Society for Virology (WSV)
Gatica, T.; Salgado, S.; Reyes, H.; Loncoman, C. Development of a qPCR Tool for Detection, Quantification, and Molecular Characterization of Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus Variants in Chile from 2019 to 2023. Animals 2025, 15, 1623. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15111623
Solarte-Murillo, L. V., Salgado, S., Gatica, T., Cárcamo, J. G., Tsoulia, T., Dahle, M. K., & Loncoman, C. (2025). Comparative Analysis of PRV-1 in Atlantic Salmon and PRV-3 in Coho Salmon: Host-Specific Immune Responses and Apoptosis in Red Blood Cells. Microorganisms, 13(5), 1167. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13051167
Daniel Sanhueza Teneo; Tamara Venegas; Francisca Videla; Cedric B. Chesnais; Carlos Loncoman; Guillermo Valenzuela-Nieto. Prevalence and genetic diversity of parasites in humans and pet dogs in rural areas of Los Rios region, Southern Chile. Pathogens 2025, 14(2), 186; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14020186
José A. Quinteros; Glenn F. Browning; Karim Mardani; Amir H. Noormohammadi; Mark A. Stevenson; Mauricio J.C. Coppo; Carlos A. Loncoman; Nino Ficorilli; Andrés Diaz-Méndez. Journal of Virological Methods, 2024, ISSN: 0166-0934, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jviromet.2024.114989
Solarte-Murillo, L.; Reyes, H.; Ojeda, L.; Cárcamo, J.G.; Pontigo, J.P.; Loncoman, C.A. Analyses and Insights into Genetic Reassortment and Natural Selection as Key Drivers of Piscine orthoreovirus Evolution. Viruses, 2024, 16, 556. https://doi.org/10.3390/v16040556
Danixa Martínez, Daniela Nualart, Carlos Loncoman, Juan C. Opazo, Kattina Zabala, Francisco J. Morera, Gonzalo A. Mardones, Luis Vargas-Chacoff, Discovery of BbX transcription factor in the patagonian blennie: Exploring expression changes following combined bacterial and thermal stress exposure, Developmental & Comparative Immunology, Volume 149, 2023, 105056, ISSN 0145-305X,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dci.2023.105056.
René A. Manríquez, Moisés Sandoval, Carlos Loncoman, Carolina Tafalla, R. Avendaño-Herrera, Juan G. Cárcamo, Epigenetic reprogramming around IFN1 and IFNy2 promoters in rainbow trout cells inoculated with infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV), Fish & Shellfish Immunology, Volume 140, 2023, 108947, ISSN 1050-4648, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsi.2023.108947.
Solarte-Murillo, L., Romero, A., Cárcamo, J.G., Godoy, M., Morera, F.J., Loncoman, C.A., 2023. Piscine orthoreovirus 3a detected from farmed coho salmon with jaundice syndrome displays positive selection and polymorphisms in S1 and M2 viral segment. Aquaculture 574, 739709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2023.739709
Spatz S, Garcia M, Fuchs W, Loncoman CA, Volkening, Ross T, Riblet S, Kim T, Liken N, Mattenleiter T. 2023. Reconstitution and mutagenesis of avian infectious laryngotracheitis virus from cosmid and yeast centromeric plasmid clones. Journal of Virology . https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/jvi.01406-22?af=R
Santander-Parra SH, Nunez LFN, Buim MR, Ferreira CSA, Loncoman CA, Ferreira AJP .2022. Detection and molecular characterization of infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) in chicken with respiratory signs in Brazil during 2015 and 2016. Brazilian Journal of Microbiology. DOI: 10.1007/s42770-022-00833-y
Vera M, Zuern S, Henriquez-Valencia C, Loncoman C, Canales J, Waller F, Basoalto E, Garnica S .2022. Exploring interactions between Beauveria and Metarhizium strains through co-inoculation and responses of perennial ryegrass in a one-year trial. PEERJ. DOI:10.7717/peerj.12924
Morera, F.J., Saravia, J., Loncoman, C.A., Pontigo, J.P., Oyarzun-Salazar, R., Contreras, C., Vargas-Lagos, C., Muñoz, J.L., Vargas-Chacoff, L., 2021. Dynamics of BK channel expression in gills during smoltification of Atlantic Salmon under farm conditions. Aquaculture 534, 736327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2020.736327
Verdugo, Claudio, Plaza, A., Acosta-Jamett, G., Castro, N., Gutierrez, J., Hernandez, C., Lopez-Joven, C., Loncoman, C., Navarrete, C., Ramirez-Reveco, A., Romero, A., Silva, A., Vega, M., Verdugo, Cristobal, Vergara, J., 2020. A comparative evaluation of dye-based and probe-based RT-qPCR assay for the screening of SARS-CoV-2 using individual and pooled-sample testing. medRxiv 2020.05.30.20117721. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.30.20117721
Martínez, D., Vargas-Lagos, C., Saravia, J., Oyarzún, R., Loncoman, C., Pontigo, J.P., Vargas-Chacoff, L., 2020. Cellular stress responses of Eleginops maclovinus fish injected with Piscirickettsia salmonis and submitted to thermal stress. Cell Stress and Chaperones. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12192-019-01051-6
Loncoman CA. Recombination of infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) and the role of vaccination. 2019. University of Melbourne. Available at: https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/handle/11343/219913
Loncoman, CA, Hartley, C.A., Coppo, M.J.C., Browning, G.F., Beltrán, G., Riblet, S., Freitas, C.O., García, M., Devlin, J.M., 2018. The snp genotyping assay shows that vaccination can limit the number and diversity of recombinant progeny of infectious laryngotracheitis viruses from the USA. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01822-18
Loncoman CA, Hartley CA, Coppo MJC, Browning GF, Quinteros JA, Diaz-Méndez A, Thilakarathne D, Fakhri O, Vaz PK, Devlin JM. 2018. Replication-independent reduction in the number and diversity of recombinant progeny viruses in chickens vaccinated with an attenuated infectious laryngotracheitis vaccine. Vaccine. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.08.012.
Martínez, D., Vargas-Lagos, C., Oyarzún, R., Loncoman, C.A., Pontigo, J.P., Yáñez, A.J., Vargas-Chacoff, L., 2018. Temperature modulates the immunological response of the sub-antarctic notothenioid fish eleginops maclovinus injected with piscirickettsia salmonis. Fish & Shellfish Immunology 82, 492-503. DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2018.08.042
Korsa MG, Devlin JM, Hartley CA, Browning GF, Coppo MJC, Quinteros JA, Loncoman CA, Onasanya AE, Thilakarathne D, Diaz-Méndez A. 2018. Determination of the minimum protective dose of a glycoprotein-G-deficient infectious laryngotracheitis virus vaccine delivered via eye-drop to week-old chickens. PLos One 13:e0207611. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207611
Loncoman CA, Saravia J, Gutierrez L, Contreras C, Oyarzún R, Strobel P, Enriquez R, Isla A, Figueroa J, Vargas-Chacoff L, Morera FJ. 2018. BK potassium channel mRNA level changes in gills of Atlantic salmon after brackish water transfer. Aquaculture 491:184-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2018.03.032
Loncoman CA, Hartley CA, Coppo MJC, Vaz PK, Diaz-Mendez A, Browning GF, Garcia M, Spatz S, Devlin JM. 2017. Genetic Diversity of Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus during In Vivo Coinfection Parallels Viral Replication and Arises from Recombination Hot Spots within the Genome. Appl Environ Microbiol 83. DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01532-17
Loncoman CA, Hartley CA, Coppo MJC, Vaz PK, Diaz-Méndez A, Browning GF, Lee S-w, Devlin JM. 2017. Development and application of a TaqMan single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping assay to study infectious laryngotracheitis virus recombination in the natural host. PLos One 12:e0174590. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174590
Loncoman CA, Vaz PK, Coppo MJ, Hartley CA, Morera FJ, Browning GF, Devlin JM. 2017. Natural recombination in alphaherpesviruses: Insights into viral evolution through full genome sequencing and sequence analysis. Infect Genet Evol 49:174-185. DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2016.12.022
Loncoman CA, Gutiérrez L, Strobel P, Alarcón P, Contreras C, Conejeros I, Morera FJ. 2015. Application of a real-time PCR assay to detect BK potassium channel expression in samples from Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) acclimated to freshwater. Arch vet med. 47: 215-220. https://www.scielo.cl/pdf/amv/v47n2/art13.pdf
Hidalgo MA, Loncoman CA, Hidalgo AI, Andrade V, Carretta MD, Burgos RA. 2014. Decreased cyclooxygenase-2 gene expression and lactoferrin release in blood neutrophils of heifers during the calving period. Vet Immunol Immunopathol. DOI: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2014.04.003
Responsable:
BIMI135 (Pregrado – Obligatorio – Tecnología Médica): Bases Moleculares Aplicadas al Diagnóstico
MICR331 (Postgrado – Obligatorio – Mg. Cs. Mención Microbiología): Virología General
BIMI306 (Postgrado – Optativo): Bioinformática Aplicada a la Microbiología
BIMI307 (Postgrado – Optativo): Biología Molecular de los Virus
MICR424 (Postgrado – Optativo): Tópicos Experimentales en Virología Avanzada
Colaborador:
| BIMI030-15 | BIOLOGIA CELULAR |
| BIMI055-20 | BIOLOGÍA CELULAR |
| BIMI063-21 | BIOLOGÍA CELULAR |
| BIMI075-16 | BIOLOGÍA CELULAR |
| BIMI100-16 | BIOLOGÍA CELULAR CONTEMPORÁNEA |
| BIMI155-21 | MICROBIOLOGÍA |
| BIMI165-15 | MICROBIOLOGÍA GENERAL |
| MICR160-08 | MICROBIOLOGÍA |
| MICR231-90 | VIROLOGIA |
| BIMI118-16 | MICROBIOLOGÍA |
| BIMI132-19 | MICROBIOLOGÍA |
| BIMI225-16 | BIOLOGÍA MOLECULAR |
| BIMI245-21 | BIOTECNOLOGÍA MOLECULAR |
| BIMI255-21 | DIAGNÓSTICO MOLECULAR, CLÍNICO Y MICROBIOLÓGICO |
| BIOQ077-20 | BIOQUÍMICA GENERAL |
| BIOQ400-10 | BIOLOGIA CELULAR Y MOLECULAR AVANZADA |
Proyectos:
Proyecto Virginia Tech – Universidad Austral de Chile (Investigador principal) (2019-2020)
Estudiando las características genéticas y moleculares de aislados chilenos de infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) y Marek Disease virus (MDV).
Proyecto instalación VIDCA 2020 (Investigador principal) (2020)
Evaluación de plataformas ex vivo para el estudio de la patogenesis y respuesta inmune contra Piscine orthoreovirus (PRV)
Proyecto FONDECYT de iniciación 11230556 (Investigador principal) (2023 – 2026)
Studying virulence of Piscine orthoreovirus 3 (PRV-3) infecting coho salmon using in vivo and ex vivo platforms.
Proyecto FONDECYT regular 1241788 (2024-2028) (Co-investigador).
Identification of proteins and mechanisms associated with drug resistance in the salmon parasite, Caligus rogercresseyi.
Virology; Microbiology; Molecular Biology; Immunology.
Collaborators:
Dr. Maricarmen Garcia (University of Georgia) mcgarcia@uga.edu
Dr. Joanne Devlin (Melbourne University) devlinj@unimelb.edu.au
Dr. Francisco Morera (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile) fjmorera@uach.cl
Luis Vargas-Chacoff (Universidad Austral de Chile) luis.vargas@uach.cl
Juan Guillermo Cárcamo (Universidad Austral de Chile) gcarcamo@uach.cl
Marcos Gody (Universidad San Sebastian) marcos.godoy@uss.cl
Juan Pablo Pontigo (Universidad San Sebastian) jppontigo@gmail.com
Danixa Martinez (Universidad San Sebastian) danixa.martinez@uss.cl
Hianara Bustamante (Universidad Austral de Chile) hianara.bustamante@uach.cl
Diego Carrillo (Universidad Austral de Chile) diego.carrillo@uach.cl
Current students and staff (2025 – 2026):
Tomas Gatica. Licenciatura en Ciencias.
Cristobal Parra: Bioquímica
Alex Huenchur: Tecnología Médica
Valentina Vargas: Tallerista
Sebastian Salgado: Asistente de Laboratorio
Alumni undergraduate:
- Paula Venegas (2021). Tesis de pregrado. Bioquímica. Análisis filogenético de aislados de ILTV Estadounidenses.
- Sebastian Gonzalez (2023): Tesis de pregrado. Bioquímica. Análisis de recombinación y evaluación de presión selectiva en glicoproteínas de Varicellovirus bovinealpha 1.
- Alfonso Loyola (2023): Tesis de pregrado. Bioquímica. Generación de una herramienta molecular para detección y cuantificación de ILTV.
- Tomas Gatica (2024): Tesis de pregrado. Licenciatura en Ciencias. Desarrollo de qPCR para detección y cuantificación de ILTV, y caracterización molecular de variantes virales obtenidas de avicultura de traspatio en el sur de Chile entre 2019 y 2022
- Anna Espinoza (2024). Tesis de pregrado. Medicina Veterinaria. Detección y cuantificación de partículas virales de Piscine orthoreovirus (PRV)
Alumni Graduate students
- Laura Solarte : PhD(c) Thesis: Evaluation of the potential for genetic reassortment in Piscine orthoreovirus and the innate immune response from salmonid erythrocytes ex vivo
Email: carlos.loncoman@uach.cl
Instituto de Bioquímica y Microbiología
Edificio Ciencias 2, torre norte, cuarto piso.
Campus Isla Teja/ Valdivia
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