Research laboratories

The main research topic of the Unit deals with the mechanisms of fast evolution in bacteria. Horizontal gene transfer, i.e. exchanges of genetic information between related or unrelated bacteria in an ecosystem, constitutes a major mechanism of bacterial evolution.The studies include the characterization of the molecular mechanisms of transfer of genetic information, of its integration in the recipient genome and of the mechanisms of regulation of these processes, as well as the impact of the transferred sequences in the bacterial host (genome diversity, new functions, adaptation).

Two bacterial groups and their respective ecosystems are approached: streptomycetes and the forest soil on one hand, and streptococci and their different ecosystems (food, oral cavity and human digestive tract) on the other hand.