Teams investigate various aspects of genome architecture, expression and evolution by analyzing genetic information from microorganisms including yeasts and bacteria, and also from humans and mice. They study how this information is structured, influenced by, or influences cellular processes. Insights are thus gained on how genome evolution reflects adaptive selection, in particular in the control of cellular processes, immune response in humans, antibiotic resistance in microbes, or the dynamics of defense-anti-defense systems between phages and bacteria. This research is based largely on sequencing, genotyping and microfluidics techniques.
Our main recent publications
Who were the first ancestors of present-day fish?
Understanding the family tree of species is crucial for studying evolution. By analyzing the mutational and chromosome evolution patterns in newly sequenced genomes from early-branching fishes, we resolved a long-standing debate on the early evolution of teleost fishes, one of the most species-rich clades of vertebrates, including several model species for biomedical research (zebrafish, killifish).
Science, February 9, 2023.
SARS-CoV-2, how the history of human populations influences their immune response
SARS-CoV-2 infection induces highly variable immune responses. Through single-cell RNA sequencing, this study reveals the role of cellular composition and genetic factors in this variability and enables the identification of variants under selection that contribute to disparities in the risk of severe COVID-19 between human populations.
Nature, August 9, 2023.
Predisposition to Zika virus susceptibility
Zika virus is responsible for human infections with variable severity. To identify susceptibility genes, we used mice of the genetically diverse Collaborative Cross. By combining genetic mapping, RNAseq and the quantitative complementation test, we showed that the high susceptibility of the CC071 strain results from a mutation in the Irf3 gene and other loci under investigation.
Plos Pathogens, September 21, 2023.
New integron insertion sites
Integrons are bacterial genetic elements that capture and express adaptation genes contained in cassettes. The integrase is a key enzyme that can insert these cassettes into a wide variety of sites of the bacterial genome outside of its classically known sites. These findings expand the role of integrons in bacterial evolution.
Nature Microbiology, January 9, 2024.
Discovery of antiphage systems in humans
In comparing the evolutionary history of bacterial and human proteins, our laboratories identified novel human immune genes and confirmed their role through experiments.
Cell Host Microbe, September 11, 2024.