Structural insights into the mechanism of DNA branch migration during homologous recombination in bacteria
Rosa Leonardo Talachia, Vernhes Émeline, Soulet Anne-Lise, Polard Patrice, Fronzes Rémi
Bacteria are extremely adaptable and able adjust their lifestyle very quickly when these changes occur. One dramatic illustration of this capacity is the spread of antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens. During the last decade, the emergence of multi-resistant bacteria, which are resistant to several treatments, led to increase mortality caused by common infections. The 2014 report on antimicrobial resistance from the World Health Organization warns against the beginning of a “post-antibiotic” era, when most of the bacterial pathogens will become resistant to all treatments available.
In this context, it is crucial to fully understand the molecular mechanism of bacterial adaptability to ultimately target and limit this ability. To survive in a changing environment, bacteria have to resist to stresses induced by these changes and ultimately to adapt their lifestyle if these changes persist. These two processes are almost contradictory since the first aims at maintaining cell integrity while the second allows long term variability through the acquisition of new traits.
For 10 years, we engaged several lines of research on this topic in the lab, first at institut Pasteur and from 2016 within the MFP unit and at the Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie (IECB) in Bordeaux. Over the last 5 years, we focused our research on the main projects listed below. Our lab has also been instrumental in setting up a state of the art cryo-electron microscopy (CryoEM) facility at IECB. We have several on-going collaborations related to our expertise in CryoEM. We are also involved in technological development projects such as the implementation of super-resolution correlative microscopy in cryo conditions.
