Mycoplasmas, Microbiomes and Infectious Diseases: MYC
Research themes
The team focuses on a thorough understanding of the interactions between pathogens, the microbiota, and the host, with the aim of improving the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infections, particularly in the complex case of co-infections in animals.
More specifically, our research aims to better understand how pathogens, such as mycoplasmas, alone or in combination with other agents, such as influenza viruses, interact with the holobiont (the host and its microbiota) and trigger infection.
We examine the role of the resident or distant microbiota in these interactions and in the infectious process to define whether specific microbial communities may help protect the host against pathogens and prevent diseases. We are also investigating the evolutionary and adaptive mechanisms of mycoplasmas, including emerging mycoplasmas such as ruminant hemoplasmas and the vector-borne transmission of these agents between wildlife and farm animals.
Our main interest revolved around three main thematics:
- Host-, Pathogen– and microbiome-interactions in infectious diseases
- Evolution and adaptation of mycoplasmas and microbial communities
- Ecology, prevention, and control of animal infectious diseases
People
- Christine CITTI (Senior Scientist, Team leader, DReX)
- Eric BARANOWSKI (Senior Scientist, Vice-Team leader, DR2)
- Dominique BERGONIER (Associate Professor, MCHC)
- Nuria MACH (Senior Scientist CR1)
- Renaud MAILLARD (Professor, PR1)
- Joshua MALSA (Junior Scientist, CR, CDD)
- Xavier NOUVEL (Professor, PR2)
- Chloé SAADA (Research Engineer, IR-PH) (20%)
- Gwendoline POT (Technician, TR)
- Hortensia ROBERT (Technician, TR, CDD)
Secretary office
- Maria MOYA (Secretary, TFRNO – Gestion – 20%)
PhD students
- M’Hamed DERRICHE
- Maverick MONIE-IBANES
5 main publications:
Mariadassou M, Nouvel LX, Constant F, Morgavi DP, Rault L, Barbey S, Helloin E, Rué O, Schbath S, Launay F, Sandra O, Lefebvre R, Le Loir Y, Germon P, Citti C, Even S. Microbiota members from body sites of dairy cows are largely shared within individual hosts throughout lactation but sharing is limited in the herd. Anim Microbiome. 2023 Jun 12;5(1):32. doi: 10.1186/s42523-023-00252-w. PMID: 37308970; PMCID: PMC10262541.
Bars-Cortina D, Moratalla-Navarro F, García-Serrano A, Mach N, Riobó-Mayo L, Vea-Barbany J, Rius-Sansalvador B, Murcia S, Obón-Santacana M, Moreno V. Improving Species Level-taxonomic Assignment from 16S rRNA Sequencing Technologies. Curr Protoc. 2023 Nov;3(11):e930. doi: 10.1002/cpz1.930. PMID: 37988265.
Dordet-Frisoni E, Vandecasteele C, Contarin R, Sagné E, Baranowski E, Klopp C, Nouvel LX, Citti C. Impacts of Mycoplasma agalactiae restriction-modification systems on pan-epigenome dynamics and genome plasticity. Microb Genom. 2022 May;8(5):mgen000829. doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.000829. PMID: 35576144; PMCID: PMC9465063.
Mach N, Baranowski E, Nouvel LX, Citti C. The Airway Pathobiome in Complex Respiratory Diseases: A Perspective in Domestic Animals. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2021 May 14;11:583600. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.583600. PMID: 34055660; PMCID: PMC8160460.
Faucher M, Nouvel LX, Dordet-Frisoni E, Sagné E, Baranowski E, Hygonenq MC, Marenda MS, Tardy F, Citti C. Mycoplasmas under experimental antimicrobial selection: The unpredicted contribution of horizontal chromosomal transfer. PLoS Genet. 2019 Jan 22;15(1):e1007910. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007910. PMID: 30668569; PMCID: PMC6358093.