The activities of the Yersinia Research Unit are primarily devoted to the analysis of:
- Interactions between pathogenic Yersinia and the host at the celllular, tissular and animal level
- Mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer in Yersinia;
- Comparative genomics and transcriptomics between Y. pestis and Y. pseudotuberculosis;
- Molecular bases for the exceptional pathogenicity of Y. pestis. – Pathophysiology of Yersinia infections;
- Host’s mechanisms of innate and adaptive immunity;
- Genetic bases of host susceptibility to plague;
- Resistance of pathogenic Yersinia to antibiotics;
- Evolution of pathogenic Yersinia.
The Unit is also developing:
- A vaccine against plague and pseudotuberculosis;
- Typing tools for molecular epidemiology;
- Real time in vivo imaging technology to follow the kinetics of Y. pestis development in its host;
- Tools for stable gene complementation and gene expression in vitro and in vivo;
- Techniques for molecular characterization of the various Yersinia species.
The Unit participates actively to the surveillance and control of enteropathogenic Yersinia through its activities at the National level (Reference Laboratory and French Surveillance Network), and to the fight against plague at the international level (World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Yersinia).
