Team EVRest

Antibiotic resistance is a major health problem and has a direct impact on both human and animal health. It also imposes a significant economic burden. The release of novel antibiotics has declined, presenting both medical doctors and scientists with the challenge of how to best treat infections with a limited antibiotic armamentarium while resistance continues to rise.

Escherichia coli is a pivotal bacterium in this context: it is a versatile commensal of the mammalian digestive tract and, as such, is highly exposed to antibiotics. Meanwhile, it is also the most common causative agent of infections such as urinary-tract infections. These infections are not only very common but can also lead to sepsis, responsible for millions of deaths worldwide.

In the EVRest team, we use ecological and evolutionary approaches to better understand antibiotic resistance and virulence in E. coli at different levels of granularity, from the cell to the patient. With our collections of samples and strains obtained from various relevant settings, sectors, and hosts, we address basic science questions to investigate the following research axes:

• Axis 1. Evolution and determinants of virulence and antibiotic resistance (leaders Laurence Armand-Lefèvre and André Birgy)
• Axis 2. Determinants of antibiotic response in individual cells and microbial communities (leaders Imane El Meouche and Etienne Ruppé)
• Axis 3. Antibiotic repurposing and phage therapy (leaders Victoire de Lastours and Jean-Damien Ricard)

The EVREST team at IAME day, 25 May 2023