We study the mechanisms responsible of the bacterial genome variability, with a special interest for those involved in exogenous gene acquisition – the horizontal gene transfer. Our model system is the integron, a natural genetic engineering system involved in the development and dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes among Gram-negative species. 

We are also investigating other factors playing a role in the plasticity of the Vibrio species genomes, which are all constituted of two circular chromosomes with distinct dynamic characteristics. We have also sequenced several Vibrio genomes and are currently remodeling the 2 chromosome architecture in V. cholerae to get a better understanding of the rules governing the overall organization and the gene partition between the two chromosomes in Vibrio.