CV Science

Agnès Fouet PhD microbiology

Course and current status

Education/Training:                                                                                           

1988-1989 Postdoctoral fellow - Prof A. L. Sonenshein, Mentor – Department of Molecular Biology –  Tufts University, School of Medicine (Boston, MA, USA)                                  

1987 Ph.D (Doctorat d'état ès Sciences in Microbiology) – Université Paris VII             

1982 Ph.D (Thèse de Doctorat de 3ème cycle in Biochemistry) - Université Paris VII  

Positions:                                                                                                            

2016- present Co-Director of the team Bacteria & Perinatality and Deputy Director of the Infection, Immunity and Inflammation (3I) department, Institut Cochin, INSERM U1016-CNRS UMR8104-Université de Paris                                         

2020-present Research Director class I, CNRS, Institut Cochin, team Bacteria & Perinatality

2011-2020 Research Director class II, CNRS, Institut Cochin, team Barriers and pathogens                                                                                                   

2002-2010 Research Director class II, CNRS, Insrtitut Pasteur, Team Toxines Pathogénie Bactériennes                                                                                                 

1990-2002 Assistant Professor, CNRS, Insrtitut Pasteur, Team Toxines Pathogénie Bactériennes                                                                                                      

1988-1989 Research Assistant, CNRS, Tufts Medical School, Boston MA USA                

1985-1987 Research Assistant, CNRS, Institut Pasteur, Team Biochimie Microbienne

1984-1985 Research Assistant, Institut Pasteur, Team Biochimie Microbienne

Editorial activities                                                                                                     

– Editor-in-Chief for Microbiology, 2010 - 2015                                                            

– Senior Editor for Microbiology, 2002 - 2007                                                              

- Editor for Microbiology, 1995 - 2002                                                                         

– Invited Editor for Research in Microbiology, Special issue: Sporeformers (2010).

Teaching activities                                                                                                  

- Member of thesis (17) and habilitation (9) committees                                               

- Practical courses in the General Microbiology Course of the Institut Pasteur                   

- Tutoring under-graduate students for bibliographical seminars                                    

- Medical sciences training, Faculty of Medicine, University Paris-Descartes Lecture:  Bacterial toxins

Meeting co-organizer                                                                                                

- 4^th European Spores Conference (2010, Cortona, Italy)                                              

- Bacillus-ACT 2009 (Santa Fe, USA)                                                                           

- Bacillus-ACT 2007 (Oslo, Norway)                                                                            

- Bacillus-ACT 2005 (Santa Fe, USA)                                                                           

- Bacillus-ACT 2003 (Nice, France)

Scientific summary

2011- Host-pathogen interaction: Streptococci, GAS and GBS

Molecular mechanisms involved in GAS and GBS physiopathology:

- Bacterial virulence factors, wih a focus on surface exposed proteins.  

- Interaction of these proteins with their with eucaryotic ligands and consequences on the cell.  

- Characterization of GAS invasive infection early steps and the host immune response  

Molecular epidemiology of GAS and GBS; evolution of the clinical isolates

1990-2011 Host-pathogen interaction:  Surface components  and regualtion of virulence factor synthesis in Bacillus anthracis

Regulation of synthesis of virulence and persistence factors:                       

- Expression of toxin, capsule and S-layer genes are controlled in vitro by a common regulator, AtxA. 

- Link between expression of virulence factors and metabolic state of the bacterium. A metabolic regulator activates the expression of the toxin genes and of the iron metabolism operons

Surface components:  

- The capsule, a major virulence factor, is synthesized by a four protein complex and covalently anchored to the peptidoglycan by a transpeptidase 

- SLH harboring proteins require pyruvylation of the peptidoglycan-associated polysaccharide to be anchored. 

- The gamma phage receptor has been characterized; it is covalently anchored to the peptidoglycan 

- Anchoring domains of surface components efficiently present heterologous antigens

Phylogeny:  

- French B. anthracis strains belong to two dissimilar genetic clusters, geological strain patterns were observed. 

- On genetic basis, B. anthracis is a B. cereus. Regulator activities yield differential virulence factor syntheses.

1988-1989 Bacterial metabolism: sporulation initiation and catabolic repression in Bacillus subtilis                                 

Repression of sporulation initiation by glucose and catabolic repression of genes encoding Krebs cycle enzymes are independent. Control by catabolite repression and control by components of nutrient broth act by different mechanisms.

1980-1987 Bacterial metabolism: sucrose metabolism in Bacillus subtilis                                                                                         

Bacillus subtilis imports and hydrolyzes sucrose and secretes an enzyme that degrades sucrose and polymerizes fructose into levans. Sucrose is imported via a PTS. B. subtilis enzyme II^Suc promotes sucrose import when expressed in E. coli. The expression of the sucrose operons is subject to multiple regulations, that have been characterized at the molecular level.