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Aurélie TASIEMSKI
Team leader Associate professor (MCF, HDR) Université de Lille 1 - Unité Evolution, Ecologie et Paléontologie (EEP), CNRS UMR8198 Bât SN2, 1er étage, porte 113 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq, France Phone: +33 (0)3 20 33 59 57 Webpage at EEP: http://eep.univ-lille.fr/perso-Aurelie-Tasiemski |
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My research activities rely on:
- comparative immunology i.e. the description and comparison of the processes used by different living organisms to recognize, kill and/or tolerate microbes
- and on ecological immunology i.e. the influence of the environment on the pattern of selection and expression of immune genes.
More particularly, I have been working on one of the key components of the immune defense, i.e. antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), since my Ph.D. These are small antibiotic molecules naturally produced by bacteria, plants, fungi and animals. I am interested in discovering new ones and understanding their immunological functions in the animals that produce them. These are extremely effective chemical warfare systems to kill bacterial pathogens but also to shape the colonizing bacterial symbionts while coping with specific environmental challenges.
Concerning biological models, the main part of my studies focus on annelids because they occupy a very large range of habitats (marine, terrestrial…) including very extreme ones where most animals cannot survive, (hydrothermal vents, coastal mud anoxic and enriched in sulfides, highly polluted habitats…) they can be free or parasites and probably as a consequence, appear to be a source of a very large variety of novel AMPs. We have identified seven new AMPs in annelids and demonstrated their function in the defense against pathogenic bacteria in the blood, the digestive tract and interestingly also in the central nervous system where they are produced by neurons and promote the regenerative process of the injured nerve cord. More recently, I have been working on the adaptive evolution of AMP genes and on understanding how AMPs are selected to allow ringed worms to establish symbiosis that are vital to thrive in extreme habitats.
AMP studies give rise to both “fundamental” and “applied” interests. Indeed, because of their mode of action and their spectrum of activities and their small size, some AMPs constitute promising candidates for the development of new antibiotics. For these reasons, three of our newly found AMPs were patented by the CNRS or the University of Lille for their potential application in medicine.
- comparative immunology i.e. the description and comparison of the processes used by different living organisms to recognize, kill and/or tolerate microbes
- and on ecological immunology i.e. the influence of the environment on the pattern of selection and expression of immune genes.
More particularly, I have been working on one of the key components of the immune defense, i.e. antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), since my Ph.D. These are small antibiotic molecules naturally produced by bacteria, plants, fungi and animals. I am interested in discovering new ones and understanding their immunological functions in the animals that produce them. These are extremely effective chemical warfare systems to kill bacterial pathogens but also to shape the colonizing bacterial symbionts while coping with specific environmental challenges.
Concerning biological models, the main part of my studies focus on annelids because they occupy a very large range of habitats (marine, terrestrial…) including very extreme ones where most animals cannot survive, (hydrothermal vents, coastal mud anoxic and enriched in sulfides, highly polluted habitats…) they can be free or parasites and probably as a consequence, appear to be a source of a very large variety of novel AMPs. We have identified seven new AMPs in annelids and demonstrated their function in the defense against pathogenic bacteria in the blood, the digestive tract and interestingly also in the central nervous system where they are produced by neurons and promote the regenerative process of the injured nerve cord. More recently, I have been working on the adaptive evolution of AMP genes and on understanding how AMPs are selected to allow ringed worms to establish symbiosis that are vital to thrive in extreme habitats.
AMP studies give rise to both “fundamental” and “applied” interests. Indeed, because of their mode of action and their spectrum of activities and their small size, some AMPs constitute promising candidates for the development of new antibiotics. For these reasons, three of our newly found AMPs were patented by the CNRS or the University of Lille for their potential application in medicine.